Erich von Stroheim

Acting

Erich von Stroheim

Born 1885-09-22 · Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]

Erich von Stroheim (September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was a multifaceted Austrian-American actor, director, and writer known for his contributions to cinema during the silent film era. He was renowned for his meticulous attention to detail as a director and for portraying intense, often morally ambiguous characters on screen. Stroheim gained fame for directing and starring in films like "Greed" and "The Merry Widow." His style was marked by elaborate storytelling and a commitment to realism. Stroheim's career was impactful, though often marked by conflicts with studios due to his uncompromising vision, which led to some of his films being heavily edited against his wishes.

Acting credits

Sunset Boulevard poster
8.3

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Sunset Boulevard

1950

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages poster
7.1

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1916

Napoleon poster
6.3

The film follows the life of Napoleon from his early life in Corsica to his death at Saint Helena. The film is notable for its use of location shooting for numerous scenes, especially at the French estates of Malmaison and Fontainebleau, the Palace of Versailles, and sites of Napoleonic battles including Austerlitz and Waterloo.

Napoleon

1955

Greed poster
7.3

When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.

Greed

1924

Grand Illusion poster
7.9

A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.

Grand Illusion

1937

Morceaux de Cannes poster
2.0

We thought we'd seen, read, and heard everything there was to see about the Cannes Film Festival, from the glitz and gossip to the scandals and censorship. And yet, Emmanuel Barnault's "Morceaux de Cannes" (Pieces of Cannes), by this leading expert on Italian and French cinema, convinces us otherwise. The third largest event in the world (after the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup) reveals its secrets only sparingly, as this film attests. The result of passionate research in the INA archives, these 52 minutes, without interviews or voice-over narration, string together rare and sometimes previously unseen footage. Taken together, they tell a surprising, original, and heartwarming story of the Festival. On the beach, on a street corner, in a restaurant, or in the privacy of a hotel room, these forgotten archives summon the greatest filmmakers, actors, and actresses of the last seventy years, from Jean Cocteau to David Lynch, for an anthology of the Festival's history.

Morceaux de Cannes

2021

Five Graves to Cairo poster
7.0

During the 1942 North African campaign, a British straggler passes as a waiter at the hotel commandeered as Erwin Rommel's headquarters. He has thoughts of assassinating Rommel but his cover may provide an even better use.

Five Graves to Cairo

1943

For France poster
NR

When World War I breaks out, young West Point cadet Gerald Ackland, who is studying in Paris, joins the French army as a fighter pilot. His French fiancee, Martha Landeau, and her father flee to the family farm, which is near the Marne River, for safety. When German troops take over the area, they raid Marthe's farm and attempt to ravage her--but suddenly, out of the sky, comes a French fighter plane that scatters the Germans--and its pilot is none other than Gerald. However, that's not the end of their troubles, by any means.

For France

1917

Gibraltar poster
6.8

A British officer poses as a traitor in order to infiltrate a team of terrorists who are sabotaging ships, while a seductive cabaret dancer is working for the mysterious genius who runs the enemy spy ring.

Gibraltar

1938

The World Will Shake poster
7.0

In this sci-fi film, a scientist invents a prescient machine that can tell people when they will die. Oddly enough, the people do not want to know and therefore begin to riot…

The World Will Shake

1939

Quand Jean devint Renoir poster
10.0

The fascinating story of a man destined to be only a son of and who sought all his life to become "someone" by getting rid of the overwhelming image of his genius as a father, the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Quand Jean devint Renoir

2017

The North Star poster
6.0

A Ukrainian village must suddenly contend with the Nazi invasion of June 1941. Later re-edited and released as "Armored Attack."

The North Star

1943

Sylvia of the Secret Service poster
9.0

During World War I, a group of German saboteurs plot to blow up an ammunition dump in New York City. A secret agent sets out to stop them.

Sylvia of the Secret Service

1917

Alarm in Morocco poster
5.0

When 1 of 2 Foreign Legion officers is killed after witnessing a secret experiment on a death ray (capable of shooting down aircraft) in southern Morocco, the other gets vengeance by infiltrating the organization responsible.

Alarm in Morocco

1953

Rail Pirates poster
6.3

Henri Pierson, the chief engineer of a railway line crossing Yunnan in China, must prevent the incessant attacks of a gang of looters.

