Flesh and the Devil (1926) User Reviews (49)

Magnificent silent film! Marvelous cinematography, great performances, Garbo's alluring beauty

[marcin_kukuczka · 9/10 · 8 January 2006]

"Garbo multiplied the cinema's power of suggestion to infinity,

and the gaze so deep that every spectator there found what he sought

she spoke a different language to every man" Ado Kyrou, 1957

FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926), the first film that the director Clarence Brown made with "an immigrant actress" who Greta Garbo had been before its premiere occurred to be one of the very best films for its time. People flocked to see it, Garbo became so eminent that she could almost dictate the terms in film industry, her relationship with John Gilbert turned out to be no baseless gossip. However, since then, 80 years have passed, not many people know how important the premiere of the film was, how historic it turned out to be in Garbo's career. Yet, it seems never to be fading since there are STILL many people who watch this film in its recent DVD release. Let us look at some aspects that make it a real classic, not only for its time, but for the general history of cinema.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHY by William H. Daniels is magnificent. Probably, anyone who has seen the film will never forget its most famous lighting effect when Gilbert lightens Garbo's cigarette in the shadowy garden. Another stunning moment is the scene of Leo Von Harden and Count Von Rhaden's duel. It is played in silhouette against the vast sky and, as a result, we can see not so much people but rather their shadows. An excellent moment that remains in memory is the waltz of Felicitas and Leo on the ball at Stoltenhof. The scene is filmed so memorably that it is hard to be skipped. Yet, the image of the "Isle of Friendship" where two best friends swore eternal loyalty as children and then went to fight in a duel is presented in an unforgettable way. Such pictures never fade in memory.

THE CAST are very talented, real elite of the time.

GRETA GARBO and JOHN GILBERT: Gilbert, who was Hollywood's leading man after the death of Rudolph Valentino, does a great job here as Leo Von Harden. His love to Felicitas (and to Garbo in real life) is so natural that everybody will get an impression that it is real what they can find on the screen. The love scenes between the two are particularly natural, hardly to be found elsewhere in films! If there is chemistry between the stars in a film, it is, without any doubt, in FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Greta Garbo performs so well that no wonder people saw her (many for the first time) and very soon started to admire her as an actress. She is excellent in the role and her acting still does not appear to be dated whatsoever! The whole of Garbo's sequence is marvelous but if I were to choose which scenes are particularly memorable, I would pay attention to two brilliant moments: first, the one at the train station when Leo and Felicitas meet for the first time and Leo picks the flowers that fell onto the ground and gives them to her, and, second, the moment when Leo and Ulrich, two lifelong friends, go to fight in a duel. Viewer's attention is directed towards Hertha, Ulrich's virtuous sister. She does her best to persuade Felicitas to take steps to stop this madness that a duel between two best friends appeared to be. How beautifully Garbo shows a change of heart... I admit that I have never seen such a performance before! Therefore, the words by Kyrou about Garbo, entailed at the beginning of my review, appear to accurately fit here.

OTHER CAST: Besides Garbo and Gilbert, there is a great Swedish actor, Lars Hanson, with whom Garbo played in one film before FLESH AND THE DEVIL (this was Mauritz Stiller's THE SAGA OF GOSTA BERLING). He is memorable as Ulrich, particularly in the final sequence when friendship occurs to be, indeed, sacred. The fabulous acting of the three (Garbo, Gilbert and Hanson) is expressed in a brilliant scene of the three meeting after Leo's return from Africa and drinking a toast. Other cast give very good performances, too, including Barbara Kent as Hertha and Marc Mc Dermott as Count Von Rhaden.

OTHER MEMORABLE MOMENTS include a number of humorous scenes that are, in no way, dated. It is important to state that many silent films may seem "silly" because today's viewers laugh at the scenes that were not supposed to be funny. It is caused by the challenge in people's sense of humor. However, it does not appear to be in FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Humor is retained and still serves its purpose. Consider the pastor seeing twins and believing to be drunk (he sees one girl in double). Or the final shot ... "You won't bid me goodbye?"

FLESH AND THE DEVIL is a film that I would recommend to anyone to see. It is a real classic and, in this regard, it may be considered similar to other classics of the time, like SUNRISE (1927), BEN HUR (1925) and THE LAST LAUGH (1924). But there are three more aspects about it that make the movie a must see - William H. Daniels' cinematography, Clarence Brown's direction and Greta Garbo's magnificent silent performance together with her alluring beauty. See it so that the film can last forever in your most beautiful memories. 9/10!

Duel in the Sun

[lugonian · 8/10 · 9 February 2002]

FLESH AND THE DEVIL (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1926), directed by Clarence Brown, is a silent film classic that marked the initial pairing of John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, and possibly their best collaboration of the silent era. As in most Garbo films during her rise to fame, she plays a heartless "vamp," a kind of screen role Hollywood seemed to usually give its foreign imports, and Garbo is no exception to that rule.

