''The Red Dance'' (also known as ''The Red Dancer of Moscow'') is a 1928 American film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Dolores del Río and

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

that was inspired in the novel by Henry Leyford Gates. Although silent, it was released with synchronized music and sound effects.

Plot

Tasia ( Dolores del Río), a beautiful lower class dancer from Russia, falls for the heir to the throne Prince, Grand Duke Eugene (

), but only admires him from a distance. At the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, the Duke falls in captivity and this allows Tasia be near him.

Cast

* Dolores del Río as Tasia *

as Grand Duke Eugene *

Ivan Linow Ivan Linow (born Jānis Linaus; November 21, 1888 – November 11, 1940), also known as Jack Linow, was a Latvian-born American wrestler, who became a character actor in American films during the silent and early sound film eras. Biography Born ...

as Ivan Petroff *Boris Charsky as An agitator *

Dorothy Revier Dorothy Revier (born Doris Valerga; April 18, 1904 – November 19, 1993) was an American actress. Early years Born as Doris Valerga in San Francisco on April 18, 1904, Revier was one of five siblings of the famous Valerga performing fami ...

as Princess Varvara * Andrés de Segurola as General Tanaroff *Demetrius Alexis as

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus ga ...

Henry Armetta Henry Armetta (born Enrico Armetta; July 4, 1888 – October 21, 1945) was an American character actor who appeared in at least 150 American films, beginning in silent movies. His last film was released posthumously in 1946, the year after his d ...

as Prisoner (uncredited) *

Nigel De Brulier Nigel De Brulier (born Francis George Packer; 8 August 1877 – 30 January 1948) was an English stage and film actor who began his career in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States. Biography De Brulier was born in Frenchay, a ...

as Bishop (uncredited) *Soledad Jiménez as Tasia's Mother (uncredited) *Muriel McCormac as Tasia as a child (uncredited) *

Barry Norton Barry Norton (born Alfredo Carlos Birabén; June 16, 1905 – August 24, 1956) was an Argentine-American actor. He appeared in over 90 films, starting in silent films from 1925 until his death in 1956. He is perhaps best known for his role a ...

as Rasputin's Assassin (uncredited) * Magda Sonja as Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Critical reception

"There is a good deal of lethargy about the opening chapters of this offering, but interest picks up in the latter passages", wrote

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. "There are some good scenes in this somewhat wild piece of work, but it is often incoherent." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' singled out Ivan Linow's performance for praise and reported that the scenes of the uprising were successful, but "otherwise there wasn't much to direct in this story except to keep it going." Oliver Claxton of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' panned the film, writing, "how anybody with the slightest modicum of intelligence could fashion such a tale is beyond me....a little criticism would shoot the film so full of holes that it would resemble a Swiss cheese without the cheese. The odor, I am afraid, would still remain."

References

External links

* *
Lobby poster
at silenthollywood.com 1928 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films directed by Raoul Walsh American romantic drama films Fox Film films 1928 romantic drama films 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films {{1920s-romantic-drama-film-stub