Emil Jannings
Grand Duke Sergius Alexander
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Synopsis
An ageing Russian émigré accepts work as a Hollywood extra and is issued the uniform of a general. The costume returns him to memories of command during the revolution and of two actors whose lives crossed his own. A director who recognises him turns the new assignment into a confrontation between past authority and present humiliation.
Cast
DirectorsJosef von Sternberg
Historical context
Emil Jannings's performance contributed to the first Academy Award for leading actor, which recognised more than one of his films. Josef von Sternberg places historical trauma inside a movie studio, where a person's former life can become material for someone else's spectacle.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Emil Jannings — Unknown author · Public domain
- Evelyn Brent — Original publisher and holder of property rights: Film Booking Offices of America Inc. · Public domain
- William Powell — George Hurrell for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer · Public domain
