Jacques Feyder's name became a household name in France with the release of his June 1921 "L'Atlantide." Taken from the Pierre Benoit 1919 novel of the same name, "L'Atlantide" has been remade a number of times since, from G. W. Pabst's version all the way to 1992 with Spanish actor Fernando Rey. Feyder's original film proved to be a big hit in Europe, with one Parisian movie theatre running the movie for over a year. Despite its three hour length, the movie had distributors from the United States vieing for its national exclusivity.
The plot consists of two French officers, lost in the Sahara desert, stumbling upon the lost civilization of Atlantis. Its ageless queen, Antinea, rules over the kingdom. She has a strange hobby of collecting lovers and encasing them in gold when she gets tired of them. Antinea stirs up trouble between the two officers, setting off a turmoil-rich battle.
Feyder persuaded the financial backers to film the entire movie in Algiers, including the interior scenes. "L'Atlantide" is the first French production to be shot in its colony. A number of film productions from France have since journied to Algiers for its unique backdrops. The one aspect that upset Feyder when beginning the shoot was actress Stacia Napierkowsk, who played the queen. She had a long resume as a famous lithesome dancer possessing attractive features which she displayed in a number of movies. When she first appeared on the set, Feyder's eyes popped out seeing her rather large frame. He had to live with that fact, prompting one French critic to write, "There is one great actor in this film, that is the sand."
