The Firebird (1934 film)

The Firebird is a 1934 murder mystery film starring Verree Teasdale, Ricardo Cortez, Lionel Atwill and Anita Louise, and directed by William Dieterle. A philandering Viennese actor is killed. In the murder scene, the camera sees what the killer does, hiding the culprit's identity.[1]

The Firebird
Directed by	William Dieterle
Written by	Charles Kenyon Jeffrey Dell (adaptation)
Based on	the play Tűzmadár by Lajos Zilahy
Starring	Verree Teasdale Ricardo Cortez Lionel Atwill Anita Louise
Cinematography	Ernest Haller
Edited by	Ralph Dawson
Production company	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros. / The Vitaphone Corp.
Release date	November 3, 1934 (1934-11-03)
Running time	74-75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Cast

• Verree Teasdale as Carola Pointer
• Ricardo Cortez as Herman Brandt
• Lionel Atwill as John Pointer
• Anita Louise as Mariette Pointer
• C. Aubrey Smith as Police Inspector Miller
• Dorothy Tree as Mrs. Jolan Brandt
• Helen Trenholme as Mlle. Josephine Mousquet
• Hobart Cavanaugh as Emile
• Robert Barrat as Halasz
• Hal K. Dawson as Assistant Stage Manager
• Russell Hicks as Mr. Beyer
• Spencer Charters as Max Bauer
• Etienne Girardot as Professor Peterson
• Florence Fair as Thelma
• Nan Grey as Alice von Attem (as Nan Gray)
• Skippy as Rex (Uncredited)

Reception

The New York Times reviewer, Andre Sennwald, dismissed it as "an ordinary mystery melodrama." "Among the definite failings of this smoothly filmed edition of Lajos Zilahy's play is the circumstance that, like the original, it conceals the actual murderer from the audience for such an extended period that the motivation for the homicide never becomes completely real."[1]

See also

• Cette nuit-là (1933), French film based on the play Muvesz Szinhaz
• The Open Door (1957), Spanish film based on the play Muvesz Szinhaz

References

1. Andre Sennwald (November 15, 1934). "The Firebird (1934): The Screen; Murder of a Disagreeable Actor in 'The Firebird,' the New Photoplay at the Strand". The New York Times.

External links

• The Firebird on IMDb
• The Firebird at the TCM Movie Database
• The Firebird at AllMovie