Directed by Alexandre Volkoff
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Flicker Alley)
Ivan Mosjoukine is a celebrated Shakespearean actor in his native England. Off the stage, he leads a life filled with drinking in taverns and flirting with his fervent female admirers. He falls in love with a wealthy, married Danish princess, and she with him, leading to a long, unfulfilled love affair. It eventually drives him to the brink of insanity and he breaks down in the middle of a performance of Hamlet with the princess and her husband in attendance. The ending is one of the longest "death bed" scenes I can recall, milked for every emotional ounce. Mosjoukine is excellent in the lead, the sets show attention to period detail and even that last scene manages to evoke sympathy despite its length.
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