Since several reviews here extensively recapped the plot, I will not reiterate. Instead, I will share my thoughts on several aspects of the film as I watched it.
Pola Negri is absolutely magnificent in the title role as a passionate gypsy desired by several of the men. TSD was her third American-made film and the first of her American films available for viewing (Bella Donna & The Cheat are presumed lost). She gives a terrific performance and is ravishingly beautiful in all her close-ups. She particularly looks amazing in a black, ruffled dress she does a dance in.
Pola is ably supported by a strong cast, including Antonio Moreno (you probably remember him as Clara Bow's leading man in 1927's It), who is appropriately dashing as a Spanish count, Wallace Beery (whose career lasted well into the talking era, particularly Dinner at Eight opposite Jean Harlow) as the Spanish king and Kathlyn Williams making a strong impression as the queen.
TSD is certainly a lavish epic of that era, with expansive sets and fabulous set designs. One interesting piece of trivia is that Mary Pickford (basically the queen of the movies) released her film Rosita shortly before TSD hit theaters. Both films were based on the same source material and newspapers and magazines of the time had a field day comparing the films and intimating that Pickford and Negri were engaged in a feud because of it. Not so, according to Pola in her autobiography, but it raised the profile of both films and both were financially successful. I haven't seen the Pickford version, but Pola seems much more suited to the fiery role of a Spanish street singer than the more demure Pickford. TSD probably would have been even better had it been directed by Ernst Lubitsch (who made Negri a star in Germany and directed the Pickford version), but Herbert Brenon (director of Peter Pan) did well enough in the director's chair that he was entrusted with Pola's next film, Shadows of Paris.
My biggest problem with the film, aside from the rather old print I saw on YouTube, was the organ music accompanying the film. I'm just not a big fan of that type of score and a full orchestra adds an element to silent films that lifts them way up.
