Dcery Eviny is the last Czech silent film made by the duo Karel Lamač and Anny Ondra before they both moved to Germany. Ondra, in particular, would go on to enjoy a successful stint in British cinema under Alfred Hitchcock (see our dedicated project on the site). This is a melodrama in which the protagonist is a femme fatale, a true “daughter of Eve,” caught in a strange love triangle.

Ballerina Nina Lavell (Anny Ondra) is having an affair with Baron Hanuš Stetten (Wolfgang Zilzer), who is, however, married. She is then visited by Baron Bihl (Theodor Pištěk), who, on behalf of Stetten’s wife, asks her to leave him alone. To make Hanuš jealous and push him away, Nina seduces painter Rudolf Romain (Karel Lamač), who lives a modest life with his mother and fiancée Maria (Uli Tridenskaja – Máňa Ženíšková). She deceives Rudolf into believing he is truly desired. Inevitably, the tangled web of lies catches up with her, and Nina, unable to extricate herself, commits suicide with a gunshot. On her deathbed, she begs both Hanuš and Rudolf to return to their respective partners and apologizes for her actions.

This moralizing tale enjoyed decent success in Europe and is perhaps one of the most widely exported Czech silent films abroad. The story echoes many similarly moralistic dramas, including American ones, where the femme fatale ultimately pays for her sins with death. The film is competently shot, though at first it wasn’t clear to me who had fired the shot at Nina (in fact, as noted, she kills herself, possibly repenting for her sins of lust). I had to rewatch the scene to understand what had happened. The subplot involving Baron Bihl adds a small twist, but overall the narrative feels rather conventional, relying entirely on Anny Ondra’s performance. After her exuberant role in Milenky starého kriminálníka, she appears here more subdued, cast in a classic femme fatale role.

In short, Dcery Eviny is a fairly traditional film and enjoyable as such, but I was expecting something fresher and more entertaining. I left somewhat disappointed. With time, I may come to reevaluate it more positively, but for now, my impression is that it lacks that spark to elevate it beyond being simply “a nice little film.”

This article was originally published in Italian on emutofu.com