The Castro's blood wedding
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Castro's blood wedding |
| Original title | A sainted devil |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1924 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joseph Henabery |
| script |
Forrest Halsey based on the novel Rope's End by Rex Beach |
| production |
Jesse L. Lasky Adolph Zukor |
| camera | Harry Fischbeck |
| occupation | |
| |
The Castro's Blood Wedding is a 1924 American silent film drama starring Rudolph Valentino .
action
Don Alonzo de Castro, who comes from the old Spanish aristocracy, is an attractive Latino grandee as he is in the book, is about to get married (arranged) to the beautiful and lovely Argentinean Julietta, a young woman he has never met before . The lavish festival is to be celebrated on de Castro's spacious hacienda . But Alonzo did the math without the fiery and hot-blooded Carlotta, his ex. She has something against Alonzo marrying anyone except herself. And so she teams up with El Tigre, the notorious bandido leader who has been making this area unsafe for some time. When he and his gang attack the wedding party, the villain has only the bride in mind. A fierce fight ensues, in which the nobleman, however, is underlaid and cannot prevent Julietta from being kidnapped. Don Alonzo immediately chases after the criminals and can put them in their camp, which they have set up in a church ruin. From his hiding place, the robbed groom has to watch a woman in wedding clothes hug and kiss El Tigre. Alonzo automatically believes that it could only be his Julietta.
From now on, Alonzo and El Tigre are mortal enemies, and after another encounter in which Don Alonzo escapes in an adventurous way, the Spanish nobleman swears eternal revenge. However, Alonzo has also lost his faith in his new wife, Julietta. He cannot figure out why this chaste girl, who was brought up in a convent, throws herself so shamelessly at the neck of an identified villain. Little does the landowner suspect that he was actually seeing Carlotta, the mastermind behind this plot, who threw herself into Julietta's wedding dress and hugged the villain. While Alonzo is more and more directing all his senses to confront El Tigre and put an end to his craft, a little later Julietta manages to free herself with the help of the dancer Carmelita. The bride, who dares to do something, finds shelter in a convent where she is initially protected from El Tigre's stalking. Don Alonzo knows nothing about these events. More and more he threatens, not overcoming the loss of his own wife and her supposed turtling with El Tigre, to mutate into an angel of revenge and a drunkard: to a holy devil, as the film title suggests.
When Don Alonzo learns that El Tigre is supposed to be in a dark, extremely badly reputed bar, the Spanish grandee seeks a direct confrontation with the scoundrel. Here comes the showdown. When Alonzo enters the bar and sees El Tigre coming down the stairs, he jumps on them without warning and is about to strangle the bandit boss. Carlotta, who is also present, emits a sharp scream, and the groom also has to understand that a dead villain cannot tell him the whereabouts of his wife. El Tigre uses the upper water he thinks he is getting and now wants to kill Don Alonzo when the Haciendero receives unexpected help from Don Luis. This is a mortal enemy of El Tigre and strikes down the villain. Now Don Alonzo also learns that it was really Carlotta who hugged and kissed El Tigre in the bandit camp. Although escape helper Carmelita is in love with Don Alonzo herself, she finally reveals the whereabouts of his newlyweds so that the young happiness can finally embrace each other again.
Production notes
The film, produced by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, was made in Spring / Mid-1924 in Farmingdale, Long Island and in the Paramount Studios of Astoria , New York City. The premiere took place on November 17, 1924. In Germany, The Castros' blood wedding only started two years later, in November 1926. In Austria, the strip was literally translated and was shown from November 6, 1925 in the local cinemas under "A holy devil".
The same team (Zukor, Lasky, Henabery, Fischbeck, Valentino, Naldi) then shot the film Cobra , which, however, turned out to be far less successful compared to this production.
Reviews
“The story is told with care and the pace is maintained over the entire length. There are moments when the subtitles overlay the plot, although it would have been better if these had been shown in the individual scenes. In some cases you don't get a clear idea of the timing, and here and there you notice scenes that are presented to you in an all too calm way. Joseph Henabery, who directed this film, wasted no time in including numerous close-ups, some of which are merely largely expressionless poses. However, Mr. Valentino is a much better actor in this film than in "Monsieur Beaucaire". He obviously likes the atmosphere. Towards the end of the film, he casts aside all thoughts about his good looks and meek smile, and makes for an excellent portrait of a man who sees red. His anger in this sequence is hugely impressive when you compare it to the calm he had shown throughout the film. (…) There are several beautiful settings in this production, and that of the Hacienda was really done remarkably. A splendid venue is the one in the cabaret, which is revealed to us to show the fast paced life that Don Alonzo leads. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: "The title is interesting, but not the right choice for the feuilletonistic, but audience-effective subject. Valentino and Naldi stand out in the consistently good presentation, just as the photography achieves good effects. The presentation is picturesque and thoroughly creditable. "
Web links
- The Blood Wedding of Castro in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A Sainted Devil in The New York Times . In the original: The narrative is told with certain deliberation, the same tempo being sustained for its full length. There are times, however, when subtitles cover action which it would have been better to include as scenes. Then in several instances one does not receive a clear idea of the passage of time, and here and there one perceives scenes which are introduced with tranquil poses. Joseph Henabery, who directed this picture, has lost no little time by the inclusion of many close-ups, some of which are mere poses with little expression. Mr. Valentino is, however, a far better actor in this film than in "Monsieur Beaucaire." The atmosphere evidently suits him. Toward the end of the film he flings aside all thoughts of good looks and soft smiles, and gives a splendid portrayal of a man seeing red. His rage in this sequence is most impressive, as it comes as a marked contrast to his calm bearing throughout most of the other stretches. (...) There are several fine settings in this production, and that of the hacienda is remarkably well reproduced. There is a lavish set of a cabaret, which is introduced to show the fast life Don Alanzo is leading.
- ↑ A holy devil in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
