Die Wunderbare Lüge der Nina Petrowna

Helm and Lederer eye one another across a St Petersburg nightclub; cut to a waiter igniting the brandy around a phallically rearing ice cream bombe. But Lederer is a mere lieutenant while Helm is already his colonel's mistress, and although the colonel sees off this upstart rival with practised ease, he reckons without true love: tragedy ensues. Few surprises in the narrative of this late silent, which refers throughout to existing models, notably Camille. But Schwarz had an eye for sensuous detail, and sends his camera prowling stylishly around some imposing sets: the split level nightclub, Helm's chic apartment, the smoky officers' mess with empty champagne bottles stacked in the corner.