Foolish Wives

Monte Carlo. A man presenting himself as a Russian count lives in a villa with his two cousins. All three are false. They live off counterfeit money and wealthy women. The new target is the wife of an American diplomat. Karamzin approaches her; he is courteous, he courts her, and he asks to borrow money. She starts questioning her husband. Meanwhile the state of the maid working in the villa is plain enough, and he has deceived her as well. One night a storm comes up and they are stranded in a hut. Erich von Stroheim writes, directs and plays the count himself. Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont and Maude George are in the cast. It is an American production, made in 1922. It was among the most expensive productions of its time; part of Monte Carlo was rebuilt to scale in the studio. Stroheim was known for his obsession with detail; he had real materials used in places that would never be seen and the budget kept overrunning. The first cut was very long and was shortened by the studio; the versions in circulation are incomplete and restorations run to different lengths. The conflict between Stroheim and the studio became a known case in film history. The matter it treats is appearance; a false title works because nobody asks. The narrative does not make its lead likeable and grants him no way out at the end. The ending is hard and merciless for its period. Its limit is age; the silent language, the incomplete print and the pace are difficult for a viewer today. Who it is for: viewers curious about silent film history and about Stroheim. Who it is not for: it is old, long, and the surviving print incomplete.