Mostly consists of close-ups of mugging actors. Slow as molasses. The outdoor scenes are mediocre.
Try The Eagle for something great in a similar vein, or one of Stroheims' great films. This is not one of them, even conisidering it's only a fragment, I love silent films, but this was dreadful.
Wow! I get a kick out of Queen Kelly myself. Granted, it's not Greed or The Merry Widow, and Swanson had better roles, but I find it perversely entertaining. Seena Owen chewing up the scenery as the mad Queen is worth the price of the ticket for me; she's a scream.
Helga, I'm not mad at you; I'm mad at the dirt.
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I agree.
The only good thing about this movie was the whipping scene. 3/10
Upon reading the autobiography by Gloria Swanson it has become apparent that it was never considered to be any good.
According to her Von Stroheim was a mad genius with emphasis on "mad" and they had to stop shooting when the film was only 1/3 finished.
The studio couldn't find another proper director to finish it so they ended up stitching what they had together and released it in an effort to minimize their losses.
Honestly, this is an impossible movie to evaluate as it was never finished. We have no real way of knowing if it would have been much good as Von Stroheim intended. What exists is handsomely shot and interesting enough, but I have always wondered how this sordid story is supposed to resolve. I know Stroheim had Kelly end up with the prince, but how do they get to that point?
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