BLIND HUSBANDS / THE GREAT GABBO

Details

• Genre: Drama, Musical, Romance
• Plot: 1.) 1919. Rarely in history has a single film catapulted a director to the forefront of world cinema, but the innovative style and sophisticated themes of BLIND HUSBANDS made Erich von Stroheim an immediate sensation, exposing the complex layers of repression, jealousy and lust thst lie beneath the surface of an American couple's marriage. As they vacation in the Alps, a rougish officer (von Stroheim) ensnares the wife (Francellia Billington) in a web of infidelity, testing her loyalty and ultimately challenging the manhood of her husband (Sam DeGrasse). ; ; 2.) 1929. One of Hollywoood's earliest--and most peculiar--musicals, THE GREAT GABBO stars von Stroheim as an egotisical ventriloquist who casts a Svengali-like spell upon an ingenue (Betty Compson), against a backdrop of singularly strange numbers (including 'Icky' and the spider-and-fly-themed 'Caught in a Web'). Director James Cruze (The Covered Wagon) allowed von Stroheim to endow the character with his singnature flourishes, resulting in a wicked cocktail of garish stage shows and Austro-Hungerian vilany that is a diabolical delight.
• Runtime: 3:06
• Media Format: Movie