User Reviews

This picture should take front rank with the best that has been done by the Gaumonts. The leading role is played by Mlle. Gravier, as the priestess and she carried her part well nigh to perfection. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive how it could have been done better. The first act shows the temple of the sun and moon and the photography is really remarkable. The costumes, for example, have a delicate sheen and seem much like real goods. Even the color of jewels in the women's hair are perfectly reproduced. It would be impossible to improve upon it. The second scene shows Arlizath's palace and the tent of Gersaken, the Barbarian. The third scene is the Square of Khamon and the Barbarian camp at night, while the last two scenes are in the Temple of Tanit and the interior of the House of Eschmon. The story is laid in Carthage about 150 years B.C. and the action comes in the endeavor to get a moon stone from the turban of Gersaken, the possession of which will bring success to the Carthaginian arms. The priestess, Arizath, undertakes to do this and succeeds, but she and Gersaken fall in love and the closing scene is a wedding. Only one touch of humor pervades the picture, when Gersaken pursues Moammo, who steals the moon stone. The audience does not see the stroke of the sword, but Gersaken brings in a severed head, which is shown to the audience and placed in a bag made of skins. The murdered man is a rejected suitor of the priestess. It is a striking scene when she clears the blood from the sword over the altar fire. In every sense, costuming, acting, staging and photography, this film can scarcely be surpassed. It is one of the best the company has ever released. Everyone having to do with its production has performed his or her part with skill and discretion. - The Moving Picture World, May 13, 1911