The Dumb Girl of Portici

Prolific female director Lois Weber goes epic in The Dumb Girl of Portici, a sumptuously mounted production featuring the prima ballerina of her day, "the incomparable" (as billed) Anna Pavlova. Based on the opera Mansaniello, Weber tailors it for the waifish Pavlova as the sister of the title character giving her the floor most of the picture to leap about too and fro as the mute Fenella.

Spain rules over Naples in the 17th century and like most colonialist is bleeding the poor of the fishing village of Portici with crippling taxes. When the Duke arbitrarily decides to raise taxes on fruit, the people led by Fenella's brother revolt and begin to massacre the aristocracy, with lightening success but is soon betrayed by neighbor Pietro who harbors desires for Fenella. Regaining his strength Mansaniello attempts to kill a sympathetic royal, Alphonso, who has developed a thing for Fenella but she steps between them.

Director Weber wanders into DW Griffith territory with this silent epic of lush set design, opulent costuming and rousing crowd scenes of mass slaughter and beheadings with mice feasting on dead aristos. Amid all the calamity Pavlova leaps (with some cable assistance I believe) and bounds merrily about, an indefatigable innocent consumed by the joy of living, even in these circumstances.

Overlong, but worth a brief look if only for the rare footage of the dance icon and some excessive mass chaos, graphically presented.