The Temptress
Encyclopedia
The Temptress is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 romantic drama film directed by Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.-Biography:He was born Frederick Liedtke in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg...

. Starring Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...

, Antonio Moreno
Antonio Moreno
Antonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...

, Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...

 and Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains...

 it premiered on October 10, 1926. The film melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...

 was based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a Spanish realist novelist writing in Spanish, a screenwriter and occasional film director....

 adapted for the screen by Dorothy Farnum.

In her eighth film and only second film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

, Garbo plays the title role, a beautiful woman who destroys all who come in contact with her. The film was released on DVD in 2005 with a new score, written by Michael Picton, who won Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...

’s fifth annual Young Film Composers competition.

Plot

The story opens in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 at a masquerade ball
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...

 where the unhappy Elena (Garbo) meets Manuel Robledo (Antonio Moreno
Antonio Moreno
Antonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...

), an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 engineer. After removing their masks, they spend the night together in a park and they fall in love under the stars. They declare their love for one another, with Manuel giving her a ring, before departing.

The next day when he goes to visit his friend, Marques De Torre Bianca (Armand Kaliz), Manuel is stunned to learn that his wife happens to be Elena. He is disillusioned and upset. Wanting nothing more to do with her, he leaves.

At a dinner party, Fontenoy (Marc MacDermott), a middle-aged banker permitted by Bianca to have Elena be his mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...

 in order for them to be financially secure, distracts the guests by making a startling speech around the table on how Elena, the temptress, has ruined his life and blames her for his financial ruin. As he drains his glass he collapses at the table after taking his drink that was evidently filled with poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

.

Back at their home, the Marquis, who had encouraged his wife's affair with Fontenoy, informs Elena that he too is overwhelmed with debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

. Distraught over the incident and the departure of Robledo back, she empties her jewel box, giving all that she received from Fontenoy to the Marquis. Robledo arrives to comfort his friend and tell him that he is returning to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. As he is leaving, Elena tries to convince him that she really does love him, but he doesn't love her and departs quickly.

When Robledo returns to Argentina, he receives a difficult reception from the whole town, especially associates Canterac (Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...

) & Pirovani (Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson
-Arts and entertainment:*Robert Anderson , Scottish literary scholar and editor*Robert Rowand Anderson , Scottish architect*Robert Alexander Anderson , American composer...

). We learn that these men have escaped their financial troubles and women back home by traveling to this remote country to spearhead the construction of a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

. Their efforts are being stalled by a local bandit, Manos Duras (Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains...

), and his men.

The Marquis shows up to visit Robledo in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, and he has brought Elena. He tells Robledo he had no choice since she financed the trip. Elena dresses formally for dinner and every other occasion, showing up the local shoeless women and entrancing all the men much to the disdain of Robledo. Manos, who observed her arrival, comes to Robledo’s one evening to serenade Elena. He becomes jealous and he fights Manos to protect her honour. Even though they use whips, with which Manos is a master, Robledo wins. After Manos leaves, Elena tends to Robledo's wounds, and he denies that his actions were a sign that he loves her. And Manos, still seething from his loss in the fight, returns to shoot Robledo but kills the Marquis instead.

Free from marriage, Elena has distracted the men. Robledo's associates Canterac & Pirovani have even forgotten about their women back home. One night, the town throws a party in her honor, during which Canterac kills Pirovani with his sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

 over Elena. Manos, who had not lost sight of the larger fight of stopping the foreigners from completing their project, chooses that night to seek his revenge and dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...

 the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

, producing some early special effects for 1926.

Robledo and the men attempt to repair the damage before it floods. However, they are not successful and a tired, nearly drowned Robledo returns to find Elena. Though at first he tries to kill her, he finds that he cannot and, with his resistance low, he succumbs, declaring that he is beaten and that he does love her. As he sleeps, and though she had insisted to Robledo that she had never used the word "love" with anyone else, she leaves him, with a note telling him that she will not be his ruin.

Six years later, the dam is completed and the engineer Robledo is back in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 being lauded for his success by a crowd of people, with his fiancée on his arm. As they are climbing into a cab, however, Robledo sees a woman in the crowd that he thinks is Elena. He follows her, finding her in a cafe, where he buys her a drink. He is surprised that she doesn't seem to remember him, and soon leaves. Elena then has a vision, that a man across the cafe is actually Jesus Christ, halo and all. It is then revealed that she has kept Robledo's ring, the one he had given her that first night they met. She gives it to the man and the film ends with her walking away, alone down the street.

Filming

Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller
Mauritz Stiller was a Finnish-Swedish actor, screenwriter and silent film director, who was mostly active in Sweden.-Life:...

 was originally set to direct Greta Garbo's second film for MGM. However, he was removed from directing, since his command of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 was poor at the time. He was replaced by Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.-Biography:He was born Frederick Liedtke in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg...

. Stiller was unhappy with his dismissal, something that affected Garbo during the four months of filming The Temptress.

Swedish director Stiller had been influential in bringing Garbo to film and their partnership was so successful that when MGM took on Garbo they also hired the man who made her face recognizable. Soon after Garbo had filmed Torrent
Torrent (1926 film)
Torrent is an American silent romantic drama film directed by Monta Bell , based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, and released on February 21, 1926.Torrent was the first American film starring Swedish actress Greta Garbo...

(1926), Stiller was called in to helm The Temptress. However, Stiller's arguing with the MGM bosses caused his dismissal even after shooting a considerable amount of footage. Despite its filming difficulties, The Temptress proved to be a success, showing early signs of Garbo’s career potential. Its worldwide gross was $965,000.

