gkeith_1 Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Sizzle. Hot. Gilbert and Garbo are one well matched duo. The title looked enticing, and certainly not forecasting a boring film. Is this pre-World War I? The germanic soldiers and aristocratic names suggest that it is. Does a noble young man have to give military service?Enter that fox Garbo. She appears dressed in 1920s era cloche hat and shortened length fashions when she enters, depicting the period after that war. I will overlook this fashion design inconsistency. Flesh and the ... ... She falls into lust with Gilbert, he of the unknowing and naive personality. He even ignores a teenage female admirer, and proceeds to fall into lust with that siren. Along comes the siren's elderly husband, who looks like he is incapable of having any physical relationship with his wife. He figures that Gilbert can, but all Gilbert thinks about is that he is hopelessly in love. He's lucky that the husband doesn't shoot him right then and there on the spot. A duel ensues. Hubby gets whacked. Gilbert goes to Africa for penance. Meanwhile, Gilbert's best bud is back home looking after the unfortunate widow, but marries her. Unknowing, naive Gilbert comes back and discovers this piece of bad news. Did the siren cheat on her original husband before Gilbert came along? Maybe. I am a degreed historian, actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, stage makeup artist, film critic and movie reviewer.

jacobs-greenwood Directed by five time Best Director Oscar nominee Clarence Brown, this essential silent drama, co-written by Benjamin Glazer, features Greta Garbo in her third American film, following Torrent (1926) and The Temptress (1926), all of which were released in the same year. It's also the first of her four pairings with actor John Gilbert, their last was Queen Christina (1933), and first of seven with director Brown. In this film, Garbo serves as the woman in a love triangle with soldier Gilbert and wealthy Lars Hanson. Gilbert's and Hanson's characters had grown up childhood pals who'd made a "blood" pact on "Friendship" island. This film was added to the National Film Registry in 2006.Upon returning from military service, Leo (Gilbert) meets and falls in love with Felicitas (Garbo), unaware that she's a married woman. When her husband the Count (Marc McDermott) returns to find them together in an uncompromising position, he challenges Leo to a duel. Leo kills the Count and is persuaded by Pastor Voss (George Fawcett), aware of the affair, to go away for 5 years. Before he leaves, Leo asks his childhood "blood brother", now rich Ulrich von Eltz (Hanson) to look after the widow, telling him the dispute with the Count was over a card game.While returning from his self imposed exile, Leo dreams of nothing but Felicitas. He returns to his mother (Eugenie Besserer) and finds that Ulrich's sister Hertha (Barbara Kent) now lives with her, since her older brother's wedding. Hertha has always had a crush on Leo. When Leo finds that Ulrich's wife is Felicitas, he is crestfallen to the point of jeopardizing their long friendship. Felicitas intervenes to tell Leo that Ulrich is lost without his childhood friend, and Leo reconciles with his friend without revealing his past with Felicitas. Even though Pastor Voss preaches against it, when Ulrich is absent on business, Felicitas seduces Leo once again. Pastor Voss councils Leo about the Devil, who uses the Flesh to try and tempt men who are otherwise of great character.When Ulrich returns, he catches Leo in Felicitas bedroom. She had been willing to run away with Leo, but when he refused, she was satisfied with just continuing their affair. So, Leo was strangling her when Ulrich walked in. She accuses Leo of disloyalty and a resigned Leo admits it's the truth. Ulrich challenges Leo to a duel the next morning on Friendship island, the place of their childhood "blood" pact. While their duel has begun, Felicitas rushes to stop it when she falls through the frozen ice surrounding the island and drowns. Unaware of this, but aware that his friend Leo is about to willingly take his bullet, Ulrich realizes the truth ... that Leo had shot the Count because he was in love with Felicitas. The two men renew their friendship and leave the island arm in arm.

jotix100 "Flesh and the Devil", the 1926 silent film, brilliantly directed by Clarence Brown, was shown recently on cable and the most amazing thing happened: the film looks superb! "Flesh and the Devil" has one of the most amazing team behind the camera, one that made its stars look so magnificently that one can't take ones eyes from the screen for fear of losing something. In addition to the superb director, the work of William Daniels with his camera is amazing. Mr. Daniels created images that are hard to forget.The opening sequence of the film involving the arrival of Leo and Ulrich in their hometown, has to be one of the best things ever filmed. When Leo discovers the beautiful Felicitas as she descends from the train and walks to the awaiting car, where he runs to rescue the flower arrangement she inadvertently had dropped, is charged with desire and raw sex. Hollywood was more daring during those precode days when anything seemed to go.Greta Garbo and John Gilbert make this film something to watch again and again. Both stars exuded such charisma that it's not hard to realize they were lovers. Ms. Garbo looked lovely in all her scenes and Mr. Gilbert was one of the handsomest leading men of the era.One of the best things whoever restored the film was to add a great musical score that makes watching the pleasure it is. Also, in spite of being a silent movie, "Flesh and the Devil" has such a fluidity that, at times, we forget it's not a "talkie", because of the magic that Mr. Brown, and his cinematographer, William Daniels, were able to do together. Of course, the film is what it is because of its stars' magnetism and the way they make us care about the story.

michaelstep2004 This early Garbo vehicle is a superb, over-the-top melodrama. Garbo is a simply glorious vamp, a radiant beauty who enjoys and manipulates the passionate love of two best friends (in every sense), to their near destruction and ultimate redemption.The relationship between the two guys -- John Gilbert and Lars Hanson -- is as homoerotically suggestive as any on film before the 1970s -- and you can see from the emotions flooding Garbo's face that she feels the competition!Very good acting -- silent screen mode -- across the board in this nicely mounted MGM production.A good, rich, era-appropriate musical score with Wagner/Mahler overtones adds depth to the TCM broadcast of this silent classic!And tonight, TCM also broadcast their 90-minute "Garbo" documentary -- excellent, and a great complement to this film..What a GREAT MOVIE STAR she was! Maybe the greatest of all?