I Stand Condemned (1935)
"Moscow Nights" (original title)

During the First World War, Russian officer Ignatoff, wounded, falls in love with his nurse, Natasha. But she is subject to an upcoming marriage of family convenience to Brioukow, a wealthy... See full summary »

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

Pierre Benoît (novel), Erich Seipmann (screenplay),

Stars:

Harry Baur, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Laurence Olivier

Cast

Cast overview:
Harry Baur	...	Peter Brioukow
Penelope Dudley-Ward	...	Natasha
Laurence Olivier	...	Captain Ivan Ignatoff
Athene Seyler	...	Madame Anna Sabine
Lilian Braithwaite	...	Countess
Morton Selten	...	General Kovrin
Sam Livesey	...	Fedor
Robert Cochran	...	Polonsky
Hay Petrie	...	Spy
Walter Hudd	...	The Doctor
Kate Cutler	...	Madame Kovrin
C.M. Hallard	...	President of Court Martial (as Charles Hallard)
Charles Carson	...	Officer of Defense
Edmund Willard	...	Officer of Prosecution
Morland Graham	...	Brioukow's Servant

Storyline

During the First World War, Russian officer Ignatoff, wounded, falls in love with his nurse, Natasha. But she is subject to an upcoming marriage of family convenience to Brioukow, a wealthy industrialist of peasant stock. Brioukow is unjustifiably jealous, since Natasha has not betrayed him. He forces Ignatoff into his debt as a means of humiliating him. When Ignatoff's new friend, Madame Sabline, offers to pay his debt, preventing his ruin, Ignatoff comes quickly to realize that Madame Sabline has an ulterior motive, one that could prove dangerous to more lives than just Ignatoff's.

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Plot Keywords:

russian | nurse | firing squad | false accusation | spy | 

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Taglines:

Europe sent you Jennings and Laughton. Now it rounds out a trio of genius with Baur whose name will forever more mean to you..."one of the matchless artists of our day! " (original USA poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Stand Condemned

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Denham Films, London Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema film of Walter Hudd.

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Connections

Remake of Moscow Nights (1934)

User Reviews

Not a great film, but an intriguing one.

Moscow Nights is not a superb film, but it is studded with so many jewels and excellences that one feels guilty criticising it. Probably the worst that one can say is that Penelope Dudley-Ward, no matter how hard she tries, always looks like she should be at Croydon, waiting to board a Hanley-Paige for India, not playing a nurse named Natasha.

The plot is sometimes a bit thin, and one cannot help but wonder why the film was set in Russia. Still, it seems one of the wave of espionage films that confronted British audiences following Hitler's accession in 1933.

The appearance of Anthony Quayle adds interest, and Harry Bauer does a very creditable job as the film's villain. Olivier is brilliant as the young officer, who, although the hero, is something of a cad - in contradistinction to Bauer's character, who though a boor, is also something of a hero. There are wonderful settings, views and scenes that clearly show Asquith's grasp of Hollywood technique. In many ways, it is more Hollywood than Hollywood.

Is Miss Kovrin a presentiment of Miss Froy in Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes?