Les chemins de la terreur

An early silent from the man who went on to direct some great films including 'Casablanca' this shows no sign of things to come, it's a dull tale of the son of a factory owner who is to marry the daughter of another factory owner, but he falls for a poor relation who is the main bread-winner for her aging mother, and her no good brother; the print quality was poor, but I get no sense that there is a great, or even OK film hidden behind the print damage! For some odd reason the film is set in London & England, though only the inter-titles suggest this, there is one brief scene of a train on fire that looks impressive, that's about it.

Alphons Fryland is the son of an industrialist. He is supposed to marry the daughter of another factory owner, when he encounters Lucy Doraine, working at his fiancee's home as a maid. She is forced to quit, and eventually goes to Fryland's factory as his secretary. Her brother, Jean Ducret, steals her keys and robs the factory's safe. She is fired, but to avoid scandal, is let go. Hard luck follows her, and she becomes a debauchee.

It's 6,000 feet of hard luck for Miss Doraine, which Michael Curtiz's movie insists is a matter of fate. At times I found the piling up of bad breaks to be wearisome, and then Curtiz and his director of photography, Gustav Ucicky, would offer an interesting shot: Miss Doraine lying in a hospital bed, hallucinating of drowning in a shower of flowers, or a stuntman climbing a tall factory smokestack. There were also some great crowd scenes; by this stage in his career, Curtiz had the ability to direct scenes of mass chaos. It's a talent he would use many times in the coming years.