Foolish Wives (1922)

Director:

Erich von Stroheim

Writers:

Marian Ainslee (titles)
Walter Anthony (titles)

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

Awards:

1 win

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

Also Known As:

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]
Oi anoites gynaikes (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Rouletten (Denmark) [da]
Szalone zony (Poland) [pl]
Törichte Frauen (Germany) [de]
Tolle Weiber (Austria) [de]
Trelles gynaikon (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

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

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:

The most expensive part of the movie were the lavish sets, built at Universal Studios in California. The sets featured a full exterior replica of Monte-Carlo, complete with an artificial lake. The total cost of the sets was $421,000. Stroheim said in an interview that he ought to know what Monte Carlo looked like, for he had been "busted there twice."

Goofs:

Continuity: When the original actor playing Mr. Hughes died in the middle of filming, he was replaced by a double, who completed his scenes with his back mostly to the camera. Apparently, however, nobody noticed that the original actor had significantly darker hair than his replacement. Therefore, Mr. Hughes's hair turns white in several scenes, including the sequence where his wife says goodbye to him in the casino, and his confrontation with the count at the villa.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Silent Love (2004)

"The first real million dollar picture".

Foolish Wives (1922)

Written & Directed by Erich von Stroheim.

Starring Erich von Stroheim.

Foolish Wives is now being recognised as one of the greatest films of all time. Born in Austria in 1885 Erich von Stroheim went to America in the 1910s and in 1915 he made his debut in D.W. Griffith's The Birth of A Nation where in the film he falls off a house after being shot and in actual fact von Stroheim broke a couple of ribs. After that Griffith employed von Stroheim as an actor and assistant director and after appearing in small roles in Intolerance (1916) he later became known as "The man you love to hate". He appeared in memorable film roles such in another Griffith production, Hearts of the World (1918) and after World War one ended von Stroheim was left without a job. He then sat the typewriter and started grinding out movie scripts and then he wrote The Pinnacle which would become von Stroheim's directing debut for a film. The title of the film was changed to Blind Husbands and critics mostly praised the film as being a top film of 1919. After making one more film which later became lost due to deterioration von Stroheim would now probably make his best picture. Foolish Wives was completed in 1921 and it was 21 reels long. The film was so up to date that when the preview of the film was shown, many scenes would be discarded because New York censors stated things like "It is not suitable for children" and various other ridiculous reasons. However many restorations have been done and are available on the market. However these versions came be 'slowed' down. Many silent films can be slowed down in speed and therefore they are longer but that's entirely untrue. A few years ago Kino on video restored the film in black and white to 107 minutes but in 2003 the best restoration to date was done and is now available on DVD. It has been appropriately tinted with color and it is now 146 minutes and it's the correct speed and includes the original piano score by Sigmund Romberg. Erich von Stroheim plays Count Sergius Wladislaw Karamzin who in the film is very likeable in character until you find out what he really does for a living. He and his 2 so called 'cousins' make money by impressing rich people, doing something bad and taking their money. Erich von Stroheim displays a lot of talent in putting this film together. He wrote the story and scenario for it, he directed it, he starred in it and he built most of the sets and the most impressive which was Monte Carlo and from the opening scene where we see a roulette and in the last scene where we see the married couple reading Erich von Stroheim's 'Foolish Wives', the film is spectacular and it is a must see for fans of silent film.