The case of Lena Smith
T. It: Lena Smith – Romanzo D’amore / Il Calvario Di Lena Smith ; Sog.: Samuel Ornitz; Scen.: Jules Furthman; F.: Harold Rosson; Scgf.: Hans Dreier; Mo.: Helen Lewis; Did.: Julian Johnson; Int.: Esther Ralston (Lena Smith), James Hall (Franz Hofrat), Gustav Von Seyffertitz (Herr Hofrat), Fred Kohler (Stefan), Betty Aho (Sorella Distefan), Lawrence Grant (Commissario), Emily Fitzroy (Frau Hofrat), Alex Woloshin (Il Custode), Ann Brody (Moglie Del Custode), Lola Lane, Kay Deslys (Poldi), Warner Klinger (Franz All’età Didiciotto Anni), Wally Albright Jr. (Franz All’età Ditre Anni); Prod.: Famous-Players-Lasky, Paramount; Pri. Pro.: 19 Gennaio 1929 35mm [Frammento]. L. Or.: 2204 M. L.: 106 M. D.: 5′ A 20 F/S. Bn
Film Notes
Only this five-minute fragment has been recovered, so far, from The case of Lena Smith, but it is part of a key scene that takes place in Vienna’s famous amusement park, the Prater. Here, a country girl (Esther Ralston) is about to be seduced and abandoned by a young officer (James Hall), helped by Sternberg’s seductive evocation of the Prater as an other-worldly place. Images dissolve into one another, inspired by the director’s memories of the Prater that was his refuge when he was a child. We owe this fragment to japanese film historian Hiroshi Komatsu
From : Theatre Museum Waseda University