The Love of Jeanne Ney

The Love of Jeanne Ney (German: Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney, released as Lusts of the Flesh in the United Kingdom) is a 1927 silent German drama film directed by G. W. Pabst[1] from a Soviet novel by Ilya Ehrenburg.

The Love of Jeanne Ney
Film poster
Directed byG. W. Pabst
Written byIlja Ehrenburg
Rudolf Leonhardt
Ladislaus Vajda
StarringÉdith Jéhanne
Music byHans May
CinematographyRobert Lach
Fritz Arno Wagner
Edited byGeorg Wilhelm Pabst
Marc Sorkin
Production
company
Distributed byUFA
Release date
  • 6 December 1927 (1927-12-06)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageSilent
German intertitles

Plot

Jeanne (Édith Jéhanne) is the daughter of André Ney (Eugen Jensen), a French diplomat and political observer. The family is based in Russia during the post-revolutionary civil war. Her father is set up by the scheming Khalibiev (Fritz Rasp), who sells him a list of Bolshevik agents that includes Jeanne's lover, Andreas Labov (Uno Henning). The information is leaked by Alfred's Chinese servant, though Khalibiev isn't implicated. Andreas and another communist go to Jeanne's father and demand the list. He tries to shoot them and Andreas' colleague shoots him dead. Andreas has blood on his head from a near miss. The revolutionary army about to storm the city. Andreas warns Jeanne that it is she who must run, as the Red Army will soon occupy the town. She escapes with the help of an influential and senior communist, who's become smitten with her.

Jeanne flees to Paris, followed by Khalibiev and Andreas. She takes a job as a secretary under her uncle Raymond (Adolph Edgar Licho), a private detective. Khalibiev sets about seducing Raymond's blind daughter, Gabrielle (Brigitte Helm), in order to marry her, murder her and run away with a flapper he meets at a bar. The latter girl balks and warns Gabrielle and Raymond, who has meanwhile been searching for a stolen diamond with a $50,000 reward. The diamond turns out to have been swallowed by a shiny-object-loving parrot.

Raymond tries to force himself on Jeanne. That night Khalibiev sneaks in, strangles him, and steals the diamond. He frames Andreas by letting the blind Gabrielle grab his coat while he flees the scenes of the crime (he stole the coat from Andreas) and dropping a wallet with Andreas's photo. Andreas is caught delivering money for the communist party in France, which makes him look all the more suspicious.

Jeanne thinks to use Khalibiev as an alibi, as he saw her leaving the building with Andreas, without realizing he is the murderer. They travel by train with the apparent intention of clearing Andreas, but Khalibiev makes sexual advances to her. When she screams he attempts to silence her with his handkerchief, forgetting he has wrapped the stolen diamond in it. She realizes he is the murderer. He is arrested, and Andreas is freed.

Cast

Reception

J. Hoberman lists The Love of Jeanne Ney among "the culminating works of silent cinema" as "an ambitious attempt to synthesize Soviet montage, Hollywood action-melodrama, and German mise-en-scène."[2]

References
  1. "Progressive Silent Film List: The Love of Jeanne Ney". Silent Era. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  2. "Opening Pandora's Box". Retrieved 15 October 2016.
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