Sumurun

Plot synopsis:
A company of travelling performers arrive at a fictional oriental city. It includes the beautiful dancer Janaia, the hunchback clown Yeggar who is lovesick for Janaia and the Old Lady who loves Yeggar. The Slave Trader Achmed wants to sell Janaia to the Sheik for his harem. At the Palace, the Sheik finds out that his favourite, Sumurun, is in love with Nur al Din, the handsome clothes merchant. He wants to condemn her to death but his son obtains her pardon. After seeing Janaia dancing, the Sheik is keen to buy her. Yeggar is desperate and takes a magic pill which make him look dead. His body is hidden in a chest. The women from the harem come to Nur al Din's shop and hide him in a chest so that he can be brought into the Palace. The chest containing Yeggar's body is also brought to the Palace and the Old Lady manages to revive him. The Sheik finds Janaia making love to his son and kills both of them. He then finds Sumurun making love to Nur al Din and wants to kill them but he is stabbed in the back by Yagger.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
In the Orient, a troupe arrives in a village and the hunchback Yeggar (Ernst Lubitsch) is in love with the dancer Yannaia (Pola Negri), who is desired by every men.
However, Yannaia has been invited by the slave trader Achmed (Paul Biensfeldt) and is enthusiastic to join the harem of the cruel and tyrannical Old Sheik (Paul Wegener).
But when the Young Sheik (Carl Clewing) sees Yannaia, he also desires her and allows the troupe to exhibit in the streets of his village.Meanwhile, the favorite concubine of the Old Sheik, Sumurun (Jenny Hasseqvist), and the cloth merchant Nur-al Din (Harry Liedtke) are in love with each other.
However, the Old Sheik mistakenly believes that the Young Sheik desires her and he decides to punish Sumurun.
"Sumurun" is one Arabian Night tale divided in six acts with a story of passion, desire, love and jealousy.
The story blends drama and romance and fans like me of silent movies will certainly enjoy this film like I did.
My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Sumurun".
Lavish and entertaining but cold; Pola Negri steals the film.
The favorite slave girl of a tyrannical sheik (the memorable Paul Wegener) falls in love with a cloth merchant, which puts her life in terrible danger.
Luckily, she is beloved of the rest of the harem, which conspires to bring the true lovers together, while distracting the prying eyes of the eunuchs who serve as palace guards.
Meanwhile, a traveling dancer (Pola Negri) is eager to become part of the harem, much to the despair of the hunchback clown who is in love with her.Ernst Lubitsch directed this lavish production, which is entertaining but cold.
Everything about the film keeps us at arm's length - the forgettable lovers, the unaffecting pathos (compare Lubitsch as the clown to the sympathetic Lon Chaney in similar roles) and the strident comedy.
The extravagant sets and costumes, and the bold and energetic way in which the film is shot and put together, make the film enjoyable nevertheless.Jenny Hasselqvist in the title role barely makes an impression.
The revelation for me was Pola Negri, whom I was seeing for the first time when I watched this movie.
Her mixture of naturalness and affected silent-era mannerisms, her blend of girlishness and vampish womanly sexiness, make it clear why she became a star..
Today, in the UK at least, the word "pantomime" means songs, dances, dames, villains to be booed, out of work actors, "He's behind you", and generally a good time to be had by all.
Sumurun, a German pantomime with which renowned theatre producer Max Reinhardt had great success in the mid-1910s, is not a familiar story, but the wild and wonderful tone with which it is played bears some similarities to how we understand the genre today.Funnily enough, in the US the term pantomime is often used as synonym for "mime", in the Marcel Marceau sense, and indeed highly expressive acting in silent cinema is often referred to as "pantomime".
Looking at the film version of Sumurun, it seems this is perhaps not entirely coincidental.
Like the majority of Ernst Lubitsch pictures from this period, it takes place in a gloriously hammy world where actors grimace and gesticulate with shameless glee.
Thank goodness for Lubitsch's sense of humour.
By peppering Sumurun with touches of his absurd genius, he prevents it from being over-earnest and unintentionally funny.