When the camera crane pulls back from Fontenoy along the long banquet
Banquet
A banquet is a large meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, and is often preceded or followed by speeches in honour of someone....

 table prior to his death, the crane visibly throws a shadow across him from the overhead studio lighting.

Overview

The Temptress is the first of several films in which Garbo played what could be considered as a typecast role, until it got to a point where she drifted from the role in later films. Although Greta Garbo is the main star, Antonio Moreno plays a key role in creating the melodramatic scenes of the film, particularly in scenes where he discovers he has been cheated upon by Elena, is suffering from the wounds of his bout, and witnesses the dynamiting of his dam. Robledo does have a slight Zorro
Zorro
Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by New York-based pulp writer Johnston McCulley. The character has been featured in numerous books, films, television series, and other media....

 demeanor about him, which is increasingly evident upon his return to Argentine and his role as a hero for the impoverished.

The cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...

 of the film contains two notable silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...

 shots, an amusing under the table sequence at a dinner party where men and women's leg
Human leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...

s and feet engage in some avid flirting
Flirting
Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...

 and the ubiquitous MGM long banquet table tracking shot which appears in later films such as Anna.

Main cast and characters

Image Actor Character Notes
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...

Elena Elena is the main character of the film able to use her physical beauty to capture the heard and "tempt" the opposite sex. She is highly manipulative and is able to win over the hearts of men within an instant leading to some fierce competition between her Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 love interests
Antonio Moreno
Antonio Moreno
Antonio "Tony" Moreno was a notable Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.- Biography :...

Manuel Robledo Robledo is an Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 on leave from a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 building
project back home in Argentina in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 where he meets Elena at a masquerade ball
Masquerade ball
A masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...

 and falls in love with her
Marc McDermott
Marc McDermott
Marcus McDermott was an Australian-born American actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death.-Early life and career:...

Fontenoy Fontenoy (Marc MacDermott) is a middle-aged banker who had an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...

 with Elena during a difficult period. He blames her and labels her as the temptress, stating she had ruined his life and blames her for his financial ruin. He commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in a highly melodramatic fashion by poisoned wine in public.
Armand Kaliz
Armand Kaliz
Armand Kaliz was a French born American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s.Born in Paris, Kaliz began his career in vaudeville...

Marquis de Torre Bianca The Marquis de Torre Bianca is a Frenchman and the husband of Elena but also the close friend of Robledo
Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy
Roy D'Arcy was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains...

Manos Duras Manos Duras is a local Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 bandit who like Robledo falls for Garbo when she arrives in Argentina. He vies for her affections and is surprised when the jealous Robledo
Robledo
Robledo is the name of a caldera in Catamarca Province, Argentina....

 clearly still has feelings for her and confronts him violently. Despite Duras being a maestro with a whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...

 he is beaten almost to death by Robledo fuelled by his desire.

Other cast

Image Actor Character
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...

Canterac
Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson
-Arts and entertainment:*Robert Anderson , Scottish literary scholar and editor*Robert Rowand Anderson , Scottish architect*Robert Alexander Anderson , American composer...

Pirovani
Francis McDonald
Francis McDonald
Francis McDonald was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Although never really a headlining actor, he made 41 film and television appearances between 1913 and 1965, appearing in films such as The Temptress in 1926 with Greta Garbo...

Timateo
Virginia Brown Faire Celinda
Hector Sarno
Hector Sarno
Hector V. Sarno was an Italian-born American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 183 films between 1912 and 1948.He was born in Naples, Italy and died in Pasadena, California.-Selected filmography:...

Rojas

Uncredited cast

  • Steve Clemente .... Salvadore (uncredited)
  • Roy Coulson .... Trinidad (uncredited)
  • Louise Emmons .... Newspaper Vendor (uncredited)
  • Inez Gomez .... Sebastiana (uncredited)
  • Bob Kortman .... Duras henchman (uncredited)
  • Ethan Laidlaw .... Caballero (uncredited)
  • Alys Murrell .... Josephine (uncredited)
  • Mauritz Stiller .... (uncredited)

DVD release

The film was released on DVD on 6 September 2005 by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...

 as part of the Greta Garbo collection also featuring the film Flesh and the Devil
Flesh and the Devil
Flesh and the Devil is an MGM romantic drama silent film. It stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the play The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann....

on the same disc.

DVD chapters

Disc #2, Side B—The Temptress
  1. Credits [1:08]
  2. Costume Ball [2:37]
  3. Behind the Masks [5:28]
  4. Dawn of Love [2:58]
  5. Marquis... and Marquise [6:32]
  6. Fontenoy's Dinner Party [4:57]
  7. Banner Headlines; Jewels [3:30]
  8. Robledo's Departure [3:06]
  9. The Argentine [7:02]
  10. Manos Duras [4:31]
  11. Unexpected Guests [6:05]
  12. Dinner Attire [3:47]
  13. Serenade [4:23]
  14. Bullwhip Duel [6:15]
  15. Comfort and Contempt [3:18]
  16. No Happiness [5:02]
  17. Offer Refused [4:17]
  18. Fiesta; Deadly Blades [6:33]
  19. Dam Destroyed [4:52]
  20. Heroic Efforts [5:51]
  21. From Hatred to Love [4:57]
  22. Six Years Later [5:57]
  23. Elena's Vision [2:07]
  24. End Credits [:35]

External links

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