Nicholas Soussanin Movies

In this prison drama, a physician ends up incarcerated after he treats a long-time patient who was a fugitive convict. As soon as he gets there, the doctor tries to get on the medical staff, but the head doctor will not allow it. When a prisoner's visiting wife goes into labor, the doctor is asked to assist. He thereby earns the staff doctor's respect until a prison break occurs and the convicted doctor is blamed. Fortunately it is straightened out and the doctor earns his parole. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two silent film versions preceded this 1936 Hollywood adaptation of the 19th century novel by the writer Ouida Bergere. It is set in Saharan Africa but was filmed in the Arizona desert. Ronald Colman is Corporal Victor, a man who has taken the rap for a crime committed by his younger brother. Victor has joined the French Foreign Legion to escape his past, taking with him his valet Rake (Herbert Mundin). His commander is the ruthless Major Doyle (Victor McLaglen), who becomes jealous when Cigarette (Claudette Colbert), a nightclub singer with a yen for men in uniforms, sets her sights on Victor. Victor, however, lusts after a more refined Englishwoman named Lady Venetia (Rosalind Russell), and he eventually dumps Cigarette for Venetia. McLaglen sends Victor off on a difficult mission from which he hopes that he won't return. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

A rare "prestige" item from low-budget Allied Pictures, Parisian Romance boasts a screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, of The Moon is Blue fame. Lew Cody stars as a libidinous French baron whose love-'em-and-leave-'em philosophy is seriously challenged when he falls for the beautiful Claudette (Marion Shilling). Realizing that Claudette would be happier with someone else, the Baron has the wisdom to do the wrong thing at the right time. Our hero's sang froid is never more pronounced than when he stoically accepts two socks on the chin from his rival Victor (Gilbert Roland). Joyce Compton, a specialist in "dumb Southern belle" roles, is incongruously cast as Parisian coquette Marcelle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this drama, an impoverished young woman meets a millionaire who marries her on the spot and then begins pampering her with jewels and furs. When not attending to her every need, the business magnate works his mines so he can buy her some more. While he is gone, a gigolo makes advances upon her. At first she resists, but then gives in. When her husband hears of her weakness, he swears he will get revenge. He hires private detectives to make sure the two stay together. Every time the crook tries to abscond with her jewels, the gumshoes bring him back to the girl. When the wife tries to get away from him, the detectives ensure that she can't. In the end, the woman's first husband, who she never divorced, appears and ends up killed by the angry gigolo. He ends up convicted and imprisoned. The chastened woman then returns to her generous second husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Are You There? is a characteristically lumpy but enjoyable early-talkie musical from Fox Studios. Broadway luminary Beatrice Lillie stars as a looney lady detective with a penchant for disguises. This plot device allows her to parade her astonishing versatility in a wide array of characterizations, including a dotty nurse in a hospital where a criminal gang is encamped. Are You There? came at the tail end of the first movie-musical cycle; Fox, fearing that musicals were on the way out, removed four of Ms. Lillie's seven musical numbers. This butchery resulted in the negative reputation Are You There? has earned among Bea Lillie's staunchest fans, though even in its truncated form the film is extremely entertaining. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still in the Hollywood phase of his career, director Alexander Korda made his talking-picture bow with Warner Bros.' The Squall. Myrna Loy stars as Nubi, a sexy and seductive Hungarian gypsy girl who is caught in a torrential downpour. Taking refuge in a farmhouse, Nubi wreaks havoc on the male occupants, all of whom violently vie for her attentions. In other words, the film's title is both literal and symbolic. Loretta Young appears in the secondary role of Irma, sweetheart of emotional young farmer Paul Lajos (Carrol Nye). The Squall was based on a play by Jean Bart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The impossibly beautiful Billie Dove coasts through the melodramatic convolutions of Adoration. Billie and Antonio Moreno play husband-and-wife Russian aristocrats who are separated during the Revolution. Upon meeting again, Moreno becomes convinced that Billie has been unfaithful. He walks out and takes to drink, while his wife, ever hopeful that she can patch things up, becomes a professional model to raise money. The caddish Nicholas Soussanin, who accused Billie of adultery in the first place, is at long last exposed as a liar, thereby assuring a happy ending for the displaced couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Josef vonSternberg's The Last Command was inspired by the true story of General Lodijenski, a Russian aristocrat who arrived penniless in the US after the 1917 Revolution and who supported himself by playing movie bit parts and managing a Russian restaurant. Emil Jannings stars as the Grand Duke Sergius Alexander, who in the last days of the Romanoff regime must decide the fate of two revolutionist actors, Leo Andreyev (William Powell) and the gorgeous Natacha (Evelyn Brent). Andreyev is carted off to prison, while Natacha becomes the Duke's mistress. She fully intends to kill him, but when the chance arises, she hesitates, having come to realize that the Duke is an essentially decent man who loves Russia as much as she does. Comes the revolution, and Natacha helps the Grand Duke escape the Bolsheviks, losing her own life in the process. The death of Natacha sends Sergius Alexander into a nervous shock, from which he never fully recovers. Years later, a shabby Sergius is eking out an existence as a Hollywood extra. Hired to play a Russian general in a crowd scene, Sergius discovers that his director is none other than former Russian revolutionary Leo Andreyev. The meaning of the title is clarified in the film's emotional climax. Plot inconsistencies aside, The Last Command is a stunning cinematic achievement, combining the harsh realities of Russia and Hollywood with vonSternberg's unerring sense of visual beauty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Paramount backstage drama Spotlight was based on Footlights, a novel by Rita Weiman. Hoping to become a star, Lizzie Stokes (Esther Ralston) haunts the offices of wheeler-dealer theatrical manager Daniel Hoffman (Nicholas Soussanin). Though he's not interested in Lizzie per se, Hoffman manages to bestow celebrity on the girl by "transforming" her into exotic Russian actress Olga Rotosky. This requires the heroine to take a crash course in the Russian language and customs, but the end result is worth it. But Olga -- er, Lizzie -- suffers a personal crisis when she yearns to tell her sweetheart Norman Brooke (Neil Hamilton) the truth. Happily, Norman is far more fascinated by Lizzie Stokes than he'd ever been by Olga Rotosky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed with his usual dry wit by the talented and underrated Harry D'Arrast, Gentleman of Paris was based on a short story by Roy Horniman. Adolphe Menjou stars as the Marquis de Marignan, an unabashed womanizer who spends the better part of his life escaping the wrath of outraged husbands. The Marquis is regularly rescued from disaster by Joseph (Nicholas Sousannin), his faithful valet. But when it appears as though his boss has been dallying with his own wife, the valet cooks up a scheme to publicly humiliate the Marquis by "exposing" him as a card cheat. The ruse works, but the wily Marquis manages to have the last laugh by faking his own suicide and returning to "haunt" the hapless valet into confessing his ruse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide