A male Polish secret agent and a female Russian secret-police spy smuggle messages to St. Petersburg in candlesticks. While chasing after stolen candlesticks they discover each other's ident... Read allA male Polish secret agent and a female Russian secret-police spy smuggle messages to St. Petersburg in candlesticks. While chasing after stolen candlesticks they discover each other's identity and fall in love.A male Polish secret agent and a female Russian secret-police spy smuggle messages to St. Petersburg in candlesticks. While chasing after stolen candlesticks they discover each other's identity and fall in love.
Douglass Dumbrille
- Mr. Korum - a Conspirator
- (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Ian Wolfe
- Leon - a Conspirator
- (as Ien Wulf)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film did well at the box office, earning MGM a profit of $259,000 ($4,383,000 in 2017) according to studio records.
- GoofsStephan is told the execution he is meant to stop is scheduled to happen 15 days after that night's masked ball, which date is shown on an invitation. The date on the execution order seen later is exactly consistent with this 15-day deadline. However, the invoice Stephan views in Paris states that the candlesticks were sold to a London auction house one day AFTER the execution date.
- Quotes
Baron Stephan Wolensky: Turn out the lights, turn out the caller, and turn in.
- ConnectionsEdited from Die Leuchter des Kaisers (1936)
- SoundtracksTwo Guitars
Old Gypsy folk song
Featured review
A cleverly done and unusual rom com costume drama
The grand duke of Russia. Peter (Robert Young) is kidnapped by Polish nationalists using the oldest trick in the book. He believes that a beautiful woman (Maureen O'Sullivan) who is a complete stranger to him is in love with him at first sight. He is shocked! Shocked I say! To find out that rendezvousing with her is a trap and she does not find his physique and witty repartee irresistible. The Polish nationalists have Peter write his dad the Tsar a letter saying that he must release a member of the Polish resistance scheduled to be executed or Peter will be killed. They give Baron Stephan Wolensky (William Powell) the task of getting the letter to the tsar. Wolensky is a secret agent for the Poles and unknown to the Russians. That is until...
... the Russians uncover letters in Wolensky's handwriting that prove he is a spy. They give these papers to one of the agents of the Russian secret police, Countess Olga Mironova (Luise Ranier), and she is tasked with taking these papers to the authorities in Russia.
They both hide their papers in the secret compartment of one of two different candlesticks headed back to Russia from Vienna. Neither one knows about the other's mission although they are both aware of whom the other is secretly working for. And then on the way back to Russia the candlesticks are stolen by a common thief and they both are on the trail - all over Europe -to find those candlesticks. Rather Slavic complications and Eastern European sounding symphonic music ensues.
I was actually surprised I liked this one as much as I did, and that was mainly due to William Powell's great performance as the charming and sophisticated baron and the cleverness of the plot. As for what I did not like - I've never "gotten" the appeal of Luise Ranier. During her and Powell's cat and mouse game through most of the film, she simpers and whimpers annoyingly. But then I thought she did the same in "The Great Zeigfeld" and she won a Best Actress award for that role. Also, MGM's sappy happy ending department decided to make the Tsar of Russia have the disposition of Judge Hardy. Any history book will tell you that was not the case.
... the Russians uncover letters in Wolensky's handwriting that prove he is a spy. They give these papers to one of the agents of the Russian secret police, Countess Olga Mironova (Luise Ranier), and she is tasked with taking these papers to the authorities in Russia.
They both hide their papers in the secret compartment of one of two different candlesticks headed back to Russia from Vienna. Neither one knows about the other's mission although they are both aware of whom the other is secretly working for. And then on the way back to Russia the candlesticks are stolen by a common thief and they both are on the trail - all over Europe -to find those candlesticks. Rather Slavic complications and Eastern European sounding symphonic music ensues.
I was actually surprised I liked this one as much as I did, and that was mainly due to William Powell's great performance as the charming and sophisticated baron and the cleverness of the plot. As for what I did not like - I've never "gotten" the appeal of Luise Ranier. During her and Powell's cat and mouse game through most of the film, she simpers and whimpers annoyingly. But then I thought she did the same in "The Great Zeigfeld" and she won a Best Actress award for that role. Also, MGM's sappy happy ending department decided to make the Tsar of Russia have the disposition of Judge Hardy. Any history book will tell you that was not the case.
helpful•70
- AlsExGal
- May 28, 2023
- How long is The Emperor's Candlesticks?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Adventure for Three
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $620,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
By what name was The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer