Overlong costumer depicts 1900 Turkey ruled by a paranoid potentate, Kortner, who ruthlessly destroys everyone he believes to be conspiring against him. Asther, as chief of police, blindly obeys his sultan's Nero-like orders but is pronounced guilty of plotting against his lord and is given a death decree, rescinded when Ames, a visiting Viennese actress who has fallen in love with Asther, agrees to join Kortner's harem. A stodgy historical opus. At the time of this production, Asther was struggling to control a serious drug problem, and it shows in his sluggish performance.
Released:
1935
Rated:
NR
Length:
111 mins