Conrad Veidt is the new French military attache assigned to Istanbul in 1912. He is called upon by Heinrich George, a monstrous-looking Englishman who comamnds much of the finances of Turkey -- for the benefit of other countries -- and who has no interest, as Veidt does, in the poetry of Racine. Touring the Bosporus, he spots Trude von Molo, and soon finds out that she is George's wife, trapped in his household where his mistress as been installed, unable to leave because she will lose her son. He also discovers some of George's other disgusting habits, like his taste for bad champagne and his frequenting of brothels.
Veidt gives a typically elegant performance. He does very little, but he is an acute observer, and it is largely through his eyes that we are told the story of the degradation of fraulein von Molo. It is by no means a understated performance, although he maintains the blank expression and meaningless tone of a diplomat. Instead, director Curtis Bernhardt forces the audience to see things his eyes by means of cinematographer Curt Courant's deceptively simple compositions.
There is extensive location shooting in Istanbul in the movie, done by John Alton.
Veidt gives a typically elegant performance. He does very little, but he is an acute observer, and it is largely through his eyes that we are told the story of the degradation of fraulein von Molo. It is by no means a understated performance, although he maintains the blank expression and meaningless tone of a diplomat. Instead, director Curtis Bernhardt forces the audience to see things his eyes by means of cinematographer Curt Courant's deceptively simple compositions.
There is extensive location shooting in Istanbul in the movie, done by John Alton.