Balalaika (film)
Encyclopedia
Balalaika is a 1939 American musical romance film based on the 1936 London stage musical of the same name
. Produced by Lawrence Weingarten and directed by Reinhold Schunzel, it starred Nelson Eddy
and Ilona Massey
.
The film follows the romance of Prince Peter Karagin, captain of the Czar's Cossack Guards, and Lydia Pavlovna Marakova, cabaret-cum-opera singer and secret revolutionary, who fall in love on the eve of World War I, are separated by war and ideology, and meet again in 1920s Paris.
Guards, riding home from maneuvers to an evening of wine, women and song at St. Petersburg's Cafe' Balalaika. The Balalaika's new headliner Lydia Pavlovna Marakova, blackmailed into attending the officers' party and expected to choose a “favored one,” intrigues Karagin when she makes good her escape instead.
Masquerading as a poor music student, Karagin insinuating himself into Lydia's family and circle of musician friends, unaware that they are revolutionaries - or that his own orderly Nikki Poppov is courting the Marakov's maid Masha (comic relief). Karagin secretly jump-starts Lydia's career at the St. Petersburg Opera as a prelude to seducing her, but falls in love instead. She recognizes his dishonorable intentions, but admits she loves him too.
Their happiness ends when Lydia's brother Dimitri is killed by Cossacks led by Peter, whom Lydia recognizes; she agrees to use her opera debut as an opportunity to assassinate Peter and his father the general. But when Peter confides he is giving up his army career to marry her, Lydia makes him promise not to come or let his father come to the performance.
Lydia's debut coincides with the outbreak of World War I
: General Karagin, who came anyway, announces that Germany has declared war on Russia. In a dispute between the assassins General Karagin is shot and wounded. Peter finally learns of Lydia's political affiliations when police arrest her as her father's accomplice. Later, Peter has Lydia released from prison.
Separated by WWI and the Russian and Bolshevik Revolutions, Peter winds up in 1920s Paris employed by his former orderly as a cabaret entertainer at the “Balalaika”. Desperately poor White Russians, wearing court dress and paste jewels, gather to celebrate the Russian Orthodox New Year as the Poppov's guests. Here Lydia finds Peter, and emerges behind him as he stands before a mirror, candle in hand, to make the traditional New Year's wish to see his "true love."
Among the uncredited cast were:
adapt materials it already owned or were otherwise available, or write original material as needed.
List of musical numbers in order of appearance:
A number of additional songs were copyrighted for the film but apparently not used.
Miliza Korjus
was offered the role of Lydia but “thought it was a joke.” She turned it down on the assumption Eddy would again be teamed with Jeanette MacDonald, apparently unaware that both Eddy and MacDonald were demanding solo star roles from the studio, or that the studio had agreed. She was devastated to learned that Ilona Massey had accepted the role, losing the opportunity to work with “that gorgeous hunk of baritone”.
The film was nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for Best Sound Recording (Douglas Shearer
).
. Beginning with a December 1937 letter to Louis B. Mayer
, Joseph Breen
opened with a suggestion that the film not offend "...the citizens or government of any country..." before detailing what could not appear in the film: a prostitute, sale or discussion of pornography, all risque dialog, and reference to a male secretary as a "pansy". In addition "... mob violence... must avoid... details of brutality and gruesomeness." Notwithstanding, the audience had plenty of clues to fill in the blanks.
praised Massey's blond good looks and Eddy's competence: "She looks like Dietrich, talks like Garbo... while leaving the bulk of (the score) safely to Mr. Eddy..."
Despite enjoying the romantic escapism and musical artistry, Nugent foresaw international repercussions. "In these propaganda-searching days, we know the comrades are going to howl bloody Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The notion of peasant girls tossing their locks and eyes at the Imperial Guard and the film's gusty sighing over the dear dead days... are bound to be tantamount to waving a papal bull
before the Red flag of The Daily Worker."
Nor did he overlook the film's shortcomings, "...the picture is long on formula and short on originality... nine out of ten sequences have been blue-printed before," but nonetheless gave director Reinhold Schunzel credit for a job well done.
