The Spanish Dancer (1923)

The Spanish Dancer is a 1923 romantic melodrama made by Famous Players-Lassky (about to become Paramount Pictures). It’s a starring vehicle for Pola Negri. It was based on a hugely successful play.

The Spanish Dancer was one of two adaptations of the play made in Hollywood in 1923, the other being Rosita starring Mary Pickford.

The setting is Spain during the first half of the 17th century. Cardinal Richelieu is trying to negotiate a treaty with King Philip IV of Spain. There is strong opposition to this at the Spanish court and plots are being hatched to sabotage the treaty. Philip’s French-born queen will be manipulated in order to achieve this, either by having a courtier (the treacherous Don Salluste played by Adolphe Menjou) seduce the queen or by convincing the queen that the king is sharing another woman’s bed.

While this is happening a band of gypsies is in the neighbourhood. This band includes the beautiful dancer and fortune-teller Maritana (Pola Negri).

Maritana encounters Don Cesar de Bazan (Antonio Moreno), a rich nobleman who has run up debts he cannot pay. He is about to lose everything. He cannot however lose his pride or his good humour.

Maritana reads his fortune in the cards. The predictions come true, but in very unexpected ways.

It’s clear that Don Cesar’s fortune has been dissipated on wine, women and song and especially gambling. He is irresponsible and proud, which can be a dangerous combination. He’s also handsome, charming and dashing with an irrepressible lust for life and pleasure. He’s Maritana’s kind of man.

Maritana is fiery and passionate. She’s like a stick of dynamite in the shape of a woman. She’s Don Cesar’s kind of gal.

Unfortunately both Don Cesar and Maritana will get caught up, much against their will, in those court intrigues. They will both be used as pawns in a game they know nothing about.

Herbert Brenon was not the most inspired of directors but he was competent and in this film he has the advantage of having James Wong Howe as his cinematographer. Any movie photographed by Howe is going to look good, and the sumptuous sets help as well. This was a lavish production.

June Mathis (who had written hits for Rudolph Valentino) worked on the script which was originally intended as a star vehicle for Valentino. Valentino dropped out and the movie was retooled as a star vehicle for Pola Negri which meant that the focus would now be on Maritana rather than Don Cesar.

Pola Negri was so dynamic that she needed a leading man with enough charisma not to be totally overshadowed and Antonio Moreno fits the bill perfectly. Their chemistry is superb.

Pola Negri had been a huge star in Germany (making a series of extraordinary movies with Ernst Lubitsch). She then set out to conquer Hollywood, which she did, becoming one of the biggest stars of the 20s. She had her own unique style which this movie showcases nicely.

Surprisingly the movie at least makes an effort to capture the formality of the Spanish court and it’s quite successful in portraying the pride and sense of honour of the Spanish nobility.

This is pretty much straight romance, without the touches of swashbuckling adventure one might have expected. But that’s fine. It’s a great love story and it’s engrossing.

The source materials were in bad shape. The restoration had to be made by piecing together bits of the fur surviving very incomplete prints. The movie is now basically complete but there’s a lot of print damage in places. Given how many silent films have been lost we’re lucky this one has survived at all.

A great romance movie and a chance to see Pola Negri at the top of her game. Highly recommended. And it’s now available on Blu-Ray.