Ultimatum

In the war-threatened Balkans just prior to the outbreak of WW II, nationalism rears its ugly head as Serbian soldier Lancret's marriage to Austrian Parlo is complicated by the presence of her countryman, Jacquin. Stock footage from other war films is used for the few battle scenes; the bulk of the film comprises on-set dalliances among the overemoting characters. Von Stroheim does his customary Prussian strutting as a Serbian general. This was the final film of producer/director Wiene, who made his mark with the silent classic, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919). Wiene died in 1938, four months before the Paris premiere of ULTIMATUM. Robert Siodmak reportedly had ...