Foolish Wives
Encyclopedia
Foolish Wives is an American
drama
silent film
produced and distributed by Universal Pictures
and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim
. Although uncredited, Irving Thalberg
, aged 22, was in charge of production and would go on to become one of the most famous studio heads of all time at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. The drama features von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George
, and others.
When released in 1922, the film was the most expensive film made at that time, and billed by Universal Studios
as the "first million-dollar movie" to come out of Hollywood. Originally, von Stroheim intended the film to run anywhere between 6 and 10 hours, and be shown over two evenings, but Universal executives opposed this idea. The studio bosses cut the film drastically before the release date.
In 2008, Foolish Wives was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
He has set up shop in Monte Carlo
and his partners in crime (and possible lovers) are his cousins: faux-Princess Vera Petchnikoff (Busch) and faux-Her Highness Olga Petchnikoff (George).
Count Karamzin begins his latest scam on the unworldly wife of an American envoy, Helen Hughes (Miss Dupont), even though her husband is nearby.
, the head of Universal, appointed 20-year-old Irving Thalberg
as head of the studio. Right away the new studio chief started clashing with von Stroheim, whom he considered a spendthrift.
The producers had censorship problems with the New York Motion Picture Censorship Commission. Not only did the Commission order specific cuts in the film, but they requested that all advertising be submitted for their review. Carl Laemmle denied to the press that they complied with any specific request from the Commission. Instead, he said the cuts were made due to the film's excessive length.
Actor Rudolph Christians died on February 7, 1921 from pneumonia during production, and his part was taken over by Robert Edeson
. Edeson only showed his back to the camera so as not to clash with shot footage of Christians that was still to be used in the completed film.
Original prints reportedly had hand coloring of certain scenes by artist Gustav Brock
.
When released, the staff at Variety
magazine, in their review of the film, concentrated on the film's expensive costs and von Stroheim's involvement. They wrote, "According to the Universal's press department, the picture cost $1,103,736.38; was 11 months and six days in filming; six months in assembling and editing; consumed 320,000 feet of negative, and employed as many as 15,000 extras for atmosphere. Foolish Wives shows the cost - in the sets, beautiful backgrounds and massive interiors that carry a complete suggestion of the atmosphere of Monte Carlo, the locale of the story. And the sets, together with a thoroughly capable cast, are about all the picture has for all the heavy dough expended. Obviously intended to be a sensational sex melodrama, Foolish Wives is at the same time frankly salacious...Erich von Stroheim wrote the script, directed, and is the featured player. He's all over the lot every minute."
More recently, film critic Ed Gonzalez discussed the film and wrote, "1922's Foolish Wives begins with the perfect iris shot. This is no ordinary 'fade into' effect, but an entrancing reinforcement of the sinister, insular and constrictive nature of the milieu Von Stroheim is about to introduce us to...At the time of its release, Foolish Wives was the most expensive film ever produced, and though Von Stroheim was widely considered a lavish spendthrift, his films remain triumphs of period detail."
Critic Keith Phipps wrote of the film, "Foolish Wives re-creates Monte Carlo in a Hollywood back lot...Playing a fraudulent aristocrat, in a touch that echoed his own biography, Von Stroheim dupes the gullible, lusts after a retarded teenager, and attempts to undo an innocent American. It's like a Henry James
novel as dreamt by a pornographer, and it illustrates what makes Von Stroheim such a problematic genius: Is it nascent post-modernism or egotism run amok that made him prominently feature a character reading a novel called Foolish Wives, credited to Erich Von Stroheim?"
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
produced and distributed by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
. Although uncredited, Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
, aged 22, was in charge of production and would go on to become one of the most famous studio heads of all time at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. The drama features von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George
Maude George
Maude George was an American actress of the silent era. She is remembered primarily as a regular of director Eric von Stroheim's stock company of actors appearing in four of von Stroheim's lengthy films in the 1920s....
, and others.
When released in 1922, the film was the most expensive film made at that time, and billed by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
as the "first million-dollar movie" to come out of Hollywood. Originally, von Stroheim intended the film to run anywhere between 6 and 10 hours, and be shown over two evenings, but Universal executives opposed this idea. The studio bosses cut the film drastically before the release date.
In 2008, Foolish Wives was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
The silent drama tells the story of a man who names himself Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin (von Stroheim) in order to seduce rich women and extort money from them.He has set up shop in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
and his partners in crime (and possible lovers) are his cousins: faux-Princess Vera Petchnikoff (Busch) and faux-Her Highness Olga Petchnikoff (George).
Count Karamzin begins his latest scam on the unworldly wife of an American envoy, Helen Hughes (Miss Dupont), even though her husband is nearby.
