The Flame of New Orleans

Synopsis: French farce comes to the New World in 1840 as Claire Ledoux convinces the middle-aged banker who is her fiance that she is two different women -- a deception made necessary by the arrival of a man acquainted with the swath she cut across Europe. Giraud has been about to foreclose on a $150 loan made to a sea captain who needed the funds to court Claire. Get Claire's "cousin" out of New Orleans before the wedding, Giraud tells the sea captain and the debt will be paid.
Director(s): René Clair
Production: Universal
 
IMDB:
6.6
PASSED
Year:
1941
79 min
36 Views


[Man Narrating]

Between the banks

of the mighty Mississippi,

Father of Waters,

how many things have happened.

For instance, has anyone in this audience

ever seen a wedding dress

floating down that river?

Here, oddly enough, is just that.

How, you may ask,

does a wedding dress happen

to be on the Mississippi River?

Which is what these fishermen

are asking this very moment.

Yes, it's an empty wedding dress,

and the bride is gone.

And this is how was startzed the legend

of the Countess of New Orleans...

who disappeared a century ago-

exactly a century ago

this coming Saturday,

on the day ofher wedding.

Mr. Charles! Mr. Charles!

Why would a girl who had

everything to live for...

do this?

On her wedding day.

[Narrator]

These people never found out

what happened, but you will.

Before we open this door,

a little secret.

This, uh, countess we mentioned

is not really a countess.

Shh. Open, please.

We're late for the opera.

Thank you.

The show has already begun,

but never fear.

We're in time

for the beginning of our story,

and we hope you enjoy it.

Good night.

[Orchestra]

[Man Singing Opera In Italian]

[Continues]

[Woman Singing Opera In Italian]

[Singing Together]

[Opera Continues]

[Woman Singing Aria]

My, what's happenin'?

Guess someBody done fainted.

[Continues]

Oh, sir.

Oh, please, everyBody.

Stop crowding.

Give Madame some air.

Are you-Are you feeling Better?

I'm so sorry.

Oh, please.

It was a pleasure.

That's your mistress

that fainted.

Yes. I know it.

Well, I'll- I'll leave you alone.

Thank you.

Would you care

to have this around you?

No, thank you.

[Opera Continues]

[Chattering]

[Whispering]

He's Behind you.

Is he looking at me?

Can't you feel it?

[No AudiBle Dialogue]

You afraid of the dark?

You're not so dark.

How's your mistress

like New Orleans so far?

Oh, it's all right for a small town.

A small town?

New Orleans?

Well, after Paris,

London and Vienny,"

this ain't much of a town.

My, my!

She's the most Beautiful

woman in New Orleans.

Thank you.

After you.

Come, come.

There must Be some way

to meet the countess.

Where does she

go shopping?

In Paris.

Ah. Hmm.

Where does she go walking?

In the courtyard.

Uh-huh.

Well, she must leave

the house sometime.

Only to take a drive in the park.

Drive. Driving. Aha.

[Chuckling]

Oh, thank- Oh!

Where did you get these...

in the daytime?

I was BriBed.

BriBed?

Someone's gonna

insult you today,

if you get out of Bed.

The Banker?

Where? How?

When you're drivin'

in the park,

a Big man's gonna get

in an argument with you.

And Mr. Giraud-

that's the Banker's name-

is gonna come along-

And give him a good Beating,

after which I throw my arms

around his neck.

Pretty old.

What do you mean

By talking to a lady in this fashion?

Do you want to make

something out of it?

No.

[Whining] Do you want to make

something out of it?" No.

[Loudly] Do you want

to make something out of it!

Yes, sir.

What do you mean

By talking to a lady in this fashion?

Uh, do you care to make

anything out of it, sir?

[Groaning]

[Man]

Be careful! Stop!

Stop! Stop the carriage.

Driver, can't you hear me?

Whoa. Whoa.

[Man] Excuse me.

I'll only keep you a minute.

Don't move till I get through here.

This monkey's one of the family.

Nice, Jacques. Nice.

Don't Be frightened.

You're not hurt.

Don't cry now.

Just hold on to my hand.

Nice, Jacques. You want to take

a little drive in the park, eh?

Why did you stop, Samuel?

Drive on.

[Man] Wait a minute.

I haven't got him loose yet.

Can't you hear me?

Stop the horses!

Hey, stop that!

Now, you're a very lucky lady.

You have no idea

how lucky you are.

My monkey shouldn't have

run into the road.

But, on the other hand,

when someone

hollers at you to stop,

you can't be in such a hurry

you can't find out

what he's hollering about.

- Do you hear me Behind that umBrella?

- Drive on, Samuel.

[Man] Are you crazy?

One move out of this carriage,

and you'll both get a surprise.

- Git. Git.

- [Chittering]

One, two, three!

[Chittering]

I don't understand this,

Madame.

You don't understand it?

Do you, uh, want to make

something out of her?

Do you want to make something

out of it?

Oh, yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Careful.

Here comes someBody.

That's the one.

Stop the horses.

Stop! Stop!

Stop!

Madame, we's Been attack-ted" again.

[Whistling, Humming]

[Humming Continues]

One of'em had me

By the throat like this.

Another one had the horses

By the throat like this.

Then two other scoundrels

had pistols to my head.

Then another scoundrel

sneaked up and

pulled out his knife.

[All Laughing]

Now, that makes

five scoundrels!

Thought you said

there was only four.

[Crowd Laughing]

Wait for me.

[Countess Humming]

[Laughing]

[Whistling, Humming]

Clementine,

I'm going to New York!

I can't get any money

from the men in this town.

[Humming Resumes]

I understood Madame

had Been assaulted while driving,

and I came to offer my services.

But I seem to have come

at the wrong time.

Just a minute, please!

[Humming]

He downstairs.

What?

Mr. Giraud.

He heard every word.

Oh!

Go down and tell him

I'm not at home.

No, no, no. That's no good.

Who could we say

is up here?

[Clementine]

Oh, sir?

Madame will Be

right down.

Well.

Madame say, won't you

please come in the parlor

and rest yourself.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Norman Krasna

Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director. He is best known for penning screwball comedies which centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna also directed three films during a forty-year career in Hollywood. He garnered four Academy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943's Princess O'Rourke, a film he also directed. more…

All Norman Krasna scripts | Norman Krasna Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Flame of New Orleans" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_flame_of_new_orleans_8295>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    The Flame of New Orleans

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.