Von was born to control, and he knew it. He was sometimes banished from the set, removed from production and saw his films edited to tragic proportions - thus quashing his artistic rebellion under the strict studio policy. But Erich von Stroheim was nobody's patsy. Whatever made this man tick was not the usual gear-stripped sensibilities of a sycophant of the studio system. This was the first million dollar movie - thanks to Von.
Little moments mean a lot - and lots of little moments cost a lot.
This film was the longest American movie to be released uncut. At six hours and 24 minutes, it was shown in its entirety only in Latin America. This was another film that was taken out of his hands, the studio erased his name from the credits. All 40 reels of this film were adapted literally page by page from the novel McTeague , by Frank Norris. However, when he wanted to, Von could direct a smash hit.