The story focuses on Leo Von Harden (John Gilbert) and Ulrich Von Eltz (Lars Hanson), two Austrian militant comrades who happen to be the very best of friends since childhood. (In a flashback sequence where Leo and Ulrich are boys, they are seen, along with Ulrich's kid sister, Hertha, playing on what they call "The Island of Friendship" where the boys become blood brothers. Although Hertha loves Leo, Leo simply ignores her). Back to present day, now set at a lavish dinner party, Leo, who had earlier noticed the mesmerizing Felicitas (Greta Garbo) at a train station, finally makes her acquaintance. During a dance, it is love at first sight. They both leave the party only to later have an affair in her place of residence. During the affair, they are caught by her husband, Count Von Rhaden (Marc MacDermott). Not wanting to disgrace his good name, the husband challenges lover boy to a duel with the understanding that they had "words in a card game." The duel takes place and the Count is instantly killed. Leo continues to see this "merry widow," but because of the duel, Leo is ordered by his superiors to go on a mission to Africa for five years. After he is pardoned, he rushes home on horseback with only Felicitas' name on his mind. Upon his return, he finds that Felicitas is now married ... to ... his best friend, Ulrich. At first he tries to avoid her, but finds himself meeting her secretly. After husband No. 2 learns of their secret rendezvous, Felicitas, with those devilish eyes, succeeds into turning these former best friends into bitter enemies.

In the supporting cast are George Fawcett as Pastor Voss, the man who warns Leo (Gilbert) that when the devil cannot reach man through the spirit, then he sends a woman to get him through the flesh; Eugenie Besserer as Leo's mother; William Orlamond as Uncle Kutowski; and the pert and dark-haired Barbara Kent as the grown up Hertha.

FLESH AND THE DEVIL was one of MGM silent movies presented on New York City's public television station of WNET, Channel 13 (original air date: August 27, 1973), in the 13-week showing of MOVIES GREAT MOVIES, hosted by Richard Schickel, featuring an original orchestral score written directly for the film in this series. It also ranked one of the most revived movies from that series, making its final bow in May 1978. When distributed to home video by MGM/UA in 1988, the newly restored copy was presented with a new Thames orchestral score by Carl Davis, which proves disappointing at times mainly due to its occasional violin playing that makes viewing this sleep inducing. The only other disturbing element in regards to the video copy and the print that turns up on Turner Classic Movies is its elimination of the original ending involving Leo (Gilbert) and Hertha (Barbara Kent) as she rides a coach bound for Munich never to return as Leo runs after her, thus, ruining the focal point as to what becomes of Hertha after she earlier begs the uncaring Felicitas to go out in the cold and snowy grounds to spare the lives of both her brother and the man she loves from a duel they are to have at sunrise. The alternate ending that hasn't been shown since its 1970s PBS presentation has been placed in the 2005 DVD release of the "Garbo Silents Collection."

Although a big success upon its release, FLESH AND THE DEVIL will probably provide few surprises to first time viewers, especially since many movies involving illicit affairs have been done many times since the beginning of cinema and continues on to this very day. However, minus the more explicit "bedroom scenes" and flesh most common practice in more modern films, director Clarence Brown substitutes that with Gilbert-Garbo doing their passionate love and kissing moments transpired into semi-darkness. There is one fine visual effect that has Gilbert lighting a cigarette as she coyly blows out the match. Otherwise what the two central characters do is left to the imagination of the audience. It's surprising to mention, however, that a story such as this did not get remade in later years as a starring vehicle for the likes of either Hedy Lamarr or Elizabeth Taylor playing the Garbo role, and Peter Lawford and Ricardo Montalban as the militant comrades, for example, but overall, it's hard to duplicate and compare the performances of the screen's popular flesh and the devil themselves, Gilbert and Garbo. (***)

Garbo plays an ambiguous temptress

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 8/10 · 24 May 2003]

Felicitas... Can there ever have been a woman more ironically named?

When I saw this billed as a John Gilbert/Greta Garbo feature, I assumed it was to be a story of romance; of a great love-affair that would echo down the centuries. So, I suspect, does Leo (John Gilbert) - he is very young, and Felicitas, the older woman, is very beautiful. (It is a tribute to both actors that they make this age difference, not reflected in reality, subtly apparent.)

In fact, it is not a conventional romance at all. Felicitas remains an enigma, a beautiful, unforthcoming blank. We see her through Leo's eyes, and gradually we are shattered and disillusioned even as he is. One betrayal - of her husband for Leo - proves the idol to have feet of clay... but that, we can forgive. Adulterous heroines throughout history have made loveless marriages to rich older men before finding true romance in the arms of Our Hero - and it is natural, although less than honourable, to wish to conceal the husband's existence from the lover even as she conceals that of the lover from the husband.

The second betrayal - that of Leo for his friend Ulrich, whom he has asked to 'look after' the woman widowed by her lover's hand without, fatally, disclosing the truth of his relationship with her - is harder to forgive. But the idol with feet of clay is, after all, only a 'weak and feeble woman', alone in the world and separated from her lover with no knowledge of when he may be able to return, and Ulrich is as worthy of Felicitas' hand as he is of Leo's own lifelong friendship. How can we condemn her?

Even the third betrayal, of Ulrich for Leo, whom she persuades against all his scruples and his love for his friend to re-start their affair, may be written off as yielding to the love of a lifetime against all the tragic circumstances that have intervened - she has betrayed one husband for this man already, and doubtless It was Meant to Be... Only, as it turns out, it isn't like that at all.

The audience begins to suspect the truth before Leo does, but the final betrayal is still devastating. Felicitas is more in love with her wealth as Ulrich's wife than with Leo (she literally doesn't even spare Ulrich a glance, despite his stumbling attempts at comfort after his friend's departure, until he happens to mention that he is rich). When she refuses to let Leo make an honest woman of her by leaving her husband and facing social ruin at her lover's side, the scales begin to fall from Leo's eyes - and in the ensuing struggle, when Ulrich, aghast, bursts in to find his wife and his best friend writhing on the bed, Felicitas reacts just as she has always done. Namely, in her own best interests.

