Paul Czinner

Writer/director Paul Czinner, who in 1936 adapted Shakespeare's As You Like It to the screen, was the guiding force behind the 1966 feature Romeo and Juliet. Unlike Czinner's earlier Shakespeare film, however, not a word of the Bard's text is spoken in the 1966 production. Rather, this is a filmed record of a performance of Prokofiev's ballet version of Romeo and Juliet, as originally presented at the Royal Opera House. The stars are the matchless Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, who brilliantly overcome the disappointingly bland choreography of Kenneth McMillan. For the benefit of non-ballet aficionados, each of the production's three acts is introduced by a spoken synopsis. Others in the corps de ballet include David Blair as Mercutio, Desmond Doyle as Tybalt, Gerd Larsen as Nurse and Ronald Hynd as Friar Lawrence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An excellently filmed performance of three separate ballet segments, The Royal Ballet begins each segment with a synopsis of the story about to be unveiled, and then the curtains open on the stage of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. Stars of each performance are Dame Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes. The first curtain goes up on Act Two of Swan Lake featuring Fonteyn as Odette and Somes as Prince Siegfried. The following two segments are from the rousing Firebird by Igor Stravinsky and Ondine by Hans Werner Henz. This film was released just before Margot Fonteyn was convinced to give up retirement and partner with Rudolph Nureyev in what would become one of the more famous dancing duos in ballet history. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Though John de Vere Loder is the credited director for the British documentary Bolshoi Ballet, chances are that producer Paul Czinner was responsible for the pacing and tone of the film. Divided into seven sections, the film begins with highlights from six ballets, including Dance of the Tartars, Swan Lake and Faust. The second half of the film is devoted to a performance of Giselle, choreographed by L. Lavrovsky and featuring Galina Ulanova. The music is provided by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, under the direction of Yuri Faier. The film was originally released at 100 minutes; 5 minutes of Giselle were truncated for the video issue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the best-selling novel by K. J. Benes, A Stolen Life serves as a tour de force for German actress Elizabeth Bergner, whose husband Paul Czinner directed the film. Bergner stars as identical twins Sylvina and Martina, whose mild sibling rivalry intensifies when one of the girls tricks the other's sweetheart Alan McKenzie (Michael Redgrave) into proposing to the wrong twin. While Alan is away on business, his new bride and her sister go off on a yachting expedition. A storm at sea capsizes the vessel, wherupon one of the twins-the unmarried one--is drowned. As the other girl recovers, she finds that everyone assumes that she's actually her lookalike sister. Assuming the dead woman's identity, the surviving girl hopes to resume her pre-marital romance with Alan-only to discover that her sister had been carrying on a clandestine affair. If the plot sounds familiar, it's because A Stolen Life was remade in 1946 with Bette Davis as the sisters and Glenn Ford as the confused husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Margaret Kennedy, whose novel The Constant Nymph dealt with a musician's love for a pretty young gamin, penned a variation of the same concept in Escape Me Never. Elizabeth Bergner stars as an unwed mother, who is befriended by impoverished composer Hugh Sinclair. He marries her out of pity, but his heart belongs to Penelope Dudley Ward, the wife of his brother. Sinclair is shaken out of his infidelity when his own wife's baby dies. This popular British version of Escape Me Never was remade by Warner Bros. in 1946, which though not as well cast (Ida Lupino is not a fair exchange for Elizabeth Bergner) boasts a superb musical score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold--who'd also scored Warners' filmization of Margaret Kennedy's Constant Nymph. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also known as Der Traumende Mund and Dreaming Lips, Melo was filmed in both French- and German-language versions by director Paul Czinner. Based on a play by Henry Bernstein, the film focuses upon a romantic triangle: orchestra violinist Peter, his wife Gaby, and their concert-violinist friend Michael. Gaby loves both Peter and Michael with equal fervor, making the situation all the more unbearable. When no other solution seems possible, Gaby kills herself rather than hurt either one of her lovers. In the French version of Melo, Gaby was played by Gaby Morlay; in the German version, the role was essayed by Czinner's wife Elisabeth Bergner. Both versions were eventually banned in Germany because virtually everyone involved in the production was Jewish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dreaming Lips was lovingly assembled by filmmaker Paul Czinner as an "ideal" vehicle for his popular actress wife Elizabeth Bergner. The star plays Gabrielle, the glamorous, spoiled wife of world-famous orchestra leader Peter (Romney Brent). Left alone by her constantly touring husband, she inaugurates a romance with brilliant but reclusive violinist Miguel de Vaye (Raymond Massey). Booked for an American tour, De Vaye insists that Gabrielle accompany him -- and that she tell her husband about their affair. But when Peter falls seriously ill, Gabrielle dutifully remains by his side, never telling him of her indiscretion. Torn between two lovers, Gabrielle eventually decides to kill herself -- leaving a nonplused Peter to wonder just why his wife was so distraught. Overlength is the only significant flaw of this luxuriously produced three-hanky picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Considered washed up in Hollywood, silent-screen queen Pola Negri made her talkie debut in the British The Woman He Scorned. The plot concerns a lighthouse keeper (Warwick Ward) who heads into town to purchase a new telescope lens. While taking in the sights, he finds himself in a nightclub where woman-of-the-world Negri attaches herself to him. He wants no part of her and sets out to sea alone, back to his lonely lighthouse. Halfway home, he is caught in the middle of storm, whereupon he promises the Lord on High that he'll marry Negri if he survives the deluge. Keeping his word, our hero does his best to protect Negri from her former boyfriend, an accused murderer. The Woman He Scorned proved to be such a mixed-up disaster that it would be two years before Pola Negri stepped before the cameras again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide