Customer Reviews

The Guardsman (1931) [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Guardsman is an amazing motion picture. Although it does not take full advantage of its being a movie and treats itself more like an expanded stage play, it is an invaluable and fleeting glimpse of the greatest on-stage acting duo of all time, husband and wife stars Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The acting, needless to say, is phenomenal. Lunt fully imbodies his character, a pompous but insecure actor who needs constant praise to keep himself going. His role is delicious comedy, but he manages to bring in hilarious pity and sorrow when he suspects his wife is being unfaithful. Fontanne, although not as beautiful as some of M-G-M's other actresses of the era (Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, and the like), completely makes up for this with her subtle and sexy performance. No one could have pulled off a role like this other than Ms. Fontanne. She manages to make her philanderings charming and acceptable, while still managing admiration and love of her husband. But perhaps the real reason this film is so engrossing is because it is a view of Lunt and Fontanne being Lunt and Fontanne. They are practically playing self-parodies of themselves, and are known in the credits simply as "The Actor" and "The Actress." Also, although Lunt would later decline movie offers with his famous quote "We can be bought but we can't be bored," he and his wife look like they are having more fun than Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour had making the Road pictures. Never do they look forced or unused to the medium of film. They are having a ball in close-ups and longshots, and their fun radiates off of their faces, off of the screen, and onto the audience. It is a magical film experience, only equaled by 1931's Private Lives (also a theatrical adaptation and also directed by Sidney Franklin) in charm, wit, and sophistication. With only this performance for new generations to discover, it is a shame that the legitimate stage isn't as permanent an art form as film.

Theatrical legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne act together in their only movie. THE GUARDSMAN is a frothy sex farce which owes much to the relative freedom of that pre-code era. The stage greats play themselves in sense, in that they are married stage actors! The husband becomes suspicious when Fontanne plays Chopin on the piano gets seemingly lost in private reveries; he thinks she's being unfaithful. Lunt re-invents himself all disguised as a Russian guardsman - to whom his wife seems a veritable pushover............Does she know all along that the mysterious Russian is her husband? The narrative leaves one in serious doubt, a factor abetted by the sly acting of Miss Fontanne. There were no stars in the Hollywood of 1931 who could even approximate the Lunts' blend of class, style, technique and theatrical rapport. Director Sidney Franklin remarked "What I learned from the Lunts in a few weeks, I couldn't have picked up in a lifetime!". With their incomparable talent for expert ensemble acting and subtle nuance, the Lunts made THE GUARDSMAN one of the best films of 1931. Remade (rather forgettably) in 1941 as THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER with Rise Stevens and Nelson Eddy.

It's really trite to use this phrase when reviewing movies, but there are a class of movies that really deserve this: Pre-Codes. All those films from 1929 to June of 1934 came in under loose censorship and have an incredible, breezy daring to them. "The Guardsman", starring the Lunts in the roles they made famous, is no exception.
This film, like many of that period, is an hour and a half wonder. Lunt and Fontanne go through their paces and indulge in every acting trick, overlapping dialog, turning their back to the audience, banter, pacing, etc. and really draw the viewer in. The overall effect is, to use the phrase repeated here, "charming" It would have been a good movie overall, but the Lunts make it something memorable.
They both received Oscar nominations for their roles, but lost out to Lionel Barrymore and Marie Dressler. Here for once we are given the opportunity to see what made them so adored, by John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Helen Hayes and all the other luminaries of the American stage.
The basic plot is that the insecure Lunt wants Fontanne's attention, about whom he thinks is having another affair. Posing as a mysterious Russian prince and guardsman, he seduces her, and she rejects his advances, yet invites him back for more. By the end of the picture, no one is sure of who has fooled whom or even for how long. It's wonderfully adroit.
This picture should not be viewed alone, but seen with two others films: "Private Lives" Private Lives and "Design for Living" The Gary Cooper Collection (Design for Living / The Lives of a Bengal Lancer / Peter Ibbetson / The General Died at Dawn / Beau Geste). These films all maintain a bubbly atmosphere, and ask very interesting questions about marriage. It is also a bit of six degrees of separation. "The Guardsman" and "Private Lives" were done by the same crew and director. "Design for Living" & "Private Lives" were written by Coward with the Lunts, who made it big with the Guardsman, in mind. Whether one watches this film or these others, it is simply an irreplaceable experience.

I had so looked forward to seeing these two legends for the first time. The acting is so stilted and BORING!!!!!!!!!!! Roland Young was the only fun.

Chocolate Soldier with Nelson Eddy and Rise Stevens flows beautifully thru the same story plus some wonderful music.

The tape, The Guardsman, was in great shape, like new.
The move itself is wonderful. Very pleased

If you've never seen this film, it's worth searching for, but it would be great if the studio would release a DVD version, with perhaps some nice special features. It's hard to imagine there might be many persons left who had the thrill of seeing Lunt and Fontanne in their youth, but there are theatre biographers and other experts who could contribute some valuable commentary. Preserving these two for future generations is more than an historical interest. Their performances are peerless, and a real treasure.