
Erich von Stroheim's scandalous, extravagant masterpiece of cynicism and desire. Stroheim himself stars as a fraudulent Russian count living in luxury on the Riviera, who seduces wealthy American women for sport and profit. The film's budget spiraled to over a million dollars — unprecedented for 1922 — as Stroheim insisted on period-accurate details visible only to himself (silk underwear for extras, real champagne in glasses). Universal eventually wrested control and cut the film from six hours to two, but what survives is still a dazzling, acidic portrait of European decadence and American naivety, filmed with a visual sophistication and psychological complexity that was years ahead of its time. Stroheim's villain is repulsive and irresistibly charming in equal measure — a portrait of toxic masculinity before the term existed.
Erich von Stroheim's scandalous, extravagant masterpiece of cynicism and desire. Stroheim himself stars as a fraudulent Russian count living in luxury on the Riviera, who seduces wealthy American women for sport and profit. The film's budget spiraled to over a million dollars — unprecedented for 1922 — as Stroheim insisted on period-accurate details visible only to himself (silk underwear for extras, real champagne in glasses). Universal eventually wrested control and cut the film from six hours to two, but what survives is still a dazzling, acidic portrait of European decadence and American naivety, filmed with a visual sophistication and psychological complexity that was years ahead of its time. Stroheim's villain is repulsive and irresistibly charming in equal measure — a portrait of toxic masculinity before the term existed.

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
Albert Edmondson
Pavel Pavlich

Mary Philbin
Crippled Girl (uncredited)

Nigel De Brulier
Monk (uncredited)
C.J. Allen
Albert I

Robert Edeson
Andrew J. Hughes
Agnes Emerson
Bit Role

Louise Emmons
Mother Garoupe