Knight Without Armour
| Knight Without Armour | |
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U.S. film poster as reproduced on bookcover
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| Directed by | Jacques Feyder |
| Produced by | Alexander Korda |
| Screenplay by |
Lajos Bíró Frances Marion Arthur Wimperis (additional dialogue) |
| Based on |
Knight Without Armour by James Hilton |
| Music by |
Miklós Rózsa Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling Sr. |
| Edited by | Francis D. Lyon |
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Production
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Knight Without Armour (styled as Knight Without Armor in some releases) is a 1937 British historical drama film made by London Films and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Jacques Feyder and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Bíró adapted by Frances Marion from the 1933 novel of the same name by James Hilton. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa, his first for a motion picture, utilising additional music by Tchaikovsky.
The film stars Marlene Dietrich as Alexandra Adraxine and Robert Donat as A.J. Fothergill. Filmed on a budget of near $1 million, Knight Without Armour became an expensive box office failure, making roughly $750,000 worldwide.
Englishman A. J. Fothergill (Robert Donat) is recruited by Colonel Forrester (Laurence Hanray) to spy on Russia for the British government because he can speak the language fluently. As "Peter Ouranoff", he infiltrates a revolutionary group led by Axelstein (Basil Gill). The radicals try to blow up General Gregor Vladinoff (Herbert Lomas), the father of Alexandra (Marlene Dietrich). When the attempt fails, the would-be assassin is shot, but manages to reach Peter's apartment, where he dies. For his inadvertent involvement, Peter is sent to Siberia.
World War I makes Alexandra a widow and brings the Bolsheviks to power, freeing Peter and Axelstein. When the Russian Civil War breaks out, Alexandra is arrested for being an aristocrat, and Peter is assigned by now-Commissar Axelstein to take her to Petrograd to stand trial. However, Peter instead takes her to the safety of the White Army. Their relief is short-lived; the Red Army defeats the White the next day, and Alexandra is taken captive once more. Peter steals a commission as a commissar of prisons from a drunk and uses the document to free her. The two, now deeply in love, flee into the forest. Later, they catch a train.
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Wikipedia