Balalaika (musical)
Balalaika is a musical play in three acts with book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, music by George Posford and Bernard Grun. It opened in London at the Adelphi Theatre on 22 December 1936, starring Muriel Angelus, Roger Treville, Clifford Mollison and Betty Warren, and ran for 569 performances.A...
. Produced by Lawrence Weingarten and directed by Reinhold Schunzel, it starred Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
and Ilona Massey
Ilona Massey
Ilona Massey was a film, stage and radio performer.-Early life and career:...
.
The film follows the romance of Prince Peter Karagin, captain of the Czar's Cossack Guards, and Lydia Pavlovna Marakova, cabaret-cum-opera singer and secret revolutionary, who fall in love on the eve of World War I, are separated by war and ideology, and meet again in 1920s Paris.
Plot
In 1914 Czarist Russia Prince Peter Karagin is a captain of the CossackCossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
Guards, riding home from maneuvers to an evening of wine, women and song at St. Petersburg's Cafe' Balalaika. The Balalaika's new headliner Lydia Pavlovna Marakova, blackmailed into attending the officers' party and expected to choose a “favored one,” intrigues Karagin when she makes good her escape instead.
Masquerading as a poor music student, Karagin insinuating himself into Lydia's family and circle of musician friends, unaware that they are revolutionaries - or that his own orderly Nikki Poppov is courting the Marakov's maid Masha (comic relief). Karagin secretly jump-starts Lydia's career at the St. Petersburg Opera as a prelude to seducing her, but falls in love instead. She recognizes his dishonorable intentions, but admits she loves him too.
Their happiness ends when Lydia's brother Dimitri is killed by Cossacks led by Peter, whom Lydia recognizes; she agrees to use her opera debut as an opportunity to assassinate Peter and his father the general. But when Peter confides he is giving up his army career to marry her, Lydia makes him promise not to come or let his father come to the performance.
Lydia's debut coincides with the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
: General Karagin, who came anyway, announces that Germany has declared war on Russia. In a dispute between the assassins General Karagin is shot and wounded. Peter finally learns of Lydia's political affiliations when police arrest her as her father's accomplice. Later, Peter has Lydia released from prison.
Separated by WWI and the Russian and Bolshevik Revolutions, Peter winds up in 1920s Paris employed by his former orderly as a cabaret entertainer at the “Balalaika”. Desperately poor White Russians, wearing court dress and paste jewels, gather to celebrate the Russian Orthodox New Year as the Poppov's guests. Here Lydia finds Peter, and emerges behind him as he stands before a mirror, candle in hand, to make the traditional New Year's wish to see his "true love."
Cast
- Nelson EddyNelson EddyNelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
as Prince Peter Karagin, aka Peter Illyich Teranda - Ilona MasseyIlona MasseyIlona Massey was a film, stage and radio performer.-Early life and career:...
as Lydia Pavlovna Marakova - Charlie Ruggles as Corporal Nicki Popoff, Peter's orderly
- Frank MorganFrank MorganFrank Morgan was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
as Ivan Danchenoff, Director of the Imperial Opera - Lionel AtwillLionel AtwillLionel Atwill was an English stage and film actor born in Croydon, London, England.He studied architecture before his stage debut at the Garrick Theatre, London in 1904. He become a star in Broadway theatre by 1918, and made his screen debut in 1919. He acted on the stage in Australia but was most...
as Prof. Pavel Marakov, Lydia's father - C. Aubrey Smith as Gen. Karagin, Peter's father
- Joyce ComptonJoyce ComptonJoyce Compton was an American actress.She was born Olivia Joyce Compton in Lexington, Kentucky and not Eleanor Hunt as is frequently erroneously stated. She had appeared in the film Good Sport with Hunt and this confusion in an early press article followed Compton throughout her career...
as Masha, Marakov family maid - Dalies Frantz as Dimitri Marakov, Lydia's brother
- Walter Woolf KingWalter Woolf KingWalter Woolf King was an American singer, performer, and film actorBorn in San Francisco, California, King started singing for a living at a young age and sang mostly in churches. He made his Broadway theatre debut in 1919, and developed a reputation as a baritone in musical comedies and other...
as Capt. Michael Sibirsky, Peter's friend - Abner BibermanAbner BibermanAbner Biberman , was an American actor, director, and screenwriter...
