A fine romantic drama starring the tempestuous Pola Negri as the Gypsy dancer Maritana who falls in love with Don Cesar de Bazan, a penniless nobleman played by Antonio Moreno. Pola's classic beauty is evident here and she gives a worthy performance. Other noble actors who would eventually have great success in talkies are Wallace Beery as the self-centered King Philip IV of Spain and Adolphe Menjou as the conniving Don Saluste. A young Dawn O'Day can briefly be seen who would grow up to be the adult actress Anne Shirley. One of the more outstanding performances in this film was given by the great actress Kathlyn Williams. Her portrayol of the domineering Queen Isabel of Bourbon in all her regal beauty and splendor was nothing but brilliant. It is fine early cinema like this which justifies the art of film preservation.
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rudy-4616 April 2000
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FerdinandVonGalitzien23 March 2007"The Spanish Dancer" is a big-budget production, one of those which Herr Herbert Brenon, the film director, was so fond of; a strange epic costume film starring Damen Pola Negri that depicts the story of Maritana, a gypsy girl who dances in selected courtyards and even tells people's fortunes; but those are trifles, small business for the gypsy and fortuneteller girl; she deeply in her heart wants to be a . Countess!!! ( How dare you, dear Pola?!... ).
So this gypsy social climber finally gets what she wants because the handsome Count Don Cesar de Bazán ( Herr Antonio Moreno ) falls in love and marries her ( that's how she gets her title of nobility ), but that's not enough for her, and she even gets involved in some strange plot with the -- King of Spain!.... ( Herr Wallace Beery wearing an impossible wig ), putting on the verge the stability and the Foreign Ministries of Spain and France ( this country represented in the film by the King's wife, Queen Isabel Of Bourbon -- don't mistake that rigid Queen with an ordinary American liquor ) . MEIN GOTT!!!.... that girl doesn't know or care about any limits to her gypsy ambition!.
In spite of this film being full of stereotypes about Spanish types and bizarre customs of that country ( thank Gott there is not a bullfight and even better, no matador can be seen in this film! ), it's an entertaining film; and although "The Spanish Dancer" is a film that didn't survive till today in its entirety, thanks to the sceneries and the funny plot full of aristocratic jealousies and intrigues at Philip IV of Spain's court, the audience will enjoy this kind of Spanish-adventure silent film.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must keep order over this chaotic Spanish court.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/ -
leifhelland15 November 2023Since several reviews here extensively recapped the plot, I will not reiterate. Instead, I will share my thoughts on several aspects of the film as I watched it.
Pola Negri is absolutely magnificent in the title role as a passionate gypsy desired by several of the men. TSD was her third American-made film and the first of her American films available for viewing (Bella Donna & The Cheat are presumed lost). She gives a terrific performance and is ravishingly beautiful in all her close-ups. She particularly looks amazing in a black, ruffled dress she does a dance in.
Pola is ably supported by a strong cast, including Antonio Moreno (you probably remember him as Clara Bow's leading man in 1927's It), who is appropriately dashing as a Spanish count, Wallace Beery (whose career lasted well into the talking era, particularly Dinner at Eight opposite Jean Harlow) as the Spanish king and Kathlyn Williams making a strong impression as the queen.
TSD is certainly a lavish epic of that era, with expansive sets and fabulous set designs. One interesting piece of trivia is that Mary Pickford (basically the queen of the movies) released her film Rosita shortly before TSD hit theaters. Both films were based on the same source material and newspapers and magazines of the time had a field day comparing the films and intimating that Pickford and Negri were engaged in a feud because of it. Not so, according to Pola in her autobiography, but it raised the profile of both films and both were financially successful. I haven't seen the Pickford version, but Pola seems much more suited to the fiery role of a Spanish street singer than the more demure Pickford. TSD probably would have been even better had it been directed by Ernst Lubitsch (who made Negri a star in Germany and directed the Pickford version), but Herbert Brenon (director of Peter Pan) did well enough in the director's chair that he was entrusted with Pola's next film, Shadows of Paris.
My biggest problem with the film, aside from the rather old print I saw on YouTube, was the organ music accompanying the film. I'm just not a big fan of that type of score and a full orchestra adds an element to silent films that lifts them way up. -
boblipton1 January 2013"The Spanish Dancer" has the script of an utterly commonplace, even hackneyed, melodramatic movie. In the hands of director Herbert Brenon, it turns into a work of visual fantasy that is impossible to resist.
Mind you, it needs to be seen in the right conditions. Looking at it by yourself on a television screen, it doesn't look like much. Happily, I was able to see it under the right conditions: at the Museum of Modern Art with Donald Sosin at the piano and his wife at the tambourine, during the week of a storm that had shut down half the city and left people shivering in the cold and dark, needing to be taken out of themselves.
The casting is well nigh perfect. The cinematography by James Wong Howe is perfect, not just the story telling aspect of it, but the set-piece at the center of the movie shot during Carnival in Barcelona. The shots are framed by medieval architecture and filled with light, thanks to the confetti that fills the screen.
My movie reviews usually talk about the story and there is one, but that's not the reason to see this movie. This is one of those movies that you must seem even though you may find it tough going until its beauty kicks in. I only hope that when you see it, it's in a comfortable theater with a great score. I also hope you don't have a disaster going on outside the theater.