Denise Moret joins her husband, Pierre, in Mongolia where he works as a civil engineer. One night she loose a lot of money on the roulette and therefore is forced to borrow money from Prince Lee-Lang. The Prince immediately begins to flirt and make advances towards Denise. Advances she rejects.
Cinematography
L'Herbier's shadow-drenched sets that breathe more than the actors.
Acting
Hayakawa's smoldering restraint—Hollywood never let him do this.
Costume
Delamare's gowns vs. Mongolian court dress: visual power struggle.
Director
Marcel L'Herbier
Victor Francen
Pierre Moret
Sessue Hayakawa
Prince Hu-Long
Louis Jouvet
Valfar
Lise Delamare
Denise Moret
Lucas Gridoux
Tang-Si
Ève Francis
Mrs. Curtis
Pierre Magnier
Le Président de la société
Jean Brochard
Félicien
Sylvia Bataille
Ming
Marie-Jacqueline Chantal
Dame à l'audience
Guy Decomble
Un joueur
Marcel Duhamel
Casaux
Ky Duyen
Le caissier de banque
Albert Malbert
Le Gall
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hayakawa was a massive silent star who fled Hollywood's racist typecasting for France, where directors actually gave him complex villain-hero roles like this.
L'Herbier shot the Mongolian court scenes in a Paris suburb using imported Asian art objects—1930s 'exotic' cinema was literally a warehouse away from reality.
FR
