Moulin Rouge (1928)

A young aristocrat (Jean Bradin) has been forbidden by his father (Georges Treville) to marry a young woman (Eve Gray) because her mother (Olga Tschechowa) is a famous dancer at the Moulin Rouge. But that is the least of his problems when he falls in love with his fiancee's mother and that passion will lead to tragedy. Directed by Ewald Andre Dupont (VARIETE), there's a solid movie in here somewhere but it seriously needs some editing shears to bring it out. Running over the two hour mark, there are so many musical numbers that it's as close to a musical as a silent movie can be. But it's not the musical numbers so much as Dupont's insistence on lingering over every scene longer than necessary. The film was edited down to 86 minutes the following year and I don't know what was cut out but I can only guess that the pacing was improved. The lavishness of the production might have thrilled audiences at the time but it's not enough. This is my first exposure to Tschechowa and she's a real find. She single handedly makes the film worth watching. With Marcel Vibert and Andrews Engelmann.