Blind Husbands

Blind Husbands is a 1919 American drama film directed by Erich von Stroheim.[1] The film is an adaptation of the story The Pinnacle by Stroheim.[2]

Blind Husbands
Film poster
Directed byErich von Stroheim
Produced byErich von Stroheim
Written byErich von Stroheim
Starring
CinematographyBen F. Reynolds
Edited by
Distributed byUniversal Film Manufacturing Company
Release date
  • December 7, 1919 (1919-12-07)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Budget$42,000

Plot

A group of holiday-makers arrive at Cortina d'Ampezzo, an Alpine village in the Dolomites. Among them are an American Doctor who does not pay much attention to his wife and an Austrian Lieutenant, who decides to seduce her. He manages to befriend the couple so that, when the Doctor has to leave to help a local physician, he asks the Lieutenant to look after his wife. When the Lieutenant becomes too pressing, she promises to leave with him but asks him to give her more time. During the night, she puts a letter under the door of his bedroom.

The Doctor goes on a climbing expedition with the Lieutenant, who had been bragging about his exploits as a mountaineer. In fact, he is not in very good shape and the Doctor must help him to reach the summit. In the process, the Doctor finds his wife's letter in the pocket of the Lieutenant's jacket, but before he can read it, the Lieutenant throws it away. He asks the Lieutenant whether his wife had promised to leave with him and the Lieutenant gives a positive answer. The Doctor decides to leave him on the summit and starts his descent, despite the Lieutenant now saying that he has been lying because he thought the Doctor would not believe the truth. On his way back, the Doctor finds his wife's letter, in which she had written that she loved only her husband and asked the Lieutenant not to bother her any longer with his attentions. While pondering whether he should go back to get the Lieutenant, he loses his balance and falls down. When the Doctor is finally saved by soldiers, he asks them to go and help the Lieutenant. Before they can reach him, the Lieutenant, attacked by vultures, falls to his death from the precipice.[3]

Cast
  • Sam De Grasse as Doctor Robert Armstrong, the husband
  • Francelia Billington as Margaret Armstrong, the wife
  • Erich von Stroheim as Lieutenant Eric Von Steuben
  • Gibson Gowland as Silent Sepp, the mountain guide
  • Fay Holderness as The jealous waitress
  • Ruby Kendrick as A village blossom
  • Valerie Germonprez as The honeymooning bride
  • Jack Perrin as The honeymooning groom
  • Richard Cummings as Dr. Brunner, the village physician
  • Louis Fitzroy as The village priest
  • William De Vaull as A man from home
  • Jack Mathes as A man from home
  • Percy Challenger as A man from home

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Survival status

A copy of Blind Husbands is in the Museum of Modern Art film archive and in several other collections.[1]

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References
  1. "Progressive Silent Film List: Blind Husbands". Silent Era. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
  2. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-20 by The American Film Institute, c.1988
  3. Review, synopsis and link to watch the film: "A Cinema History". Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  4. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-18.
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