Title: A Woman of the World
Year: 1925
Genres: Romance; Comedy; Drama
Director: Malcolm St. Clair

Cast:

• Pola Negri as Countess Tatiana Petrovich
• Anna May Wong as Mabel Wong
• Victor Varconi as Colonel Alonzo Morales
• Hector V. Sarno as Señor Alfonso Morales
• Eugenie Besserer as Señora Morales

Synopsis:

After a scandalous affair in Europe, glamorous Russian Countess Tatiana Petrovich flees to a small American desert town to escape gossip. There she meets Colonel Alonzo Morales, a stiff military man who disapproves of her worldly ways. As Tatiana charms the locals and befriends Chinese-American maid Mabel Wong, she gradually wins over Morales’s respect—and heart—through acts of kindness and candid honesty. Cultural misunderstandings and comedic mishaps ensue, but in the end, Tatiana’s sincerity triumphs, and the couple finds love beyond social expectations.

Trivia:

• Pola Negri was one of Paramount’s highest-paid stars at the time, and this film showcased her sophisticated “vamp” persona in a comedic light.
• Anna May Wong’s role was one of her early significant Hollywood appearances, predating her later stardom.
• The desert town sets were filmed on location in Palm Springs, California, capturing authentic Southwestern landscapes.
• This film is fully preserved in the public domain, with multiple restorations available through archives and silent-film festivals.