MovieChat Forums > The Garden of Allah (1936) Discussion > That second bottle of Liqueur...

That second bottle of Liqueur...


I know the soldier was given one by the head priest as a gift but where did the second one come from? Surely the escaped priest was not also a thief!

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That was the bottle they had been drinking when the captain had dinner and then someone threw it in the garbage. Apparently, someone took it out of the garbage and served it to Rathbone or maybe Rathbone brought it with him. He seemed to get around quite a lot in this movie. After all, he was Sherlock Holmes !!!!! LOL

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The fact there's a second bottle is not really a big deal. The monks make and sell the liqueur. The proceeds from those sales is probably what enables them to operate the monastery. As a bottle is given to Trevignac, he says he's tasted it before and enjoys it.

This is to show the liqueur was widely available, especially in the area they're in. The bottle that is at the table for dinner was probably found just sitting in the pantry of supplies. Batouch finds it and presents it for dinner. He knows it will be a special treat for Domini and her guests; not only because it's so good but it's now in short supply.

The reason Boris says there's no more is because he doesn't want to have to deal with the feelings it will stir up in him. He knows what he's done. He also suspects the count has come there with a purpose in mind; especially when he asks for that particular liqueur. As he explains, the monastery no longer produces it because the secret of how it's made is gone.

By tradition only one monk at a time knows the secret of manufacturing the liqueur. Upon his death it is handed down to another monk. Well, Boris, or Antoine as he was known then, was that monk. He's fled with the secret so there will never be more liqueur manufactured. When the monks run out of the supply they currently have, the liqueur will be gone forever.

They chose to focus on him breaking his vows and as big a deal that is it's not the only source of his guilt. He's tortured by the fact his actions will negatively impact the monastery and the other monks going forward.


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

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