Blind Husbands (1919)

An Austrian officer sets out to seduce a neglected young wife.

Director:

Erich von Stroheim (as Erich Stroheim)

Writers:

Erich von Stroheim (book) (as Erich Stroheim), Erich von Stroheim (adaption) (as Erich Stroheim)

Stars:

Sam De Grasse, Francelia Billington, Erich von Stroheim

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sam De Grasse	...	The Husband, Dr. Robert Armstrong
Francelia Billington	...	The Wife, Margaret Armstrong
Erich von Stroheim	...	The Other Man, Lt. Erich von Steuben
Gibson Gowland	...	The Mountain Guide, Sepp Innerkofler (as T.H. Gibson Gowland)
Fay Holderness	...	The 'Vamp' Waitress
Ruby Kendrick	...	A Village Blossom
Valerie Germonprez	...	Honeymooner
Jack Perrin	...	Honeymooner
Richard Cummings	...	The Village Physician
Louis Fitzroy	...	The Village Priest
William De Vaull	...	Man from 'Home'
Jack Mathis	...	Man from 'Home'
Percy Challenger	...	Man from 'Home'

Storyline

An Austrian military officer and roue' attempts to seduce the wife of a surgeon. The two men confront each other in a test of abilities that ends surprisingly.

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Plot Keywords:

rescue | philanderer | mountain | mountain climbing | husband wife relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1919 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Pinnacle

Filming Locations:

Südtirol, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,000,000, 1 December 1919

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Film Manufacturing Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 99 min 99 min 99 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (color toned)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Erich von Stroheim had to agree to wave fees as writer and director in order to make this first film as writer director. However, he still got $200 a week to star.

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Goofs

In one shot, when the wife walks across her bedroom, a spotlight beam is visible on the ground following her.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: The Hollywood Dream (2011)

User Reviews

Interesting Early Stroheim

A basic marital morality tale, enthused with Stroheim's lust for self-loathing. He plays an over-sexed, effete, lizard of a Prussian Officer, named Von Steubens, who zealously seeks to dishonour the wife of an American doctor holidaying in an Alpine retreat.

Interestingly, Stroheim is said to have virtually stalked Carl Laemmle, the head of Universal, in order to get his story, The Pinnacle, made into what would become Blind Husbands. Not the least hint or sign, then, of the crazy, obsessive auteur, a part that Stroheim would pioneer! As a director, Stroheim does have a wonderful visual eye (scenes of men climbing mountains etc.). There are also some very inventive shots, such as when the wife is looking at her practically impotent husband, the doctor, sleeping in bed, via a mirror, and then sees a young couple at the lodge in place of him, completely in love, before going back to the snoring doctor.

Moreover, the English actor who would go on to play McTeague in Stroheim's much greater, later, work: Greed, here plays a mountain guide. He is a symbol of the people of the mountains, strong, pious and devout, a complete opposite to Von Steubens' decadent Officer, who uses his cultural refinement only to guarantee his baser purposes, wooing the local peasant girls with poetry for instance, and wooing the doctor's wife with a violin.

But that's the problem with film. Although the characterisation isn't completely two-dimensional, the esteemed doctor, for instance, shows envy and hatred. His wife also admits an ambivalent interest in Von Steubens unwholesome charm. But Stroheim seems to idealise these mountain people from the get go, which is stupid romanticism. Anyone who has such romanticism should read An Alpine Idyll, a short story by Hemingway.

Still, an interesting early Stroheim.