Film and Radio Guide (Oct 1945-Jun 1946)

November, 1945 FILM AND RADIO GUIDE 33 identify Strogoff among the prisoners. She denies that he is there. Ogareff oiders Strogoff ’s mother to be flogged. Strogoff, unable to witness this sight, rushes to her defense. Ogareff puts Zangarra on a horse. In ten minutes his soldiers will have orders to shoot her on sight. She delays to find that Ogareff intends to blind Michael. She gives the executioner the pearls as a bribe to feign executing the sentence. Thinking him blinded, Ogareff sets Strogoff free. Zangarra overtakes him as Nadia leads him away. She has secured two horses for them. After they have gone, she attempts to mount her own horse, but falls, shot by Vassily. Ogareff presents himself to the Grand Duke at Irkutsk as Michael Strogoff. He gives false information as to the Tartar plans. He has arranged to ignite the oil which the Tartars have poured on the river as a signal for the attack. As the flames burst forth, Nadia, separated from Michael, arrives at the Palace and confronts Ogareff. He is about to kill her when Strogoff leaps upon him, and, after a frantic fight, kills him. Strogoff establishes his identity for the Grand Duke, leads out the army and routs the Tartars just as their victory over the besieged city seems assured. He marries Nadia and is honored by the Czar. THE PLOT 1. If you have read the book on which the film is based, list some of the changes luade in adapting the story to the screen. 2. Were there any points in the plot as filmed which you felt were not well motivated ? 3. Do you think some explanation should have been given as to why Strogoff allowed Nadia to consider him blind? We know why he told his mother he was not blind. Should we have been told why he told Nadia he was blind? Did you think he was blind, or did you think he was not blind, when he confronted Ogareff in the palace? Do you think the point was left obscure in order that the audience might be surprised, with Ogareff, when he sees? Was the surprise worth the sacrifice of plot clarity? 4. In the book it was the tears which rose in Michael’s eyes at seeing his mother for the last time that saved his sight by causing a protective vapor to form between the optic nerve and the white heat of the metal. On the screen his sight is saved by Zangaria’s bribe to the executioner. Discuss this change. Which plot device do you think is the stronger? Which the more cinematic? 5. Jules Verne did not have Strogoff’s mother die when her son is blinded. Can you assign any reason for the change that is made in the film version? Has her death dramatic or emotional value ? Or does it, perhaps, simplify the plot? Would you prefer to have her live? 6. In the book it was Nadia whom Michael rescued from the bear, and the background was the Ural Mountains, not the boat. Can you see good plot reasons for these changes? THE CHARACTER VALUES 1. What qualities in the character of Michael Strogoff do you especially admire ? 2. Can you name scenes in which he best displays these qualities? 3. Would you say that this is a story which shows growth of character, or the testing of virtues already possessed? 4. Does Nadia change in any way, either for better or for worse? 5. Would you say that Nadia remains as steadfastly good throughout the story as Ogareff remains steadfastly evil? 6. Does the character of Zangarra improve or deteriorate? 7. Can you name three motives which might explain Zangarra’s conduct in shielding Strogoff? 8. What elements in the scene where Ogareff strikes Strogoff with the whip convince you that Strogoff is no coward? What pictorial means explain away his seeming cowardice? 9. What qualities did Strogoff show in his relation to his mother? THE CAST 1. If possible, read the description of Michael Strogoff given by Jules Verne at the beginning of Chapter III. Does Anton Walbrook fit this description? If you cannot, or have not, read the book, do you consider Walbrook a good choice for what, in your opinion, a courier should be? 2. Do you consider that an actor speaking broken English creates the Can you name these two characters? For whom does the one on the left mean death? What property in this scene influences Strogoff in his determination not to quarrel? What is the effect of the answer of Strogoff's mother on Ogareff? On Zangarra? illusion of a foreigner? Actually if the story were taking place in Russia, all of the characters would be speaking Russian. 3. What qualities did Fay Bainter bring to the delineation of Strogoff’s mother? Have you seen her in other characterizations ? 4. Are the roles of Eric Blore and Eddie Brophy always comic? Can you