Based on a 1917 play by Max Marcin called 'Eyes of Youth' previously filmed under its original title in 1919, also directed by Albert Parker, who made this version too.
The title led me to expect a romantic South Seas setting, and the Egyptian prologue provides a visually striking but misleading opening which proves a red herring, the historical story serving simply as an exotic frame in which to set a fairly ordinary episodic 20's society drama.
Despite her exotic first name Gloria Swanson plays an ancient Egyptian reincarnated in early Twentieth Century America with the thoroughly modern all-American surname Ashling, where a crystal ball enables her to view the unfortunate outcomes of two different life decisions that she is on the verge of making to lift her family out of dire financial straits while modelling various slinky creations by René Hubert. Her catastrophic drunk scene during the former prophecy was for me the film's highlight - but averting it should have been simple since she'd just been forewarned by seeing it forecast in a crystal ball!
It felt odd seeing John Boles and Robert Emmett O'Connor in a silent film since I'm familiar with them almost entirely from their 30's films.
The title led me to expect a romantic South Seas setting, and the Egyptian prologue provides a visually striking but misleading opening which proves a red herring, the historical story serving simply as an exotic frame in which to set a fairly ordinary episodic 20's society drama.
Despite her exotic first name Gloria Swanson plays an ancient Egyptian reincarnated in early Twentieth Century America with the thoroughly modern all-American surname Ashling, where a crystal ball enables her to view the unfortunate outcomes of two different life decisions that she is on the verge of making to lift her family out of dire financial straits while modelling various slinky creations by René Hubert. Her catastrophic drunk scene during the former prophecy was for me the film's highlight - but averting it should have been simple since she'd just been forewarned by seeing it forecast in a crystal ball!
It felt odd seeing John Boles and Robert Emmett O'Connor in a silent film since I'm familiar with them almost entirely from their 30's films.