Sodom and Gomorrah (1922) [N/A]
Featuring:
Georg Reimers, Victor Varconi, Lucy Doraine
Written by:
Michael Curtiz
Ladislaus Vajda
Directed by:
Michael Curtiz
Release Date:
October 13, 1922
Original Title:
Sodom und Gomorrha
Alternate Titles:
Legende von Sünde und Strafe
Genres:
Drama
Production Companies:
Sascha-Film
Production Countries:
Austria
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 98
Exposed to bad influences since childhood, Mary, a young girl is pushed by her mother to approach an elderly banker by the name of Harber. After almost driving her fiancee to suicide and seducing his mentally-ill son, she realizes through a metaphorical dream the scope of her negligence. Sentenced to prison for incitement to murder Harber, she sees herself as a parallel figure to Lea, Lot's wife in Sodom, where the Angel of the Lord warns the sinful citizens of the city of their impending doom. Lea oppresses the angel and eventually turns it over to the pagan priests when her sexual advances to it are rejected. In another dream sequence, Mary becomes the Queen of Syria, whose oppressed people turn against her and who, in turn, condemns a young man who loves her to death. Finally, her dream returns to the present time and when she awakens, she runs back to her former lover.
When the old multimillionaire Jackson Harber wants to marry the young model Mary, she hesitates, but her mother convinces her that this is her chance to lead a life in luxury and leisure. The engagement is celebrated with an extravagant party at his estate, which is a gigantic palace and park in oriental style. His son Eduard arrives from Cambridge, accompanied by a priest, who is his tutor. The priest is disgusted by the bacchanalian reveling and womanizing going on everywhere. Mary's adorer, the sculptor Harry Lighton, tries to convince her to break the engagement. When she refuses, he shoots himself and is seriously injured. Mary falls asleep and is transported in her dream to the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the dream she sees herself as the wife of Lot, leaving her husband to play a central role in the excessive rites of the goddess Astarte. An angel arrives and leads Lot and his wife out of Sodom, just when the city starts to collapse. Lot's wife cannot resist looking back, and is because of her disobedience converted into a pillar of salt. The dream opens the eyes of Mary, and when she wakens, she leaves the party and hastens to Harry in the hospital.
