A Duquesa Yankee

I was giggling like crazy watching this movie! This was definitely a pre-code silent comedy classic, and one of the few surviving Constance Talmadge films to enjoy. One can tell immediately that Connie never took herself seriously as an actress, even though she was a darn good comedienne. She was perfectly cast here; other actresses wouldn't have known how to handle the part.

Connie plays an American dancer touring through Russia, who catches the eye of both a Russian Duke and his handsome son, during a performance on stage, where her costume is almost completely pulled off by another character in her play. Connie only has eyes for the son and wants to marry him, but the father Duke is jealous and refuses his son his permission to marry her. He wants her for himself instead! No family loyalty seems to stop this letch of a Duke from lusting after Connie.

The mix-ups that ensue will have you rolling with laughter, especially Connie's reactions to the Duke trying to trap her in her bedroom, while the nervous son looks on helplessly. That "bouncing on the knee" routine had to have been the most daring sexual comedy routine I have ever seen in a film. That would never have gotten past the censors during the production code years.

Don't miss this silent.