The favorite slave girl of a tyrannical sheik falls in love with a cloth merchant. Meanwhile, a hunchback clown suffers unrequited love for a traveling dancer who wants to join the harem.
Acting
Lubitsch's own hunchback performance—grotesque, tender, unforgettable.
Production
Massive expressionist sets that swallow the actors whole.
Direction
The 'Lubitsch touch' being invented in real time, 1920.
Director
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch
Yeggar - the Hunchback Beggar
Pola Negri
Yannaia - a Dancer
Paul Wegener
Der alte Scheich
Jenny Hasselqvist
Sumurun
Aud Egede-Nissen
Haidee
Harry Liedtke
Nur-Al Din
Carl Clewing
Der junge Scheich
Margarete Kupfer
Alte Frau
Jakob Tiedtke
Head Eunuch
Paul Biensfeldt
Der Sklavenhändler
Paul Graetz
Puffti, Sklave
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lubitsch adapted this from a Max Reinhardt stage production where he also played Yeggar, essentially filming his own greatest hit.
Pola Negri's hip-swiveling dance caused moral panic censors—this 'exotic' spectacle launched her Hollywood career months later.
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