Cast
- Rudolph Christians as Andrew J. Hughes, U.S. Special-Envoy to Monaco
- Miss DuPontMiss DuPontMiss DuPont was an American film actress and fashion designer. Sometimes credited as Patty DuPont, she was born Patricia Hannon in Frankfort, Kentucky, though sources sometimes state her place of birth as Frankfort, Indiana...
as Helen Hughes, his wife - Maude GeorgeMaude GeorgeMaude George was an American actress of the silent era. She is remembered primarily as a regular of director Eric von Stroheim's stock company of actors appearing in four of von Stroheim's lengthy films in the 1920s....
as Her Highness Olga Petchnikoff - Mae BuschMae BuschMae Busch was an Australian film actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career, she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, where she frequently played Hardy's shrewish wife.-Early life and career:Born in Melbourne, Australia, Busch was...
as Princess Vera Petchnikoff - Erich von StroheimErich von StroheimErich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
as Their Cousin, Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin (Russian Captain of Hussars) - Dale Fuller as Maruschka, a Maid
- Al Edmundsen as Pavel Pavlich, a Butler
- Cesare GravinaCesare GravinaCesare Gravina was an Italian actor of the silent era. He appeared in 60 films between 1912 and 1929.He was born in Naples, Italy.-Selected filmography:* The Fatal Ring * Madame X...
as Cesare Ventucci, a Counterfeiter - Malvina Polo as Marietta, his half-witted daughter
- C.J. Allen as Albert I, Prince of MonacoAlbert I, Prince of MonacoAlbert I was Prince of Monaco and Duke of Valentinois from 10 September 1889 until his death.-Early life:...
Background
The film began director von Stroheim's reputation as a "manic perfectionist," a huge money spender, and as a director that needed to be brought under control. During filming, the costs for the film soared. While the budget was slated at $250,000, according to von Stroheim, it ended at $750,000. At the end, Universal Studio, estimated the costs at $1,225,000. During the production, Carl LaemmleCarl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
, the head of Universal, appointed 20-year-old Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
as head of the studio. Right away the new studio chief started clashing with von Stroheim, whom he considered a spendthrift.
The producers had censorship problems with the New York Motion Picture Censorship Commission. Not only did the Commission order specific cuts in the film, but they requested that all advertising be submitted for their review. Carl Laemmle denied to the press that they complied with any specific request from the Commission. Instead, he said the cuts were made due to the film's excessive length.
Actor Rudolph Christians died on February 7, 1921 from pneumonia during production, and his part was taken over by Robert Edeson
Robert Edeson
Robert Edeson was an American movie and stage actor of the silent era. Edeson got his first boost in movies in 1914 when he starred in the Cecil B...
. Edeson only showed his back to the camera so as not to clash with shot footage of Christians that was still to be used in the completed film.
Original prints reportedly had hand coloring of certain scenes by artist Gustav Brock
Gustav Brock
Gustav Frederick Brock was a portrait painter, portrait miniature artist, and an expert on the hand coloring of motion pictures. He was the son of the Danish painter Gustav Brock ....
.
Critical reception
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine, in their review of the film, concentrated on the film's expensive costs and von Stroheim's involvement. They wrote, "According to the Universal's press department, the picture cost $1,103,736.38; was 11 months and six days in filming; six months in assembling and editing; consumed 320,000 feet of negative, and employed as many as 15,000 extras for atmosphere. Foolish Wives shows the cost - in the sets, beautiful backgrounds and massive interiors that carry a complete suggestion of the atmosphere of Monte Carlo, the locale of the story. And the sets, together with a thoroughly capable cast, are about all the picture has for all the heavy dough expended. Obviously intended to be a sensational sex melodrama, Foolish Wives is at the same time frankly salacious...Erich von Stroheim wrote the script, directed, and is the featured player. He's all over the lot every minute."
More recently, film critic Ed Gonzalez discussed the film and wrote, "1922's Foolish Wives begins with the perfect iris shot. This is no ordinary 'fade into' effect, but an entrancing reinforcement of the sinister, insular and constrictive nature of the milieu Von Stroheim is about to introduce us to...At the time of its release, Foolish Wives was the most expensive film ever produced, and though Von Stroheim was widely considered a lavish spendthrift, his films remain triumphs of period detail."
Critic Keith Phipps wrote of the film, "Foolish Wives re-creates Monte Carlo in a Hollywood back lot...Playing a fraudulent aristocrat, in a touch that echoed his own biography, Von Stroheim dupes the gullible, lusts after a retarded teenager, and attempts to undo an innocent American. It's like a Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
novel as dreamt by a pornographer, and it illustrates what makes Von Stroheim such a problematic genius: Is it nascent post-modernism or egotism run amok that made him prominently feature a character reading a novel called Foolish Wives, credited to Erich Von Stroheim?"
External links
(black and white) (monochrome colored)- Foolish Wives film clip at You Tube
- Foolish Wives film review at Pop Matters by Violet Glaze