She betrays Leo by crying rape; and Leo, devastated alike by the perfidy of his mistress and the look in the eyes of his dearest friend, refuses to deny the accusation. He intends for Ulrich to kill him - if not there on the spot, then by pistols at dawn. And Felicitas, beautiful, unmoved, doesn't turn a hair.

This isn't a romance - even a doomed romance. In the end, it's the scenes that we at first assume to be mere stage-setting, then to be peripheral to the love-affair, that shape the story. It isn't a tale of star-crossed lovers. It's a film about two friends, and the mysterious, almost sinister, woman who comes between them.

When Felicitas dies on the ice, it is less a tragedy than a blessed release - and in that moment, the duellists see each other clearly once more, as the whole structure of obsession and disloyalty and shallow desire comes tumbling down. The effects of her lies and her greed are washed away in the icy water. 'Felicitas' has brought 'happiness' to no-one; but with her removal, older bonds of trust and loyalty assert their claim, and life can slowly begin to knit itself back together at last.

Technically speaking, this film is beautifully constructed. Almost every important development is prefigured, although I found Hertha's sudden access of religious fervour and Felicitas' hysterical response -- I thought she was going to strangle her to shut her up! -- in the last scene to be rather jarring. There are many moments of comedy and tenderness in amongst the melodrama, and the snowbound seduction scene by the firelight is still genuinely disturbing,even today. I didn't feel that the 'advanced' technical tricks I have seen so highly praised - the framing of the lovers in the husband's hand, the name beating to the rhythm of the engine's pistons - have worn so well, and I heard the film with a live piano accompaniment rather than with the 'Carl Davis score' American viewers applaud, so I can't comment on that. But Greta Garbo, in my first encounter with her, proved every bit as beautiful and talented as her contemporary reputation would have her - much to my surprise and pleasure - and Lars Hanson gave a shining performance as Ulrich, in a part that could so easily have come across as a cardboard cut-out of a wronged and virtuous man, but in fact established Leo's open-hearted friend as the most sympathetic character in the film.

Ahead of its time

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 7 September 2005]

"Flesh and the Devil", the 1926 silent film, brilliantly directed by Clarence Brown, was shown recently on cable and the most amazing thing happened: the film looks superb! "Flesh and the Devil" has one of the most amazing team behind the camera, one that made its stars look so magnificently that one can't take ones eyes from the screen for fear of losing something. In addition to the superb director, the work of William Daniels with his camera is amazing. Mr. Daniels created images that are hard to forget.

The opening sequence of the film involving the arrival of Leo and Ulrich in their hometown, has to be one of the best things ever filmed. When Leo discovers the beautiful Felicitas as she descends from the train and walks to the awaiting car, where he runs to rescue the flower arrangement she inadvertently had dropped, is charged with desire and raw sex. Hollywood was more daring during those precode days when anything seemed to go.

Greta Garbo and John Gilbert make this film something to watch again and again. Both stars exuded such charisma that it's not hard to realize they were lovers. Ms. Garbo looked lovely in all her scenes and Mr. Gilbert was one of the handsomest leading men of the era.

One of the best things whoever restored the film was to add a great musical score that makes watching the pleasure it is. Also, in spite of being a silent movie, "Flesh and the Devil" has such a fluidity that, at times, we forget it's not a "talkie", because of the magic that Mr. Brown, and his cinematographer, William Daniels, were able to do together. Of course, the film is what it is because of its stars' magnetism and the way they make us care about the story.

A Fine Cast Makes It a Good Melodrama

[Snow Leopard · 4 April 2006]

The fine cast makes this melodrama work, and turns a rather routine plot idea into a good and sometimes memorable movie. John Gilbert and Lars Hanson are a good combination as the male leads, and Greta Garbo is convincing as always, as the woman at the center of everything. Clarence Brown's direction also contains some good touches.

Gilbert and Hanson work well as the two lifelong friends who fall in love with the same woman. Gilbert's more passionate, hot-blooded character forms a believable and interesting contrast to Hanson's innocently earnest portrayal of his loyal, unsuspecting friend. Garbo's character is treated roughly at times by the story and by some of the other characters, but she more than rises to the occasion, and as she often does, she makes what could have been a stereotyped love interest into a complex and sometimes tormented character.

Barbara Kent also does well in a smaller role, and her character (the younger sister of Hanson's character) is used effectively at some important moments that help develop the main characters. Brown adds a lighter tone to a couple of sequences when suitable, and he provides a good pace. Given the fairly simple story, it might run a bit long, but otherwise it is well-crafted and effective.

A great melodrama

[Servo-11 · 10/10 · 30 April 2003]

Yes, the plot is a bit cliche but the performances certainly make up for it! Garbo, only in the early years of her career, gives an incredibly smoldering performance as the unredeemable temptress Felicitas, who snags the hapless Leo (John Gilbert) into a web of sex and lies. Look at that sly smile as she's trying on her widow's weeds -- very effective. John Gilbert, the heir of Valentino's mantle, proves that he surpassed the master lover with a believable portrayal of a man who realizes that he's way over his head but can't help himself. He does indulge in a bit of histrionics, but is very restrained compared to other silent lovers of the era. Only his performances in "The Big Parade" and "Downstairs" better this one. As Felicitas' second husband, Lars Hanson has the looks and talent to hold his own on the screen with his two incredibly dynamic co-stars. He amazed me opposite Lillian Gish in "The Wind" and "The Scarlet Letter" and it's a shame that he made so few movies in Hollywood before returning to Sweden.

