Foolish Wives
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Erich Von Stroheim
Rudolph Christians
Miss Du Pont
Maude George
Mae Busch
Erich Von Stroheim
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Count Sergius Karamzin, an adventurer, and his two cousins, Olga and Vera, lease a villa at Monte Carlo and cultivate the friendship of American envoy Andrew J. Hughes and his wife, Helen, who is flattered by the flirtations of the count. While strolling in the country, the count and Helen take refuge from a storm in a hut, and though they are obliged to remain overnight the arrival of an old monk keeps the count from revealing his intentions. At the casino the diplomat's wife wins, and when the party retires to the count's villa for poker, Mrs. Hughes, in response to a secret note from the count, meets him in the tower, where he wheedles her out of her money and begins to seduce her. Meanwhile, Hughes, having discovered the cousins cheating at the casino, returns to the hotel. The count's maid, a victim of his lechery, becomes desperately jealous, sets fire to the villa, and leaps into the sea. The count and Mrs. Hughes are saved by jumping into a life net, and Hughes, becoming aware of the count's intrigue, attacks him and arranges a duel for the following morning. Infuriated by his folly, the "Princesses" drive the count from the villa; at the house of Ventucci, for whom he has been passing counterfeit money, the count attacks Ventucci's halfwitted daughter; later, Ventucci kills him and drops his body in a sewer. Returning from the dueling place, Hughes finds that his wife has given premature birth to a child, and they are reconciled.
Director
Erich Von Stroheim
Cast
Rudolph Christians
Miss Du Pont
Maude George
Mae Busch
Erich Von Stroheim
Dale Fuller
Al Edmundsen
Cesare Gravina
Malvine Polo
Louis K. Webb
Mrs. Kent
C. J. Allen
Edward Reinach
Crew
Marian Ainslee
Van Alstein
Harry J. Brown
Richard Day
Don Jarviss
Carl Laemmle
William Meyers
Jack R. Proctor
Ben Reynolds
C. J. Rogers
Sigmund Romberg
E. E. Sheeley
Edward Sowders
Erich Von Stroheim
Erich Von Stroheim
Erich Von Stroheim
James Sullivan
Western Costume Company
George Williams
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Originally 6 hours long, censored to about 130 minutes.
Mrs. Hughes can be seen reading a book with the title "Foolish Wives", written by Erich von Stroheim.
Notes
Some sources list the release length at 10 reels.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1922
Released in United States November 1972
Released in United States 1922
Released in United States November 1972 (Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Special Programs) November 9-19, 1972.)
