The Conquering Power

Playboy Charles Grandet (Rudolph Valentino) is sent to live with his uncle Pere Grandet (Ralph Lewis) when his father becomes ill. His father dies leaving Charles penniless. Charles falls in love with his niece, Eugenie (Alice Terry). Pere refuses to let them fall in love and get married and will do anything to stop it...

Very good silent movie that is virtually unknown--I couldn't find it in any movie books! Valentino and Terry are just both just gorgeous looking and make a very appealing couple. Lewis is also very good as the cruel uncle. Rex Ingram was one of the best directors of the silent era and this shows why. It's beautifully done--the movie flows smoothly and (for a silent film) moves rather quickly. The sequence in which Pere starts going mad at the end is extremely well done (and actually quite scary). A very good film--well worth seeing.

Sadly the only print available (shown on TCM) is in poor shape. The print is VERY grainy with scratches making some scenes hard to watch. Still, if you can overlook this (I was) you can enjoy the film. But it needs a major restoration job. How about it TCM?