Clarence Brown keeps the narrative flowing with a healthy balance of humor, drama, romance and action. MGM's stock company of character actors (William Orlamond, Polly Moran, George Fawcett and Eugenie Besserer) make an appearance and provide excellent supporting players to the three stars.

I found the Carl Davis score to be absolutely perfect for the images up on the screen, and the music when Garbo and Gilbert dance and two necking sessions reflect the raw passion. It's just stunning and I can't come up with enough words to describe it. After Buster Keaton's entire body of work, this movie ranks as my #2 favorite, tied with The Wind.

10/10

Chemistry between Garbo and Gilbert the highlight

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 19 April 2019]

The chemistry between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert is the highlight of this film and the main reason to watch it. Their loving caresses, deep open mouthed kisses, and the eye contact they make when they're with the other guy in this love triangle (Lars Hanson, who may as well be nameless) all reflect the feelings they had off the screen as well. Garbo is a master at mesmerizing little gestures, such as the way she holds the cigarette in her mouth in the scene that includes the line "You know... when you blow out the match... that's an invitation to kiss you...?" Gilbert is strong as well, and shows more range here than usual (among other things, I loved how he acted during that duel). Lastly, while all eyes are on Garbo, I was drawn to diminutive Barbara Kent (4'11"), whose character is also certainly more endearing.

Unfortunately, the film is saddled with the whole woman as satanic temptress thing, punctuated by a fire and brimstone sermon that quotes scripture in case we don't get it. If you look closely, you'll notice that the pastor has a cigarette holder that features a figurine of reclining woman showing off her shapely legs, a small moment that shows his hypocrisy in an otherwise very moralistic tale. The film also needed editing - it spends too much time on silly scenes early on (e.g. showing long nonsensical words in "German", military formations, weak jokes with a pair of twins, etc), and overall should have been about a half hour shorter. Lastly, the story is a little hokey even for a melodrama, for example, it seemed odd that the blood brothers wouldn't communicate better while one of them went away, and the ending is silly too. All of this takes away from the magic of Garbo/Gilbert, but there's enough of that to make it worth watching nonetheless.

One of the best!

[JohnHowardReid · 10/10 · 29 March 2018]

NOTES: Despite his rave review in The New York Times, in which he commented upon Brown's "admirable artistry" and the film's "distinguished cast" ("Miss Garbo is undeniably alluring"), Mordaunt Hall did not find a place for the movie in either his "Top Ten" or his supplementary list. His fellow critics, however, were not so neglectful. In the annual Film Daily poll of 280 movie reviewers, Flesh and the Devil came in at 10th position. The movie also scored big at the boxoffice.

COMMENT: A fascinating and completely engrossing film noir, one of the top pictures in the genre, Flesh and the Devil rivets the viewer's attention from the very opening shot and never lets it go until the end title. Encouraged by Brown's inventive direction, ace cameraman William Daniels has a field day with noirish lighting and atmospheric effects. Great emphasis is placed upon darkness with some scenes so brilliantly lit, it's just possible to make out the players. Not that they have anything to complain about. Garbo not only looks great (Daniels, in fact, was her favorite cameraman) but gives a vibrant, smouldering performance that almost literally sets the screen on fire. More than one critic has even gone so far as to say that Garbo and Daniels walk away with the movie. That's not strictly true because Brown's sensitive direction also deserves a bouquet, and Gilbert's portrayal of the tortured hero is nothing short of compelling. He is more than adequately supported by Lars Hanson (a little inclined to over-act) and given solid competition by the ever-reliable Eugenie Besserer and particularly by Barbara Kent (her second of thirty-five movies) who most convincingly matures from sixteen to nineteen in the course of the story. George Fawcett also deserves a nod for his rounded portrait of the pastor who is not averse to brandy and cigars.

As might be expected from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, production values are nothing short of lavish. But not escapist lavish. Most realistically lavish. Sets and costumes are breathtaking, but always appropriately in character. A final compliment to Marian Ainslee whose dialogue titles are not only literate and pithy, but seem so completely natural they neither interrupt the flow of the story nor divert the viewer's attention from the tragedy that so engrossingly unfolds on the screen.

An undeniable chemistry

[jjnxn-1 · 7/10 · 11 May 2013]

Famed silent is for the time period a well made melodrama. The story is of no real consequence and now seems very familiar as it probably was at the time of it's release. The communion scene is provocative, very erotic even today and must have been a sensation in '26. The real interest is of course the cast, Garbo especially. Of all the players she is the acting standout, with the exception of a few scenes her performance feels very naturalistic. The same goes for her appearance, whereas everybody else looks like they belong in the 1920's her unadorned hairdos and streamlined clothes convey a contemporary feeling, a flesh impact. Gilbert, who was then wildly popular, is a relic from a bygone era. He looks like he could be attractive but his ridiculous mustache and the heavy makeup required at the time sabotage his handsomeness. His acting is quite mannered and uneven, he was much better in The Big Parade, but he and Garbo share an undeniable chemistry. The real offender in overacting is Lars Hanson his eye-popping and herky jerky movements are a textbook example of the worst kind of silent screen performance, the impression that keeps a lot of people from giving silents a try. The other major person in this passion play is Barbara Kent as the angelic young thing in contrast to Garbo's rapacious strumpet. Kent passed away at 103 in 2011 one of the last remaining silent screen stars although she turned her back on public life and had been a recluse since the 50's.

