The Dumb Girl of Portici

Naples in the 17th century: The Spanish crown rules over the Italian population. Incognito, an engaged prince mingles with the people and seduces the deaf fisherwoman Fenella - played by the then world-famous ballet dancer and choreographer Anna Pavlova. The Viscount wants to have her arrested in order to sweep the affair under the carpet. However, her brother opposes this and instigates an ever-growing revolution. Lois Weber based the plot on the opera La Muette de Portici by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber and was the first woman to make a blockbuster - one of the most expensive Universal productions to date, including elaborate tracking shots and aerial shots. It is not without reason that Weber is considered one of the most influential directors of American cinema in the 1910s. (Bianca Jasmina Rauch)