as Leo Proplinski - Arthur W. Cernitz as Capt. Sergei Pavloff
- Roland Varno as Lt. Nikitin
- George TobiasGeorge TobiasGeorge Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood...
as Slaski (bartender) - Phillip TerryPhillip TerryPhillip Terry was an American actor.He was born Frederick Henry Kormann in San Francisco, California, the only child of German Americans, Frederick Andrew Kormann and Ida Ruth Voll .He attended grade school in Glendale, California. His father was a chemical engineer in the oil fields who moved...
as Lt. Smirnoff - Frederick Worlock as Ramensky
- Roland Varno as Lt. Nikitin
- Paul SuttonPaul SuttonPaul Sutton was an American film actor, appearing mostly in uncredited roles, and most often in low budget B-movies during the 1930s and 1940s. He is perhaps best known as one of the actors who portrayed Sergeant William Preston on the radio serial Challenge of the Yukon...
as Anton (waiter) - Willy Castello as Capt. Testoff
- Paul Irving as Prince Morodin
- Mildred ShayMildred ShayMildred Helen Shay was an American film actress, most famous for her 1930s off-camera exploits. The five-foot-two actress was dubbed "Pocket Venus" by gossip columnist Walter Winchell.-Life and career:...
as Jeanette Sibirsky - Alma KrugerAlma Kruger-Career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kruger had a long career on stage before appearing in films. From 1907 to 1935, she starred in many theatre plays on Broadway, mostly in Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet , Twelfth Night , Taming of the Shrew , and The Merchant of Venice .She appeared in...
as Mrs. Danchenoff - Zeffie TilburyZeffie TilburyZeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury was an English actress-Career:Born in Paddington, Middlesex, England Tilbury was known first on the London stage and later for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in The Single Standard, as Grandma...
as Princess Natalya Petrovna
Among the uncredited cast were:
- Maurice CassMaurice CassMaurice Cass was a character actor in numerous films and television shows. Born in Lithuania, he came to the US to pursue an acting career....
- Feodor Chaliapin, Jr.Feodor Chaliapin, Jr.Feodor Chaliapin, Jr. was the son and namesake of operatic bass Feodor Chaliapin. He was born in Moscow, Russia, and had a distinguished career in acting throughout Europe, mainly in Italy. His mother was Iola Tornagi, a noted ballerina who quit ballet and acting to take care of Feodor and his...
as Soldier, son of the famous Russian operatic bass - Al FergusonAl FergusonAl Ferguson was an Irish-born American film actor. He appeared in nearly 300 films between 1912 and 1956.He was born in County Wexford, Ireland and died in Long Island, New York.-Selected filmography:...
as Soldier - Jack GeorgeJack GeorgeJohn Edwin George, Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Swissvale, Pennsylvania....
as Violinist - Eddie Hart
- John Holland
- Charles JudelsCharles JudelsCharles Judels was a Dutch-born American film actor. He appeared in 137 films between 1915 and 1949. He also did extensive work as a voice-over actor in animated films, notably as the voice of Stromboli in Walt Disney's Pinocchio, and in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes short Porky's Garden.He was...
as Batoff - Michael Mark
- Irra PetinaIrra PetinaIrra Petina was an actress and singer, as well as a leading contralto with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was called the "floperetta queen" by critic Ken Mandelbaum.Born in St...
- Lee PhelpsLee PhelpsLee Phelps was an American film actor. He appeared in over 600 films between 1917 and 1953, mainly in uncredited roles...
as Doorman - Frank PugliaFrank PugliaFrank Puglia was an Italian film actor. Puglia had small but memorable roles in films including Casablanca and 1942's The Jungle Book. Born in Sicily, the actor started his career as a teen on stage in Italian operas. He emigrated to the U.S...
as Ivan (Troika Inn owner) - Hector SarnoHector SarnoHector V. Sarno was an Italian-born American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 183 films between 1912 and 1948.He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Pasadena, California.-Selected filmography:...
- Harry SemelsHarry SemelsHarry Semels was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 film between 1917 and 1946.-Career:Semels appeared in his first film in 1917. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictures, appearing several Three Stooges shorts including Disorder in the Court, Wee Wee Monsieur and...