Divine

[Damfino1895 · 10/10 · 6 October 2002]

I recently watched this movie again after having not seen it in over two years. What was I thinking? I had forgotten what a fantastic movie this was, particularly as I saw it with the Carl Davis composed soundtrack which enhances it even more. It begins in such a lighthearted vein and then transforms into one of the most breathtaking romances ever filmed, the chemistry between Garbo and Gilbert is sizzling hot and Garbo's character has to be one of the biggest bitches in movie history. The photography is stunning and stands up well against anything filmed today, particularly the waltz and the duel. Everyone remembers Garbo and Gilbert in this movie, but, there is a standout performance by Lars Hanson as the innocent and cuckolded Ulrich, once again, as in "The Wind" he wrenches out every last last drop of sympathy for his character with his wonderful acting, he was a true hidden treasure of the silent era. A must see movie.

This essential silent from director Clarence Brown features Greta Garbo and John Gilbert

[jacobs-greenwood · 7/10 · 12 December 2016]

Directed by five time Best Director Oscar nominee Clarence Brown, this essential silent drama, co-written by Benjamin Glazer, features Greta Garbo in her third American film, following Torrent (1926) and The Temptress (1926), all of which were released in the same year. It's also the first of her four pairings with actor John Gilbert, their last was Queen Christina (1933), and first of seven with director Brown. In this film, Garbo serves as the woman in a love triangle with soldier Gilbert and wealthy Lars Hanson. Gilbert's and Hanson's characters had grown up childhood pals who'd made a "blood" pact on "Friendship" island. This film was added to the National Film Registry in 2006.

Upon returning from military service, Leo (Gilbert) meets and falls in love with Felicitas (Garbo), unaware that she's a married woman. When her husband the Count (Marc McDermott) returns to find them together in an uncompromising position, he challenges Leo to a duel. Leo kills the Count and is persuaded by Pastor Voss (George Fawcett), aware of the affair, to go away for 5 years. Before he leaves, Leo asks his childhood "blood brother", now rich Ulrich von Eltz (Hanson) to look after the widow, telling him the dispute with the Count was over a card game.

While returning from his self imposed exile, Leo dreams of nothing but Felicitas. He returns to his mother (Eugenie Besserer) and finds that Ulrich's sister Hertha (Barbara Kent) now lives with her, since her older brother's wedding. Hertha has always had a crush on Leo. When Leo finds that Ulrich's wife is Felicitas, he is crestfallen to the point of jeopardizing their long friendship. Felicitas intervenes to tell Leo that Ulrich is lost without his childhood friend, and Leo reconciles with his friend without revealing his past with Felicitas. Even though Pastor Voss preaches against it, when Ulrich is absent on business, Felicitas seduces Leo once again. Pastor Voss councils Leo about the Devil, who uses the Flesh to try and tempt men who are otherwise of great character.

When Ulrich returns, he catches Leo in Felicitas bedroom. She had been willing to run away with Leo, but when he refused, she was satisfied with just continuing their affair. So, Leo was strangling her when Ulrich walked in. She accuses Leo of disloyalty and a resigned Leo admits it's the truth. Ulrich challenges Leo to a duel the next morning on Friendship island, the place of their childhood "blood" pact. While their duel has begun, Felicitas rushes to stop it when she falls through the frozen ice surrounding the island and drowns. Unaware of this, but aware that his friend Leo is about to willingly take his bullet, Ulrich realizes the truth ... that Leo had shot the Count because he was in love with Felicitas. The two men renew their friendship and leave the island arm in arm.

Noirish in a pre-noir world

[thebluesterman · 9/10 · 18 February 2016]

Let this begin by my outing myself as an unashamed card-carrying political correctness Luddite. In reading several of the reviews already posted here I was shocked, shocked to find that there was grumbling going on in here. *SPOILER ALERT* One reviewer made reference to misogynism because Felicitas drowns in freezing water beneath a layer of ice and the guys rediscover the depth of their friendship. Allegedly, this happens because it is a male dominated world and women always get the **** end of the morality stick. Sorry...not buying that. She gets it in a wonderfully symbolically perfect (for her character) way (recall Frost's Fire and Ice). AND...17 years later when Phyllis Dietrichson gets offed by Walter Neff I don't think anyone was crying foul because she dies on screen and Walter is left to ponder his inevitable fate in the arms of his pal, Keyes, during the fade out. While watching Flesh and The Devil I was struck several times how noirish was the story line and some of the camera work. The film was shot so well that it was hard to take my eyes off the screen for even a moment (much the same effect that Metropolis has). Others have remarked on the undercurrent of homoerotica. I guess we find what we're looking for. The lens I viewed this film through saw two men who shared a very deep and life-long affection for and loyalty to one another. They displayed this affection openly, viscerally and verbally (through the dialogue intertitles). As a lifelong heterosexual male I have to say that these qualities in some of my male friendships over the years never resulted in me or my pals confusing one another with Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy. Acapulco Gold does not always lead to being a smack addict. So... I accepted this film for what it (in my opinion) is: a really fine film that I was thrilled to discover in the Garbo box set I just bought. So what if this wasn't the first (or last) time in the history of humankind that this theme was worked. Originality can be an overworked and highly overrated quality. For anyone interested in watching a superior film that is now 89 years old, Flesh and The Devil should satisfy. And so say all of us.

David and Uriah's wife.

[brogmiller · 7/10 · 11 March 2022]

The works of Hermann Suderman have proved immensely popular with film-makers, the most notable adaptation being 'Sunrise. The Story of two Humans.' Although Clarence Brown's film cannot begin to match Murnau's sublime masterpiece it is eminently watchable.

We are treated not only to the biological chemistry between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert but also to the photochemistry of director Brown and his cinematographer William Daniels which was to work so well for Miss Garbo through the years.

Although Louis B. Mayer frowned upon the well publicised affair between his two stars he tolerated it as he recognised the box office potential and indeed cinemagoers queued around the block to experience the vicarious thrill of seeing not two actors pretending but two lovers living it.

By the standards of the time this is a torrid tale and concerns two men Leo and Ulrich, played by Gilbert and Lars Hanson whose intense friendship which could be said to contain a hint of the homoerotic, is shattered by the femme fatale of Garbo's Felicitas.

Garbo exudes sensuality here and already shows her uncanny ability to register thought. Victor Sjostrom called it 'thinking above the eyes' when directing her later in 'Divine Woman' which also starred fellow Swede Hanson. It is to be regretted that only one reel of nine minutes survives of that film following a vault fire at MGM in 1965.

The cigarette-lighting scene and that involving the communion cup are unforgettable and one is astonished that the scene in the hunting lodge managed to escape the unwelcome attentions of the Production Code. As it happens Felicitas pays the ultimate price for her sins which presumably made it acceptable. There is also a priceless scene where the Pastor of George Fawcett fulminates in the pulpit against the sin of adultery whilst Felicitas applies her lipstick.

The film is enhanced immeasurably by the beautifully created Austrian setting courtesy of the art department under the supervision of Cedric Gibbons.

The romance between Garbo and Gilbert was not fated to last and as her star rose, his fell. Although their love scenes now seem tame, not far short of a century on this film remains, in the words of film historian Mark Vieira, 'a landmark in cinematic sexuality'.

The Love That Dares Not Speak Its Name!

[ldavis-2 · 3/10 · 7 September 2005]

Finally got to see this last night. While Garbo (who never looked more ravishing) and Gilbert (who looks like a total wuss) have their moments, the affair is not between them, but between Gilbert and Lars Hanson, his "beloved friend." Notice how they can't keep their hands off each other, even as they agree they must duel? As if she knows this, Felicitas plays Leo like a violin: making sure her husband catches them, then marrying Ulrich, then setting him up. Ulrich, like a lovelorn girl, is totally clueless until the moment Felicitas dies, the moment "everything is clear." Our heroes embrace, and we fade to them at Momma's feet, in matching suits, helping with her knitting! No grief over Felicitas, not even a mention of her name! I think the film makers wanted to end with this, but were afraid of alienating Gilbert's female fans, thus, they have Leo get Hertha to stay. When you consider how determined she was to leave, having had enough of Leo's indifference, this is obviously forced, and it feels so.

If that wasn't enough! The kiss Leo greets Momma with -- full on the lips! The pastor's erect cigar inches from Leo, and his repulsion at the sight of the girls! The kiss Felicitas gives Hertha, a kiss more tender than any she ever gave Leo. Boy Howdy! Felicitas's death can be seen as either punishment for her wickedness or God's refusal to give her the redemption Hertha has offered her.

The universal language of s-e-x

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 27 May 2014]

The tail end of the silent screen era brought us the great screen team of John Gilbert and Greta Garbo. As we well know Gilbert came up short in talkies and there are a lot of explanations why that happened. But Garbo only started her immortal career and as she said in sound, definitely not alone.

Flesh And The Devil was her biggest screen success to date and it introduced Gilbert and Garbo as a team. Garbo is one sly and hedonistic woman who married to an older and titled man in Wilhelmine Germany. She eyes Gilbert like a prime cut in a butcher shop, especially in his army uniform.

At the same time Gilbert has Lars Hanson as a best friend since childhood and a little sister in Barbara Kent. They're like a German version of Tom, Huck, and Becky Thatcher as kids.

When Garbo's titled husband Marc McDermott catches them en flagrato only a duel will satisfy. But since both are anxious to avoid tainting the lady's name they say the duel is over some card cheating. Gilbert kills the husband, but has to flee the Fatherland for colonial service. He asks Hanson to check in on her now and then, but he never tells him about his real relationship with Garbo.

Greta is not about to wait five years for some fleshly pleasures. She marries Hanson because she has needs, but still has a yen for Gilbert. When he returns matters do come to a head.

The hedonistic woman does not triumph in this one. That satisfies the moralists of the town. But this was the Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties and the era of the first frank discussions of sex. Sex and those steamy scenes with Gilbert are what sold this picture.

Even without sound over 80 years later Garbo and Gilbert still steam up the small screen if you're watching your DVD or the Turner Classic Movies Channel. Silent films were indeed universal and no one spoke the language of silence better than Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

I should also mention that Barbara Kent as Gilbert's virginal sister has some good moments as well. Kent functions well as the pure counterpoint to Garbo's hedonism. And she's also the voice of conscience in the movie in her own way.

Flesh And The Devil holds up well. Garbo didn't need words to get her message across, but that was an added treat for the next decade.

Garbo gives the most erotic performance and stays fully clothed

[txwildswan · 10/10 · 25 October 2005]

Flesh and the Devil is a classic. It shows how an actress could use her face and eyes to seduce and not have to speak one word. Greta Garbo in the scene where John Gilbert and she leave the party and step outside-is truly erotic-it is so sad that now days we show everything-there is and never will be another Garbo. She was stunning! And what she does in that one scene puts all other actresses to shame! Sorry but Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct does not compare to the classiness-of not showing any skin. And I personally like Sharon Stone as a person and she is very charismatic but in thinking of a comparison of a seductress-I say Garbo wins out over them all-see this film and let me know if you agree! Also John Gilbert has been so overlooked, a very handsome and charismatic star in his own right. So sad that he passed so young.

Sizzling chemistry heats up the screen...but it's old-fashioned melodrama...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 4 September 2007]

GRETA GARBO was never a favorite of mine, so I'm not going to give the silent FLESH AND THE DEVIL a gushing review--the sort you expect to have from a Garbo fanatic.

In looking at it objectively, I find it a beautifully photographed romantic melodrama, titillating because of the subtext of homo-erotic friendship between JOHN GILBERT and LARS HANSON that threatens to become more than a subtext before the end. And Garbo's demise leaves them free to pursue their lifelong friendship.

The story is simplicity itself. Two men love the same woman--where have you heard that one before? The difference is in the telling. Garbo is photographed to great advantage--and so is Gilbert for that matter--especially during their intense love scenes. When he so nobly asks his friend to look after her while he's forced to go to South Africa for several years, what happens? They fall in love--so that when he returns two years earlier than expected, he finds out they have married.

That's the nub of the story. Under Clarence Brown's direction it moves at a leisurely pace, alternately moody and romantic, but not without some flourishes of humor to brighten things once in awhile.

Summing up: Worthwhile if you're a Garbo fan--otherwise, you might find it too melodramatic and cornball for your taste. The TCM print is in mint condition most of the way and the background score by Carl Davis is appropriate without being jarring.

Amazing Garbo melodrama, with kinks

[michaelstep2004 · 9/10 · 6 September 2005]

This early Garbo vehicle is a superb, over-the-top melodrama. Garbo is a simply glorious vamp, a radiant beauty who enjoys and manipulates the passionate love of two best friends (in every sense), to their near destruction and ultimate redemption.

The relationship between the two guys -- John Gilbert and Lars Hanson -- is as homoerotically suggestive as any on film before the 1970s -- and you can see from the emotions flooding Garbo's face that she feels the competition!

Very good acting -- silent screen mode -- across the board in this nicely mounted MGM production.

A good, rich, era-appropriate musical score with Wagner/Mahler overtones adds depth to the TCM broadcast of this silent classic!

And tonight, TCM also broadcast their 90-minute "Garbo" documentary -- excellent, and a great complement to this film..

What a GREAT MOVIE STAR she was! Maybe the greatest of all?

God eventually forgave David, Pastor!

[theowinthrop · 6/10 · 4 September 2007]

I have to brace myself - this review is fairly negative (it's "6" rating is mostly due to the acting of the cast and the cinematography and (believe it or not) the wardrobe). Therefore it probably will not get much support - as it is a hit at a key film in the careers of Garbo and Gilbert (two actors I actually like), and Garbo fans at least would be large enough to this day to resent the idea that any film she made is not worthy of full respect. Sorry, I can't respect FLESH AND THE DEVIL.

The reason for my negativity was due to idiocy (there's no better term for it) of the movie script. Maybe with a bit of modern fine-tuning it could be a well regarded study of homosexual love winning, but not in the 1926 story. Even now many people dislike homosexuality, but the subject isn't as buried as it was in the age of Calvin Coolidge.

Lars Hanson (a long forgotten silent film star) is Ulrich, who has been a close, close friend to Gilbert (Leo here) since they were boys. In fact a series of scenes show how close they really are from boyhood on - swearing eternal brotherly love on a small isle on the local lake, called the Isle of Friendship. Then they meet the wife of the local Count (Marc McDermott) who is Garbo (Felicitas here - that means "happiness" by the way). Both men fall in love with her (a fact that is noted by the local Pastor - George Fawcett - a hard drinking, and smoking type, who gives the best performance in the film in my opinion). Gilbert is married to Hanson's sister (Barbara Kent as Bertha), so he hesitates although Garbo is aware of her attraction to him. Hanson ends up in a duel with McDermott and kills the latter. So he ends up marrying Garbo. But it ruins their local reputations!

Gilbert shuns them too. But he is tempted back into friendship with Hanson at the urging of Garbo. This meets with the fury of Fawcett who denounces Larson and Garbo in a sermon about David, Beersheba, and Uriah. Still Gilbert keeps up the friendship with Larson. Then Larson takes a trip to Munich, and Garbo reveals her intense love for Gilbert. They plan to run off, but Larson (of course you can guess) comes home before they flee. In the end he catches Gilbert with Garbo (a furious Gilbert has been told that Garbo is unwilling to flee after all - hey, she'd lose her lovely lifestyle - and started strangling her). The result is a challenge to a duel the next morning on (you got it) the "Isle of Friendship".

It is only through a miraculous death that the two friends are brought to their senses. Interestingly the two male leads are in the clinch at the conclusion.

I just could not sit through this film without thinking how bad the script was - a series of clichés put together, with only the possible homosexual love theme as a savings grace. And speaking of grace, the scene of the Pastor's denunciation is curious too. Fawcett is wonderful, but he's gotten his story wrong. King David did arrange for the death of his soldier Uriah the Hittite to marry Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. But God punishes him by the death of their first child. And Nathan, David's religious adviser, denounces the King and shames him into penitence - resulting in God forgiving David and granting him and Bathsheba a second child: Solomon. That portion was totally dropped by our Pastor in his zeal to shame two (or three) sinners.

By the way - do you think that the Pastor ever had a sermon about David and Jonathan?

Bros before hoes

[utgard14 · 8/10 · 8 May 2016]

Terrific silent melodrama starring Greta Garbo as a seductive woman who comes between two lifelong friends (John Gilbert and Lars Hanson). It's a beautiful-looking film with great direction and cinematography. Also some sizzling chemistry between Garbo and Gilbert. It can be very corny in spots with an unintentionally funny ending that you have to see to believe, but I think the good outweighs the bad. Modern audiences will probably also find a great deal of subtext between the Gilbert and Hanson characters. The two men are frequently affectionately embracing one another and at least half a dozen times in the film I thought they were about to kiss. Add to that the movie's basic message of "bros before hoes" and you come away with a different interpretation of the film than was perhaps intended. Then again, maybe it was the point of the story all along. At any rate it's a good film whether one wants to think about the different layers or not.

Hyped-up hokum

[didi-5 · 6/10 · 2 December 1999]

I have a feeling time has not been kind to this film. After 73 years, some of it is frankly boring (especially the early scenes - it is a while before there is any sign of Garbo), other bits now seem unintentionally amusing. I have to say, though, that the scenes between the two leads still have some of the magic they must have had in the distant twenties.

The problem is in equating the beautiful and very young-looking Garbo (she was 21 at the time) with her character, 45-year old vamp Felicitas. Frankly, it is silly to expect a young girl to be believable in that role. One good support role (Barbara Kent as Ulrich's sister) and one cracking scene where the illicit lovers are abused in thinly veiled terms from the pulpit. One other point, in the version I saw, there was a Carl Davis score which for once I found inappropriate and intrusive.

In the defence of this movie, I'd say try and put yourself in the mindset of a twenties audience who thought this stuff was racy (although, yes, you can see the real sparks between Jack and Greta. who were lovers off-screen as well at the time), and suspend belief for a while.

Another classic silent masterpiece.

[robert-259-28954 · 9/10 · 17 April 2014]

Every so often, I treat myself to a silent film, and what impressed me so much about this one is how well it stands up over time. I also rediscovered a younger Garbo, in the prime of her life and sexual powers. AND THOSE EYES!! They were absolutely mesmerizing, just the thing to lure to young men into more, shall we say, heightened responses. Without the aid of sound, they were like two simmering volcanoes, just the thing for this combination love story and moral exploration on the enduring bonds of friendship. It certainly helped that both she and John Gilbert were having a similarly torrid love affair the at time. This was a fantastic production, and as one reviewer noted, it would make a fabulous remake in the right hands. On a strictly technical note, I just learned from a film historian friend, Dr. Richard Brown of NYU, that the reason old silent films all that that "herky-jerky" look to them is because "back in the day" these movies were operated at much slower, hand-cranked camera speeds, but when saved on modern celluloid, they have a "speeded up" effect due to the numbers of frames per second. The older the film, the worse the effect. Interesting factoid.

A Homoerotic Feast

[jcappy · 7/10 · 22 April 2012]

"Flesh and the Devil" presents a world imagined by men. The title stakes out that world. Need anyone ask whose flesh. The male leads may be damn glamorous but no not theirs and certainly not that of that hard baked parson, Mr. Christian himself. No, flesh when affixed to evil, means female and female means sex. Felicitas is a temptress in league with the devil, and the tempted, more fortunate, are in league with the ruling gender.

The homoerotic "relationship" is not an act of befriending. What it is is male affiliation at the expense of, and through the exclusion of, women. It may or may not be sexual in nature, but it is binding. Unlike befriending it does not expand male identity but narrows it, making it more, not less, reliant on force.

In "Flesh and the Devil" we see its naked action. Male passion is based in ownership both in its means and as an end. It is "love" based in fantasy. It assigns to its object, in this case Felicitas, erotic fascination. The husbands and lover eroticize her. Which makes her own passion little more than an act of accommodation to a male world. Her reality then is not much more than being a inflamer of sinful passion. Mainly she submits to this identity, but when she acts on her own behalf, she's viewed as carnal, both in the mind of the parson, and ultimately of the husbands/lover, a grouping which constitutes her social masters.

Leo and Ulrich assert masculine superiority, not friendship, via their blood bonds. Their actions toward Felicitas are their chief means of certifying both their bond and their male identity. The impress they make on Felicitas is secondary to that which they make on each other. And their exceptionalism of class, as impressive as it is, is no match for their exceptionalism of gender. They are upright and masculine, sanctioned to act from their birthright. This is the source of their immemorial attraction to each other.

If Felicitas is deadly and then dead, they are hallowed. If her version of passion is of the body and sinful, theirs is superior and sanctified. If her abject self-repudiation cannot save her life, they can glibly embrace in mystical union.

In other words, Felicitas is the ground of their unity. She must be sacrificed to resolve the tension and incipient violence between her two "lovers." She will lose no more husbands in duals, even if she alone must absorb the cost of male cruelty and vengeance. For this is a male world with a male outcome. Mythic masculinity is achieved while she is drowning in ice.

Instantly Forgettable Claptrap!

[Spuzzlightyear · 4/10 · 20 September 1999]

Okay, first off, I am not the biggest Greta Garbo fan, so I am going to be a bit biased here, so if you are going to send me threatening emails (oh, please do) don't say IO didn't warn you.

Greta Garbo and John Gilbert star in this potboiler about two men who are blood brothers. One of these men (Gilbert) is sent off to war service in Africa because of a duel he had with the husband of a philandering wife (Garbo) who was seeing Gilbert on the side. As Gilbert leaves, he and Garbo promise that there will be noone else, that they will love forever. When Gilbert gets back, he finds that his blood brother has married Garbo, and seeks out to see her... at ANY cost!

Predictable from the get go, you can see outcomes coming from a mile ahead. Garbo, as usual, is bland, bland bland.. You'll be lucky if I can remember this movie, oh, in a week from now.