Considering that this film came out before the Russian Revolution and also was, if anything, anti-Czarist, I was very surprised such a film was made at the time and in the US. It really is a unique film--and one that stacks up very, very well against other full-length films of the day. Just be aware that the film is badly faded (at least the one posted on archive.org's site).
Hope (Clara Kimbell Young) is a very sweet Russian lady who has dedicated her life to social work and improving the lives of others. Not surprisingly, men are attracted to her. One, Serge (Claude Fleming), is a nice guy and quite wealthy. The other, Paul (Vernon Steele), is poor--but Hope is in love with him. However, she decides to marry Serge because he is rich and promised her she could use his fortune to help the needy. He is true to his word and she is content. However, none of them realize that Nikolai (Montagu Love) wants Hope for himself--and he's willing to use his position with the secret police to get rid of both Serge and Paul! Nice guy, huh? One the two men are in jail awaiting deportation to exile in Siberia, something strange occurs. Paul begs Serge to switch identity with him. Paul reasons that since his sentence is only five years and Serge's is fifteen, that they should switch because he loves Hope so much he wants her to have her husband back as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this selfless act ends up backfiring. When Hope travels to Siberia to be with her husband, she sees it's really Paul--and she MUST stay with him and pretend to be his wife or both men will be in huge trouble. When word soon arrives that Serge is dead, she and Paul decide to consummate their love....and some time later, Serge returns! He was NOT dead--and the witness to his death was wrong! Where all this goes, you'll have to see for yourself.
All in all, compared to other very early full-length films, this one stacks up very, very well. As very, very few full-length films had been made so far, it was a trailblazing film--and far more watchable than the year's big hit, "Birth of a Nation" (don't even get me started on this film...). My only complaint, and it's very common in older silents, is that there should have been more intertitle cards, as too often the actors say and do a lot and it isn't captioned to explain what is occurring. Still, it's a heck of an exciting and rather epic film--and seems to imply that revolution was needed.
Hope (Clara Kimbell Young) is a very sweet Russian lady who has dedicated her life to social work and improving the lives of others. Not surprisingly, men are attracted to her. One, Serge (Claude Fleming), is a nice guy and quite wealthy. The other, Paul (Vernon Steele), is poor--but Hope is in love with him. However, she decides to marry Serge because he is rich and promised her she could use his fortune to help the needy. He is true to his word and she is content. However, none of them realize that Nikolai (Montagu Love) wants Hope for himself--and he's willing to use his position with the secret police to get rid of both Serge and Paul! Nice guy, huh? One the two men are in jail awaiting deportation to exile in Siberia, something strange occurs. Paul begs Serge to switch identity with him. Paul reasons that since his sentence is only five years and Serge's is fifteen, that they should switch because he loves Hope so much he wants her to have her husband back as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this selfless act ends up backfiring. When Hope travels to Siberia to be with her husband, she sees it's really Paul--and she MUST stay with him and pretend to be his wife or both men will be in huge trouble. When word soon arrives that Serge is dead, she and Paul decide to consummate their love....and some time later, Serge returns! He was NOT dead--and the witness to his death was wrong! Where all this goes, you'll have to see for yourself.
All in all, compared to other very early full-length films, this one stacks up very, very well. As very, very few full-length films had been made so far, it was a trailblazing film--and far more watchable than the year's big hit, "Birth of a Nation" (don't even get me started on this film...). My only complaint, and it's very common in older silents, is that there should have been more intertitle cards, as too often the actors say and do a lot and it isn't captioned to explain what is occurring. Still, it's a heck of an exciting and rather epic film--and seems to imply that revolution was needed.