Universal Pictures
Directed by Pál Fejös
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)
Magician and hypnotist Conrad Veidt is in love with his teenage assistant, the lovely Mary Philbin. One night a hungry, homeless man breaks into his hotel room to eat. Veidt takes pity on him and hires him as another assistant. Naturally, he falls in love with the girl. Veidt becomes violently jealous and plans to frame him for murder during a trick in which swords are pushed through a box containing the assistant. It works, but in the following court trial the girl tricks him into revealing the truth. Veidt, in heavy mascara, is perfectly cast as the magician, frequently glaring directly into the camera to great effect. Director Fejös pulls off a few tricks of his own, with several impressive tracking shots during a banquet feast and the same innovative fast-paced editing techniques that he used in his better known film Lonesome.
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