Mad Love (1921) User Reviews

Herr Buchowetzki At His Best

[FerdinandVonGalitzien · 7/10 · 2 February 2008]

The engineer Georg de la Croix ( Herr Alfred Abel ) suffers a nervous breakdown due to the continuous unfaithfulness of his lover, Dame Sappho ( Dame Pola Negri ). Georg ends up in a lunatic asylum. His brother, Richard ( Herr Johannes Riemann ) wants to avenge him but instead falls in love with the beautiful Dame Sappho. When Herr Richard finds out from a previous lover of Dame Sappho that she was the cause of his brother's insanity, Richard decides to put an end to his affair with her by marrying someone else but he still must see Dame Sappho, even minutes after the wedding.

"Sappho" was directed by the highly reputed émigré Russian director Herr Dimitri Buchowetzi, who during his Russian period had a special and close connection with Dame Pola and directed her on many occasions, often in his superb costume dramas. This is characteristic of the latter: excellent set design, beautiful outdoor scenery, careful cinematography ( by Herr Arpad Viragh ) and a modern approach to the material.

Besides those excellent technical aspects, "Sappho" is a remarkable film because it emphasizes the psychological aspect of the story; the sorrows and miseries of love, a mad love that doesn't listen to earthly reasons. It captures the lust and free love spirit of a decadent society, full of characters who don't hesitate to harm themselves to get what they want.

The love turmoil will have a "grand finale" at the end of the film in a magnificent and thrilling scene at the Opera ( Herr Buchowetzki at his best ) where our heroine ( Dame Pola at her best too ) will pay for her old and new love sins.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must avoid Dame Sappho's charms in order that this Herr Graf's Teutonic fat heiresses find out nothing about it.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

A wowzer! Campy, yes, but really a lot of fun to watch!

[mmipyle · 8/10 · 9 April 2021]

In America when one thinks about early movie "vamps", the vampire woman, Theda Bara, Louise Glaum, and Valeska Suratt could possibly immediately come to mind. There were others, too, in early American films, but of all those named above, less than a handful of examples of their works in "vampirism" have survived the ravages of time. Europe responded to the "vamp" call, too, however, and though the world had been presented "A Fool There Was" (1915) with Theda Bara and "Sex" (1920) with Glaum and "She" and others with Suratt, Germany, in a somewhat successful attempt to top all these, in the directorial hands of Dimitri Buchowetzki, took a literary work of [Père] Alexandre Dumas and turned it into a film called "Sappho" (1921). Starring Pola Negri, Johannes Riemann, Alfred Abel, Albert Steinrück, Helga Molander, Otto Treptow, and others, the only thing missing from this campy stylized silent is the music of Wagner's "Parzifal" and watching the actors and actresses not mouth their parts, but operatically sing them! It's acted exactly as if it were an opera. Every silent non-sound can be heard in the fifth row of the balcony. Stylized, stylized, stylized - and I couldn't help but watch and be glued to the set, attached at the umbilical! The fluffy, absolute nonsense is so wonderful to watch I can't even begin to explain why. By the way, Otto Preminger HAD to have watched this before he directed Lee Remick in "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959). Pola Negri in several scenes and at certain camera angles looks EXACTLY like Lee Remick, or should I say that in exactly the opposite way? Remick's the same character in many ways, only modernized nearly 40 years later. And the guy playing Teddy, Otto Treptow, has moments when you'll swear Edward G. Robinson is playing the part. Alfred Abel, playing the mad brother, is so over-the-top you'll wish he really could crush the throats of those he chokes. You don't need me to tell you the story. It's one of those where people go crazy - literally crazy - lunatic crazy - all because of what they imagine is LOVE. Grapevine Video edition is beautifully tinted and the complete (just missing a few frames) five act (yes, it's shown in acts) film, not the old cut-down version re-named "Mad Love". This "Sappho"'s a wowzer!

Beware the Censor wielding shears!

[JohnHowardReid · 10/10 · 8 January 2018]

In silent days, of course, American audiences displayed no prejudice against films from other nations. Metropolis was just as big a hit in America as it was in Europe.

Mad Love (1921) was a rare exception, but then it was actually a ruthlessly censored cutdown of Sappho, an outstanding Pola Negri vehicle directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, which is now available in a superb, 10/10 tinted version from Grapevine Video.

