So what happens to the fat guy? (spoiler)
Ok, so after Sergei gets a 2nd chance, he defends Bedford against the fat communist who turned him and his buddy. There's a big fight and while Sergei battles fatty, a knife is clearly shown fat away from them; then the buddy jumps in and there's a fight on top of fatty for a bit and then they roll off. Fatty tries to get up but collapses; never to be seen again. Meanwhile, Sergei kills the other guy. That's clear. But is Fatty dead? I thought maybe he fell on a knife but after rewinding it's clearly on the floor next to him. When Ricardo Cortez arrives, he doesn't check on him. So what happened?
It's amazing how people are confused by the ideology of this movie. It's neither an endorsement of communism vs. capitalism nor a singing praise. It's about nobility nor Nobility. Both the rich war profiteer and his wife are arrogant buffoons and yet Fatty the Commie is clearly a creep so they wash out. That leaves us with Chaney, Bedford and Cortez, the love triangle. Anyone who can read a movie should know that Bedford's Countess is taken. Sergei, of course, reads too much into it when she asks him to pretend to be her husband and is of course heartbroken and easy prey for Fatty when he sees her and Cortez, the military man, together. She has stuck up for Sergei instead of pretending she doesn't know him so I don't see her as fickle at all. IMO, she is noble. Cortez, his role a bit naive and eager, isn't stuck up towards Chaney or the Countess and is very brave. He is noble. Sergei showed his bravery in enduring the whipping but, like a fallen angel, has to redeem himself after his assault on the Countess. He does. He is noble. However, like most Chaney films, he does not get the girl but she was never his to begin with. I believe at the end he realizes this and it's not a case of class warfare. I doubt audiences didn't think this way in 1927 and wanted a clear rich vs. poor/ Communism vs. Capitalism/enemy vs. hero dichotomy and they didn't get that. Combines with Chaney not being a monster in makeup and little wonder why this film gets overlooked despite the excellent acting of Chaney and Bedford.
Jamie Lee Curtis survived Halloween, the Fog, Prom Night and a Terror Train & now she can't poop!