Foolish Wives

1922 2h 23m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 111

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Erich von Stroheim
Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin
Rudolph Christians
Andrew J. Hughes
Miss DuPont
Helen Hughes
Maude George
Princess Olga Petchnikoff
Mae Busch
Princess Vera Petchnikoff
Dale Fuller
Maruschka
Cesare Gravina
Cesare Ventucci
Malvina Polo
Marietta

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Erich von Stroheim
Writers: Erich von Stroheim, Erich von Stroheim
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 36% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

ERA

Did you know

104 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Erich von Stroheim, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Arthur Ripley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Erich von Stroheim and Rudolph Christians and Miss DuPont carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0013140 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Erich von Stroheim directs. William H. Daniels behind the camera. Arthur Ripley cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 36% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3104 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Erich von Stroheim, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Arthur Ripley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Erich von Stroheim and Rudolph Christians and Miss DuPont carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0013140 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Editing: Arthur Ripley
Runtime: 143 min · 2h 23m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,100,000
Box office: $400,200
Return: 36% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Foolish Wives (1922)

Also by

Erich von Stroheim

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-06
★ 6/10
It's a soap. Despite all the associated history of cuts, recuts and restoration it is still just a beautifully photographed soap opera. Erich von Stroheim did just about everything in this entertaining, if a little too cyclical, tale of a cad. That cad "Count Sergius Karanzim" (EVS) parades around the Côte D'Azur luring unsuspecting (wealthy) women to his rented villa in which he, with his two "cousins" (Maude George & Mae Busch as the Princesses "Petchnikoff") fleeces them relentlessly. For quite a while his charm, wit and guile provides them with a good living until he aims a little too high with the wife of an American diplomat in Monte Carlo. "Mrs. Hughes" (Miss Dupont) and her husband (Rudolph Christians) may well be about to put a spoke in the wheel of these confidence tricksters. It's good fun, this, with Von Stroheim eminently convincing as the con man and DuPont equally effective as his ditzy mark. The production is maybe a bit static, but at 100 years old, it is still delivered in a fashion that shows off the Mediterranean scenery whilst aiming one squarely between the eyes of the vacuous, riche, clientele who assumed their excesses of funds were adequate compensation for their gullibility, stupidity and naivety. It sags from time to time, so I am not hugely shocked that this original 21 reeler was scaled back somewhat. What we have here, though, still have flows well enough with succinct inter titles that are, at times, quite witty too. I am not sure I would ever bother to watch it again, but I am glad that I did. You can see here the template for so many films that followed.

Production companies