La fumeria d'oppio

Although there are elements of melodrama (the sister who tries to save her poor brother, a junkie in jail),this Matarazzo film does not belong to the genre of which he was a brilliant representative (see "Tormento" "Catene" "Il Figli Del Nessuno" "La Nave Delle Donne Maledette");it's closer to Film Noir ,and it features a famous dispenser of justice Za-La-Mort ,an Italian equivalent of French Arsene Lupin and British Raffle.

The best of this extravaganza ,the events of which remind you of the serials of the silent age , is the central part ,when Lina enters the enchanted palace ,where many of her brother's "friends" welcome her.She's like Alice who discovers her maleficent wonderland where all is "so strangely sweet , tea and cigarettes ".The depiction of the opium den where everybody becomes a slave to their dose,with the head aptly called the Master,is still impressive today.

The rest of the movie is more derivative : the police are rather dumb (they arrest the wrong woman ,in an implausible scene ) and the heroine on the rails with a train coming is worthy of "the perils of Pauline" or "Les Vampires " .