Rail Pirates

1938

Alibi poster
6.6

Paris, 1937. Winckler kills his enemy Gordon, a Chicago mobster, from the stage of a Parisian music hall, where he performs telepathy. He pays another artist, Helene, so that she tells the police they've spent the night together, which doesn't fool Callas, the police officer who investigates the murder. He hires one of his fellow officers in order to seduce Helene.

Alibi

1937

Foolish Wives poster
6.5

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

Foolish Wives

1922

Souls for Sale poster
6.3

A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.

Souls for Sale

1923

The Unbeliever poster
6.1

A wealthy young American, bred to class distinction and racial intolerance, enters the Marines during the First World War. In the course of his training and his experiences in the trenches fighting, being wounded by, and being hospitalized with Germans, he comes to a recognition of the equality and brotherhood of men.

The Unbeliever

1918

Midnight... Quai de Bercy poster
7.3

Having recently moved into her new apartment, Irène Cazenave, the widow of a well-known police officer, is forced by one of her husband's colleagues to take part in an investigation. The building's provocative concierge has been found murdered. We watch a parade of suspects, only to learn at the end that Irène killed the janitor under blackmail. She kills herself.

Midnight... Quai de Bercy

1953

The Crime of Doctor Crespi poster
5.1

A crazed scientist invents a serum that induces a catatonic state in anyone who gets the injection. He uses the serum to paralyze his enemies, in order to bury them alive.

The Crime of Doctor Crespi

1935

The Lady and the Monster poster
6.0

A millionaire's brain is preserved after his death by a scientist and his two assistants, only to create a telepathic monster.

The Lady and the Monster

1944

So Ends Our Night poster
6.3

An anti-Nazi refugee on the run and a young Jewish couple race across Europe trying to escape Hitler's ever powerful influence.

So Ends Our Night

1941

The Wedding March poster
7.1

Against the backdrop of Vienna's hidebound caste system, aristocrat and army officer Nicki is attracted to peasant Mitzi, although he knows it cannot last. Acquiescing to familial pressure, he ultimately gives her up to marry the more socially acceptable – albeit crippled – heiress Cecelia. Mitzi, for her part, is heartbroken and must resign herself to marrying churlish butcher Schani Eberle.

The Wedding March

1928

Behind the camera

Greed poster
7.3

When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.

Greed

1924

Greed poster
7.3

When housewife Trina wins the lottery, her comfortable life with her dentist husband John slowly deteriorates, in part by her own increasing paranoia and partly by the machinations of villainous acquaintance Marcus.

Greed

1924

Hello, Sister! poster
6.0

While Peggy deeply falls in love with Jimmy, her best friend Millie becomes increasingly frustrated with men and very jealous with Peggy, so she tries everything to destroy the new love.

Hello, Sister!

1933

Hello, Sister! poster
6.0

While Peggy deeply falls in love with Jimmy, her best friend Millie becomes increasingly frustrated with men and very jealous with Peggy, so she tries everything to destroy the new love.

Hello, Sister!

1933

The Devil-Doll poster
6.8

Respected Parisian banker Paul Lavond is framed for robbery and murder by crooked associates and sent to prison. Years later, he escapes with a friend, a scientist who was working on a method to reduce humans to a height of mere inches (all for the good of humanity, of course). Lavond, however, is consumed with hatred for those who betrayed him, and takes the scientist's methods back to Paris to exact painful revenge.

The Devil-Doll

1936

The Merry Widow poster
6.7

Prince Danilo falls in love with dancer Sally O'Hara. However, his uncle, King Nikita I of Monteblanco, forbids the marriage due to her being a commoner. Thinking she's been jilted by her prince, Sally marries lecherous old Baron Sadoja, whose wealth has kept the kingdom afloat. When he suddenly dies, Sally must be wooed all over again by Danilo.

The Merry Widow

1926

The Merry Widow poster
6.7

Prince Danilo falls in love with dancer Sally O'Hara. However, his uncle, King Nikita I of Monteblanco, forbids the marriage due to her being a commoner. Thinking she's been jilted by her prince, Sally marries lecherous old Baron Sadoja, whose wealth has kept the kingdom afloat. When he suddenly dies, Sally must be wooed all over again by Danilo.

