Virginia Valli is the heroine. Christine Mayo is the vamp, the Caucasian looking "Queen of Chinatown" who blackmails an old flame who smartly dumped her. Valli is the daughter of the old flame, a small town banker, befriending Mayo's underling, the handicapped Lon Chaney, who falls in love with her and shows signs of reforming. But tragedy rears its ugly head, forcing Chaney to take some drastic steps.
While the print of this silent classic is half an hour shorter than the official running time, it all seems complete, including a climactic earthquake sequence that has some truly impressive effects. Sure, the basic story is beyond outlandish, but it's a lot of fun. Chaney is allowed to give his shady character some shadowing, and Mayo is a more glamorous version of the wicked witch of the west with a bit of Snow White's wicked queen and Maleficent thrown in.
I'll be looking for this one in repertoire as I'd like to see the complete version on the big screen, hopefully with the beautiful score from the Alpha video attached.
While the print of this silent classic is half an hour shorter than the official running time, it all seems complete, including a climactic earthquake sequence that has some truly impressive effects. Sure, the basic story is beyond outlandish, but it's a lot of fun. Chaney is allowed to give his shady character some shadowing, and Mayo is a more glamorous version of the wicked witch of the west with a bit of Snow White's wicked queen and Maleficent thrown in.
I'll be looking for this one in repertoire as I'd like to see the complete version on the big screen, hopefully with the beautiful score from the Alpha video attached.