A big hodgepodge of tons of extras, glittery sets and preposterous props, it's going to be of interest mainly to Maria Montez fans, but otherwise is overwrought and overstuffed. This is the type of film that Josef Von Sternberg might have made in the early 30's starring Marlene Dietrich, featuring a love triangle between the title character (Paul Christian), a poor tavern worker (Montez) and the daughter (Faye Marlowe) of a beloved Italian admiral (Camillo Pilotto). Christian is in hiding from the evil Massimo Serato who captures and tortures Montez.
The film suffers from dark black and white photography and slow pacing, so all color would have accomplished would be to give it a more lavish facade. The carnival sequence is lavishly directed, and Montez's torture scenes are pretty intense. But poor dubbing adds to the fray, and scenes that should have better lighting are hard to appreciate. A difficult one to get through outside of some adventurous moments that pop up surprisingly out of nowhere.
The film suffers from dark black and white photography and slow pacing, so all color would have accomplished would be to give it a more lavish facade. The carnival sequence is lavishly directed, and Montez's torture scenes are pretty intense. But poor dubbing adds to the fray, and scenes that should have better lighting are hard to appreciate. A difficult one to get through outside of some adventurous moments that pop up surprisingly out of nowhere.
