In Russia in the early 1900s, Fedya, a handsome, self-indulgent womanizer, falls in love with and marries Lisa, his friend Victor's fiancée. Fedya quickly tires of domestic life and resumes his profligate ways, drinking and gambling away his family's fortune. Lisa refuses to leave him despite his deplorable ways, so he takes drastic measures to ensure that she will no longer be harmed by his actions and reputation.
Acting
Gilbert's pre-talkies magnetism vs. his actual voice debut jitters.
Direction
Barrymore and Niblo wrestling over tone — melodrama vs. proto-noir.
Costume
Lisa's suffering in increasingly shabby finery.
Director
Fred Niblo
John Gilbert
Fedya Protasoff
Renée Adorée
Masha
Conrad Nagel
Victor Karenin
Eleanor Boardman
Lisa Protasoff
Claire McDowell
Anna Pavlovna
Nigel De Brulier
Petushkov
Tully Marshall
Artimiev
Mack Swain
Magistrate
Erville Alderson
Bearded Mariner in Cafe
Sidney Bracey
Waiter
Richard Alexander
Policeman
Geraldine Dvorak
Anna Pavlovna's Maid
Stanley Blystone
Minor Role (uncredited)
Lena Malena
Gypsy (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Gilbert's first talkie after his silent stardom — critics savaged his voice, though modern ears hear perfectly adequate delivery crushed by outdated recording tech.
Based on Tolstoy's 'The Living Corpse,' but the 1930 adaptation strips the original's social critique to focus on romantic self-destruction — very Hollywood, very depressing.
US
