Foolish Wives (1922)

Director:

Erich von Stroheim

Writers:

Marian Ainslee (titles)
Walter Anthony (titles)
(more)

Release Date:

11 January 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The first real MILLION DOLLAR PICTURE

Plot:

"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

Cast

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nigel De Brulier	...	Monk (uncredited)
Robert Edeson	...	Andrew J. Hughes (uncredited)
Louise Emmons	...	Hag (uncredited)
Harrison Ford	...	Rude Soldier / Armless Soldier (uncredited)
Valerie Germonprez	...	Extra (uncredited)
Patsy Hannen	...	(uncredited)
Mrs. Kent	...	Dr. Judd's wife (uncredited)
Mme. Kopetzky	...	Actress (uncredited)
Mary Philbin	...	Crippled Girl (uncredited)
Edward Reinach	...	Secretary of State of Monaco (uncredited)
Louis K. Webb	...	Dr. Judd (uncredited)

Directed by
Erich von Stroheim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marian Ainslee		titles
Walter Anthony		titles
Erich von Stroheim		screenplay
Erich von Stroheim		story
Erich von Stroheim		titles

Produced by
Irving Thalberg	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Sigmund Romberg

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as William Daniels)
Ben F. Reynolds		(as Ben Reynolds)

Film Editing by
Arthur Lennig		(reconstruction)
Arthur Ripley

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack R. Proctor	....	assistant director
Edward Sowders	....	assistant director
Louis Germonprez	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Richard Day	....	architect (as Capt. Richard Day)
Elmer Sheeley	....	architect
Van Alstein	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harry Joe Brown	....	illumination and lighting effects (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Daniel Mandell	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Bob Roberts	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Edward Sowders	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Julius Stern	....	supervising editor (uncredited)

Music Department
J. Frank Cork	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter
R.H. Cochrane	....	publicity chief (uncredited)
Robert Edeson	....	double: Rudolph Christians (uncredited)
J. Lambert	....	research assistant (uncredited)
Gustav Machatý	....	assistant: Mr. Stroheim (uncredited)
William Meyers	....	technical director (uncredited)
James R. Sullivan	....	technical director (uncredited)
George Williams	....	technical director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Distributors

• Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1922) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Arccades Vidéo (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Jokanan (????) (France) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Western Costume Company  costumes

Also Known As:

Anoites gynaikes, Oi (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Esposas Levianas (Portugal) [pt]
Esposas frívolas (Spain) [es]
Femmine folli (Italy) [it]
Folies de femmes (France) [fr]
Hupsut vaimot (Finland) (video title) [fi]
Järjettömiä naisia (Finland) [fi]
Närrische Frauen (Austria) [de]
Närrische Weiber (Germany) [de]
Szalone zony (Poland) [pl]
Törichte Frauen (Germany) [de]
Tolle Weiber (Austria) [de]
Trelles gynaikon (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

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

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Trivia:

In an episode of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992), entitled "Hollywood Follies," a young Indiana Jones (played by Sean Patrick Flanery) is sent to Hollywood by Carl Laemmle to order Erich von Stroheim (played by Dana Gladstone) to shut down production on "Foolish Wives" -- something the egomaniacal director refuses to do, despite Indy's efforts. Ironically, one of the actual cast members of "Foolish Wives" was Harrison Ford, a noted silent movie actor (and no relation to the "Indiana Jones" series star).

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

It just couldn't grab me.

Normally I enjoy watching old movies from the '20's, even the more slower paced one's but this movie just didn't do it for me, although it also is of course far from the worst I have ever seen.

The movie has a good enough story but it isn't exactly the most intriguing or tense stories to follow. Lots of sequences don't seem to have a relevant enough importance. It might have to do with the fact that the original length of the movie was over 6 hours long, which might had shown some of the relevance of certain sequences and characters but there is really no way I'm ever going to watch this longer version. The movie was already overlong as it was. The movie didn't had very much interesting drama in it and although the main character seemed intriguing, it just didn't worked out powerful enough in the movie.

The movie also isn't as technically advanced as some of the other movies from the same time period, clearly directed by more talented and more experimental directors such as F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, Victor Sjöström and D.W. Griffith, among others.

But this all of course doesn't mean that the movie is a bad one to watch. The story of a fake Russian aristocratic lady-killer in Monte Carlo trying to get money from rich ladies as on its own quite a good story and in a way for movie standards also ahead of its time. Many more movies like this one, in many different forms were made and are still being made, many years later now. In this particular case this is a movie I wouldn't mind seeing remade, perhaps also with some more humor in it and a more clear message. The movie also uses some quite good camera positions, on a positive note.

Also the acting is good enough, though Miss DuPont seems heavily miscast as a pretty 21 year young girl. She is too old looking for her role and she also most certainly wasn't pretty enough to find the story very convincing. Same perhaps goes for Dale Fuller. Erich von Stroheim plays the real main part of the movie and he does this with lots of flair. He also wrote and directed the movie. Laurel & Hardy regular Mae Busch shows up in a serious role for a change and it was refreshing to see her like that for a change.

Certainly a watchable movie but really no essential viewing in my opinion.

6/10