No subtitle track in this language
Internet Archive · The Pearl Necklace (一串珍珠) - Silent, English and Chinese titles · Source rights declaration
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Chinese. No subtitle track in this language.
Audience rating
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Synopsis
To impress their guests, a couple borrow an expensive pearl necklace for a party. Its disappearance sends them into debt, disgrace and a struggle to rebuild their lives. Their search for security reveals the distance between the society they want to join and the people who are actually willing to help them.
Cast
DirectorsLi Zeyuan
Inspirations
Maupassant's short story The Necklace supplies the starting point, but the film expands the situation into a Shanghai moral melodrama. Animated sequences, including pearls changing into written characters, make material desire visible rather than leaving it entirely to the intertitles.
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 public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.
Availability checked on September 11, 2026.
