Raha

Original title: L'argent

1928
3h 15m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

Drama Romance

The business tycoon Nicolas Saccard is nearly ruined by his rival Gunderman, when he tries to raise capital for his company. To push up the price of his stock, Saccard plans a publicity stun... Read allThe business tycoon Nicolas Saccard is nearly ruined by his rival Gunderman, when he tries to raise capital for his company. To push up the price of his stock, Saccard plans a publicity stunt involving the aviator Jacques Hamelin flying across the Atlantic to Guyana and drilling ... Read allThe business tycoon Nicolas Saccard is nearly ruined by his rival Gunderman, when he tries to raise capital for his company. To push up the price of his stock, Saccard plans a publicity stunt involving the aviator Jacques Hamelin flying across the Atlantic to Guyana and drilling for oil there, much to the dismay of Hamelin's wife Line. While Hamelin is away, Saccard t... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos27

Pierre Alcover and Brigitte Helm in Raha (1928)

Storyline

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Trivia
There are 1,952 shots in the film, with an average shot length of just six and a half seconds.

Alternate versions
The film was shown to the French press in December 1928 in a cut lasting about 3 hours and 20 minutes, however by the time the film had its first public screening in January 1929, producer Jean Sapene had ordered the length to be cut by half, unbeknownst to director Marcel L'Herbier and much to his and fellow filmmaker Marcel Carné's dismay. Much later, the film was restored to a running time of 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Connections
Featured in The Twentieth Century: The Movies Learn to Talk (1959)

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

8/10

A lost classic

Marcel L'Herbier's "L'Argent" clocks in at 195 minutes. Nothing strange about that you might think but this is a silent film, made in France in 1928 and dealing, not in the epic themes of a "Ben Hur", an "Intolerance" or a "Napoleon" but in the contemporary, in the everyday, though not in the mundane. The title translates as 'Money' and money permeates every aspect of this picture which is 'inspired by' rather than based on a novel by Zola. It may not be a masterpiece but it is quite extraordinary just as it is extraordinary to think audiences ever took to this film, set largely in the world of stock exchanges and high finance, which isn't just on the long side but is also sophisticated and challenging. It requires more than patience; it requires intelligence. The plot may be melodramatic, necessary at the time perhaps to draw its audience in, but it is a film that deals in depth with unusual themes. It is also superbly acted, (the large cast includes the great Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel and in a small part, Jules Berry), photographed and edited. Indeed, this is one of the great 'lost' silent pictures and it really needs rediscovery.

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