- Florence ShirleyFlorence ShirleyFlorence Shirley was an American stage and film actress.Shirley began her stage career in Boston and enjoyed moderate success on Broadway. After the sinking of in April 1912, she participated in a benefit concert for survivors held at the George M. Cohan Theatre...
as Lily Allison (Paris tourist) - Ellinor VanderveerEllinor VanderveerEllinor Vanderveer , was an American actress who usually played dowagers, high class society matrons or party guests...
- Harry Worth
Musical score
Only the musical's title song “At the Balalaika,” with altered lyrics, was used in the film. Instead, MGM had music director Herbert StothartHerbert Stothart
Herbert Stothart was a song writer, arranger, conductor, and composer. He was also nominated for nine Oscars, winning Best Original Score for The Wizard of Oz.-Biography:...
adapt materials it already owned or were otherwise available, or write original material as needed.
List of musical numbers in order of appearance:
| Title | Source(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|
| Overture | At the Balalaika (verse), Tanya, At the Balalaika (chorus) | orchestra |
| Russian religious chant | copyrighted as “After Service;” arranged by Herbert Stothart | chorus |
| Life for the Czar | fragment, Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music... , A Life for the Czar, Act III |
male chorus |
| Ride, Cossacks, Ride | music Herbert Stothart; lyrics Bob Wright, Chet Forrest | male chorus, Eddy, Walter Woolf King, male soloists, whistling by Sergei Protzenko |
| Life for the Czar | reprise | Eddy and male chorus |
| Tanya | music Herbert Stothart, lyrics Bob Wright and Chet Forrest | Massey, male chorus |
| "Gorko" | Russian drinking song adapted by Herbert Stothart | male chorus, Massey |
| At the Balalaika | from the original London production: music George Posford George Posford George Posford, né Benjamin George Ashwell , was an English composer.-Works:Musical theatre* Goodnight, Vienna * Balalaika ; co-composed with Bernard Grün... , lyrics Eric Maschwitz Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE , known as Eric Maschwitz and sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.-Life and work:... ; new lyrics Wright and Forrest |
Massey, male chorus |
| Polonaise in A Flat, Opus 53 | Frédéric Chopin Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano".... |
Dalies Frantz, piano |
| "El Ukhnem" (Song of the Volga Boatmen) |
traditional, arranged Feodor Chaliapin and Feodor Feodorovich Koenemann | Eddy, male chorus |
| "Chanson Boheme" | Opera Carmen Carmen Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin... : Act II. music Georges Bizet Georges Bizet Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a... , libretto Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:Meilhac was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, he began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront... , Ludovic Halevy Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy was a French author and playwright. He was half Jewish : his Jewish father had converted to Christianity prior to his birth, to marry his mother, née Alexandrine Lebas.-Biography:Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris... |
Massey |
| "Chanson du Toreador" (“The Toreador Song”) |
see above | Eddy |
| "Si Tu M’Aime" | Carmen: Act IV. see above | Eddy and Massey |
| Tanya | see above | orchestral reprise |
| Music from Scheherazade Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov) Sheherazade , Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Based on One Thousand and One Nights, sometimes known as The Arabian Nights, this orchestral work combines two features common to Russian music and of Rimsky-Korsakov in particular: dazzling, colourful... Shadows on the Sand |
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César... , arranged as an opera by Bob Wright and Chet Forrest. MGM copyrighted Miss Massey’s solo as Shadows on the Sand. |
Massey, Sigurd Nilssen, Irra Petina, Douglas Beattie, David Laughlin |
| "Boze Carja Chrani" (God Save the Czar) |
Imperial Russian Anthem. Music Alexei Fedorovich Lvov, lyrics Vasili Andreevitch Zhukovsky | chorus, Eddy, C. Aubrey Smith, and Massey |
| At the Balalaika | reprise | King |
| "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night Silent Night "Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber... ) |
music Franz Gruber, lyrics Joseph Mohr | Eddy and male chorus |
| "Otchi Chornia" (Dark Eyes Dark Eyes (song) Dark Eyes is a Russian song.The lyrics of the song were written by a Ukrainian poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka. The first publication of the poem was in Literaturnaya gazeta on 17 January 1843.... ) |
