Production background

The film was directed by Mauritz Stiller

Mauritz Stiller

Mauritz Stiller was a Finnish-Swedish actor, screenwriter and silent film director, who was mostly active in Sweden.-Life:...

, starring Egil Eide

Egil Eide

Egil Næss Eide was a Norwegian silent film actor and director. He appeared in eighteen films between 1913 and 1935, and worked at the National Theatre between 1899 and 1939.-Career:...

, Lars Hanson

Lars Hanson

Lars Hanson was a Swedish film and stage actor, internationally mostly remembered for his motion picture roles during the silent film era.-Biography:...

, Lili Bech

Lili Bech

Lili Bech was a Danish silent film actress. She appeared in 27 films between 1911 and 1917. She was married to film director Victor Sjöström.-Selected filmography:* The Gardener...

, and Julius Hälsig, and was based on Herman Bang

Herman Bang

Herman Joachim Bang was a Danish author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough.-Biography:Bang was born into a noble family of Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar...

's 1902 novel Mikaël, which was the same source Carl Theodor Dreyer

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Carl Theodor Dreyer, Jr. was a Danish film director. He is regarded by many critics and filmmakers as one of the greatest directors in cinema.-Life:Dreyer was born illegitimate in Copenhagen, Denmark...

 used for his 1924 film Michael

Michael (1924 film)

Michael was a silent film released in 1924, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, director of other notable silents such as The Passion of Joan of Arc , Master of the House , and Leaves from Satan's Book...

.

Besides being a very early gay-themed film, it is also notable for its innovative use of a framing story

Frame story

A frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...

 and telling the plot primarily through the use of flashbacks.

Plot

The story is that of a conniving countess (played by Lili Bech

Lili Bech

Lili Bech was a Danish silent film actress. She appeared in 27 films between 1911 and 1917. She was married to film director Victor Sjöström.-Selected filmography:* The Gardener...

) coming between a gay sculptor, Claude Zoret (Egil Eide

Egil Eide

Egil Næss Eide was a Norwegian silent film actor and director. He appeared in eighteen films between 1913 and 1935, and worked at the National Theatre between 1899 and 1939.-Career:...

), and his bisexual model and lover, Mikaël (Lars Hanson

Lars Hanson

Lars Hanson was a Swedish film and stage actor, internationally mostly remembered for his motion picture roles during the silent film era.-Biography:...

), ultimately leading to Zoret's death in a raging storm at the base of a statue of Mikaël as the mythological Icarus

Icarus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax...

.

Preservation status

The film is largely lost

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

, with only half an hour surviving of the original 70-minute film. A restoration was made using still photos and title cards to bridge the missing sections in 1987.