Bride of the Regiment (partially lost Pre-Code musical film; 1930): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 23:36, 9 November 2023

Official poster for the movie's theatrical release.

Status: Partially Lost

Bride of the Regiment is a 1930 Technicolor film produced by First National meant to be a remake of the 1927 film known as The Lady In Ermine, starring Vivienne Segal, Walter Pidgeon, and Allan Prior as the three main characters.

Directed by former actor John Francis Dillon and edited by future Oscar nominee LeRoy Stone, the film surrounds an Austrian colonel named Vultow who's holding a rebel count named Adrian as a hostage, threatening to execute him unless his countess wife named Anna-Marie agrees to have sex with him. The film was well-received at the time, with most of the praise being levied on the soundtrack and cinematography. ^[1] ^[2] ^[3]

However, due to its scandalous content such as a subplot revolving around one of the count's servants trying to steal Vultow's love in order to get out of an arranged marriage, a scene consisting of Anna-Marie's unnamed ancestor pretending to be her and getting Vultow drunk, and dialogue deemed risque for the time, it was given a very limited run and later banned under the Hays Code. Other than the audio, only stills and a 20-second film fragment exist.

Availability

The audio of the film was preserved on Vitaphone records and eventually posted on YouTube in 2 parts, where it is still listenable today.

Stills from the film have been found from a variety of sources, including a French movie wiki, ^[4] a Blogspot copypasted from what seems to be an old edit of the film's Wikipedia article, ^[5] a Spanish Tumblr post, ^[6] an art gallery, ^[7] and even a website offering wall art. ^[8]

On February 16th, 2022, 3 posters for the film were found on a Blogspot known as Mi Enciclopedia De Cine, ^[9] with one of them even listing the name of a theater, the Teatro Apolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, on September 30, 2023, a new poster was found listed alongside an already found one on a website dedicated to movie posters which claimed that they were from Uruguay. ^[10]

Another notable detail is that the newly found poster is from 1932, which seems to indicate that First National tried to hock it off overseas once the Hays Code was put into effect.

On May 17, 2023, the YouTube channel Old Films and Stuff (who is also on Reddit under u/James_Fennell ^[11]) posted a 20-second fragment of the film onto YouTube. When asked in the comments about where he got it from, he said that he bought the fragment off of Ebay. He has not disclosed who sold it to him as of late.

Gallery

Videos

Bride of the Regiment (audio only 1/2).

Bride of the Regiment (audio only 2/2).

Recently discovered 20-second fragment

Images

Vultow first entering Count Adrian's castle.
Adrian and Anna-Marie returning from church after their marriage.
The count's servant partaking in a musical number.
The count's servant with her fiancé. The count's silhouette cutter stands in the background.
Context unknown, as of writing.
Anna-Marie's ancestor approaching Vultow.
A publicity still credited to one Elmer Fryer.
An Argentinian poster, advertising a screening in Buenos Aires.
Another poster, presumably Argentinian.
An Uruguayan poster, dating 2 years after the film's release.

References

↑ New York Times article on the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22
↑ Archived The Montreal Gazette article on the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22
↑ Prescott Evening Courter article on the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22
↑ notrecinema.com page of the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22
↑ A Blogspot about the film containing a still. Retrieved 16 Jan '22
↑ A post from the Tumblr account gatutor.Retrieved 12 Feb '22,
↑ A listing for a publicity still, attributed to Elmer Fryer. Retrieved 21 Feb '22
↑ A Fine Art America listing of a still, uploaded by a user known as Granger. Retrieved 12 Feb '22
↑ A Blogspot / potential crypto miner which contains many Spanish film posters from 1930, BOTR included. Retrieved 16 Feb '22
↑ A poster found on the self-proclaimed "biggest private known exhibition of movie posters." Retrieved 30 Sept '23
↑ A Reddit post on the r/LostMedia subreddit Retrieved 30 Sept '23

[1] New York Times article on the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22

[2] Archived The Montreal Gazette article on the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22

[3] Prescott Evening Courter article on the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22

[4] trecinema.com page of the film. Retrieved 12 Jan '22

[5] A Blogspot about the film containing a still. Retrieved 16 Jan '22

[6] A post from the Tumblr account gatutor.Retrieved 12 Feb '22,

[7] A listing for a publicity still, attributed to Elmer Fryer. Retrieved 21 Feb '22

[8] A Fine Art America listing of a still, uploaded by a user known as Granger. Retrieved 12 Feb '22

