The problem for Erich von Stroheim in the title role here is that his character's abilities to eat, drink - sing La Bohème, even - whilst his dummy "Otto" chats away merrily to the audience does quite come off on film. An out-of-vision voice is nothing new with this medium, so much of the potency of the joke - that might have worked more effectively in a theatre - is lost. What's left is a mildly amusing, sometimes even slightly sinister story about the eponymous character who works with the rather clumsy "Mary" (Betty Compson) on whom he picks on relentlessly. After one outburst, she packs up…
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