Madame de Thèbes

Madame de Thèbes (1915)

Drama

The story is wacky – a gypsy is cursed by her father, so that she has to deny her illegitimate son in order for him to have a successful life. She gives him to a well-to-do lady who has lost her own child. Later, he has grown up to be a politician who wants to become the foreign minister. He doesn’t know that his real mother is the famous Madame de Thebes, the fortuneteller who all politicians make sure to visit! This information falls into the hands of a rival, who tries to use it to ruin his career. Meanwhile, the rival’s attractive daughter is attacked by a ruffian and needs to be rescued… There are a lot of striking images in this film. You can see the beauty of them even if the state of the print is far from perfect. The Norwegian actress Ragna Wettergreen gives a haunting performance as Madame de Thebes, with wisdom and regret – and quite a few melodramatic gestures. Understatement was not the norm in those days.

Director: Mauritz Stiller

Casts

	Ragna Wettergreen as Ayla
	John Ekman as Ayla's father
	Märta Halldén as Countess Julie
	Nicolai Johannsen as Count Robert
	William Larsson as Max
	Albin Lavén as von Volmar
	Karin Molander as Louise von Volmar
	Doris Nelson as Young Ayla
	Carl Apolloff as Member of Parliament
	Albert Ståhl as Member of Parliament
	Thure Holm as Member of Parliament
	Otto Malmberg as Member of Parliament
	Ernst Eklund as Robert's friend
	Georg Fernquist as Audience member at parliament

Crew