Italian Essential Silent Film
Sui Gradini del Trono (On the Steps of the Throne) (U.M. Del Colle, 1912) for Pasquali & Co. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWMEkMWkG3A
(61 minutes with intertitles in Dutch).
Players:
His Highness Prince Wladimir
His Excellency Count Backine, regent of Silistri
Sobiesky, devoted servant of Backine
Princess Olga, in love with Prince Wladimir
Count Backine, a jealous regent, rules Silistria. Soon Prince Wladimir will turn 21, and Backine will lose his regency. Backine wishes to place his daughter, Alexandra, on the throne of Silistria. He discusses this with his devoted servant (in dirty dealings), Sobiesky. But the prince is in love with his cousin princess Olga and wishes to marry her — much to the dismay of Backine and of Olga herself.
From her window, Olga sees Wladimir approaching and runs out to meet him. They kiss, but in the background, the scheming Sobiesky watches them closely.
Backine tells his daughter Alexandra: “My child, I promise you shall be queen.” Then Sobiesky reports what he has just seen. Horrified by the idea of the two kissing, Backine searches for a solution: as Regent of Silistria, he calls an extraordinary council of ministers. To separate the Crown Prince from Olga, Backine orders that the prince be sent away to Paris for some time.
At the council, Backine informs Wladimir of the decision and instructs Sobiesky to accompany the prince during his stay: “You will go with the prince to Paris and make him forget his kingdom — and especially Princess Olga.”
Before his departure, the prince says goodbye to his beloved Olga, and meets Backine and Alexandra in the garden. Backine says: “Marry my daughter Alexandra, and you will have in me your most loyal subject.” The prince refuses. The departure is set for the next afternoon.
During his last fencing lesson, the prince is joined by two officers in white caps who will accompany him to Paris. After fencing, the prince shows a scar on his right arm he received during practice: “I’ll take this memory with me — this scar I’ll carry all my life.” We see the scar in close-up. It’s time to leave; he bids farewell to his instructor and kisses Olga’s forehead goodbye. He leaves by automobile, accompanied by the two officers, with Sobiesky following in another car.
The journey to “exile in Paris” continues by train. In Paris, the prince looks at Olga’s photo and reads her note: “I await with longing the moment when Your Highness will call me his wife. — Olga.”
The prince calls for his two officers: “Gentlemen, tonight we dine at The Roasted Hen.” Dressed in evening wear, they go to the restaurant, followed by Sobiesky.
The restaurant is full of entertainment — elegantly dressed ladies, a small band, and a pair of dancers hopping down the aisle. In the background, men from the audience join in. The prince and his companions start with champagne. Then comes an announcement: “Ladies and Gentlemen, in the Hall of Mirrors, a performance by the famous dancer Thaïs will soon begin.” The group enters the dark mirror hall, where a stunning dance takes place (00:19:36–00:19:50, 00:21:31–00:21:47, 00:22:01–00:22:11) — reflected in numerous mirrors and tinted in changing colors.
Meanwhile, Sobiesky has arrived, and another dancer — the Spaniard Chichito — appears in the restaurant. He bears a striking resemblance to the prince. Sobiesky sits with him and makes him an offer he cannot refuse.
Prince Wladimir, captivated by Thaïs’s charms during the “Mirror Dance,” gives her his card — oddly labeled “Marquis Beauregard” — and notes her details. After he leaves, Chichito and Sobiesky appear. Sobiesky writes to Regent Backine:
“The prince is about to ruin himself with a dancer named Thaïs. The person I told you about looks so much like him that I myself was deceived. Awaiting your orders — Sobiesky.”
In her dressing room, Chichito scolds Thaïs. When a letter and a piece of jewelry arrive — with a large sum of money — he becomes furious, demanding to know how she explains it.
Regent Backine learns that the prince has a relationship with dancer Thaïs, and that Chichito is his double. He replies to Sobiesky: “Tomorrow evening I will be in Paris. Wait for me with Chichito at the Café de la République.”
At the appointed place, Sobiesky meets Backine, and they have a meeting with Chichito. Backine tells him: “If you are at my disposal, you shall be rich and noble.” Chichito agrees.
At the Villa Gardenies, Backine, Sobiesky, and Chichito arrive. Inside, Chichito shows a trapdoor in the floor. “This will serve to make Wladimir disappear,” says Backine. In the cellar below, Chichito reveals the cage where the victim will fall. A mustached guard stands watch.