lyrics Yevhen Hrebinka, set to Florian Hermann's “Valse Hommage” arrangement by S. Gerdel') | Massey |
| At the Balalaika | reprise | Eddy |
| Land of Dreams | not given | Frank Morgan, male trio |
| Flow, Flow, White Wine [lyric: “Bubbles in the Wine”] |
King, Frank Morgan, arranged Stothart, lyrics Kahn | Eddy |
| Wishing Episode [lyric: “Mirror, Mirror”] |
arranged Stothart, lyrics Wright and Forrest | Alma Kruger, Mildred Shay, Eddy |
| Magic of Your Love | music Franz Lehar Franz Lehár Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:... ; new lyrics Gus Kahn Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890... , Clifford Grey Clifford Grey Clifford Grey was an English songwriter, actor, librettist and Olympic medalist. His birth name was Percival Davis, and he was also known as Clifford Gray, Tippi Gray, Tippi Grey, Tippy Gray and Tippy Grey.As a writer, Grey contributed prolifically to West End and Broadway shows, as librettist and... . Originally “The Melody of Love” from Lehar’s Gypsy Love. (Sung with new lyrics as “The White Dove” in The Rogue Song with Lawrence Tibbett, MGM, 1930. |
chorus, Eddy and Massey |
| Finale: Song of the Volga Boatman | see above | orchestral reprise |
A number of additional songs were copyrighted for the film but apparently not used.
Production notes
Various sources agree that MGM was planning to make this film two years before production actually began. Filming started in June 1939, although Eddy and Massey spent the four weeks prior to shooting pre-recording their musical numbers.Miliza Korjus
Miliza Korjus
Miliza Elizabeth Korjus was an Estonian coloratura soprano opera singer, who later appeared in Hollywood films.-Early life:...
was offered the role of Lydia but “thought it was a joke.” She turned it down on the assumption Eddy would again be teamed with Jeanette MacDonald, apparently unaware that both Eddy and MacDonald were demanding solo star roles from the studio, or that the studio had agreed. She was devastated to learned that Ilona Massey had accepted the role, losing the opportunity to work with “that gorgeous hunk of baritone”.
The film was nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for Best Sound Recording (Douglas Shearer
Douglas Shearer
Douglas G. Shearer was a Canadian-born pioneer sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures.-Early life and career:...
).
Censorship
Like all films of the era, Balalaika was subject to censorship by the Production Code AdministrationProduction Code Administration
The Production Code Administration was established by the Motion Picture Association of America in 1934. The PCA required all filmmakers to submit their films for approval before release.-See also:* Pre-Code* Joseph Breen* Will H. Hays...
. Beginning with a December 1937 letter to Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
, Joseph Breen
Joseph Breen
Joseph Breen is an American soap opera actor.He played contract parts on both Guiding Light and Loving before being offered his most front-burner role to date: that of Lisa’s long-lost son, Scott Eldridge, on As the World Turns...
opened with a suggestion that the film not offend "...the citizens or government of any country..." before detailing what could not appear in the film: a prostitute, sale or discussion of pornography, all risque dialog, and reference to a male secretary as a "pansy". In addition "... mob violence... must avoid... details of brutality and gruesomeness." Notwithstanding, the audience had plenty of clues to fill in the blanks.
Critical reception
Previewed on December 15, 1938, most critics agreed: the stars and production were excellent even if the script and plot were not. Many went on to prophesy a glowing career for Massey – here in her first starring role – which never took off. Frank S. Nugent's review in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised Massey's blond good looks and Eddy's competence: "She looks like Dietrich, talks like Garbo... while leaving the bulk of (the score) safely to Mr. Eddy..."
Despite enjoying the romantic escapism and musical artistry, Nugent foresaw international repercussions. "In these propaganda-searching days, we know the comrades are going to howl bloody Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The notion of peasant girls tossing their locks and eyes at the Imperial Guard and the film's gusty sighing over the dear dead days... are bound to be tantamount to waving a papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
before the Red flag of The Daily Worker."
Nor did he overlook the film's shortcomings, "...the picture is long on formula and short on originality... nine out of ten sequences have been blue-printed before," but nonetheless gave director Reinhold Schunzel credit for a job well done.
External links
- Balalaika on YouTube