Madame DuBarry

Both stars - along with director Ernst Lubitsch and cameraman Theodor Sparkuhl - not surprisingly went on to successful careers in Hollywood. But although apparently the first feature film to depict the French Revolution it does takes an awfully long time getting there. When the Bastille is finally stormed DuBarry's fate seems rather abrupt, as it was toned down upon its American release by First National and a hundred years later the full gory details apparently remain largely lost.

Pola Negri in a powdered wig (plus silent screen eye shadow that makes her resemble Theda Bara) makes an appealing Royal mistress, and although as Siegfried Kracauer observed, "the story's contempt for historical facts is matched only by its disregard for their meaning", one is content for the most part to let the richness of the production and Negri's allure work their magic.