I've just seen (October, 2005) a tape of the Moscow Film Archive's copy of this film. Despite a previous report, their print is not complete. It runs about two hours and forty-five minutes. Since the serial was comprised of twenty episodes, it undoubtedly had a running time of over seven hours. However, Moscow's version has the beginning, the ending, and the rest is generally cohesive, plus lots of fun. A hooded killer, an avaricious family with a curse on it, almost non-stop gun-play, fights and chases, etc. Pearl and costar Antonio Moreno work well together, with very little of the exaggerated acting we used to associate with silents. Elaborate sets, lots of location work (Fort Lee, NJ), and appearances by Louis Wolheim (a small, but recognizable role) and Paul Panzer, the villain of "Perils of Pauline", though here he seems first to be a gangster, then on the side of the law (but perhaps something was cut). A newspaper's account of an excellent print is exaggerated. It varies from just okay to somewhat better than that, but always acceptable. A nice rescue job, though whether or not it will reach the public, I don't know. I also wonder if Sergei Eisenstein cut the film to be a feature. All titles are in Russian and Ukrainian, though separate sheets of paper with the translations accompanied the tape. All credits are gone; no title, no cast credits, no chapter headings, etc.
Review of The House of Hate
