Directed by Ivan Mosjoukine
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Flicker Alley)
An opening nightmare sequence that goes on for nearly 15 minutes is the highlight of this French Impressionist silent, directed by and starring Ivan Mosjoukine, a Russian film star transplanted to France. Poor Nathalie Lissenko wakes up only to realize that the detective in the pulp book she is reading was the man haunting her dreams. In real life Paris, her wealthy husband wants to move home to South America, but when she resists he hires a private detective to find out why. It turns out to be none other than the Detective Z of his wife's nightmare! Z soon discovers that it is her love of Paris, not another man, that is holding her back, so he takes her out to a cabaret and hosts a feverish dance contest, reenacting a scene in her nightmare. However, instead of hating Paris she ends up falling in love with Z. The husband acquiesces a little too easily in a contrived ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment