Balalaika (1939)

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A balalaika is a three-string instrument played like a guitar. Its body is triangular and the pitch is a higher range. It's one of the principal instruments in Russian folk music. In this film, Balalaika also is the name of a restaurant or nightclub in St. Petersburg during the last years of imperial Russia. Some of the early scenes take place in the restaurant that offers up a good menu of singing and Russian music."Balalaika" is a very good musical romance with a tinge of drama and look at a period in history. The music, performers and the costumes make this film. Ilona Massey appeared two years earlier in "Rosalie" that starred Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell. This film was the only pairing of Eddy and Massey as leads. Massey is excellent in her role as Lydia Marakova. She has a beautiful voice and appearance, and she can act. Others have commented on her fine voice and relatively short Hollywood career. She had only a few more minor singing roles in later films, along with roles in several films of other genres. Massey sings five songs solo or with chorus backing, and she sings several other numbers with Eddy and others. She gives a wonderful rendition of the Russian favorite, "Otchi Chornia" (Dark Eyes). Nelson Eddy plays a double role as Prince Peter Karagin and as Peter Teranda. He has six solo or chorus backed songs. Among these is his marvelous "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (El Ukhnem), which he sings in Russian. Another standout number is from a scene where the Russians are entrenched against the Austrians during the First World War. It's Christmas, and the Russians first hear the Austrians singing "Silent Night" in Russian. Eddy, a prince and general of the Russian army, responds and sings "Stille Nacht" in German to the Austrians. A fine supporting cast contributes mostly to the music and light comedy of the film. Charles Ruggles is superb as Nicki Popoff. Frank Morgan is Ivan Danchenoff, Lionel Atwill is Prof. Marakov and C. Aubrey Smith plays Gen. Karagin, the prince's father. The musical romance of the film overlays a drama with historical aspects. The latter are very awkward. The plot runs from the end days of czarist Russia to the start of World War I. It then jumps past World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution to Paris of the early 1920s. No doubt, Hollywood's attempts in 1939 not to rankle the feathers of the Soviet Union have something to do with the weak historical aspects. The historical is interesting, but that part of the story is very choppy. The film ends in Paris in the early 1920s, with the displaced Russian royalty. This movie is based on a 1933 musical play, "The Great Hussar," that opened in London in October 1933. It was quite successful, enjoying a run of 569 performances through the end of 1936. The movie was well received by critics. In the year that produced the highest number of great films, "Balalaika" topped made a little more than its budget at the box office. The music, performances, sets and costumes contribute to a very good and enjoyable film. "Balalaika" is especially a look at a fine female singer whom many would like to have enjoyed in more musicals.Here are some favorite lines from this film. For more humorous dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie.Peter Teranda, "Don't they put numbers on these houses?" Policeman, "The new numbers are on brass plates. That's progress. The janitors sell the brass plates for vodka. That's Russia."Ivan Danchenoff, after the opera cast applauds following Lydia's audition, "Silence! I don't hire you to applaud but to be applauded."Lydia, to Peter while they are racing in a horse-drawn carriage, "Oh, careful. You're going too fast." Peter Teranda, "Who? Me or the horses?"A soldier in the trenches, "Calvary stew." Another soldier, "We used to ride 'em and now we eat 'em."Jeanette Sibirsky, "What exquisite jewelry." Madam Danchenoff, "I'm afraid they're just copies, my child." Ivan Danchenoff, "Yes, yes. We ate the originals... indirectly."Michael Sibirsky, speaking of his wife, "Once I commanded the czar's own guard. Now she commands me."The elderly Princess Natalya Petrovna asks Nicki Popoff to dance with her in Nicki's Parisian cafe. Nicki, "Oh, your highness. Well, and to think it took a revolution to bring us together."

I found this film enjoyable for a number of reasons. First, the black and white cinematography, which contributes to the moods of the scenes. A romanticized version of Soviet Russia is presented and the lighting, scenery and music all play their parts in this portrayal.The film was released in 1939 (the golden year of cinema) and at that time, the U.S. was debating its role in the world conflict that was developing. There was a general ignorance of the Stalin atrocities and an ambivalence about Russia as ally or enemy. Portraying Russia as a victim of WWI was not unrealistic and contributed to the sympathetic depiction of the nation and its peoples.As other writers have written, Nelson Eddy acts rather stiffly. But I found his singing very enjoyable. The object of his affections, played by Ilona Massey, is rather charming and talented. THe other players were amusing and talented. The Wizard of Oz was released the same year. If anyone happened to see Balalaika and TWOZ back to back, they must have done a double take when they saw Frank Morgan in his mustache and his busby playing nearly identical roles. In Balalaika, the applicable scene is near the end of the film. In TWOZ, he played the guard to the city of Oz (among other roles). In a few (long) years--after WWII--America's view of Soviet Russia would change dramatically. Here is a view of Russia before the American public came to see Russians as enemies.

This movie asks the question, can a Cossack boy and a Bolshevik girl find true happiness either in old mother Russia or the new Soviet Union?In this movie the answer is no. Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey are attracted to each other, but background and politics strive to keep them apart.While he was at MGM, Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald did very few films with other leads and in this one Nelson gets to act with the women who he did the second amount of co-starring with. Ilona Massey cuts a fine figure as a revolutionary with her father, Lionel Atwill who is a music teacher by day and a Bolshevik by night.Nelson Eddy apparently liked Russian themes. He did two other films with Russian elements in them, The Chocolate Soldier and Northwest Passage. His singing in Russian of The Volga Boatman is the high point of Balalaika.My favorite performer in this however is Charlie Ruggles. He plays Nelson Eddy's orderly and he plays the fool quite well. He steers clear of politics, but ultimately winds up the only real winner in this movie.Not the best or the worst of Nelson Eddy's screen efforts, but enjoyable.

I am generally a soft touch for movies that have fictional characters in a well-known historical setting, and this one is no exception. Based on a 1936 underrated musical that opened in London, and set on the eve of both World War I and the Russian revolution, it involves a Russian Prince, Nelson Eddy, and a singer and revolutionary, Ilona Massey, who deceive each other as to who they really are, and fall in love. But even after they discover their true identities, they remain in love until separated by the war and then the revolution.The sets and costumes are first-rate and director Reinhold Schunzel keeps the film moving at a nice pace and handles the crowd scenes extremely well. Mild comedy is provided by Charlie Ruggles and Frank Morgan. Although I'm not much of a fan of Nelson Eddy - he's somewhat bland in his acting - he does have a good voice, so I did enjoy lots of his singing. The stirring "Ride, Cossack, Ride" while the Cossacks are on horseback riding towards the camera, which keeps moving back to avoid a collision, is beautifully photographed. His rendition of "Silent Night" in German, while in the trenches during WW I, answering the Austrian enemy soldiers singing of that song, was a wonderful tender sequence. Eddy also sings the Toreador song from Bizet's "Carmen" which will surely will be liked by opera fans.But I loved best the last 15 minutes or so, when the Russian emigrés who have gathered in Paris after the war, meet at the Paris version of the Balalaika Cafe to celebrate the Russian New Year. Instead of the joy you would expect on such an occasion, you see the sadness in everyone's eyes at having had to leave their homeland. Frank Morgan sings about his "Land of Dreams," and it moved me to tears.