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The Devil's Pass Key
The Devil's Pass Key (or The Devil's Passkey) is a 1920 silent drama film directed by Erich von Stroheim. Considered a “lost film”, no print is officially known to exist.
The film was produced by Universal Pictures and distributed under its prestigious Jewel banner, later calling it "One of the best photodramatic productions of the year". The production was shot from September 1919 through December 1919 and premiered on August 8, 1920, at the Capitol Theatre in New York City, New York.
As a lost film, the plot summary for The Devil's Pass Key is based on contemporary descriptions or reconstructed from archival material, including “continuities” from Universal studio archives. The original story purchased from Baroness de Meyer by the studio is no longer extant. The following synopsis of the film was offered in a contemporary film magazine, Exhibitor's Herald.
Grace Goodright (Una Trevelyn) is the beautiful but extravagant wife of Warren Goodright (Sam de Grasse), an American playwright living in Paris. Grace is living beyond her means and owes her modeste Renee Malot (George) money. Malot suggests that Grace contact a wealthy American, army officer Captain Rex Strong (Clyde Fillmore), who might be able to assist her financially. Rex offers Grace a loan, but only if as "security" for the loan she grants him sexual favors. Grace refuses, and Malot, angered at losing an opportunity for obtaining a commission for the loan, attempts to trap Grace in a blackmail scheme. The newspapers print the spicy bit of scandal without mentioning any names. Warren uses the story as the plot for his next play and it meets success. Paris is thrown into a furor over the affair and Warren threatens the life of Captain Strong. After the latter convinces Warren that his wife is innocent, the matter is resolved happily.
The Devil's Pass Key is based on a story by Baroness Olga de Meyer entitled “Clothes and Treachery.” The only child of the Neapolitan Duke of Caracciolo, and the god-daughter of Edward VII (and rumored to be the king's biological offspring), she and her husband Adolph de Meyer mingled with European high-society. It is unclear whether von Stroheim had directly solicited the story from the literary Baroness, or whether the story, purchased by Universal for $750, was then assigned to the director by studio executives. Von Stroheim wrote the screenplay, completing it on 19 October 1919.
The cast for The Devil’s Pass Key was assembled from vaudeville and musical comedy personnel reflecting von Stroheim's predilection for naturalistic acting and his antipathy towards stage-trained performers. Actor Sam de Grasse, now a von Stroheim cast regular, was joined by Mae Busch, Maude George and Clyde Fillmore to play the leads in the film.
Von Stroheim shot his film “in sequence” allowing the cast to discover and develop their characters. He personally “acted out each part for each player”, fully entering into the dramatization so as to elicit “realistic” performances from his cast.
Shooting for The Devil’s Pass Key ended on 4 December 1919 and marked the beginning of a protracted editing process that took nearly five months to complete. The immense amount of footage was a product of von Stroheim's “habit of shooting dozens of takes in the hope of making a magical selection in the cutting room.” In terms of its length, The Devil’s Pass Key measured approximately 7500 feet; the finished film totaled a modest running time of about two hours, suggesting none of the profligacy in the duration that characterized subsequent von Stroheim films, first manifested in his Foolish Wives (1922). Despite these delays in editing, The Devil’s Pass Key was completed with notable “efficiency and dispatch.”
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The Devil's Pass Key
The Devil's Pass Key (or The Devil's Passkey) is a 1920 silent drama film directed by Erich von Stroheim. Considered a “lost film”, no print is officially known to exist.
The film was produced by Universal Pictures and distributed under its prestigious Jewel banner, later calling it "One of the best photodramatic productions of the year". The production was shot from September 1919 through December 1919 and premiered on August 8, 1920, at the Capitol Theatre in New York City, New York.
As a lost film, the plot summary for The Devil's Pass Key is based on contemporary descriptions or reconstructed from archival material, including “continuities” from Universal studio archives. The original story purchased from Baroness de Meyer by the studio is no longer extant. The following synopsis of the film was offered in a contemporary film magazine, Exhibitor's Herald.
Grace Goodright (Una Trevelyn) is the beautiful but extravagant wife of Warren Goodright (Sam de Grasse), an American playwright living in Paris. Grace is living beyond her means and owes her modeste Renee Malot (George) money. Malot suggests that Grace contact a wealthy American, army officer Captain Rex Strong (Clyde Fillmore), who might be able to assist her financially. Rex offers Grace a loan, but only if as "security" for the loan she grants him sexual favors. Grace refuses, and Malot, angered at losing an opportunity for obtaining a commission for the loan, attempts to trap Grace in a blackmail scheme. The newspapers print the spicy bit of scandal without mentioning any names. Warren uses the story as the plot for his next play and it meets success. Paris is thrown into a furor over the affair and Warren threatens the life of Captain Strong. After the latter convinces Warren that his wife is innocent, the matter is resolved happily.
The Devil's Pass Key is based on a story by Baroness Olga de Meyer entitled “Clothes and Treachery.” The only child of the Neapolitan Duke of Caracciolo, and the god-daughter of Edward VII (and rumored to be the king's biological offspring), she and her husband Adolph de Meyer mingled with European high-society. It is unclear whether von Stroheim had directly solicited the story from the literary Baroness, or whether the story, purchased by Universal for $750, was then assigned to the director by studio executives. Von Stroheim wrote the screenplay, completing it on 19 October 1919.
The cast for The Devil’s Pass Key was assembled from vaudeville and musical comedy personnel reflecting von Stroheim's predilection for naturalistic acting and his antipathy towards stage-trained performers. Actor Sam de Grasse, now a von Stroheim cast regular, was joined by Mae Busch, Maude George and Clyde Fillmore to play the leads in the film.
Von Stroheim shot his film “in sequence” allowing the cast to discover and develop their characters. He personally “acted out each part for each player”, fully entering into the dramatization so as to elicit “realistic” performances from his cast.
Shooting for The Devil’s Pass Key ended on 4 December 1919 and marked the beginning of a protracted editing process that took nearly five months to complete. The immense amount of footage was a product of von Stroheim's “habit of shooting dozens of takes in the hope of making a magical selection in the cutting room.” In terms of its length, The Devil’s Pass Key measured approximately 7500 feet; the finished film totaled a modest running time of about two hours, suggesting none of the profligacy in the duration that characterized subsequent von Stroheim films, first manifested in his Foolish Wives (1922). Despite these delays in editing, The Devil’s Pass Key was completed with notable “efficiency and dispatch.”