MovieChat Forums > The Garden of Allah (1936) Discussion > Capt. De Trevignac (SPOILER)

Capt. De Trevignac (SPOILER)


why did Capt. De Trevignac leave their tent so abruptly and then make the sign of the cross when Deitrich questioned him? is this revealed somewhere and i missed it?


"We deal in lead, friend."

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He was the visitor to the monastery at the start of the film who had been there for a month so had seen the monks daily. In fact, if you know to look for him, Charles Boyer can be seen walking with the other monks into the dining hall.

When the captain saw the liqueur, he finally placed the husband as the missing Brother Antoine - the monk who disappeared from the monastery suddenly. Also, there is a brief shot of the shattered liqueur bottle on the table, so perhaps there had been some minor scene between the two men.

I think he decided not to tell the wife about her husband being a runaway monk, but he made the sign of the cross as a sort of blessing, knowing that the discovery of this information will have painful consequences for her.

After the captain left, he told others about the encounter, and it was then that Count Anteoni showed up and blew the whistle on the husband when he explained to the wife about the liqueur and its importance to the monastery.

The liqueur was the only product of the vineyards tended by the monks at the monastery, and when all they have now in stock at the monastery is gone, there will never be any more. The secret of its manufacture belonged to one monk only, and at his death he was to confide it to another whom he had chosen.

The missing monk was the only one with the secret of the manufacture of the liqueur, and by disappearing without confiding to another monk the secret formula of the monastery's famous liqueur, the supply would run out - after generations - and impact the livelihood of the monastery.






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thank you nadair-2 !! that explains a great deal.

"We deal in lead, friend."

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[deleted]

why did Capt. De Trevignac leave their tent so abruptly and then make the sign of the cross when Deitrich questioned him? is this revealed somewhere and i missed it?
Trevignac doing the sign of the cross shows he's praying for Domini. He realizes she doesn't know who her husband is or what he's done. He leaves abruptly because it's too much for him to take and, as a faithful man, inappropriate for him to be there. By being married to Boris, formerly Antoine, Domini is helping him break his vows; particularly his vow of chastity. He's right in thinking she would not approve of living in sin.

Since he has not been released from his vows, their marriage isn't really valid. The priest who married them had his reservations because he thought Boris seemed troubled but had he known Boris' history he would certainly not have performed the ceremony. For him, it would be like marrying someone who is already married.


Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

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