Line #1 Film/FleshAndTheDevil


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garbo-gilbert-flesh-devil-match1_4391.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Yep, sometimes SmokingIsGlamorous.]]
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4	''Flesh and the Devil'' is a 1926 silent drama film starring Creator/JohnGilbert, then at the height of his fame, and a Swedish actress new to America named Creator/GretaGarbo.
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6	Leo (Gilbert) and Ulrich (Lars Hanson) are childhood friends and soldiers in the Kaiser's army. Gilbert falls in love with the exotic, mysterious Felicitas (Garbo) only to find out that she's a married woman. When her husband discovers the affair events take a tragic turn and the Army ships Leo out to Africa. He comes back to find out that Felicitas has married Ulrich.
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8	''Flesh and the Devil'' was a huge hit and a milestone in the careers of both Garbo--this was her StarMakingRole in America--and director Clarence Brown. It was inducted into the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry in 2006.
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11	!!This film provides examples of:
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13	* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Hertha is clearly besotted with Leo but he only has eyes for Felicitas.
14	* DancesAndBalls: Leo first glimpses Felicitas at the train station, but he properly meets her at the big ball that Ulrich is hosting.
15	* DuelToTheDeath: Leo and Count von Rhaden, after von Rhaden catches him with Felicitas. A second duel between Leo and Ulrich is averted.
16	* GoldDigger: Felicitas. It's implied that she was a TrophyWife for Count von Rhaden. After Ulrich gives her a gaudy bracelet covered with diamonds, she tells Leo that she can't leave her life of luxury, and suggests that they simply carry on an affair.
17	* HomoeroticSubtext: Hard to say how much is intentional and how much is simple meant to be signs of HeterosexualLifePartners, but Leo and Ulrich are shown (in a flashback to their childhood) to become [[SwornBrothers blood brothers]] in a very wedding-like ritual, they often hug and caress each other in a very intimate way, calling each other things like "My beloved" and generally seems to be more interested in each other than in Felicitas.
18	* LaserGuidedKarma: Leo and Ulrich have gone to an island in a lake to fight a duel over Felicitas. She runs across the ice of the frozen lake to stop them--until she falls through and drowns.
19	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Felicitas has an attack of conscience at the end of the film. It turns out to be a bad idea.
20	* NoMoreForMe: The reverend, of all people, does this at the fancy ball, when he sees a pair of twins and believes he is seeing double.
21	* ReassignedToAntarctica: Or German Southwest Africa, as the case may be.
22	* RomancingTheWidow: How Felicitas and Ulrich get together.
23	* SheIsAllGrownUp: When Leo returns he finds that Ulrich's spunky young sister Hertha has become a lovely young woman. He doesn't even recognize her at first.
24	* SleepingDummy: Done by Ulrich on Leo's behalf when reveille sounds in the morning and Ulrich finds out that Leo has not returned to the barracks from his all-night carousing.
25	* SmokingIsGlamorous: Brown gets a lot of mileage from the scene where Leo lights Felicitas's cigarette.
26	* TitleDrop: It comes from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Common_Prayer Book of Common Prayer]].
27	* ThrowingOutTheScript: The reverend has a sermon on the theme "love thy neighbor" all ready to go, but after seeing Leo and Felicitas entering the church together, decides to riff on David and Bathsheba instead.
28	* TrainStationGoodbye: Played straight, right down to Hertha chasing after the train that is taking Leo away to his long exile in Africa.
29	* TheVamp: Felicitas, whose sexuality gets Count von Rhaden killed, ruins Leo's life, and nearly ruins Ulrich as well.

Context Film / FleshAndTheDevil