A Desperate Adventure
Cast & Crew
John H. Auer
Ramon Novarro
Marian Marsh
Eric Blore
Andrew Tombes
Margaret Tallichet
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Marcel, Maurice and Tipo, friends of French painter and ladies' man Andre Friezan, are astonished by a portrait of a beautiful woman, clad only in a long scarf, which they find hidden in Andre's studio. They plead with Andre to exhibit it, but he refuses, saying that the model is his dream girl and that she does not really exist. Later that night at a costume ball, Andre is stunned to find his dream girl alive in the form of American heiress Ann Carrington. Andre takes her to his studio to show her the portrait and convince her of his love, but they discover that the painting is missing. The next day, Andre's three friends tell him they took his painting to the Dornay art gallery and show him the admiring notices it has received. Andre and his loyal butler Trump rush to the gallery to retrieve the portrait, but Dornay tells him that an American gentleman has already purchased it. After Andre and Trump leave to find the buyer, Ann, her father Cosmo and her sister Betty arrive at the gallery. They are scandalized when they see the portrait, and Cosmo also rushes off to find the buyer. Cosmo discovers that the painting is to be shipped tomorrow to New York, and fearing what Ann's blue-blooded fiancé, Gerald Richards, will think if he sees the painting, Cosmo books passage on the same ship for his family in hopes of finding the buyer when the ship docks. Andre overhears Cosmo's plans and also books passage on the ship. Ann is unhappy to see Andre aboard the ship the next day, but he tries to romance her nonetheless, even questioning Betty, who is attracted to Andre herself, about Ann. Later, Andre disguises himself as a steward and helps Cosmo steal the painting from the hold, but becomes worried when the captain announces that unless the stolen item is returned, all cabins will be searched. Andre talks with Betty, who is falling deeply in love with him, and her beautiful gown gives him an idea. Using Betty as a model, Andre paints a new portrait, identical to the other except that Ann is now wearing Betty's gown. The next afternoon, Andre shows Ann the revised portrait and finally wins her admiration. Soon after, Cosmo, still worried about potential scandal, takes one of the covered paintings from Andre's cabin, and Andre, believing it to be the original, helps him throw it overboard. When they arrive at New York, however, the painting is displayed to the insurance agent guaranteeing it, and they discover they have the original. Ann furiously accuses Andre of being an opportunist, and even Betty calls him a doublecrosser. Soon all is well when the buyer is revealed to be Gerald, who still loves Ann despite her brief shipboard flirtation with Andre. The reunited couple leave after the painting is destroyed, and after Betty forgives Andre, he realizes that she, not Ann, is his dream girl.
Director
John H. Auer
Cast
Ramon Novarro
Marian Marsh
Eric Blore
Andrew Tombes
Margaret Tallichet
Tom Rutherford
Maurice Cass
Erno Verebes
Michael Kent
Cliff Nazarro
Rolfe Sedan
Gloria Rich
Lois Collier
Crew
John H. Auer
Phil Ford
Hans Kraly
John Victor Mackay
Jack Marta
Ernest Nims
Irene Saltern
Murray Seldeen
Barry Trivers
M. Coates Webster
Al Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Pre-release titles for the film were It Happened in Paris, As You Are and A Romantic Age. A Hollywood Reporter news item stated that M. Coates Webster was writing the film's script based on an original story by Albert J. Cohen. No other information about Cohen's involvement has been found, however. A letter from Republic Pictures contained in the AMPAS library file on the film, dated July 6, 1938, noted that a song written by Eddie Cherkose and Alberto Colombo had been eliminated from the picture and dictated that their names should be removed from the film's credits. Colombo, who had been in charge of the music department at Republic, left the studio in late June 1938 to go to Columbia Pictures. Another letter in the file from Republic, dated July 12, 1938, requested an amended screenplay credit to include James Gow and Edmund North's names after Trivers, but was apparently overruled by a hand-written notation in the margin stating "destroy this letter and revert to original credits." Screen Achievements Bulletin does not mention Gow or North, and it is not known whether the 12 July letter was written in error, or whether there was a dispute at some point over screenplay credits. Although Margaret Tallichet's onscreen credit read, "and introducing Margaret Tallichet," an article on new stars in Motion Picture Herald in September 1937 noted that Tallichet had had a small part in A Star Is Born. She was also included in the cast of The Prisoner of Zenda in early Hollywood Reporter production charts. As noted in reviews for this film, and in news items in trade papers, Tallichet was the first person signed to act in Gone with the Wind (see below). She was to appear as Careen O'Hara, a role which eventually went to Ann Rutherford. The Variety review and an Motion Picture Herald article on new stars noted that Tallichet, a former Dallas secretary, was "discovered" by Carole Lombard and was under personal contract to David O. Selznick. She was loaned to Republic for this film. In October 1938, Tallichet married director William Wyler, to whom she was married until his death in 1981, and retired from the screen in 1941.
