An American Tragedy

This Theodore Dreiser novel was brought to the screen by Paramount at a costly figure and it is a straightforward telling of the story: Holmes, a young and ambitious office worker distantly related to wealth seeks to enter high society. He is given a functionary position in a plant and, as a fringe relative, occasionally invited to the home of a wealthy relative whose beautiful daughter, Dee, takes a liking to him. But before Holmes can win her heart, along with her prestige, and become moneyed, he dallies with factory worker Sidney, almost compelling her to have a tryst with him or face unemployment. Director von Sternberg shows one scene where Holmes receives a n...