Foolish Wives (1922)

Note Générale:

7,6/10   

Réalisateur:

Erich von Stroheim

Scénaristes:

Marian Ainslee (titles)
Walter Anthony (titles)

Date de sortie:

11 janvier 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Drame

Accroche:

The first real MILLION DOLLAR PICTURE

Intrigue:

"Count" Karanzim, a Don Juan is with his cousins in Monte Carlo, living from faked money and the money he gets from rich ladies...

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Society | Partially Lost Film

Récompenses:

1 win

Avis des utilisateurs:

A Woman and Her Money Are Soon Parted

Ensemble

Rudolph Christians	...	Andrew J. Hughes (U.S. Special-Envoy to Monaco)
Miss DuPont	...	Helen Hughes, his wife
Maude George	...	Her Highness Olga Petchnikoff
Mae Busch	...	Princess Vera Petchnikoff
Erich von Stroheim	...	Their Cousin, Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin (Capt. 3rd Hussars Imper. Russian Army)
Dale Fuller	...	Maruschka, a Maid
Al Edmundsen	...	Pavel Pavlich, a Butler
Cesare Gravina	...	Cesare Ventucci, a Counterfeiter
Malvina Polo	...	Marietta, his half-witted daughter (as Malvine Polo)
C.J. Allen	...	Albert 1., Prince of Monaco

Durée:

117 min | Sweden:384 min | Canada:140 min (Ontario)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Rapport de forme:

1,33 : 1

Son:

Silent

Classification:

Canada:G (Ontario)

Lieux de tournage:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Société:

Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Anecdotes:

Stroheim's attention to detail was such that he ordered an engraver to print copies of French money as props for the movie. (He was playing the role of a counterfeiter.) Unfortunately, the money printed was realistic enough that, shortly before shooting began, Stroheim was arrested and hauled into court on counterfeiting charges. He escaped punishment by arguing to the judge that "the money was for use in pictures only."

Goofs:

Continuité: When the Count seats Mrs. Hughes at the roulette table, she is wearing a different gown than the one in the rest of the scene.

Connexions:

Référencé sur Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

A Woman and Her Money Are Soon Parted

Three Russian aristocrats lease a villa from which they can luxuriously enjoy Monte Carlo. They are: maid-pinching Maude George (as Princess Olga Petchnikoff), blonde-wigged Mae Busch (as Princess Vera Petchnikoff), and monocled lady-killer Erich von Stroheim (as Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin). You should also keep an eye on their foolish maid, Dale Fuller (as Maruschka). Mr. von Stroheim is the film's star, director, and writer. It becomes obvious the trio are really counterfeiting con artists. The gang of three are intrigued by the notice of the arrival of American Envoy Rudolph Christians (as Andrew J. Hughes) and his wife Miss DuPont (as Helen); they decide to strike up a societal acquaintanceship with the Americans, to help provide cover for their swindling. Then, von Stroheim shows Ms. DuPont his stiff cane, and give her bare legs a leer…

Have a great laugh when Ms. DuPont, while applying her face cream, declares she is twenty-one years old; husband's reply he that is a sun-burned forty-one shows he can shave off years with the best of them. Mr. Christians died during the production, and his white-haired replacement, back to the camera, is obvious; with all the expense obviously spent on "Foolish Wives", it's difficult to understand why von Stroheim could not add a little bit of cheap shoe polish to Robert Edeson's head. There are other problems with the story, which was brutally cut down from a multi-hour epic. Still, the studio heads could not cut the neither the length of von Stroheim's cigarettes, nor the fact that his (vanity) production of "Foolish Wives" retains its spectacle.