Underground Favorites Parallel to the Artistry of Blind Husbands: Cult Guide

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Merry Widow perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The wife of an American playwright in Paris becomes ensnared in the seductive wiles of an American Army officer, but her devotion to her husband convinces the officer to try to extricate her from the gossip and scandal that have ensued.

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

A prince must woo the now-wealthy dancer he once abandoned, to keep her money in the country in order to keep it from crashing economically.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Queen Kelly perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

A convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Greed perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

The sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

A young impoverished aristocrat falls in love with an inn-keepers daughter, but has to marry money.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Wedding March perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

"The Wedding March" ended with the marriage between Nikki and the crippled Cecilia takes place. Eberle swears to kills the prince unless Mitzi will agree to marry him. She relents, but at their service, Mitzi faints, which causes Eberle to take off for Nikki's honeymoon lodge to finish him off for good. Mitzi arrives in time to warn Nikki, yet it is Cecilia who jumps in front of the bullet. Eberle is once again taken into custody, and Cecilia, who survives, is told that she must remain absolutely still is she wishes to recover. However, the gentle soul is aware of her husband's love for Mitzi, and she drags herself over to the giant crucifix, where she expires. Nikki then returns to Vienna, but when he finds the wine garden closed he spends a great deal of time at the brothel. When war is declared, he joins the army and is attached to a patrol that is put in charge of destroying a gang of renegades who are terrorizing civilians on the Serbian border. Mitzi has entered the convent of the Sisters of the Bleeding Heart, and when they are attacked by the bandits (one of whom is Eberle), Nikki arrives in time to save his sweetheart from Eberle's lust. They are married at the altar of the convent, and, as Nikki rides off at the head of his troops, he yells, "Nobody can say - we didn't have a lot of music - such as it was."

Dir: Erich von Stroheim

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.