Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of the silent era. His 1924 film Greed is considered one of the finest and most important films ever made. After clashes with Hollywood studio bosses over budget and workers' rights problems, Stroheim found it difficult to find work as a director and subsequently became a well-respected character actor, particularly in French cinema.
Stroheim in 1946
Erich Von Stroheim caricature by John Held Jr.
Stroheim, c. 1920
Stroheim as Sergius Karamzin in Foolish Wives, 1922
Greed is a 1924 American silent psychological drama film written and directed by Erich von Stroheim and based on the 1899 Frank Norris novel McTeague. It stars Gibson Gowland as Dr. John McTeague; ZaSu Pitts as Trina Sieppe, his wife; and Jean Hersholt as McTeague's friend and eventual enemy Marcus Schouler. The film tells the story of McTeague, a San Francisco dentist, who marries his best friend Schouler's girlfriend Trina.
Theatrical release poster
The Death Valley scenes, including this final sequence, were filmed over two months during midsummer, in harsh conditions.
The wedding scene made innovative use of deep focus cinematography, despite challenges with the lighting.
In the wedding banquet scene, Trina's mother grotesquely devours her food.