Brilliantly lensed by one of the world' greatest cinematographers, Arpad Viragh, and costumed, hair styled and made up to the limit, Pola Negri shines in what is really a multiple role. She receives excellent support from Alfred Abel (almost unrecognizable here in his major part as the hero's violent, lunatic brother) and Albert Steinrück as the opportunistic, surreptitious lover. I also liked Helga Molander as the hero's fiancée.

The movie has been produced with all stops out - lots of extras milling around, startling costumes and sets. (Special note: Do not buy the re-edited copy of this movie which often doesn't make sense. Buy the Grapevine DVD, which is a straightforward transfer of the German original with brand-new English inter-titles. As far as I am aware, this version is still available in 2018).

Pola Negri makes Mad Love

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 13 February 2011]

The drama begins when handsome Johannes Riemann (as Richard de la Croix) is summoned to an asylum, to check on insane brother Alfred Abel (as Andreas de la Croix). As we see in a later flashback, the alluring Pola Negri (as Sappho) left the innocent Mr. Abel, a lowly engineer, for his well-heeled boss Albert Steinrück (as George Bertink); this helped drive Mr. Abel insane. Presently, when Mr. Riemann finds Ms. Negri, she leaves Mr. Steinruck and moves in with Riemann…

Negri thinks she has found true love, but her promiscuous past is discovered…

After "Madame DuBarry" created an international passion for all things Pola, "Sappho" reached American shores as "Mad Love". More importantly, Negri had taken advantage of the sensation by moving her career to Hollywood. She was an instant celebrity. More importantly, she was considered by critics to be one of the finest actresses around town, and had box office support, too. "Sappho" may not answer why, exactly, but it's nicely preserved, with richly restored color tinting.

****** Sappho (9/9/21) Dimitri Buchowetzki ~ Pola Negri, Johannes Riemann, Alfred Abel, Albert Steinruck

Stylistic silent movie marred by bad acting and confused characters

[jjcremin-1 · 5/10 · 16 July 2009]

I definitely have mixed feelings after seeing Buchowetski's SAPPHO that starred Pola Negri, made in 1921. I'll state the positive things first. First, UCLA made an excellent restoration of this film. It was color tinted and brief segments of color (really blue and red, good variations of both, any variation of yellow came out white). The piano player Stephen put on an imaginative score, last night, July 15, 2009.

The sets are very stylized and Buchowetski made some fascinating crowd sequences particularly when Alfred Abel's mad ravings as Georg de la Croix. There's even a problem with this as there are very brief and thereby rendering them pointless.

But then there are major problems with the acting and the story. The Silent Movie Theatre advertised this as the movie that singlehandedly brought forward the Hays Code. In fact, this is no more than a soapy melodrama in which the motives and actions of the male characters don't make much sense.

Pola Negri is actually more famous with her off screen associations with Chaplin and Valentino, actually making public displays at the latter's death though it's questionable if they had ever met. I did not see her at that photogenic, at least not in this movie. Her films are not readily available. She had crooked lips, wore eye mascara that made her look like a raccoon and a bit of a mannish figure.

She does do a grand entrance to take the men's attention always from a flapper dancing on a table. One, Johannes Riemann as Richard de la Croix, watches disdainfully, professing woman are evil as he drinks his wine. Albert Steinruck stands by amused as Negri wins over Riemann. He's older, overweight and has the most god awful teeth.

Steinruck later reveals to Rieman that she drove Abel crazy though Steinruck played a very active part in that. Abel swoons twice as much as Negri does so any suspense of belief is thrown out. Strange racing car scene has Abel driving but safely parks the car so that he can swoon again.

The best part does come at the end though the bad acting doesn't stop. Made five years before Chaney's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. it may have been an influence. The two tone color sequences are at the opera house's entrance that is very well attended. Negri is not one of the performers but wears a blond wig with another boyfriend. Also a non performer, Rieman gets Negri into a private room.

Abel, now stark raving mad, escapes the insane asylum, somehow knows that Negri is at the opera house and arrives to kill her. He does and the crowd kills him. Her body is carried downstairs from the opera house. This abrupt ending stuns the audience last night but kudos to the piano player.

Hopefully, there's better Negri films out there.