Foolish Wives

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Foolish Wives

1922,

1h 40m,

Drama

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Watchlist

89%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

70%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

19 Reviews

70%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

In this silent classic, Sergius Karamzin (Erich von Stroheim) is a con artist who pretends to be a count in order to charm and swindle naïve women for money. He lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with his cousins, "princesses" Olga (Maude George) and Vera (Mae Busch), who are in on his scams. When Karamzin meets American diplomat Andrew Hughes (Rudolph Christians), the count immediately takes aim at his wife, Helen (Miss DuPont). But Karamzin soon finds he has double-crossed too many women.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Aug 22, 2022

With its mad grandeur, seething bitterness, and vengeful unmasking, Stroheim’s enterprise reflects his own vertiginous arc of experience, from fin-de-siècle Vienna and Ellis Island to the fleshpots of boomtown Hollywood.

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Mabel McElliott

New York Daily News

May 18, 2021

Behold, likewise, the rascal impersonated by Mr. von Stroheim, in his oiliest and most persuasive manner.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Oct 16, 2008

The sets, together with a thoroughly capable cast, are about all the picture has for all the heavy dough expended.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jul 11, 2023

3.5/4

No one is spared in this fascinating and frequently lurid silent feature.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

May 9, 2022

For audiences, at least, that paid off in a lewd extravaganza pitting American innocence against European decadence...

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Michael Barrett

PopMatters

May 5, 2022

An exquisitely designed, meticulously directed melodrama in a two-and-a-half-hour restoration...

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Poe W

Jan 15, 2018

1001 movies to see before you die. A unusual story to say the least, maybe a good candidate for a remake? The boat scene was memorable and the old scenes of Monte Carlo are a good time piece.

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Erich von Stroheim

Director

Erich von Stroheim

Their Cousin, Count Wladislaw Sergius Karamzin (Capt. 3rd Hussars Imper. Russian Army)

Mae Busch

Princess Vera Petchnikoff

Maude George

Her Highness Olga Petchnikoff

Rudolph Christians

Andrew J. Hughes (U.S. Special-Envoy to Monaco)

Miss DuPont

Helen Hughes, his wife

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Synopsis

In this silent classic, Sergius Karamzin (Erich von Stroheim) is a con artist who pretends to be a count in order to charm and swindle naïve women for money. He lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with his cousins, "princesses" Olga (Maude George) and Vera (Mae Busch), who are in on his scams. When Karamzin meets American diplomat Andrew Hughes (Rudolph Christians), the count immediately takes aim at his wife, Helen (Miss DuPont). But Karamzin soon finds he has double-crossed too many women.

Director: Erich von Stroheim
Producer: Irving Thalberg
Screenwriter: Erich von Stroheim
Distributor: Reel Media International [us], Kino Video, Grapevine Video, Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Production Co: Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Genre: Drama
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 1922, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Sep 19, 2000
Runtime: 1h 40m

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