Direction
Robert Florey's Expressionist shadows on a Poverty Row budget.
Acting
C. Aubrey Smith elevates every scene he's barely in.
Production
The 'Florentine' sets clearly shot in Burbank, and we respect the hustle.
Director
Robert Florey
Donald Woods
Juan Cesare
Margaret Lindsay
Florence Ballau
C. Aubrey Smith
Gerard Lytton
Henry O'Neill
Victor Ballau
Robert Barrat
Inspector Von Brinkner
Florence Fair
Teresa
Frank Reicher
Von Stein
Charles Judels
Salvatore
Rafaela Ottiano
Lili Salvatore
Paul Porcasi
Antonio
Eily Malyon
Fredericka
Egon Brecher
Karl
Herman Bing
Baker
Henry Kolker
Auctioneer
Barlowe Borland
Eric (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Robert Florey directed this between Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Cocoanuts, proving he could pivot from Poe to Marx Brothers without blinking.
The Borgia-as-boogeyman trope peaked in 1930s pulp; this film treats their 'poison blood' as literal hereditary taint, not metaphor.
US
