Foolish Wives 1922 123movies

Watch: Foolish Wives 1922 123movies, Full Movie Online – “Count” Karanzim, a Don Juan is with his cousins in Monte Carlo, living from faked money and the money he gets from rich ladies, who are attracted by his charmes and his title or his militaristic and aristocratic behaviour. He tries to have success with Mrs Hughes, the wife of the new US ambassador..
Plot: “Count” Karamzin, a Don Juan, lives off the money he scams from rich ladies who are attracted by his charms and his title. Having set up shop in Monte Carlo, he and his partners in crime pick their next target: the wife of an American diplomat.
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Ratings:

	7.0/10 Votes: 3,702
	89% | RottenTomatoes
	N/A | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 68 Popularity: 4.77 | TMDB

Reviews:

Seldom Seen Silent Classic
Today Erich Von Stroheim is best recalled by the general public for his appearances in such films as the 1950 SUNSET BLVD–but fans of silent film know him as one of early cinema’s great directors, creator of such films as BLIND HUSBANDS, FOOLISH WIVES, and the legendary masterwork GREED. The film is available in several VHS and DVD releases; perhaps the best, however, is offered by Kino Video, which also includes a profile of Von Stroheim as well.

FOOLISH WIVES is generally believed to be the first film made that cost one million dollars. In the modern era, when film budgets often run into many millions of dollars, this may seem slight–but in 1922 Universal Studios was staggered not only by the costs, but by Von Stroheim’s seemingly endless shooting schedule; at a time when most movies were made in six weeks or less, FOOLISH WIVES took a year or more to complete and threatened to bankrupt the studio.

The circumstances brought Von Stroheim into direct conflict with production manager Irving Thalberg, who threatened to replace him with another director. By most accounts, Von Stroheim laughed in Thalberg’s face: not only was he director, he was the star as well, and if he were fired the film would never be completed. Thalberg and Universal had little choice but grin and bear it… but it was something Thalberg would recall several years later, much to Von Stroheim’s chagrin.

Set in post-World War I Monaco, FOOLISH WIVES presents the story of the ultra-amoral Count Wladislaw Sergius (Von Stroheim) and his two supposed cousins Olga (Maude George) and Vera (Mae Busch) who present themselves as wealthy Russian nobility–but who are in fact a trio of vicious con-artists who generate cash flow by passing counterfeit bills through Monaco’s legendary casinos. Eager to deflect suspicion, they scrape acquaintance with an American diplomat and his wife (Rudolph Christians and Helen Hughes)–and in time at all the naive wife is so much putty in the Count’s diabolical hands.

Von Stroheim recreated a fairly large chunk of Monaco on the Universal back lot, and the sets, costumes, and crowds of extras still put most modern productions to shame. But the film’s real fascination are the deadly trio of Maude George, Mae Busch, and most particularly Von Stroheim himself. Within the first few minutes of the film he contemplates advances upon an attractive but mentally deficient young woman–and as the plot unfolds we discover that he has seduced the maid with a promise of marriage he does not intend to keep. This, of course, does not prevent him from taking her life savings for a little gambling money when the need arises! The overall cast is quite good, with Miss DuPont a stand out as the diplomat’s wife, and the cast plays without recourse to the broad mannerisms often seen in many silent films. But what drives the film is our curiosity at how far Von Stroheim will take both the film and his own performance. The answer? Plenty far indeed. It’s all fascinating stuff, and truly this is the film that gave Von Stroheim the title of “The Man You Love To Hate.” FOOLISH WIVES was soundly condemned by the moral authorities of the day, and Universal lost a bundle on the project. In an effort to recoup some of the loss, the studio cut and then recut the film to a more reasonable length for distribution; as a result, great chunks of the film were lost. While a “complete” version is an impossibility, the Kino version seems to restore the film as completely as possible.

FOOLISH WIVES inevitably pales in comparison to Stroheim’s later GREED, but it is a remarkably fine, remarkably watchable silent–and the two films would have a circular effect. For when Von Stroheim went to Metro to film GREED, he eventually found himself face to face once more with Irving Thalberg… and this time Thalberg, who well recalled the financial disaster of FOOLISH WIVES, would have the upper hand. Strongly recommended, not only for the film itself, but for the backstory involved.

