Blind Husbands (1919)

Director:

Erich von Stroheim

Writers:

Lillian Ducey (titles)
Erich von Stroheim (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

21 October 1919 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

An Austrian military officer and roue' attempts to seduce the wife of a surgeon. The two men confront...

Plot Keywords:

Alps

Cast

Sam De Grasse	...	Dr. Armstrong
Francelia Billington	...	Margaret Armstrong
Erich von Stroheim	...	Lieutenant Erich von Steuben
Gibson Gowland	...	Silent Sepp (as T.H. Gibson Gowland)
Fay Holderness	...	The 'Vamp' Waitress
Ruby Kendrick	...	A Village Blossom
Valerie Germonprez	...	The Newlywed
Jack Perrin	...	The Newlywed
Richard Cummings	...	The Village Physician
Louis Fitzroy	...	The Village Priest
William De Vaull	...	Man from 'Home'
Jack Mathis	...	Man from 'Home'
Percy Challenger	...	Man from 'Home'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tiny Sandford	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Erich von Stroheim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lillian Ducey		titles
Erich von Stroheim		screenplay
Erich von Stroheim		story "The Pinnacle"

Produced by
Erich von Stroheim	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ben F. Reynolds

Film Editing by
Eleanor Fried
Frank Lawrence
Viola Mallory		(uncredited)
Erich von Stroheim		(uncredited)
Grant Whytock		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Erich von Stroheim		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Richard Day

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Sowders	....	assistant director (as Eddy Sowders)
K.C. Stewart	....	assistant director

Camera and Electrical Department
William H. Daniels	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Universal Film Manufacturing Company (as Universal-Jewel Production de Luxe)

Distributors

• Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1919) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kino Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Edition Filmmuseum (2006) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Ciné-club Hollywood (????) (France) (DVD)
• Kit Parker Films (????-????) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MK2 Éditions (????) (France) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Pinnacle (USA) (working title)
A Lei das Montanhas (Portugal) [pt]
Blinde Ehemänner (Austria) [de]
Corazón olvidado (Spain) [es]
Loi des montagnes, La (France) [fr]
Mariti ciechi (Italy) [it]
Rache der Berge, Die (Austria) [de]

Runtime:

68 min | USA:91 min (DVD release) | Germany:99 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Trivia:

422 different titles were considered for the adaptation of "The Pinacle". The eventual choice was made by New York exhibitors from a shortlist of eight.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In one shot, when the wife walks across her bedroom, a spotlight beam is visible on the ground following her.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Hollywood" (1980)

The remarkable debut of a cinematic icon

Erich von Stroheim's first film as writer/director stands as one of his most satisfying works. Not so coincidentally, it is the only film he directed that was left largely intact by the 'Front Office' executives of his studio, at least on its initial release; surviving prints of BLIND HUSBANDS lack some material cut for a 1924 reissue. After this successful debut Von Stroheim's productions became more elaborate, his off-camera behavior more outrageous, and his relationships with the studio chiefs and money men behind the scenes more contentious, always resulting in the films being taken out of his hands and re-edited by others. [Orson Welles' movie career would follow a sadly similar trajectory.] But the trouble and notoriety came later. In 1919 Erich von Stroheim was still a semi-obscure character actor best known for playing sadistic Huns in war movies, and this maiden effort as screenwriter, director and star took Hollywood by surprise.

In comparison with Von Stroheim's later, more elaborate (and occasionally bizarre) works, BLIND HUSBANDS is simple and straightforward. The story concerns an unhappy romantic triangle involving an upper class American couple, Dr. Robert Armstrong and his wife Margaret, and a Lieutenant Eric von Steuben, whom they encounter while vacationing at a resort in the Austrian Alps. The tension between the three is apparent from the beginning, as they share a carriage ride uphill to the resort. The husband is inattentive to his wife; she is frustrated; and the lieutenant, having quickly analyzed the situation (and Margaret's legs) begins a determined campaign to seduce her away from her seemingly indifferent husband. This opening sequence gives us the essence of the plot in a matter of moments, primarily through visuals instead of wordy intertitles.

We soon learn that Lieutenant von Steuben has other irons in the fire, so to speak: he is a 'serial seducer' with a number of lady friends at the resort, including a blowsy middle-aged chambermaid and a young local girl who pathetically takes his protestations of love at face value. Dr. Armstrong, on the other hand, treats his wife coldly, and the only clue we're given as to why this is so comes when he cheerfully handles a villager's baby-- then shoots a significant look of unhappiness at his wife, who is shopping and doesn't notice. Clearly, this man wants to have a child, and his wife is either unwilling or unable to accommodate him. We have to assume that the former is the case, because as the story develops we learn that although the doctor is something of a cold fish he is also a basically decent guy, and not someone who would resent his wife for a medical condition beyond her control. Margaret appears to be considerably younger than her husband, and presumably doesn't feel ready to settle down to child-rearing.

Whatever the reasons for the friction in the Armstrong marriage, the plot turns on Margaret's response to Lieutenant von Steuben's brazen advances, and this is the crux of the film and what makes it worth watching today. Viewers unaccustomed to silent drama might expect a great deal of arm-waving, eyebrow-waggling, plate hurling, and other histrionics associated (with some justification) with the early days of cinema, but here is where BLIND HUSBANDS made its mark in 1919, and why it's still surprisingly watchable today: director Von Stroheim, a one-time assistant to D.W. Griffith, inspired his actors to give intensely felt but remarkably restrained performances which for latter-day viewers might suggest Ingmar Bergman's ensemble company, or, more specifically where this material is concerned, the triangle at the center of Roman Polanski's A KNIFE IN THE WATER. Thanks especially to the understated work of Francellia Billington as Margaret Armstrong, a great deal of information is conveyed with glances, shrugs, half-smiles, and frowns; no plate smashing is necessary. It is plain to the viewer that Margaret is startled and somewhat flattered by the lieutenant's audacity, at least at first, but also that she soon feels he has overstepped his bounds and is more upset than pleased about the situation. Erich von Stroheim's own performance as [his alter ego?] Eric von Steuben is highly enjoyable and set the standard for some of his later screen scoundrels, although the character is rather limited in scope in this early incarnation. Also notable in a supporting role is Gibson Gowland, who would later embody the dentist MacTeague in Von Stroheim's masterpiece GREED.

Unfortunately, the plotting of BLIND HUSBANDS turns corny at the climax, when the doctor confronts his rival face-to-face on a mountain top (the screenplay's original title was "The Pinnacle"). There is some melodramatic hokum over a letter Margaret wrote to Von Steuben, but after all that understatement a little melodrama is forgivable --and, frankly, rather fun.

An earlier posting concerning this film suggests it's a comedy, which it's not, but there are nice comic touches throughout. I first saw it at a museum screening a long time ago, and still remember the laughter when Von Steuben approaches two different women at a party and uses the same pick-up lines, verbatim, on each of them. Now that's funny! And this movie stands as one of Erich von Stroheim's strongest achievements in his all-too-brief, bizarre career as a filmmaker.