Carmen (1918)

Although he has a sweetheart (Grete Diercks) back home, a Dragoon Sergeant (Harry Liedtke) in Sevilla falls madly in love with a beautiful but fickle gypsy (Pola Negri). So desperately in love that he forsakes his sweetheart and his military career and even steals and kills for her. Based on the novella by Prosper Merimee (made famous by the same named opera by Bizet) and directed by Ernst Lubitsch (THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER). This is a straight forward telling of the oft told tale, well done but not especially memorable. I will say that Pola Negri is just about perfect as the gypsy minx. You can believe that a man could fall under her spell and abandon everything. Alas, as the lovestruck soldier, Liedtke is a bit of a blob. Released in the U.S. as GYPSY BLOOD. With Leopold von Ledebur, Magnus Stifter and Margarete Kupfer.