[9] A Blogspot / potential crypto miner which contains many Spanish film posters from 1930, BOTR included. Retrieved 16 Feb '22

[10] A poster found on the self-proclaimed "biggest private known exhibition of movie posters." Retrieved 30 Sept '23

[11] A Reddit post on the r/LostMedia subreddit Retrieved 30 Sept '23

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{NSFW|explicit and borderline pornographic content}}
 {{InfoboxLost
 |title=<center>Bride of the Regiment</center>
@@ Line 6: / Line 5: @@
 |status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span>
 }}
-'''''Bride of the Regiment''''' is a 1930 technicolor film meant to be a remake of the 1927 film known as ''The Lady In Ermine'', starring Vivienne Segal, Walter Pidgeon, and Allan Prior as the three main characters.
+'''''Bride of the Regiment''''' is a 1930 Technicolor film produced by First National meant to be a remake of the 1927 film known as ''The Lady In Ermine'', starring Vivienne Segal, Walter Pidgeon, and Allan Prior as the three main characters.
-Directed by former actor John Francis Dillon and edited by future Oscar nominee LeRoy Stone, the film surrounds an Austrian colonel who's holding a rebel count as a hostage, threatening to execute him unless his countess wife agrees to have sex with him. According to reviews of the time, the film was well-received, with most of the praise being levied on the soundtrack and cinematography.
+Directed by former actor John Francis Dillon and edited by future Oscar nominee LeRoy Stone, the film surrounds an Austrian colonel named Vultow who's holding a rebel count named Adrian as a hostage, threatening to execute him unless his countess wife named Anna-Marie agrees to have sex with him. The film was well-received at the time, with most of the praise being levied on the soundtrack and cinematography. <ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/22/archives/the-screen.html ''New York Times'' article on the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref> <ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VRQuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SYwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3461,1818808&dq=bride-of-the-regiment&hl=en Archived ''The Montreal Gazette'' article on the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref> <ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0Z4nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9k8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4053,4555046&dq=bride-of-the-regiment+technicolor&hl=en ''Prescott Evening Courter'' article on the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref>
-However, due to its scandalous content such as a subplot revolving around a servant of the count trying to steal the colonel's love in order to get out of a marriage <ref>[http://vitaphonesoundtracks.blogspot.com/2013/04/bride-of-regiment-1930-complete.html A Blogspot about the film with details about the subplot.] Retrieved 16 Jan '22</ref>, a scene consisting of the countess's ancestor jumping out of a portrait with only a cloak on and getting the colonel drunk, and a dreamt sex scene, it was given a very limited run and later banned under the Hays Code. Only audio of the film exists, as well as several stills.
+However, due to its scandalous content such as a subplot revolving around one of the count's servants trying to steal Vultow's love in order to get out of an arranged marriage, a scene consisting of Anna-Marie's unnamed ancestor pretending to be her and getting Vultow drunk, and dialogue deemed risque for the time, it was given a very limited run and later banned under the Hays Code. Other than the audio, only stills and a 20-second film fragment exist.
 ==Availability==
-The audio of the film, preserved on Vitaphone records, is the most publicly available and easiest to track the origin, being posted on Youtube in two different parts by a channel dedicated to Vitaphone recordings. However, the rest of the evidence gathered is way more diverse, with concrete origins being few and far between, with a major example being many of the available stills, which randomly appeared on a website called notrecinema.com with no listed sources.<ref>[https://www.notrecinema.com/communaute/v1_detail_film.php3?lefilm=29487 notrecinema.com page of the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref>
+The audio of the film was preserved on Vitaphone records and eventually posted on YouTube in 2 parts, where it is still listenable today.
