Last night I stayed in and watched Sumurun- a silent movie by Ernst Lubitsch that has been restored. The imagery is stunning and of course the scene stealer is Poland darling Pola Negri. I think it origianlly ran in the U.S. as "One Arabian night". Pola plays a traveling dancer who is drawn to both the harem and to the sheikh's handsome son. The movie predates the notion that a sexy figure must carry a massive bossom- as the ladies are often shown flat chested but exposing midriff. I fell in love with the dance scene- where Pola is slowly seducing the entire room with her sheer fabrics and dark shadowed eyes. This film was often referred to as one of the "funniest" silent movies, according to the new DVD release. I discovered these amazing images of her online as well as this perfect quote from the star:
"Love is disgusting when you no longer possess yourself."
Pola Negri
(12/31/1894 – 08/01/1987)
In the gosssip mill --she was lover to Charlie Chaplin- Rudolph Valentino and wife to a count and prince
Wow, I can't believe it's you, Kime! I did a search for you on a whim and bam, I found your blog. E-mail me if you'd like to talk.
Posted by: Roger Bird | February 13, 2007 at 01:59 PM
yup pola was a one-of-a-kind.
have to see this one!
I this past year saw a screening of "a woman of the world"- in it she was shocking b/c she had a tattoo...pretty funny stuff considering it was the 20's.
here's more pola pix and stories...
http://tarnishedlady.typepad.com/tarnishedlady/2006/08/alas_i_am_not_p.html
Posted by: Orchide | February 13, 2007 at 03:29 PM
ps- did you buy this film or rent it?
it looks amazing!
Posted by: Orchide | February 13, 2007 at 03:30 PM
is this a silent movie. any idea what the genre is?
Posted by: esl | April 19, 2008 at 01:52 AM