The New York herald., 1922-02-22
Pharaoh's Loves
Make Absorbing
Play for Screen
Ernst Lubitsch's Production
Sets High Mark in
Pictures.

"The Loves OF Pharaoh" which started
an indefinite engagement at the Criterion
yesterday, ought to make the Metropol-
itan Museum of Art more popular than
ever. After seeing Ernst Lubitsch's very
lifelike and animated picture of the an
cient Egyptians New Workers ought to
throng the mummy section and reflect
how these dignifed gentlemen once had
such a kick in them.
BY his latest photoplay the leading
his right TO be put on scratch in all
future screen starts. He has probably
the most splendid historical screen I'm
agination now at large. 1t is shown not
merely in magnificent temples. towering
palaces and wonderful courtyards that
might have been built to the order of an
Egyptian king. These are the mere
physical manifestations that any director
can assemble with the aid of inspired
carpentry.
Preeminently Lubitsch reveals his
power in his ability to suggest the mood
and character of an epoch, so that the
very walls and statuary seems to be
playing part. In Passion" he denoted
very clearly the wild profiigacy of the
times in the present picture he reveals
penetratingly how monarchs in the dawn
of history went after their objectives
with the fnesse of bull and just about
as much control of their tempers. The
very draperies breathe mysterious at
mosphere into the story Of the strange
period, when women were chattel ana
life and labor were squandered just as
prodigally as though they grew on trees
and might get overripe.
This tale of the enraged King OF
Ethiopia, who declared war on Pharaoh
Amenes when the King of Egypt spnrned
his daughter in favor of her Greek
slave. is constantly feeling the primal
urge of drama. 1t moves always along
unexpected paths, one OF its best and
most sardonic twists being that whereby
Pharaoh, wounded and left for dead In
battle, returns in the unshaven guise of
a beggar to his capital to reclaim his
throne and Is treated as a merry old
idiot by his own soldiery. Perhaps they
still remember the Kaiser in Germany.
Other striking scenes show Rdmphis,
the lover of the Greek slave. Theonis
under diabolical torture a mutiny in
quarry the crowning of Theonis as
Queen and the attack on the Egyptian
army In valley by Ethiopians, who
pla que of locusts.
Hardly a moment lacks color, and
while all the characters are fictitious,
Lubitsch makes them live more than
If you could turn to them on page 46.
He knows how to use the symbols OF
the screen with inspiration-his close
ups are a revelation, with not glycerine
tear In sight And his use OF depth in
pictures makes a stereoscope apparatus
unnecessary. Even his screen sand
storms seem real.
Emil Jannings and Paul Wegener, as
Pharaoh and Santldk of Ethiopia, re-
spectively, give a vivid depletion of
what might be the well known physical
problem, the meeting of the immovable
body with the irresistible force. Miss
Dagny Servaes. while not so insidiously
sparkling as Miss Pola Negri is finely
regal, while Henry Liedtke as her lover
knows how to burn with fire like the
sands The subtitles are exceptionally
good, though sometimes needed to
smooth out the continuity, for the King
seems to get rush order of insanity, for
instance But altogether this is one
of the majestic pictures of the decade. as
mysteriousy fascinating as the Sphinx.