'Foolish Wives' is a lavish and extravagant crime thriller that cemented Erich von Stroheim's notoriety as an autocratic director who pushed all the boundaries that there were to be pushed in the filmmaking. Mostly going over budget and schedule. To be fair, in retrospect, it all seems justified. Almost a hundred years later, 'Foolish Wives' still look sleek movie. The plot seems a bit similar to von Stroheim's debut 'Blind Husbands' (even the title suggests the connection). In this case, the story is more complicated (even behind the scenes) and the plot much thicker. A con artist posing as Russian nobility - Count Sergius Karamzin (Erich von Stroheim) is residing in Monaco with his two associates (and possible lovers), Princess Olga Petchnikoff (Maude George) and Princess Vera Petchnikoff (Mae Busch). They operate a small counterfeit money racket. When American envoy Hughes (Rudolph Christians) arrives in Monaco with his wife Helen (Miss DuPont), the trio prepares a scam on the bigger scale. A charismatic Karamzin attempts to charm Helen. Disinterested at first, the woman soon melts in front of his aristocratic charm and glamor. Although the money is the main purpose for the three swindlers, Karamzin also starts to see Helen more and more his sexual prey, like he treats most other women.
Compared to 'Blind Husbands' Eric von Stroheim had pumped his game not only as a director but also as an actor. His 'Count Karamzin' is honed to near perfection as a sly and charismatic con man. The way he presents himself in front of others as noble and courageous but there are small hints about his real personality - a simple coward. When it comes to von Storheim's genius as a director - well, you have to take it into account, that from his best works, we have never seen HIS vision. 'Foolish Wives' was severely cut by the studio. The first version by the director ran for nearly seven hours. The one originally released by the studio was a bit under two hours. The now restored version is two and a half hours. I have to admit - von Stroheim knew how to set the scene, he had a perfect eye for interesting camera angles, he was able to get fantastic performances out of his actors, but - SEVEN HOURS? Come on! Even in the two and a half hours there seemed that some scenes dragged too much. Especially in the first half of the movie. Yet the film never bored me - the story was interesting and I really liked the visual style. The movie felt complete.
Must see silent movie from one of the earliest auteurs.
P.S. 'Take off that monocle!' - this must be the only time in the cinema history when that phrase is used as a threat.
Compared to 'Blind Husbands' Eric von Stroheim had pumped his game not only as a director but also as an actor. His 'Count Karamzin' is honed to near perfection as a sly and charismatic con man. The way he presents himself in front of others as noble and courageous but there are small hints about his real personality - a simple coward. When it comes to von Storheim's genius as a director - well, you have to take it into account, that from his best works, we have never seen HIS vision. 'Foolish Wives' was severely cut by the studio. The first version by the director ran for nearly seven hours. The one originally released by the studio was a bit under two hours. The now restored version is two and a half hours. I have to admit - von Stroheim knew how to set the scene, he had a perfect eye for interesting camera angles, he was able to get fantastic performances out of his actors, but - SEVEN HOURS? Come on! Even in the two and a half hours there seemed that some scenes dragged too much. Especially in the first half of the movie. Yet the film never bored me - the story was interesting and I really liked the visual style. The movie felt complete.
Must see silent movie from one of the earliest auteurs.
P.S. 'Take off that monocle!' - this must be the only time in the cinema history when that phrase is used as a threat.