The Lubitsch style of comedy is nowhere near as pronounced as it was in all-out farces such as The Oyster Princess or The Wildcat, but it serves to soften the silliness of the melodrama with which it coexists.
The comedy and melodrama do not interfere with each other, because the situations in themselves are not funny.
Incidentally, the occasional moments where the line blurs and the comedy figures get swept into the tragedy are among the most poignant I have seen in all of Lubitsch's work.You see, Lubitsch was not just a master of screen comedy, he was a real craftsman of screen drama.
Often when characters look at each other, we are shown reverse angles in which they are virtually staring into the lens.
It's almost a kind of audience participation (think pantomimes again!), in that we are made to feel we share the space of the film's world rather than that we look in on it.
Conversely however Lubitsch sometimes frames the more dramatic events deep in the background, giving us a kind of panicky feel of separation.
At this moment we should take time to consider the exquisite and elaborate set design of Kurt Richter, which here establishes contrasting tones for the different environments – a stark and barren outdoors, the squalid clutter of the poor district, and the rich opulence of the palace.This was the last appearance of Lubitsch himself as an actor, and one of the few examples of his acting that is easily available today.
His eccentric performance lies at the hammy heart of Sumurun.
It is a very Germanic style of theatrical comic acting, exaggerated to the point of being almost grotesque, but something great fun to watch in the right kind of setting, as those familiar with the best of Emil Jannings or Rudolph Klein-Rogge will know.
However Lubitsch is outshone by his opposite number, the old hag played by Margarete Kupfer, who is again very overstated but in a manner that is entertaining, especially in her lurching drunk act.
Paul Wegener is marvellous as the old sheikh, treading the line between pomposity and genuine menace, and thus very much in tune with the picture as a whole.
Finally an honourable mention goes to the handful of black supporting actors, who appear in a number of Lubitsch pictures and whose names I have never been able to find.
None of these guys especially stands out, but they are all clearly adept at the Lubitsch comedy form of sudden reactions and surprise expressions.Sumurun is not without its detractors.
Also I accept that the acting styles may seem a little inappropriate and jarring to some.
But I also feel that those who would demand comprehensibility or naturalism from a picture like this are really missing the point.
In fact, people who don't like Sumurun are probably the same sort of people who would not enjoy shouting "Oh no it isn't!" at a bunch of out-of-work actors in tights.
A happy result of Lubitsch homage to Reinhardt.
The richness of Max Reinhardt's stage direction of Friedrich Feska's play, THE ARABIAN NIGHTS, is transferred and adapted to the screen by Reinhardt's protege Ernst Lubitsch who, in his final acting performance, as the hunchback clown Buckliger, heads a sterling internationally flavored cast which he directs with his customary vigor in this German production, one of the last films made by Lubitsch in Europe.
Upon the stage a masque, SUMURUN is remedied by Lubitsch of its static quality as he prescribes a non-stop folly of exuberance which the polyglot players are quite capable of providing, in particular Paul Wegener (Germany), Pola Negri (Poland), Aud Egede Nissen (Norway) and Jenny Hasselqvist (Sweden), each of whom performs strongly and adds lagniappes of interpretation to the scenario of Hans Kraly.
Lubitsch, a veteran of the Yiddish stage, generally as Meyer the Jew, is a clear guide to his actors in this melodramatic tale of a sheikh (Wegener) who desires to add an itinerant dancing girl (Negri) to his harem because of his dissatisfaction with his principal houri (Hasselqvist) who in turn desires a young wandering merchant with whom she shares a strong physical attraction.
Buckliger is in love with the gypsy dancer, but the mulatta role portrayed by the diminuitive Negri is one who has learned to trust only the adornments of wealth and is therefore most willing to become a harem resident, a prospect which she finds most cordial although, of course, many complications come about involving, among others, the son of the sheikh.
Lubitsch's unique style, which incorporates the frequent use of innuendo, found favor in Hollywood, principally with Mary Pickford who, because of her viewing of SUMURUN, was able to entice the director to the United States, bringing Negri with him, as they had shared many Continental successes, and after her career was macerated by her emotional excess and strong accent, the director continued on to great acclaim, praised for his "Lubitsch touch".
