Christopher Craig
Silentera.com now reports that a print exists of this film. It does not, however, provide any information about where such a print can be found, as it does for other extent films of the silent era.Of course, I haven't seen this film since it's lost. But I do find it interesting that of the six films that Emil Jannings made in the US for Paramount between 1927 and 1929, only one of them still exists: THE LAST COMMAND (1928), for which he won the first Best Actor Oscar. That award was shared with THE WAY OF ALL FLESH (1927), another lost film. STREET OF SIN (1928), THE PATRIOT (1928), and BETRAYAL (1929) are all lost or presumed lost. My question would be why didn't Paramount take better care of Jannings's films? Not only was he a prestige item for them but his films meant box office. They even distributed his early German talkie THE BLUE ANGEL (1930). But Paramount also lost films starring Clara Bow, Ruth Chatterton, and others, so it probably wasn't anything personal. Still, it's a shame. SINS is also Ruth Chatterton's film debut. Who wouldn't want to see her in her only silent film, starting a successful run as the most prestigious female star at Paramount for the next three years?
