La maison jaune de Rio

When the simultaneously filmed German version of this bizarre early talkie opened in Berlin, it was according to Variety booed so strenuously that the lead actress had to calm the audience down. The French version is probably not one of the parts that the late, great Charles Vanel would want to be remembered for: a dual role as King Fu a vaguely Asiatic criminal terrorizing a city,and a ham actor Scalpa who is his look alike. The Orientalism besides trafficking in such Yellow Peril Fu Manchu stereotyping also indulges in some second rate exotic dance sequences. The expressionist director Karl Gruene (most famous for The Street) does get to pull off some stylized art direction of urban thoroughfares by night and looming shadowplay but these strategies lack the serious import they would have had in the context of one of his German silents.It all seems rather silly and contrived and poorly thought out.