The Emperor's Candlesticks

The plot of "The Emperor's Candlesticks" is total nonsense in the 1930s Hollywood fantasies about benevolent despots, courteous kidnappers, and gallant spies. The story is only an excuse for a masquerade ball and a dash across Europe in pursuit of two candelabras that do not belong to the Russian czar or the Austro-Hungarian emperor, but are a gift from an Austrian nobleman to a Russian noblewomen. The carriers (the Polish Baron Wolensky and the Russian Countess Mironova, played by the stars, William Powell and Luise Rainer) lose and find and mistakenly switch the pair of candelabras.

Powell was unflappable in the midst of many ludicrous plots during the 1930s, often with Myrna Loy as a co-conspirator. Here, he is pitted against a lovely czarist secret agent, played, in a large wardrobe, by the great Luise Rainer. In the two immediately preceding films for which she won back-to-back Oscars ("The Great Ziegfeld" with Powell and "The Good Earth" with Paul Muni) and in her only other readily available film, "The Great Waltz," she suffered mightily. In "Candlesticks" she got a chance to play the kind of glamorous clothes horse role in which Marlene Dietrich specialized, with no occasion for jealousy at all. Dietrich and Greta Garbo both played spies in 1930s movies. Each appeared more sophisticated than Rainer's, but I find Rainer more credible as a spy with regrets about the consequences of her occupation than either Dietrich or Garbo. Rainer was also quite beautiful with high cheekbones and eyebrows as plucked as Dietrich, and received star keylighting from MGM.

Back in a gilded cage, Robert Young got a chance to be charming and gallant, impeded by the humorous bumbling minder played by Frank Morgan.

William Powell is always worth watching carefully for his inimitable understatements capable of turning any serious business into priceless comedy. There is no Myrna Loy here but instead we have Luise Rainer playing a Russian countess and spy and being absolutely irresistible, almost like Greta Garbo in her suavity, but Garbo was too serious for comedy. Luise Rainer is all comedy and almost outrageously charming. The couple is a perfect combination, William Powell playing a Polish baron in precarious standing with the Car and aware of it. Nevertheless he accepts the classified mission of delivering a petition to the Car, and to keep it safe he applies the secret mechanism of an 18th century silver candlestick of elaborate artistry. The problem is there are two candlesticks like this, and the other one is in the care of the Russian countess Luise Rainer, who also has a mission of smuggling a secret message in her sample. Naturally they are confused in the delivery, there are many additional threads to this mess leading more and more astray, compelling the protagonists to travel all over Europe to Vienna, Budapest, Paris and London chasing the candlesticks, and they finally end up in St. Petersburg facing the Car. It's a labyrinth of a crooked sieve involving also Roland Young as the Czar's son Peter and Maureen O'Sullivan as the only serious woman in the play - the film begins in Vienna with a great New Year's Eve ball at the opera in a obligatory masquerade, where Romeo (Roland Young) meets Julia (Maureen O'Sullivan) and they keep crossing each other's paths. It's a delightful espionage play and comedy and a feast for the eyes with many humorous and risky turns on the way, while for once in a spy thriller there is not one single casualty.

Powell, could play any part, so we know it will be good. Deep in the heart of the production code, but JUST prior to the big war... William Powell is Baron Wolensky, who is sent on a two-part mission. First, to deliver a note to the czar; secondly, to deliver fancy, expensive candlesticks to a lady, for Prince Johann. What Wolensky doesn't know, is that he is being set up to be intercepted at the destination as a spy and a thief. Fun co-stars Frank Morgan (The Wizard!), Maureen OSullivan, and Robert Young. Don't forget Henry Stephenson, the stately, prim and proper older gentleman, who was always the wise uncle, or the senator, or the ambassador. There are surprises along the way, for everyone involved. And everything revolves around the candlesticks, which are more valuable than anyone knows! It's a fun one. Made in the mid 1930s, before the ugliness of war. It's a serious drama, but has a sense of adventure about it, especially with Frank Morgan on board. Story by hungarian writer, Emmuska Orczy, who wrote numerous plays and novels. She died in 1947, but hollywood is still making films based on her works. Directed by George Fitzmaurice; started in the early days of the silents, but sadly, died quite young at 55.

Back in the '30s, the studios made dozens of movies that were set in Europe to give Americans during the Depression a sense of fantasy and other world glamor, and to keep their foreign market. "The Emperor's Candlesticks" starring William Powell and Luise Rainer is such a film, with supporting roles featuring two young stars, Robert Young and Maureen O'Sullivan. Powell and Rainer are opposing foreign agents who each hide their documents in a pair of candlesticks to be brought to Russia as a gift to a noblewoman. The candlesticks were to be delivered by Powell, but Rainer talks the Austrian who has given him the task to let her do it. They are stolen by her maid and her boyfriend, and both Powell and Rainer try to be the first to recover them.

Powell and Rainer are delightful in this crazy story. Rainer, with her small face and enormous eyes, is gorgeous, playing the part of a spy with charm. Powell is always good and plays off Rainer very well. Robert Young and Maureen O'Sullivan portray a prince and his kidnapper's accomplice, respectively, who meet at a masquerade ball, he dressed as Romeo and she as Juliet. Their last scene together is very sweet.

This movie is odd for one reason. The stars all lived for a very long time, and in fact, Rainer at this writing is still alive at the age of 96. Young lived to 91, O'Sullivan to 87, Powell to 91. Must have been something in the water on the set. Wish it had been present on more films!

The beginning of The Emperor's Candlesticks shows Prince Robert Young and his manservant Frank Morgan at a masked ball. Bob gets distracted by a pretty face, Maureen O'Sullivan, and they enjoy a whirlwind romance that evening. Just when you think it's a cute movie, Maureen turns into a villainess and kidnaps him! This is an espionage thriller that shows you from the beginning you don't know who to trust and you don't know what to expect.

With a ransom note written to Bob's father tucked into a secret compartment of a pair of candlesticks, William Powell is supposed to smuggle the sticks out of the country so that the royal family can rescue the young prince without any scandal. There's another spy in pursuit of the candlesticks, and for a different reason: Luise Rainer. She and Bill don't know each other are spies, so there's quite a bit of tension as they try to get around each other while fighting for their own countries.

The plot of this movie can become a bit confusing if you're not fully paying attention, but if you're awake and alert, it's quite exciting. I liked the all-star cast, including Henry Stephenson, and the twists and turns along the way. It's refreshing to see Bill Powell without a martini in his hand, and this is a nice change of pace for him. Check it out if you're a fan.