Queen Kelly is an American silent film produced in 1928–29 and released by United Artists. The film was directed by Erich von Stroheim, starred Gloria Swanson, in the title role, Walter Byron as her lover, and Seena Owen. The film was produced by Joseph P. Kennedy, who was Swanson's lover at the time.
Queen Kelly
Whipping scene with Seena Owen and Gloria Swanson
Queen Kelly, L to R, Seena Owen, Gloria Swanson
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