By Candlelight (1933)

68 or 70 mins | Romantic comedy | 18 December 1933

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HISTORY

According to MPH and the copyright registration, David Berg was the editor. He is not credited on the film, however. News items in FD note that Adolphe Menjou agreed to play a role in the film and Universal wanted Joan Bennett to play opposite him. News items in HR indicate that both Laurence Olivier and John Boles were considered for the lead. James Whale replaced Robert Wyler, who took a short vacation for his health after the film had been in production for about ten days. The P. G. Wodehouse adaptation of Siegfried Geyer's play was presented on television on Broadway Television Theatre on 16 Feb 1953, Kraft Theatre on 31 Dec 1953 and on Pond's Theatre on 5 May 1955. ...

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According to MPH and the copyright registration, David Berg was the editor. He is not credited on the film, however. News items in FD note that Adolphe Menjou agreed to play a role in the film and Universal wanted Joan Bennett to play opposite him. News items in HR indicate that both Laurence Olivier and John Boles were considered for the lead. James Whale replaced Robert Wyler, who took a short vacation for his health after the film had been in production for about ten days. The P. G. Wodehouse adaptation of Siegfried Geyer's play was presented on television on Broadway Television Theatre on 16 Feb 1953, Kraft Theatre on 31 Dec 1953 and on Pond's Theatre on 5 May 1955.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
16 Dec 1933
p. 3
Film Daily
18 Aug 1933
p. 4
Film Daily
19 Aug 1933
p. 1
Film Daily
6 Jan 1934
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
5 Sep 1933
p. 4
Hollywood Reporter
9 Sep 1933
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
25 Sep 1933
p. 2
Hollywood Reporter
23 Oct 1933
p. 2
Hollywood Reporter
16 Dec 1933
p. 2
Motion Picture Daily
6 Jan 1934
p. 4
Motion Picture Herald
23 Dec 1933
p. 46
New York Times
6 Jan 1934
p. 18
Variety
9 Jan 1934
p. 17
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
PRODUCERS
Assoc prod
PHOTOGRAPHY
John J. Mescall
Cam
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITORS
Ted Kent
Film ed
David Berg
Ed
Ed supv
MUSIC
Mus score
SOUND
Sd supv
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the play Kleine Komedie by Siegfried Geyer and the English-language adaptation by P. G. Wodehouse. (New York, 30 Sep 1929).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHORS
DETAILS
Release Date:
18 December 1933
Production Date:
began 21 Oct 1933
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Universal Pictures Corp.
13 December 1933
LP4328
Physical Properties:
Sound
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
68 or 70
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

Josef, the butler to Prince Alfred von Rommer, aids the prince in his seductions and studies his techniques carefully, along with the memoirs of Casanova. One of the prince's favorite tactics is for Josef to turn off the lights, pretending the electricity has failed, in order to allow lovemaking to continue in the softer light of candles. The prince's affair with another man's wife sends the prince from Vienna to Monte Carlo. Josef precedes him to open the villa there. On the train, he meets Marie, who has every appearance of being a lady, except occasionally when her speech reveals a certain casualness if she is not careful. Marie mistakes Josef for the prince because of the royal crest on his luggage. They flirt on the train, but Marie runs away before Josef can discover where she lives. One night, when the prince announces that he will be out for the evening, Josef telephones everywhere until he finds Marie and she agrees to meet him at the villa. Josef is just about to practice some of the prince's lines on her when unexpectedly the prince returns. Playing along with the masquerade, the prince pretends to be the butler, much to Josef's consternation. The prince realizes that Marie is not the lady she pretends to be, but before Josef, whom she believes to be the prince, discovers her secret, she runs away, leaving behind a high-heeled shoe. Marie is actually a maid at the house of the Count and Countess von Rischenheim. By accident, she has walked off with the prince's cigarette case in her bag, which actually belongs to ...

More Less

Josef, the butler to Prince Alfred von Rommer, aids the prince in his seductions and studies his techniques carefully, along with the memoirs of Casanova. One of the prince's favorite tactics is for Josef to turn off the lights, pretending the electricity has failed, in order to allow lovemaking to continue in the softer light of candles. The prince's affair with another man's wife sends the prince from Vienna to Monte Carlo. Josef precedes him to open the villa there. On the train, he meets Marie, who has every appearance of being a lady, except occasionally when her speech reveals a certain casualness if she is not careful. Marie mistakes Josef for the prince because of the royal crest on his luggage. They flirt on the train, but Marie runs away before Josef can discover where she lives. One night, when the prince announces that he will be out for the evening, Josef telephones everywhere until he finds Marie and she agrees to meet him at the villa. Josef is just about to practice some of the prince's lines on her when unexpectedly the prince returns. Playing along with the masquerade, the prince pretends to be the butler, much to Josef's consternation. The prince realizes that Marie is not the lady she pretends to be, but before Josef, whom she believes to be the prince, discovers her secret, she runs away, leaving behind a high-heeled shoe. Marie is actually a maid at the house of the Count and Countess von Rischenheim. By accident, she has walked off with the prince's cigarette case in her bag, which actually belongs to the countess. When he finds it, the count immediately suspects his wife of having an affair with the prince. Marie returns to the villa to find the missing shoe. While she is there, Josef asks her to return the cigarette case, and Marie admits that it is gone. Then the count arrives with the case in hand, demanding to see the prince, and Marie's disguise is penetrated. Joseph confesses that he is only the butler. When the prince and the countess arrive at the villa, Marie runs away again, but she soon returns and promises to marry Josef.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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