Under the Red Robe (1937)

Director:

Victor Sjöström

Writers:

Lajos Biró (screenplay) &
Philip Lindsay (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 May 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

Swashbucker Gil De Berault is bound for the guillotine when he is given one last chance for a pardon.

Plot:

Cardinal Richelieu spares the life of a convicted duelist (Veidt) provided he will capture the leader of the Huguenots.

Plot Keywords:

Duke | Spying | Love Affair | Huguenot | False Name

Cast

Conrad Veidt	...	Gil de Berault
Annabella	...	Lady Marguerite
Raymond Massey	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Romney Brent	...	Marius
Sophie Stewart	...	Elise, Duchess of Fiox
Wyndham Goldie	...	Edmond, Duke of Fiox (as F. Wyndham Goldie)
Lawrence Grant	...	Father Joseph
Balliol Holloway	...	Clon
Shale Gardner	...	Louis (as Shayle Gardner)
Frank Damer	...	Pierre
James Regan	...	Jean
Edie Martin	...	Maria
Haddon Mason	...	Count Rossignac
J. Fisher White	...	Baron Breteuil
Graham Soutten	...	Leval (as Ben Soutten)
Anthony Eustrel	...	Lieutenant Brissac
Desmond Roberts	...	Capt. Rivarolle
Ralph Truman	...	Captain at Castle
Eric Hales	...	Lieutenant at Castle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Cozens	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Victor Sjöström		(as Victor Seastrom)

Writing credits
Lajos Biró		(screenplay) (as Lajos Biro) &
Philip Lindsay		(screenplay) &
J.L. Hodson		(screenplay)
Stanley J. Weyman		(novel)
Edward E. Rose		(play) (as Edward Rose)
Arthur Wimperis		(scenario)

Produced by
Robert Kane	....	producer (as Robert T. Kane)

Original Music by
Arthur Benjamin

Cinematography by
James Wong Howe
Georges Périnal

Film Editing by
James B. Clark

Art Direction by
Frank Wells

Costume Design by
René Hubert		(as Rene Hubert)

Production Management
Leslie F. Baker	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Teddy Baird	....	assistant director (as Edward Baird)

Sound Department
T. Cotler	....	sound recordist
A.W. Watkins	....	sound recordist
John W. Mitchell	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ned Mann	....	special effects

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	musical director

Other crew
Romney Brent	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• New World Pictures Ltd.

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Company (1937) (UK) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anglo-American Film Corporation (1943) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Devonshire Film Company (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Associated British Film Distributors (ABFD) (1948) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)

Also Known As:

Unter der roten Robe (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Bajo el manto escarlata (Spain) [es]
Kardinaalin asialla (Finland) [fi]
Manto rosso, Il (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

New World Pictures Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Under the Red Robe (1923)

Enjoyable Period Drama with Plenty of Intrigue

This is an enjoyable period drama that combines a little history, some action, some romance, some dry and occasionally macabre humor, and most of all plenty of intrigue. It has an interesting historical setting, centering on the devious Cardinal Richelieu, one of history's more interesting (if hardly admirable) figures. While there isn't much here to take seriously, it is good light entertainment.

Conrad Veidt stars as a dreaded duelist under sentence of death, to whom Richelieu offers a pardon if he can bring in a Huguenot duke whose plans for an uprising have the Cardinal in a panic. Raymond Massey is very well cast as the Cardinal, and he does full justice to the role. Veidt is believable as Gil, and his deadpan style works rather well with some of the occasional lines of dry humor.

Veidt's character is accompanied by a slippery servant played with good humor by Romney Brent. The heart of the movie comes in Veidt's interactions with the duke's sister, played by Annabella, who makes her a worthy adversary for the swordsman, both with her beauty and with her brains.

Beyond the basic details of the anticipated conflict, the story relies less on the historical background than on the easily understood human drams among the characters. Veidt finds himself torn between his word, his affection for Annabella, and his fear of death. The servant and the duke's sister likewise have their own dilemmas to face, and these give some depth to the story, which is nothing deep, but is rather entertaining and interesting in its own right.