A patriotic French farm girl named Mona (Pola Negri), her father (Claude Gillingwater) and her brother (Einar Hanson) have their farm taken over by the German army, as it is World War 1 and they need somewhere to make a base. The brother is sent off to war, only to be killed (he doesn't really get killed, he's just presumed dead). This causes the father to have a stroke. Mona, meanwhile, while working on her farm, grows to resent the Germans, particularly a dashing soldier named Oscar (Clive Brook) and a clownish little man who's determined to make her smile (Clyde Cook).
Her resent for Oscar melts into something else- romance- and they become lovers. Their secret is out when Mona defends Oscar after another soldier tries to rape her and Oscar fights him off, and the French people brand Mona as a traitor- they do everything but throw stones at her. Mona's father even dies of shock/rage after he catches Mona in Oscar's arms. Oscar tries to save Mona from more scorn by going away, knowing that they hate her because they hate him, and she is left alone for a couple of years. Then the war is over, the battles are all done, and presumably Mona and Oscar can live together in peace?
Apparently not- they are given ten minutes to decide whether she goes out of France or if he does by the French people, who even though the war is over still think Mona is a traitor. Mona and Oscar are starting their walk of shame when an unexpected visitor shows up to the farm - Mona's brother, not dead but blinded. The French people tell him that his sister is a traitor for banging a German (nice people), but he declares that he thinks Oscar is a good man with a kind face. Insert patriotic, slightly preachy speech that is slightly unwelcome but nothing compared to what we get today.
Pola Negri is very convincing as a French farm girl- I've seen a few of her silents now, and I have to say, I think she's much better when she isn't cast in a vamp role. She was a very gifted actress, and it shows in roles like this- her talent to convey emotions using her face without descending into those histrionics that give silent movie actors a bad name enables her to play a believable character, one that comes across as a human being. She's given a lot of closeups, and what she does with them...wow.
Clive Brook (must look up more films with him) is also very good as a German, and he and Pola were such a great couple that it broke my heart that people didn't like them together. Clyde Cook does a variety of pratfalls and somersaults throughout the film, bringing welcome comic relief to an otherwise somber and quite depressing film. Admittedly the story is routine and the preachy ending is a bit unwelcome- the acting gets a ten but the story itself gets an unremarkable five. I'm splitting it to make a seven.
Overall, recommended, especially for people who are into silent films but have never seen one with Pola Negri. You'll see why she was held in such high regard.
Her resent for Oscar melts into something else- romance- and they become lovers. Their secret is out when Mona defends Oscar after another soldier tries to rape her and Oscar fights him off, and the French people brand Mona as a traitor- they do everything but throw stones at her. Mona's father even dies of shock/rage after he catches Mona in Oscar's arms. Oscar tries to save Mona from more scorn by going away, knowing that they hate her because they hate him, and she is left alone for a couple of years. Then the war is over, the battles are all done, and presumably Mona and Oscar can live together in peace?
Apparently not- they are given ten minutes to decide whether she goes out of France or if he does by the French people, who even though the war is over still think Mona is a traitor. Mona and Oscar are starting their walk of shame when an unexpected visitor shows up to the farm - Mona's brother, not dead but blinded. The French people tell him that his sister is a traitor for banging a German (nice people), but he declares that he thinks Oscar is a good man with a kind face. Insert patriotic, slightly preachy speech that is slightly unwelcome but nothing compared to what we get today.
Pola Negri is very convincing as a French farm girl- I've seen a few of her silents now, and I have to say, I think she's much better when she isn't cast in a vamp role. She was a very gifted actress, and it shows in roles like this- her talent to convey emotions using her face without descending into those histrionics that give silent movie actors a bad name enables her to play a believable character, one that comes across as a human being. She's given a lot of closeups, and what she does with them...wow.
Clive Brook (must look up more films with him) is also very good as a German, and he and Pola were such a great couple that it broke my heart that people didn't like them together. Clyde Cook does a variety of pratfalls and somersaults throughout the film, bringing welcome comic relief to an otherwise somber and quite depressing film. Admittedly the story is routine and the preachy ending is a bit unwelcome- the acting gets a ten but the story itself gets an unremarkable five. I'm splitting it to make a seven.
Overall, recommended, especially for people who are into silent films but have never seen one with Pola Negri. You'll see why she was held in such high regard.