STREAMING SATURDAYS! Donat and Dietrich Sizzle in KNIGHT WITHOUT ARMOUR, Plus Marlene’s Home Movies!
Welcome to another edition of Streaming Saturdays, where we embed a free, fabulous movie for you to watch right here!
Today’s entry, Jacques Feyder’s Knight Without Armor, is part of the Robert Donat Blogathon hosted by Maddy Loves Her Classic Films. It’s a sweeping historical romance with a lot more romance than history—but not nearly as much as the leading lady would’ve liked.
Adapted for the screen by the legendary Frances Marion from James Hilton’s 1934 novel, the film stars Robert Donat as a British journalist working undercover in the waning days of Czarist Russia, who’s tasked with escorting a princess (Marlene Dietrich) on the treacherous journey from Moscow to Petrograd so she can stand trial for crimes against the new order. But soon he’s trying to spirit his new love to safety…
In 1937, Donat was at the height of his powers—and so stunning that Dietrich wryly joked that “the audience won’t know who to look at—him or me.” She preferred to look at him, and according to her daughter, Maria Riva, was disappointed to discover he was quite contentedly married, loving nothing more than his home and garden and waxing poetic about flowers and fertilizers. I imagine her reaction to all that talk of hollyhocks was something like this:
But with Feyder at the helm, she needn’t have worried, even jokingly, about capturing the viewer’s gaze. Earlier, the director had wrapped his lens lovingly around Greta Garbo in her last silent movie, The Kiss, as well as her first sound film, Anna Christie, and here, Dietrich looked just as luminous. (Though making Marlene look great seems a bit like making meringue taste good.)
To secure her services for the role of the princess, producer Alexander Korda paid Dietrich a quarter of a million dollars plus 10 percent of the gross, an especially whopping sum considering the average cost of his previous films had been around $300,000 all in. The money wasn’t an issue until Donat—already plagued by the crippling asthma that would ultimately shorten his life—was ill for long stretches, at one point causing production to be shut down for an entire month.
Korda was all set to fire him but Dietrich chivalrously fought for her knight, offering to forego her salary during any downtime. She also taught Donat a few breathing techniques that helped him get through his longer scenes. (Far from the diva she’s often portrayed as, Marlene was a total brick who risked her life to entertain the Allied troops in WWII—washing her lingerie in a helmet filled with melted snow. She was also a homebody who made a mean chocolate cake.)
The chemistry between the co-stars absolutely crackles. And because this was a British film, unfettered by the pesky Production Code, you may need a cigarette after their scenes in the woods, including one with Dietrich curled up in Donat’s arms as he recites Browning.
“They’ll call off the search now,” he later assures her. “In a few days we can leave the forest.”
To which she purrs in soft, low tones, “Don’t you like my forest?”
“I adore it,” he growls, followed by a long, slow kiss and a fade-out. The next morning, Dietrich is seen skinny dipping and looking quite… happy.
And on that note, here we go!
And a bonus short this week: Marlene’s 1937 home movies!! Where she’s—ahem—”accompanied by her Hollywood colleague, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.” Who was more than happy not to talk about gardening.
STREAMING SATURDAYS is a semi-regular feature on Sister Celluloid, bringing you free fun film! You can catch up on movies you may have missed by clicking here! And why not bookmark the page to make sure you never miss another?
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Oh, my … where did I put my fan?!
Donat and a Hilton novel seem to be a sure bit for film success.
I absolutely adore young John Clements as Poushkoff. I do believe that a large part of the reason his small part on the train makes such a good impression is due to the generosity of the leading players, Dietrich and Donat.
LOVE this film, Janet. The sparks sure do fly between Robert and Marlene and I wish they had worked together again. Lovely to hear how Marlene stood by Robert during his illness and helped him with his breathing. Thanks so much for helping me celebrate Robert and his work. Hope you’re doing as well as you can by the way. x
A fabulous review, as always. Thanks for sharing the video – I’ve bookmarked it for later. And thanks for the home movie Bonus Feature!
I love that story about Marlene D. washing her lingerie in melted snow in a helmet. She’s my kind of gal!
She was amazing!! And thank you for your kind words, Ruth!! Hope this finds you safe and well. ❤
“Though making Marlene look great seems a bit like making meringue taste good.”
Man, I really want to steal that line 🙂
Steal away! 🙂
I also reviewed this film for the blogathon. The backstage stories were sometimes more interesting than the film itself, right? The forest scene was quite good, and I liked how you highlighted it. Also, Marlene was such a kind peson, she deserves to be more recognized for her kind acts, like helping Donat through his asthma crisis here.
Kisses!
Le