LON CHANEY is a Russian peasant during the Russian Revolution befriended in the forest by a woman (BARBARA BEDFORD) who turns out to be a Countess. He helps her return to her household safely and thinks their friendship is something that can bloom into love.
He's sadly mistaken, being a dumb peasant--uncouth and ill mannered. She, nevertheless, allows him to stay on in her household as a servant. He's induced by another servant to rebel against being a mere nobody--that he's as good as anyone else and can win the lady's heart.
This sets up the plot which is a more of a two-character struggle between the Countess and the peasant--deepened when she finds true love with a handsome officer (RICARDO CORTEZ).
It's heavy going--a very cumbersome plot that fails to truly involve the viewer. Chaney grimaces and gives dirty looks and broods for most of the story, probably wishing the story had some meat on it. And this is a shame because the photography is excellent, the settings are fine and his co-star BARBARA BEDFORD is a good actress, capable of a more nuanced style that belies the fact that this is a silent film.
James Schafer's music, as heard on the TCM soundtrack, is an asset--but the story flounders around in search of a satisfying plot and comes up empty.
He's sadly mistaken, being a dumb peasant--uncouth and ill mannered. She, nevertheless, allows him to stay on in her household as a servant. He's induced by another servant to rebel against being a mere nobody--that he's as good as anyone else and can win the lady's heart.
This sets up the plot which is a more of a two-character struggle between the Countess and the peasant--deepened when she finds true love with a handsome officer (RICARDO CORTEZ).
It's heavy going--a very cumbersome plot that fails to truly involve the viewer. Chaney grimaces and gives dirty looks and broods for most of the story, probably wishing the story had some meat on it. And this is a shame because the photography is excellent, the settings are fine and his co-star BARBARA BEDFORD is a good actress, capable of a more nuanced style that belies the fact that this is a silent film.
James Schafer's music, as heard on the TCM soundtrack, is an asset--but the story flounders around in search of a satisfying plot and comes up empty.