The Merry Widow

1926

Foolish Wives poster
6.5

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

Foolish Wives

1922

Foolish Wives poster
6.5

A con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.

Foolish Wives

1922

Queen Kelly poster
6.5

A convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.

Queen Kelly

1929

Queen Kelly poster
6.5

A convent girl is abducted and seduced by a prince before being sent off to a brothel in East Africa.

Queen Kelly

1929

Merry-Go-Round poster
6.3

A nobleman posing as a necktie salesman falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer, although he's already wed to the daughter of his country's war minister.

Merry-Go-Round

1923

The Wedding March poster
7.1

Against the backdrop of Vienna's hidebound caste system, aristocrat and army officer Nicki is attracted to peasant Mitzi, although he knows it cannot last. Acquiescing to familial pressure, he ultimately gives her up to marry the more socially acceptable – albeit crippled – heiress Cecelia. Mitzi, for her part, is heartbroken and must resign herself to marrying churlish butcher Schani Eberle.

The Wedding March

1928

The Wedding March poster
7.1

Against the backdrop of Vienna's hidebound caste system, aristocrat and army officer Nicki is attracted to peasant Mitzi, although he knows it cannot last. Acquiescing to familial pressure, he ultimately gives her up to marry the more socially acceptable – albeit crippled – heiress Cecelia. Mitzi, for her part, is heartbroken and must resign herself to marrying churlish butcher Schani Eberle.

The Wedding March

1928

The Wedding March poster
7.1

Against the backdrop of Vienna's hidebound caste system, aristocrat and army officer Nicki is attracted to peasant Mitzi, although he knows it cannot last. Acquiescing to familial pressure, he ultimately gives her up to marry the more socially acceptable – albeit crippled – heiress Cecelia. Mitzi, for her part, is heartbroken and must resign herself to marrying churlish butcher Schani Eberle.

The Wedding March

1928

Blind Husbands poster
6.4

An Austrian military officer and rogue attempts to seduce the wife of a surgeon. The two men confront each other in a test of abilities that ends surprisingly.

Blind Husbands

1919

Blind Husbands poster
6.4

An Austrian military officer and rogue attempts to seduce the wife of a surgeon. The two men confront each other in a test of abilities that ends surprisingly.

Blind Husbands

1919

Blind Husbands poster
6.4

An Austrian military officer and rogue attempts to seduce the wife of a surgeon. The two men confront each other in a test of abilities that ends surprisingly.

Blind Husbands

1919

The Honeymoon poster
7.0

The honeymoon of Prince Nicki in the Alps, and the wedding of Mitzi and Schani. Mitzi still loves Nicki, and jealous Schani decides once again to kill the prince. Schani shoots at Nicki, but Cecilia throws herself in front of Nicki. Schani becomes a fugitive and goes into hiding. Nicki and Mitzi meet one last time, where Mitzi tells Nicki that she will go to a convent. Nicki goes off to war, where he is killed. Sequel to von Stroheim's The Wedding March released only in Europe. The only known copy was destroyed in a fire at the Cinémathèque Française in 1959.

The Honeymoon

1929

The Honeymoon poster
7.0

The honeymoon of Prince Nicki in the Alps, and the wedding of Mitzi and Schani. Mitzi still loves Nicki, and jealous Schani decides once again to kill the prince. Schani shoots at Nicki, but Cecilia throws herself in front of Nicki. Schani becomes a fugitive and goes into hiding. Nicki and Mitzi meet one last time, where Mitzi tells Nicki that she will go to a convent. Nicki goes off to war, where he is killed. Sequel to von Stroheim's The Wedding March released only in Europe. The only known copy was destroyed in a fire at the Cinémathèque Française in 1959.

The Honeymoon

1929

The Devil's Passkey poster
9.0

The wife of an American playwright in Paris becomes ensnared in the seductive wiles of an American Army officer, but her devotion to her husband convinces the officer to try to extricate her from the gossip and scandal that have ensued.

The Devil's Passkey

1920

The Devil's Passkey poster
9.0

The wife of an American playwright in Paris becomes ensnared in the seductive wiles of an American Army officer, but her devotion to her husband convinces the officer to try to extricate her from the gossip and scandal that have ensued.

The Devil's Passkey

1920