Review of Flesh and the Devil (1926) by Roberto L — 02 Apr 2008

Fascinating document of its times, not only for the famous white-hot but fully clothed love scene shown above (I seem to recall them smoking afterward; if not, they should have), the Old European setting in the manner of von Stroheim, and the less-noted but still surprising gay undercurrent between the male sides of the love triangle.

This was a Big Release in its day, and it shows in the sprawling production values that spared no expense for its Hollywood royalty. The melodrama gets ridiculous toward the end, but the movie's still enjoyable today.