Song of Scheherazade
4 /10 1 Votes
Running time 1h 45m Country United States | Director Walter Reisch Production Universal Studios Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 1947 (1947) Music director Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Miklos Rozsa Cast Yvonne De Carlo (Cara de Talavera), Jean-Pierre Aumont , Brian Donlevy , Eve Arden , Elena Verdugo Similar movies Waltzes from Vienna (1934), The Pianist (1991), Rhapsody (1954), Intermezzo (1936), A Heart in Winter (1992) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Song of Scheherazade is a 1947 American musical film directed by Walter Reisch. It tells the story of an imaginary episode in the life of the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Jean-Pierre Aumont), in 1865, when he was a young naval officer on shore leave in Morocco. It also features Yvonne De Carlo as a Spanish dancer named Cara de Talavera, Eve Arden as her mother, and Brian Donlevy as the ship's captain. Charles Kullman (credited as Charles Kullmann), a tenor with the Metropolitan Opera, plays the ship's doctor, Klin, who sings two of Rimsky-Korsakov's melodies.
Contents
Plot
Rimsky-Korsakov, a midshipman in the Imperial Russian Navy, secretly yearns to be a composer, but naval regulations prevent him from doing so. He uses a stopover in Tangiers to work on his next composition, Scheherazade (which is actually a symphonic suite but in the film is a ballet), with the tacit support of his captain. There he meets Cara de Talavera and her mother, and romantic events and complications ensue. He has to leave to return home to Russia, where his ballet is staged, but Cara unexpectedly turns up as one of the dancers, and they are reunited.
Soundtrack and choreography
The film contains much colourful music and dancing. The choreography was by Tilly Losch. Rimsky-Korsakov's music was orchestrated by Miklós Rózsa and (uncredited) Eugene Zador. Themes by Rimsky-Korsakov that are used include: "Song of India" from Sadko (sung by Charles Kullman); Flight of the Bumblebee from The Tale of Tsar Saltan; "Hymn to the Sun" from The Golden Cockerel; Capriccio Espagnol, and Scheherazade.
Cast
Production
The film was originally known as Heat Wave then Fandango.
Release
The filmmakers expected censorship problems with Yvonne de Carlo's costumes so submitted them all beforehand for approval. However the censor found issue with Eve Arden's costumes, requiring some of her scenes to be re-shot.