A 1934 British drama film adaptation focusing on production details and historical context.
Story Breakdown
Source Material — Based on the 1909 novel by Robert Hichens.
Original Novel — Published in 1909 by Robert Hichens.
Previous Adaptation — 1923 silent film starring Pola Negri.
Casting & Direction — Key creative personnel and lead actors.
Lead Actors — Conrad Veidt, Mary Ellis, Cedric Hardwicke.
Director — Robert Milton directed the production.
Production Context — Studio environment and artistic direction.
Art Direction — Designed by James A. Carter.
Studio Location — Filmed at Twickenham Studios.
Film Preservation — Status of the film in modern archives.
Current Status — The film remains extant today.
Historical Context — Survives unlike many Twickenham decade films.
Later Adaptations — Subsequent versions of the story.
1946 Version — American adaptation titled Temptation.
Lead Actress — Starred Merle Oberon in the remake.
Genre & Format — Classification and technical attributes.
Film Genre — Categorized as a British drama.
Release Era — Produced in the 1930s decade.
That old theatrical war-horse Bella Donna (previously filmed in America by Alla Nazimova) was resurrected by Britain's Twickenham Studios in 1934. Conrad Veidt stars as sinister Egyptian Mahmoud Baroundi, who even before the film gets under way has left a long trail of ruined women behind him. His latest victim is American girl Mona Chepstow (Mary Ellis), whom Baroundi treats like dirt and makes her like it. The plot centers around a murder by poison, as evidenced by the film's deliberately exotic title. Critics in 1934 praised newcomer Mary Ellis for underplaying her role, but many film fans preferred Nazimova's arm-waving histrionics in the earlier version.