This touch is in evidence in this silent German film as it continued to be in his subsequent English language efforts and is essentially the conjugating of the lashes of one eye..
A Lot of Lubitsch Goes a Long Way Astray!.
His exaggerated, hammy acting is one that Lubitsch the director would never have permitted any of his players.
All the characters are one-dimensional and the story tends to drag, especially in the comedy relief sequences provided by camera-hoggers Kronert and Graetz, who are just awful.
Margarete Kupfer's repulsive old hag is also over- indulged.On the other hand, the film does provide an almost equal number of pleasures.
not only in its exotic sets and cinematography, but in the alluring presence of Pola Negri, who receives excellent support from Paul Wegener who cleverly underplays his ruthless, self-indulgent sheik and thus makes him a really terrifying figure.And for lessons in how to play comic relief with style, I nominate Jakob Tiedtke and Paul Biensfeldt, who both do amusing wonders with seemingly impossible characters.
A slave trader, a comic figure?
But that's how Biensfeldt plays this despicable little heap of slime-- and it works!This film is now available on a somewhat odd Alpha Video DVD.
Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to replace the original (presumably German) inter-titles.
These new English titles look very swanky indeed, but unfortunately they make the movie itself look just awful, thanks to its rather muddy and extremely well-worn print..
"Sumurun" is characteristic of the type of films Ernst Lubitsch made in Germany after he stopped making exuberant, although (from what I've seen) hit or miss, comedies and started making vehicles for Pola Negri.
There's sexual intrigue set in a fictional past with decent production values in the surroundings.
The multiple story lines in this one coalesce rather well, especially Negri replacing Jenny Hasselqvist as the sexual possession of a sheik played by Paul Wegener (who, in addition to working for Lubitsch, took part in two important early German films: "The Student of Prague" (1913) and "The Golem" (1920)).
But, the film is forgettable and mostly just fluffy.
Some of the staging is awkward, as well, perhaps due to the source and director's theatrical traditions.
Lubitsch was very successful with these types of pictures, though--paving the way for the exportation of German cinema and the emigration of himself to Hollywood..
SUMURUN proves that German films during the post-WWI era were as beautiful as American films.
This film features tons of elaborate sets, lots and lots of costumed extras and a large scope.
In that sense, the film really looks nice.However, when it came to the story, I was curiously bored by the whole thing, as the film was, at times, stagy.
I just didn't find the characters that interesting and unlike later films by director Ernst Lubitsch, this one lacked that "Lubitsch touch"--the artistry and brilliance in the interactions of the cast.I also was left a bit cold by many of the performances.
Lubitsch himself starred in the film in the male lead and he was practically lost under all the fake hair and costuming.
Ultra-famous Pola Negri plays a part that is pretty dull as well--she plays an alluring dancer.
This is the type of role in which she excelled in the 1920s, but today you can't understand the sort of sex appeal she was supposed to have.
She dances, gyrates and acts coy--but that's about all.Overall, it's a nice film to look at but that's really about all..
During the silent film history, there were famous and important pairs who worked together in varying degrees in their film careers: Herr Stiller and Dame Garbo, Herr Pabst and Dame Brooks, Herr Griffith and Dame Gish or Herr Ego and Dame Swanson.
One of these remarkable silent open marriages was Herr Ernst Lubitsch and Dame Pola Negri, who worked together in many important silent productions, especially during the German period of the Teutonic director."Sumurun" (1920) was one of those early lavish UFA productions, based on a Herr Max Reinhard's 1910 stage pantomime, which gave prestige to Germany's greatest film company and provided the chance to decisively open the world film markets to the German productions, specially in Amerika, a distant and perilous country where afterwards, as many longhaired youngsters know, Herr Lubitsch will continue his successful career, becoming one of the most important directors in film history.
In this same country Dame Pola will also make some films but with uneven results; for her, it was a short lapse in her career that she will afterwards resume in old Europe.This German count mentioned that "Sumurun" was a lavish, opulent major budget film production as can be seen in the superb and astonishing décors and art direction due to the pair of hands, two for each one, of Herr Ernö Metzner und Kurt Richter.
