Foolish Wives (1922)
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Foolish Wives Movie Review
Foolish Wives is a 1922 erotic silent drama film directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring himself in the main role. It’s an overlong, but beautifully made movie.
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“Yes – husbands are stupid;
with them a woman won is a woman secure“
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A con artist masquerades a Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat. Erich von Stroheim was one of the most misunderstood artists during the silent age of Hollywood. Most of his movies had to be cut significantly in order to be shown in theaters as he made ridiculously long movies. While his talent is surely indisputable, there is no denying that some of those studios were right to interfere.
Yes, Foolish Wives is just as long as ‘Greed’ and just as imposing to modern audiences in that length. But unlike that film, this one doesn’t have that epic of a story, though the overall plot is more engaging in this scenario. But when you really stop to think about it, this type of storyline really did not need to receive this kind of a treatment. An hour and a half would have sufficed, but two and a half hours was just too much.
But other than the intimidating length and the resulting repetitiveness in some plot points, the film is still very strong and it’s surprisingly involving to watch, especially in the more erotic sequences that were highly provocative for its time. The seduction scenes were superbly scripted and the dialogue was excellent throughout.
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This movie has some of the best intertitles that I’ve seen in a silent movie. They are just crazy how modern and stylish they feel. Whether jumping off the screen or changing positions, lettering or even their size, they accompanied tonally the action on the screen tremendously well.
Another highlight is the cinematography and the production design. This was the most expensive Hollywood movie released up to that point in time, the first one to have had a budget of over one million dollars. The result is a beautiful-looking spectacle of a movie that benefits from superb sets, wonderful costumes and fantastic cinematography that was quite advanced and polished for its time.
The fact that Foolish Wives was set in Monte Carlo lent it a lot of authenticity in terms of geography. The good Americans struggling in decadent Europe motif definitely shows its edge nowadays, but still the movie is very exotic and intriguing in its scenarios and places being used. The score that accompanied the film in the version that I’ve seen it (YouTube) was incredible. It was just very classical yet lively at the same time, again fittingly accompanying every scene in the story.
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As for Erich von Stroheim himself, he also put himself in the main role here and he is a star, there is no denying that. He is now more famous as a director and deservedly so, but his acting performance in this movie should not be brushed aside as it’s very effective. He is so creepy and easy to hate as this incredible villain. How he ended was brutal yet very deserving. That entire ending was incredible all-around. I just wish that the rest of the movie, especially its middle act was better edited, shorter and less repetitive. The actresses all did a good job, but the main man is the standout here.
Erich von Stroheim’s Foolish Wives is, like most of his movies, rather imposing in its runtime. It’s a needlessly long film for the type of story that it told, resulting in a lot of padding throughout. With that being said, the main performance from Stroheim himself was excellent as the character that is so easy to hate. Its screenplay is quite strong, the dialogue is terrific, the intertitles are inventive for the time and the overall production design, cinematography and directing are top-notch.
My Rating – 4
