Movie Monday: Flesh and the Devil (1926)

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, I have finally seen the iconic silent film Flesh and the Devil! As I have previously stated, John Gilbert is one of my absolute favorite actors. Until now, I haven’t shared this on Faintly Familiar, but Greta Garbo is my favorite silent film actress. Flesh and the Devil is the perfect matchup of silent film actors and I cannot wait to review it, so here we go!

Flesh and the Devil is a film that you really need to pay attention to in order to understand the timeline of events taking place. However, the attention will payoff in the end because the plot of this film is very sweet despite the saucy title and some scenes. Of course, Flesh and the Devil was before Hollywood had a code of ethics but this movie isn’t nearly as scandalous as the title would suggest.

As a fist time viewer of this movie, I NEVER saw the ending coming. But I thought the underlying message was really nice and something sweet that modern films should take into consideration when writing screenplays. Without spoiling the ending for those who have not seen Flesh and the Devil, I will leave it at that.

I think one of the major strengths of Flesh and the Devil is the lighting. In each scene a whole new layer of emotion is added because of the expertly used lighting and shadowing. Particularly in the romantic scenes between Garbo and Gilbert.

This film review would not be complete without me mentioning the incredible chemistry between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. They are both individually very talented, but I believe it truly did help that these actors were in a secret relationship. Garbo and Gilbert are one of the most famous old Hollywood couples and, luckily for fans like me, they made several films together.

Every once in a while I like to review a silent film. It really reminds me why the art of cinema is so special and what a deep, meaningful storyline can do. It is my hope that as I review silent films that these reviews will encourage others to seek out these classics as well. Silent movies deserve so much more appreciation than they get already. Without the silent film era we would never have cinema as it is today.

Much Love,

Sarah