Starring Constance Talmadge, the least well-known of the trio of acting sisters in early film, The Duchess of Buffalo is a charming diversion about an American dancer on tour in Russia whose engagement to a handsome dragoon raises the ire of his lecherous commanding officer. Though already married, the Grand Duke (played with devilish panache by Edward Martindel) has seen the young dancer and wants her for himself. Many of the usual comic conventions (like mistaken identities and hiding in closets) are employed to great effect, as the Grand Duke's suspicious wife arrives hot on the heels of her philandering husband, hoping to catch him in the act. You can be sure that all is well that ends well once things are set to rights. The Duchess of Buffalo also greatly benefits from the touch of master art director William Cameron Menzies, who contributes some beautiful details -- like horse-drawn sleighs and nighttime snowfalls glimpsed through lavish floor to ceiling windows -- to evoke the romance of Russia.
Review of The Duchess of Buffalo
