This silent-screen classic, like many others produced near the end of the silent era, was both a theatrical extravaganza boasting an original orchestral score and an item which languished in obscurity for many years. When Carlo Piccardi took what was left of the score by Maurice Jaubert and re-created it, the existing footage was restored and paired with a new orchestral performance which was shown in Paris in 1988. The film's story concerns the travails of a woman who has been living quite comfortably as the mistress of a colonel in the Tsar's army in Russia. However, she eventually encounters a penniless young lieutenant and falls madly in love with him, as he does with her. Despite her best intentions of remaining with the colonel, and his intention to avoid trouble with his fellow soldiers, they cannot forswear this relationship, and tragedy is the inevitable result. The title refers to a moving incident in the story, and translates as "the wonderful lie of Nina Petrovna."
Acting
Brigitte Helm's face — every glance a novel, every tear earned.
Score
Maurice Jaubert's reconstructed music breathes where silence would kill.
Production
Imperial Russia recreated with budget and ambition Hollywood envied.
Director
Hanns Schwarz
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Maurice Jaubert, who composed the original score, died in 1940 fighting for the French Resistance — his music survived fascism and film stock decay both.
This was Brigitte Helm's last major silent role before sound transformed her career into something far less interesting — watch her while you can.
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