Such Teutonic magnificence and exuberance is just what the story demands; a tale involving a tangled love triangle set in an archetypical and fascinating East.This German count also must mention that in addition to Dame Negri the film also features Herr Paul Wegener, Dame Aud Agede Nissen and Herr Lubitsch himself.
Pola has a role that's perfect for her: sensual, adventuresome, defiant and full of untameable spirit.
The film's parallel stories sometimes are confusing or digressive although it makes for a comprehensible mess since the various love conflicts in the film include unrequited passion, Eastern vengeance and unrestrained desires, all transpiring in an exotic landscape and making for a delicious extravagant film fantasy where the talent of the German director shines more that the Eastern sun.And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count has an exotic appointment in East Germany..
All one can remember from the complex plot of this movie which is yet another "Arabian" fantasy is the presence of Pola Negri.
She plays a dancer in a traveling troupe that is forced to get the attention of the local sheik to protect her fellow performers, and allow the troupe to work the streets of the city.
She plays the role of the dancer-courtesan to the hilt and her wild and frenzied dance sequence alone is already worth the price of admission.
The settings and costumes are clearly influenced by the aesthetics of Diaghelev's Ballet Russes that were still the hot ticket in Paris when this film was made.
Particularly it reminded me of "Scheherazade" choreographed by Mikhail Fokine with Ida Rubenstein and Vaslav Nijinski in the title roles, which I have seen produced by the Marinski Ballet and has similar costumes,(Leon Bakst designed the original costumes and his designs have been preserved) particularly for the eunuch, as the ones in the film.
The ballet caused a great sensation when it premiered in 1910 as it turned out to have one of Nijinsky's most memorable roles as the slave.
In this film Pola Negri is exquisite in her sultry, sensuous persona and one understands her star status from watching her go for it in this film.
She is the seductress-gypsy par excellence and it is only when we see her that the movie really comes alive..
An average film by Lubitsch.
Don't expect to see a masterpiece of the silent era nor one of the finest works directed by Ernst Lubitsch when you'll watch "Sumurun".
This film is very far from wonders such as "The shop around the corner" or "To be or not be".
It is one of those oriental fantasies that would blossom in those days, with a story which is everything but believable and with an international cast which is everything but exotic.
the film has its charm, for it was filmed with taste (the sets are amazing, obviously inspired by Moorish architecture like the Alhambra of Granada and the mosque of Córdoba) and nevertheless well directed.
Pola Negri was then at the height of her beauty and her performance is truly an erotic one.
The rather complex narrative is about a pair of lovers (Zuleika/Sumurun, one of the numerous concubines of a sheik, and Nur-al-Din, a handsome merchant) and also two sheiks (Sumurun's master and his son) who both covet the same young dancer (played by Pola Negri).
There are moments of pure comedy and the (partly) dramatic end comes with a surprise, as for during more than an hour and a half, all the mix-ups and unlikely situations don't prepare the viewer for a sad ending..
Forgettable early Lubitsch.
"Sumurun" or "One Arabian Knight" is a German black-and-white silent film from the year 1920, so this one will have its 100th anniversary soon.
The director is Ernst Lubitsch and he also is credited as one of the writers (alongside his longtime collaborator Ernst Kräly) and he is also the lead actor in here.
This film was obviously made a long time before Lubitsch's breakthrough in Hollywood and also quite a while before the Nazis took over.
Lubitsch himself was still in his 20s at this point and still it is far from his first world as a filmmaker as he had already directed a whole lot of movies in the 5 years before that by 1920.
There exist many German silent films that focus on different countries and cultures and this is just another as you already see from the sheikh on the film's poster.
And also many other contents were nothing new at this point already: (unrequited) love, jealousy, foreign culture, competition and just generally dramatic situations from start to finish.
I cannot say I enjoyed the watch a lot and for me the film dragged on several occasions during its almost 2 hours.
Then again, I am not the greatest silent film in general.