






A former Imperial Russian general and cousin of the Czar ends up in Hollywood as an extra in a movie directed by a former revolutionary.
Acting
Jannings' physical collapse—Oscar-winning grotesquerie.
Direction
Von Sternberg's shadows eating the Russian palace whole.
Production
Train wreck staged with reckless 1928 ambition.

Director
Josef von Sternberg
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes