Set in 1913 Russia this is a tale that seeks to explain the decay that led to the revolution a couple of years later. This is the story of a young Jewish girl who's father has been tossed into prison by the Cossacks. When word arrives that he is dying about the same time new travel restrictions ( Jews are forbidden from travel)are put into place the girl seeks to find away to go see her father. She quickly finds that the only way for her to travel is if she gets a "yellow card". The card brands her as a prostitute but also gives her a freedom of movement. Traveling to the prison she eventually finds her father who had been executed a short time before. A drift in Russia she encounters a degenerate Baron (played by Lionel Barrymore) and an English reporter (Laurence Olivier) both of whom will play a role in her future.
This is a pre-code film (with some fleeting nudity) that probably has never really played on TV due to its subject matter and the frank way the material is handled (not to mention an attitude that might have been seen to be pro-communist in the dark cold war days). In some ways it's more mature than many movies of the present day. Give the film points for being willing to deal with such adult material. Ultimately though the film is a soap opera with the story of the good girl (despite her label) finding romance and hope with the reporter taking the forefront.
Much of the film hasn't aged well and now much of it borders on camp. Barrymore's portrayal of the evil Baron is so over the top (his dismissals of leniency for some prisoners is clichéd silliness) that any real fear is lost to the unintentional joke. How can we fear for the lives of the leads when he is too much of a buffoon to truly endanger them (though everyone around them is another story). Like wise over the top is the fleeting performance of Boris Karloff as a drunken soldier who staggers about and paws our heroine in a manner more funny(in context) then menacing. The romance is pretty much a foregone conclusion once Olivier shows up and it hits all of the expected notes.
I should say it's not a bad movie. Its actually quite enjoyable, but it's not as enjoyable as it could be because the campiness of the over aged material takes the edge off the drama. Definitely worth a look if you run across it, though not something that you need seek out.
6ish out of 10
This is a pre-code film (with some fleeting nudity) that probably has never really played on TV due to its subject matter and the frank way the material is handled (not to mention an attitude that might have been seen to be pro-communist in the dark cold war days). In some ways it's more mature than many movies of the present day. Give the film points for being willing to deal with such adult material. Ultimately though the film is a soap opera with the story of the good girl (despite her label) finding romance and hope with the reporter taking the forefront.
Much of the film hasn't aged well and now much of it borders on camp. Barrymore's portrayal of the evil Baron is so over the top (his dismissals of leniency for some prisoners is clichéd silliness) that any real fear is lost to the unintentional joke. How can we fear for the lives of the leads when he is too much of a buffoon to truly endanger them (though everyone around them is another story). Like wise over the top is the fleeting performance of Boris Karloff as a drunken soldier who staggers about and paws our heroine in a manner more funny(in context) then menacing. The romance is pretty much a foregone conclusion once Olivier shows up and it hits all of the expected notes.
I should say it's not a bad movie. Its actually quite enjoyable, but it's not as enjoyable as it could be because the campiness of the over aged material takes the edge off the drama. Definitely worth a look if you run across it, though not something that you need seek out.
6ish out of 10