Before Dietrich and Garbo, there was Negri. What does it mean to be a star? Why do some actors become stars and legends for all time? This documentary film answers these questions by examining the life and work of the legendary actress Pola Negri. She was invited by Jesse Lasky of Paramount Pictures to come to the United States in 1922. Pola was the first European star to come to America and paved the way for Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich to follow. Yet, few people today know this magnificent actress or the dramatic events of her life including her engagements to Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino. The documentary is based on research of Pola Negri's life and numerous interviews with people who knew or worked with Pola Negri or studied her films including the Academy-Award Winning actress Hayley Mills, actor Eli Wallach, film historian Jeanine Basinger, Paramount Producer A.C. Lyles and many others. The film includes numerous clips from Pola Negri's movies and shows the incredible range she demonstrated through silent films into talkies and from black and white into color.
—Heidi Hutter