''By Candlelight'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Frankenstein'' (1931), '' The O ...

. The film is based on the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n play ''Candle Light'' by and

Karl Farkas Karl Farkas (28 October 1893 – 16 May 1971) was an Austrian actor and cabaret performer. Biography In accordance with the wishes of his parents, he was to study law, but decided to follow the call of the stage. After attending the Academy of ...

, which was adapted to the English-speaking stage by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

. The film stars

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. She was noted for her a ...

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film '' Wat ...

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

, and

Dorothy Revier Dorothy Revier (born Doris Valerga; April 18, 1904 – November 19, 1993) was an American actress. Early years Born as Doris Valerga in San Francisco on April 18, 1904, Revier was one of five siblings of the famous Valerga performing fami ...

. A musical version adapted by

Rowland Leigh Rowland Leigh (1902 – 1963) was an aristocratic Anglo-American lyricist, screenwriter, and librettist, who worked with many famous actors and musicians during his career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Family His mother, Hon Mrs Leigh, wa ...

, Cole Porter, and Edwin Gilbert premiered in 1938 under the title '' You Never Know'', but was a critical and box office flop that closed after only 78 performances.

Plot

During a European train journey, a nobleman's butler Josef (Paul Lukas) is mistaken for his employer Prince Alfred von Romer (Nils Asther) by a beautiful woman, Marie (Elissa Landi), and he does nothing to disillusion her. In due course, the Prince himself arrives and is mistaken for his servant.

Cast

*Marie -

*Josef -

*Prince Alfred von Romer -

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

*Baroness Louise von Ballin -

Esther Ralston Esther Ralston (born Esther Louise Worth, September 17, 1902 – January 14, 1994) was an iconic American silent film star. Her most prominent sound picture was '' To the Last Man'' in 1933. Early life and career Ralston was born Esther Loui ...

*Count von Rischenheim -

Lawrence Grant Percy Reginald Lawrence-Grant (30 October 1870 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England – 19 February 1952 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) was an English actor known for supporting roles in films such as ''The Living Ghost'', '' I'll Tell ...

*Countess von Rischenheim -

*Baron von Ballin -

Warburton Gamble Evelyn Charles Warburton Gamble (16 December 1882 – 27 August 1945) was a British stage and film actor. Gamble was born on 16 December 1882 in London and acted on stage professionally as early as 1905. His work on stage included a season o ...

*Ann (The Maid) -

Lois January Lois January (October 5, 1913 – August 7, 2006) was an American actress and singer who performed small roles in several B-movies during the 1930s. Early life Born in McAllen, Texas, as Laura Lois January, she "was prodded into show busin ...

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' originally ran a review that called ''By Candlelight'' "a pleasantly amusing diversion. It is shallow and somewhat obvious in spots, but its little intrigue is set forth with admirable cunning by James Whale and others...The audience yesterday afternoon chuckled with glee when the Prince in brass buttons brought in the champagne, doing the butler's duties in a meticulous fashion." In a retrospective review, Dave Kehr of ''

The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' described ''By Candlelight'' as "a forgotten effort by cult director James Whale" but recommended the film, arguing that "sophisticated comedy, not horror, was probably Whale’s real forte."

Jim Hoberman James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at ''The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' concurred, writing that "Whale specialized in comedy as well as horror. Blithely pre-Code, ''By Candlelight'' is an upstairs-downstairs bedroom farce, predicated on class privilege and mistaken identity. Where Lubitsch might have been suave; Whale skews the action towards hysteria." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...

'' called it a "pleasant comedy given a sparkling look by talented, classy director Whale"; while Allmovie wrote, "By Candlelight is chock full of delightfully double-entendre

dialogue and dextrous directorial touches." ''

The Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' said "Universal studios' James Whale, the star director of its famous horror cycle, trespasses here on territory more generally associated with

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

and

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

. While not quite up to the rival studio's standard of sophisticated romantic comedies peopled by aristocrats, this is a more than respectably assembled film, well directed and well acted, particularly by Lukas."

Radio adaptation

A one-hour radio adaptation was presented on ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' on June 9, 1935, featuring Robert Montgomery and Irene Purcell.

External links

References

{{James Whale 1933 films 1933 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films set in Monaco American films based on plays Films directed by James Whale Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by F. Hugh Herbert 1930s American films