Sobiesky sends away the two officers who accompany Wladimir, under the pretense of orders from the regent. The prince protests, but Sobiesky rubs his hands with glee.
Prince Wladimir visits Thaïs at home. They embrace lovingly — clearly enamored. Meanwhile, Sobiesky and Chichito prepare their trap. After the prince leaves, Chichito arrives and tells Thaïs: “Your lover deceives you — he’s a prince, and he’ll abandon you in a few days.” He shows her Olga’s photo and note: “I hope, my dear cousin, that the splendor of Paris won’t make you forget your little niece — Olga of Silistria.”
Thaïs is devastated and weeps. Chichito dictates a letter for her to write to the prince: “I must speak to you urgently. Wait for me in the great hall with the curtains (in Villa Gardenies). Yours forever, Thaïs.” Chichito orders: “You will wait for the prince in the salon! Understood? Soon you’ll be avenged.”
Wladimir receives the letter and goes to Villa Gardenies. Thaïs maneuvers him onto the trapdoor — he falls through and lands in the cellar cage. The mission is a success. Chichito shaves off his sideburns, dresses like the prince, and assumes his identity. “The exchange is perfect.”
“The Victory of the Dancer Chichito.” The impostor travels by train back to Silistria and is received with great ceremony. The regent announces the prince’s coming of age — and his engagement to Alexandra. But the fake Wladimir behaves foolishly, without any princely bearing. Meanwhile, in the cellar, the real Wladimir awaits his fate. The dancer and the mustached guard watch over him. Thaïs brings him food, regrets her part, but gestures helplessly.
At the palace, the false Wladimir’s lack of dignity is obvious. Backine even has to straighten his helmet. Chichito treats the situation as a joke; Backine takes it seriously. At court, Princess Olga rushes toward the “prince,” but is alarmed — he barely notices her and prefers Alexandra. She tells her father and the fencing master: “The prince is so changed — one would say he is not the same… He is not Wladimir! An unsolvable mystery surrounds us.” The fencing master replies: “Tomorrow, the mystery will be unveiled — I swear it.”
‘The Old Fencing Master at Work.’ He approaches the false prince at his desk: “Your Highness, shall we resume our fencing lessons?” During the lesson, Chichito performs clumsily. The fencing master strikes his right arm, inspects it, and discovers — the scar is missing. “This is not Prince Wladimir!”
Backine enters and hears of the missing scar. His entire plan collapses. But Chichito proposes a solution: he invites the fencing master for a horseback ride. ‘The Final Villainy of Backine.’ Before the ride, Backine gives Chichito a revolver. During the ride, Chichito shoots the fencing master, picks him up, and throws him into the river. But the two officers loyal to Wladimir are nearby; they rescue the old man and hide him in a barn, tending to his wounds.
Chichito reports to Backine: “The old fencing master rests at the bottom of the river.” Backine is delighted. The next day, a doctor visits the wounded fencing master and shows one of the officers a newspaper clipping: “Yesterday, during a horseback ride by His Highness, a tragic accident occurred. The old fencing master fell into the river and did not reappear. His Highness is deeply grieved by the loss of his teacher.” The fencing master tells the officers that something mysterious has happened to the prince — the missing scar!
Meanwhile, in Villa Gardenies, Sobiesky receives an order from Backine: “The time has come to make the prisoner disappear. No one suspects the prince still lives. The wedding of Alexandra will take place. Leave no trace. — The Regent.”
Sobiesky instructs the mustached guard to blow everything up. “Preparation for the Crime.” The guard tells Thaïs the whole place will be blown up. She is horrified. The guard places a powder keg with a fuse in the cellar and ties up the prince. But Thaïs’s conscience awakens: “No! No! I will never allow such a vile act!” The guard lights the fuse, but Thaïs stabs him with her dagger and cuts the fuse with an axe. She frees the prince and relights the fuse. They flee upstairs; Wladimir throws Sobiesky through the trapdoor, and the villa explodes. At the palace, the false prince greets Alexandra: “Tomorrow you’ll be my husband, sitting beside me on the throne.”
‘Coronation Day.’ The throne room is filled with officers and dignitaries. The princely couple — Chichito and Alexandra — enter and stand before the throne. The guests cheer. But then, outside the palace, a car pulls up: the real Prince Wladimir steps out. “Silistria belongs to me!” He rushes inside and exposes the impostor. Olga and her father rejoice. Princess Olga takes her place beside Wladimir on the steps of the throne, while the officers raise their swords in salute.
