Slave of Passion

^director Jan Pawłowski
^screenplay Kazimierz Hulewicz
^{director of photography} Jan Skarbek-Malczewski
^with Pola Negri, Wojciech Brydziński, Władysław Szczawiński, Karol Knake-Karliński

WŁADYSŁAW JEWSIEWICKI, ‘POLISH CINEMA IN THE SILENT FILM PERIOD’ [POLSKA KINEMATOGRAFIA W OKRESIE FILMU NIEMEGO], ŁÓDŹ 1966

According to an advertisement, ‘Slave of Passion’ was supposed to start a golden series of Polish films by ‘Sfinks’ run by Aleksander Hertz. The main role went to the fifteen-year-old Apolonia Chałupiec, who had trained as a dancer at a ballet school. (…) She adopted the pseudonym Pola Negri, which became her second name. (…) Hertz very quickly realized her exceptional acting abilities. And it was Pola Negri herself who gave him the idea for the screenplay. (…) It was a story of a beautiful but poor girl who, owing to her great abilities, becomes a leading ballet dancer. She then leaves the house of her father (a locksmith), rejects the love of her dancing partner, becomes the lover of a rich admirer and lives a lavish life. She finally dies stabbed on the stage by her former jealous partner. The film, 1100 metres long, was purchased by the Moscow branch of the Pathé Brothers. It was successfully screened in Russia under the title ‘Raba strastei, raba poroka’. Pola Negri, who became the first Polish film star, was hailed as a Russian Asta Nielsen. She was also called ‘Polish barefooter’ because of her barefoot dances.