The Firebird

1934
Approved
1h 14m

IMDb RATING

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Ricardo Cortez, Lionel Atwill, Anita Louise, and Verree Teasdale in The Firebird (1934)

Herman Brandt, a handsome but overly conceited actor, lives in the same apartment building in Vienna as Carola and John Pointer and their 18-year-old daughter Mariette. One day, as Carola le... Read allHerman Brandt, a handsome but overly conceited actor, lives in the same apartment building in Vienna as Carola and John Pointer and their 18-year-old daughter Mariette. One day, as Carola leaves to walk her dog, Brandt sides up to her and proposes she "visit" him at his apartment... Read allHerman Brandt, a handsome but overly conceited actor, lives in the same apartment building in Vienna as Carola and John Pointer and their 18-year-old daughter Mariette. One day, as Carola leaves to walk her dog, Brandt sides up to her and proposes she "visit" him at his apartment after everyone has gone to bed. Shocked and offended at his brazenness, she complains abo... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

328

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Storyline

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Trivia
In 1936, celebrated Russian composer Igor Stravinsky sued Warner Bros. over the 'misuse' of his themes from the ballet "The Firebird." In 1938, a French court awarded him one franc in damages, instead of the 300,000 francs he was claiming.

Connections
Referenced in La puerta abierta (1957)

Soundtracks
The Firebird Suite
(1919) (uncredited)
Music by Igor Stravinsky
Arranged by Bernhard Kaun
Excerpts played during the opening credits and as background music
Played on a record several times

User reviews13

Review

Featured review

7/10

Much better than anticipated

This Warner Bros. film starts off slowly as a romantic drama, but then becomes a fast paced murder mystery with an ending hard to predict. I was not especially put off by the stage origin of the screenplay, the inauthentic accents of a story supposedly set in Vienna, or the tenuous connection to the Firebird, either as myth or music. The performances of the principals were weak: Ricardo Cortez as the victim, Verree Teasdale (overacting), and Anita Louise (quite beautiful, but unconvincing). This is more than made up for by the supporting roles of Dorothy Tree as the sharp-tongued ex-wife of the victim and Lionel Atwill as the initially oblivious and later befuddled husband/father. Even C. Aubrey Smith, usually relegated to pipe smoking and pontificating, has a more substantial role in this film as the inspector who actually solves the crime.