Most copies of "Forbidden Paradise" I found were a truncated 50 minute version with what looks like Hungarian intertitles*. However, oddly, the intertitle cards appear and disappear almost instantly...making it REALLY tough to understand the picture. I did find a copy which someone slowed down to 75 minutes and they translated it into English. It's actually the same print...just adjusted. Apparently, there's a restored version which was shown at, I think, MoMA...though I could not find it online.
So why did I go to so much trouble to find an obscure silent film? Well, it has two things going for it...it's directed by Ernst Lubitsch and it has Clark Gable in a tiny, tiny part as one of the palace guard. Sadly, it's hard to tell which is Gable, as the print is in pretty shabby condition.
So is the film worth seeing? No. I am NOT saying it's bad...but it's simply too choppy, too dark and poorly subtitled to make it worth your time. Also the famous 'Lubitsch touch' seems absent.
*One reviewer thinks the intertitles are in Russian. They aren't because the script isn't in Cyrillic. Plus...in 1924, where would they have shown a Russian version considering the film is critical of the Russian Revolution only a few years prior. I think it is Hungarian you can read on the letters you see in the film...if it's some other language, let me know. Also, at least one reviewer say the main female character is Catherine the Great (as does IMDB)...but she lived back in the 18th century and the costumes clearly look like it was set in the early 20th century. I think the reason there's so much confusion is that apart from the MoMA version, the version floating out there is missing bits and pieces and following the story is difficult at times.