-Newspaper evidence is no better, with brief coverage from the ''New York Times'',<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/22/archives/the-screen.html ''New York Times'' article on the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref> ''The Montreal Gazette'',<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VRQuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SYwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3461,1818808&dq=bride-of-the-regiment&hl=en Archived ''The Montreal Gazette'' article on the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref> and even the ''Prescott Evening Courter''.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0Z4nAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9k8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4053,4555046&dq=bride-of-the-regiment+technicolor&hl=en ''Prescott Evening Courter'' article on the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref> However, while extremely low-quality, a Discord user known as FuckLouisVIII has found some new stills from an episode of ''I've Got a Secret'', so there might be hope for an actual lead.
+Stills from the film have been found from a variety of sources, including a French movie wiki, <ref>[https://www.notrecinema.com/communaute/v1_detail_film.php3?lefilm=29487 notrecinema.com page of the film.] Retrieved 12 Jan '22</ref> a Blogspot copypasted from what seems to be an old edit of the film's Wikipedia article, <ref>[http://vitaphonesoundtracks.blogspot.com/2013/04/bride-of-regiment-1930-complete.html A Blogspot about the film containing a still.] Retrieved 16 Jan '22</ref> a Spanish Tumblr post, <ref>[https://gatutor.tumblr.com/post/186002720624/myrna-loy-walter-pidgeon-la-novia-del-regimiento A post from the Tumblr account gatutor.]Retrieved 12 Feb '22,</ref> an art gallery, <ref>[https://grapefruitmoongallery.com/9403 A listing for a publicity still, attributed to Elmer Fryer.] Retrieved 21 Feb '22</ref> and even a website offering wall art. <ref>[https://fineartamerica.com/featured/bride-of-the-regiment-1930-granger.html A Fine Art America listing of a still, uploaded by a user known as Granger.] Retrieved 12 Feb '22</ref>
+On February 16th, 2022, 3 posters for the film were found on a Blogspot known as <em>Mi Enciclopedia De Cine</em>, <ref>[https://caratulan-dia.blogspot.com/2013/12/carteles-espanoles-del-ano-1930.html A Blogspot / potential crypto miner which contains many Spanish film posters from 1930, BOTR included.] Retrieved 16 Feb '22</ref> with one of them even listing the name of a theater, the <em>Teatro Apolo</em> in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, on September 30, 2023, a new poster was found listed alongside an already found one on a website dedicated to movie posters which claimed that they were from Uruguay. <ref>[https://www.benitomovieposter.com/catalog/la-novia-del-regimiento-p-133990.html?osCsid=nkekl91pd82mv8c8euhggvt803 A poster found on the self-proclaimed "biggest private known exhibition of movie posters."] Retrieved 30 Sept '23</ref>
+Another notable detail is that the newly found poster is from 1932, which seems to indicate that First National tried to hock it off overseas once the Hays Code was put into effect.
+On May 17, 2023, the YouTube channel Old Films and Stuff (who is also on Reddit under u/James_Fennell <ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/lostmedia/comments/13l4sxp/found_a_short_clip_of_the_1930_film_bride_of_the/ A Reddit post on the r/LostMedia subreddit] Retrieved 30 Sept '23</ref>) posted a 20-second fragment of the film onto YouTube. When asked in the comments about where he got it from, he said that he bought the fragment off of Ebay. He has not disclosed who sold it to him as of late.
 ==Gallery==
 ===Videos===
-{{Video|perrow  =2
+{{Video|perrow  =3
 |service1       =youtube
 |id1            =OPqH2Iik8Xo
@@ Line 26: / Line 31: @@
 |id2            =igrLJK4gvU0
 |description2   =''Bride of the Regiment'' (audio only 2/2).
+|service3       =youtube
+|id3            =vJ_nzhu5s_Q
+|description3   =Recently discovered 20-second fragment
 }}
 ===Images===
-<gallery mode=packed heights=225px>
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="225px">
-File: Bride Of The Regiment still.jpg| The colonel first entering the count's castle.
+File: Bride Of The Regiment still.jpg| Vultow first entering Count Adrian's castle.
-File: Bride Of The Regiment still2.jpg| The count and countess returning from church after their marriage.
+File: Bride Of The Regiment still2.jpg| Adrian and Anna-Marie returning from church after their marriage.
-File: Bride Of The Regiment still3.jpg| The servant's musical number.
+File: Bride Of The Regiment still3.jpg| The count's servant partaking in a musical number.
-File: Bride Of The Regiment still4.jpg| The servant with her fiancé.
+File: Bride Of The Regiment still4.jpg| The count's servant with her fiancé. The count's silhouette cutter stands in the background.
+File: Bride_Of_The_Regiment_still5.jpg| Context unknown, as of writing.
+File: Bride_Of_The_Regiment_still6.jpg| Anna-Marie's ancestor approaching Vultow.
+File: Bride_Of_The_Regiment_still7.jpg| A publicity still credited to one Elmer Fryer.
+File: Bride Of The Regiment poster3.jpg| An Argentinian poster, advertising a screening in Buenos Aires.
+File:Bride_Of_The_Regiment_poster2.jpg| Another poster, presumably Argentinian.
+File:Bride_Of_The_Regiment_poster5.jpg| An Uruguayan poster, dating 2 years after the film's release.
 </gallery>