GFT, Reviewer

Thus Begins The Stroheim Legend
In only his third directed film, Erich von Stroheim was gaining a reputation of being excessively profligate in spending wads of Universal Studio’s cash in his obsessive perfectionism while producing January 1922’s “Foolish Wives.” The filming was taking a year, running up record costs. His spending on the project, so high because of set designs and hiring thousands of extras, was becoming so great the studio decided to secure some marketing advantage by placing an electronic sign on a Broadway building in New York City giving weekly updats on production expenses associated with “Foolish Wives.” When the ticker tripped to one million dollars, Stroheim’s film was reportedly the first to cross that magic figure in Hollywood history.

Universal had retained the Austrian-born actor/director/writer on the basis of his two previously successful movies, ones which exhibited a relatively degree of production efficiency and saved the studio from impending bankruptcy. Universal vice president R. H. Cochrane gave Stroheim a bigger budget for his third film, one that included constructing an exact facade duplication of Monte Carlo entertainment-complex as well as another set on the windy Monterey Peninsula.

Stroheim’s spending on “Foolish Wives” became legendary: huge expenditures for costumes, including silk stockings and even silk underwear for the actors so they could get into their well-heeled characters, according to Stroheim. He also bought lavish set pieces with real crystal chandeliers and top–end tapestry wall coverings, and servings of expensive champaign and caviar during the banquet scenes. Why couldn’t the director use the far cheaper blackberry jam and ginger ale to look similar to its outrageously exorbitant counterparts, asked a studio executive. “Because my actors will know the difference, I will know the difference, and the camera will know the difference,” sniffed Stroheim.

Universal president Carl Laemmle became so concerned about the rising costs, budgeted at $250,000 but escalating well north of that, he sent his assistant, 21-year-old Irving Thalberg, from New York to Hollywood to quicken the pace. Irving got permission to fire Stroheim, prompting the director to say the film would never be completed since he was the main actor in the movie. Thalberg sat on the set, and once he felt there was enough of the story to be made into a complete movie, he shut down the production despite Stroheim’s arguments against the move. Laemmle was so impressed by Thalberg’s handling of the fiery Austrian he promoted the young man to head his studio’s production division.

Stroheim had processed reams of filmed footage. He spent six months editing the behemoth monstrosity. Emerging out of the editing room, the director labeled his 32-reels, eight-hour film ‘perfect.’ Universal disagreed with his assessment that “Foolish Wives” could be seen in a two-evening setting. Several editors whittled the movie down to 14 reels and 210 minutes, prompting Stroheim to complain the studio stripped his masterpiece “to the bone.” After further cuts from various state censor boards, the final film was a spare 10-reel, 73-minute picture. Several versions since its New York premier have expanded Stroheim’s work. The box office take on “Foolish Wives” was $800,000, and if the reality of production costs were factored under one million, then Universal broke even.

The tale of the production of “Foolish Wives” overwhelms the Stroheim-written script of a Russian count with two female partners who set up married women to extort money from them from his seductions. One person he has an affair with is a mentally-challenged woman, whose father disapproves so much of the relationship that it will have lasting consequences for the swindler.

Despite all the rancor “Foolish Wives” created for Universal, he was still given several opportunities to direct movies throughout the remainder of the the 1920’s. But having total control throughout with an unlimited budget wasn’t in his future, however, after what happened with “Foolish Wives.”

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime 1 hr 57 min (117 min), 6 hr 24 min (384 min) (original) (Sweden), 2 hr 20 min (140 min) (Ontario) (Canada), 1 hr 47 min (107 min) (TCM print) (USA)
Budget 1100000
Revenue 400200
Status Released
Rated Not Rated
Genre Drama, Thriller
Director Erich von Stroheim
Writer Erich von Stroheim, Marian Ainslee, Walter Anthony
Actors Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George
Country United States
Awards 1 win
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix Silent
Aspect Ratio 1.33 : 1
Camera Bell & Howell Camera
Laboratory N/A
Film Length 3,084 m (10 reels) (release version), 4,303 m (14 reels)
Negative Format 35 mm
Cinematographic Process Spherical
Printed Film Format 35 mm