Erich von Stroheim (1885–1957)
Author of Greed [Screenplay]
About the Author
Born in Vienna of bourgeois Prussian Jewish and Polish parents, Erich Oswald Stroheim emigrated to the United States in 1909, changing his identity en route:He called himself a decorated military officer, renamed himself Erich von Stroheim, and gave himself aristocratic parents, as von suggests. In show more this guise, he presented himself to Hollywood and quickly advanced from studio extra to military advisor, assistant art director, art director, scriptwriter, and finally to director in D. W. Griffith's (see also Vol. 3) production company. He also frequently acted the role of a sinister or seductive continental military officer, billed by the studio as "the man you love to hate"---a part rather similar to the one he had played behind the cameras since he had left Europe. His finest performance in that type of role was the role of von Rauffenstein in Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion (1936); it won him the French Legion of Honor. However, Stroheim is best remembered as a gifted but uncompromising director who was forcibly retired from directing in 1932. Believing that film was an art form, he toiled over his nine productions, refusing to conform to studio timetables or budgets. His work anticipated the aesthetics of sound film (although he never made one), using composition and realistic details of mise-en-scene rather than montage or pantomime to suggest character. Stroheim's first important film, which established his reputation as a creative genius and profligate spendthrift, was Foolish Wives (1921). It explored the sexual awakening of a neglected American wife in Europe, who responds to the attentions of a sophisticated continental gentleman, played by Stroheim himself. Because Stroheim insisted on authentic detail---for example, demanding that the studio build a life-size replica of Monte Carlo---the film went over budget and cost close to $1 million, an incredible sum for that time. Stroheim's masterpiece about human degradation, Greed (1924), was also made at considerable expense, in large part because of location shooting, including scenes in Death Valley. The original ran 10 hours, much too long for commercial release; an inexperienced studio cutter reduced it to an hour and a half, and the work print was destroyed, as were Stroheim's versions of almost all of his films. Stroheim's extravagance ensured the demise of his directing career, although his acting career as a monocled seducer continued to flourish long after he had ceased to direct. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Works by Erich von Stroheim
Les Disparus de Saint-Agil 1 copy
The Merry Widow 1 copy
Associated Works
Fright Night (10 Movies On 3 DVDs) — Actor — 4 copies
Boy's School [1938 film] — Actor — 3 copies
D.W. Griffith — Author, some editions — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Stroheim, Erich von
- Other names
- Stroheim, Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von
Stroheim, Erich Oswald (birth name) - Birthdate
- 1885-09-22
- Date of death
- 1957-05-12
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- actor
director
screenwriter
producer - Awards and honors
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Nationality
- Austria-Hungary (birth)
- Birthplace
- Vienna, Austria
- Places of residence
- Vienna, Austria
- Associated Place (for map)
- Vienna, Austria
Members
Reviews
A womanizer tries to seduce an ambassador's wife to get her money.
It's 2½ hours, cut down from the original 8-ish (now lost). There's no reason for it to be longer than 90 minutes. And in all that time, they never bother to explore the title character, or make her anything more than a plot device (in a very weak plot). I guess that would take away too much of Stroheim's own screen time. Still, for a drama of the era, it's not bad. It has some excitement, high production values (notoriously show more so), and even a sense of humor sometimes.
Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: D
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: C
GPA: 2.0/4 show less
It's 2½ hours, cut down from the original 8-ish (now lost). There's no reason for it to be longer than 90 minutes. And in all that time, they never bother to explore the title character, or make her anything more than a plot device (in a very weak plot). I guess that would take away too much of Stroheim's own screen time. Still, for a drama of the era, it's not bad. It has some excitement, high production values (notoriously show more so), and even a sense of humor sometimes.
Concept: C
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: D
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C
Enjoyment: C
GPA: 2.0/4 show less
A womanizer tries to seduce a neglected wife.
A movie filmed in the Alps should really be more spectacular than this. As far as melodrama goes, having your climax on a mountain peak is pretty good, but it's still just melodrama.
Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: C plus
GPA: 1.9/4
A movie filmed in the Alps should really be more spectacular than this. As far as melodrama goes, having your climax on a mountain peak is pretty good, but it's still just melodrama.
Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: D
Dialog: C
Pacing: C
Cinematography: C
Special effects/design: B
Acting: C
Music: C
Enjoyment: C plus
GPA: 1.9/4
Is Queen Kelly a lost masterpiece? I'd say it just falls short. Just. Whether a completed version would have been will be forever open to debate. What von Stroheim and Swanson do deliver is wild, vivid, fantastical, lusty melodrama that is uneven, excessive and yet strangely compulsive.
Apr 4, 2025Portuguese (Brazil)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 16
- Also by
- 11
- Members
- 122
- Popularity
- #163,288
- Rating
- 4.3
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 10
- Languages
- 1
