Bella Donna (1934)
Overview
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.
What is Bella Donna about?
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. Bella Donna is a Drama movie, released on 1934-12-11, runtime 91 minutes.
Is Bella Donna worth watching?
There are not enough ratings yet to summarize how viewers feel about Bella Donna.
Where can I watch Bella Donna?
Movie World lists online streaming sources and links to external sources for Bella Donna on this page. Availability depends on the sources configured by the site.
Directed by
Robert Milton
Cast
- Mary Ellis as Mary Chepstow Amine
- John Stuart as Nigel Armine
- Cedric Hardwicke as Dr. Meyer Isaacson
- Conrad Veidt as Mahmoud Baroudi
- Jeanne Stuart as Lady Zoe Harwich
- Rodney Millington as Ibrahim Achmed
- Eve South as The Dancing Girl
- Michael Shepley as Dr. Baring-Hartley
More like this
Sources
Details and the 3.8/10 rating from Bella Donna on TMDB, also on IMDb. Back to Movie World.