Flesh and the Devil (1926)

My Review

“Flesh and the Devil” is a romantic silent film about a love triangle which develops when a beautiful woman comes between two friends. Director Clarence Brown turned out a well-paced and engrossing movie which is a fast 113 minute running time. Screenwriters Benjamin Glazer and Marian Ainslee did a fantastic job in adaptation of “The Undying Past,” an 1893 novel by Hermann Sudermann.

Sparks fly among the three principals – John Gilbert, Greta Garbo, and Lars Hanson. Sparks also flew off-screen as Garbo and Gilbert carried on a personal romantic relationship for a period of time. They never married. Co-stars include Barbara Kent, William Orlamond, George Fawcett, Eugenie Besserer, Marc McDermott, and Marcelle Corday as Minna. The watchable “Flesh and the Devil” was popular at the box office for producer Irving Thalberg and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was filmed at MGM Studios in Culver City.