I saw 'Maharadjahens yndlingshustru' (no capital 'I' at the end) in October 2006 at the Cinema Muto festival in Sacile, Italy; they screened an archive print from the Danish Film Institute. The film's title translates as 'The Maharaja's Favourite Wife'.
According to the on-screen credits of the DFI print, Robert Dinesen was this film's sole director, whilst Sven Gade was scenarist. The excellent photography is by Sophus Wangøe. The credited actors and their roles are as follows, and spelt accordingly: Gunnar Tolnæs (Maharajah); Lilly Jacobsson (Elly von Langen); Carlo Wieth (Lieutenant Kuno Falkenberg); Thorleif Lund (Colonel von Langen); Jonna Akner Kreutz (Mrs von Langen); Edith Barré (Senta von Langen). I've no idea who Kai Heimann is meant to be.
IMDb have got this film listed with a roman numeral 'I' at the end, because this movie was followed (two years later) by the release of 'Maharadjahens yndlingshustru II'. In fact, that 1919 film is not a sequel to this one, since it features a different set of characters (some of them played by actors who appeared in the first film). I would classify that second movie as a companion piece to this prior one, in the sense that Fritz Lang's 'Scarlet Street' is a companion piece to his 'The Woman in the Window' (with the same cast) rather than a true sequel.
Kuno Falkenberg, a handsome young naval lieutenant, is in love with his cousin Elly, who also happens to be the daughter of the colonel. (Apparently the fact that they're cousins is no obstacle to a marriage in Denmark ... and Denmark must be the only nation with colonels in the navy.) However, Elly has met a swarthy and wealthy maharajah, who proposes marriage to her in a rowboat. She eagerly accepts (despite the size of his dinghy). When Kuno finds the empty rowboat, he assumes that Elly has drowned ... little suspecting that she has eloped to the Orient, or wherever wealthy maharajahs live.
After scarpering to the rajah's realm and marrying him, Elly is gobsmacked to discover that she is now merely one of the rajah's many wives in his harem. She tries to leave, apparently planning to walk home to Denmark, but she is told that the marriage is legal ... and sent back to her oda, to stand in the corner. An imbroglio in the seraglio.
Kuno has conveniently been transferred to India; I'd no idea that the Danish navy had a fleet there. Elly conveniently discovers that Kuno is in the neighbourhood -- this is the man whom she'd spurned before, remember -- and she manages to get a message to him.
SPOILERS COMING. From this point onward, the movie actually manages to defy expectations ... or at least it defied mine. The most obvious (not the most sensible) gambit is for Kuno to sneak into the harem and rescue Elly, with the rajah's minions in hot pursuit. Instead of this, Kuno ponces right in through the front door, as bold as brass, and he explains to the rajah that European women cannot accept only a fraction of a husband's love. The rajah smiles wisely, then whips out his scimitar and slices Kuno's head off. No, not really. But I wish...
The rajah, rather surprisingly, tells Elly that she is free to leave or to stay, as she chooses. But she and Kuno don't know that the rajah gives his minions (those minions I'd mentioned) another order: although Elly is indeed free to leave, the minions are commanded to kill anyone who leaves with her.
Soon enough, Elly walks out of the harem ... and a robed male figure follows her. Could it be Kuno? The guards pounce, and disrobe him. Surprise! He's none other than the maharajah himself. Upon learning that Elly was dissatisfied, he decided that he wanted to die ... so he contrived to follow her in disguise, in hopes that his loyal guards would kill him!
But wait, there's more! Now that he's been unmasked, the maharajah is still determined to die. He grabs a knife, intending to top himself ... but Elly stops him. When Kuno protests, Elly tells Kuno that she sincerely loves the rajah after all. (Have I mentioned that the rajah is wealthy, and Kuno is a naval lieutenant? Naval lieutenants are not noted for vast salaries.) The film ends with Elly willingly returning to the seraglio with her maharajah.
Hmmm. I give this movie credit for several genuine surprises: it sets up a very obviously formulaic plot, and then contradicts the formula several times. Quite a few movies from this period (both European and American) depicted exotic foreigners as swarthy villains, keen on defiling white women. I was intrigued that the maharajah in this movie seems to be all set to fit neatly into that stereotype, but then turns out to be a virtuous character (by his own culture's rules) who's meant to receive the audience's sympathy. The photography and art direction are superb, and the editing is impressive. My rating for this movie: 7 out of 10.
According to the on-screen credits of the DFI print, Robert Dinesen was this film's sole director, whilst Sven Gade was scenarist. The excellent photography is by Sophus Wangøe. The credited actors and their roles are as follows, and spelt accordingly: Gunnar Tolnæs (Maharajah); Lilly Jacobsson (Elly von Langen); Carlo Wieth (Lieutenant Kuno Falkenberg); Thorleif Lund (Colonel von Langen); Jonna Akner Kreutz (Mrs von Langen); Edith Barré (Senta von Langen). I've no idea who Kai Heimann is meant to be.
IMDb have got this film listed with a roman numeral 'I' at the end, because this movie was followed (two years later) by the release of 'Maharadjahens yndlingshustru II'. In fact, that 1919 film is not a sequel to this one, since it features a different set of characters (some of them played by actors who appeared in the first film). I would classify that second movie as a companion piece to this prior one, in the sense that Fritz Lang's 'Scarlet Street' is a companion piece to his 'The Woman in the Window' (with the same cast) rather than a true sequel.
Kuno Falkenberg, a handsome young naval lieutenant, is in love with his cousin Elly, who also happens to be the daughter of the colonel. (Apparently the fact that they're cousins is no obstacle to a marriage in Denmark ... and Denmark must be the only nation with colonels in the navy.) However, Elly has met a swarthy and wealthy maharajah, who proposes marriage to her in a rowboat. She eagerly accepts (despite the size of his dinghy). When Kuno finds the empty rowboat, he assumes that Elly has drowned ... little suspecting that she has eloped to the Orient, or wherever wealthy maharajahs live.
After scarpering to the rajah's realm and marrying him, Elly is gobsmacked to discover that she is now merely one of the rajah's many wives in his harem. She tries to leave, apparently planning to walk home to Denmark, but she is told that the marriage is legal ... and sent back to her oda, to stand in the corner. An imbroglio in the seraglio.
Kuno has conveniently been transferred to India; I'd no idea that the Danish navy had a fleet there. Elly conveniently discovers that Kuno is in the neighbourhood -- this is the man whom she'd spurned before, remember -- and she manages to get a message to him.
SPOILERS COMING. From this point onward, the movie actually manages to defy expectations ... or at least it defied mine. The most obvious (not the most sensible) gambit is for Kuno to sneak into the harem and rescue Elly, with the rajah's minions in hot pursuit. Instead of this, Kuno ponces right in through the front door, as bold as brass, and he explains to the rajah that European women cannot accept only a fraction of a husband's love. The rajah smiles wisely, then whips out his scimitar and slices Kuno's head off. No, not really. But I wish...
The rajah, rather surprisingly, tells Elly that she is free to leave or to stay, as she chooses. But she and Kuno don't know that the rajah gives his minions (those minions I'd mentioned) another order: although Elly is indeed free to leave, the minions are commanded to kill anyone who leaves with her.
Soon enough, Elly walks out of the harem ... and a robed male figure follows her. Could it be Kuno? The guards pounce, and disrobe him. Surprise! He's none other than the maharajah himself. Upon learning that Elly was dissatisfied, he decided that he wanted to die ... so he contrived to follow her in disguise, in hopes that his loyal guards would kill him!
But wait, there's more! Now that he's been unmasked, the maharajah is still determined to die. He grabs a knife, intending to top himself ... but Elly stops him. When Kuno protests, Elly tells Kuno that she sincerely loves the rajah after all. (Have I mentioned that the rajah is wealthy, and Kuno is a naval lieutenant? Naval lieutenants are not noted for vast salaries.) The film ends with Elly willingly returning to the seraglio with her maharajah.
Hmmm. I give this movie credit for several genuine surprises: it sets up a very obviously formulaic plot, and then contradicts the formula several times. Quite a few movies from this period (both European and American) depicted exotic foreigners as swarthy villains, keen on defiling white women. I was intrigued that the maharajah in this movie seems to be all set to fit neatly into that stereotype, but then turns out to be a virtuous character (by his own culture's rules) who's meant to receive the audience's sympathy. The photography and art direction are superb, and the editing is impressive. My rating for this movie: 7 out of 10.
