There’s not much left of this Italian silent movie from 1921 but since it’s only 26 minutes long it’s worth a look. Though large chunks of the film are missing and the continuity is in tatters, viewers can easily identify the villain who conveniently always wears a mask even when she’s alone in a hospital bed… even the nurses who dress her in a hospital gown leave the mask in place. As you probably know, slow moving movie monsters have a habit of catching even the fastest runner and this is no exception. The special effects showing the lugubrious titular character chasing a speeding car are particularly ingenious. As is the novel method employed by the MM to open a champagne bottle. Monsters drinking champagne you ask… well that ain’t all: since this is an Italian movie there simply HAS to be an Opera House, right? Ultimately, the guy I took for the hero dons an over-sized pith helmet and flies off in a giant bi-plane… I’m not sure why. The horrid made-for-DVD sound track is as messy as the aged print, though I suspect the film would be quite incomprehensible without it. Thankfully, the restorers have included a series of title cards at the beginning relating the synopsis of the story. The sets are OK but see this on double bill with Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and you’ll marvel at how far the art of making movies progressed in six short years.