Forbidden Paradise
About Forbidden Paradise
Alexei, a young officer, saves the czarina of a small European kingdom from revolutionaries and becomes her lover. He drops Anna, her lady-in-waiting. When he finds the czarina unfaithful, he joins a plot against her. She says she loves only him, and he swears she will not be harmed. The chancellor stops the revolt. She has Alexei arrested, then frees him, sends him back to Anna, and starts an affair with the French ambassador.
Cast & crew
More about Forbidden Paradise
Ernst Lubitsch directed. Agnes Christine Johnston and Hanns Kräly wrote the script from Edward Sheldon's 1922 Broadway play The Czarina, itself from the Hungarian book by Melchior Lengyel and Lajos Bíró. Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky produced for Famous Players-Lasky. Paramount released it. Charles Van Enger photographed it. The negative is 7,543 feet, eight reels. Moving Picture World reported on July 12, 1924 that Warner Bros. loaned Lubitsch to Paramount, with photography expected to start July 14.
Themes
Making
Lubitsch was under contract to Warner Bros. Paramount borrowed him for this picture.
Look
Charles Van Enger photographed the Famous Players-Lasky production.
Preservation
A print is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- Pola Negri plays Catherine, the czarina. Rod La Rocque plays Captain Alexei Czerny. Adolphe Menjou plays the chancellor. Pauline Starke plays Anna.
- Fred Malatesta plays the French ambassador. Clark Gable, in his second film, is an uncredited soldier in the czarina's guard.
- On Broadway in 1922, Doris Keane played Catherine and Basil Rathbone played the officer.
- The AFI catalog lists a New York premiere on November 16, 1924, and a release date of November 24, 1924. Wikipedia gives November 30, 1924 as the United States release.
- In June 1924 The Educational Screen put the film on a list of ten titles for 1924–25.
Scenes
- Alexei stops the conspirators and is taken as the czarina's lover.
- He joins the plot after he finds she has other men.
- She frees him, returns him to Anna, and turns to the French ambassador.
Influenced by
- The Czarina (1922 play)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-forbidden-paradise)
