Von Stroheim Treatment

    Open on a vast desert, there is nothing on the horizon but as we scan we see two men fighting but the fight seems very scripted and poorly acted out. Off camera a man begins to yell and as he steps into frame we see a tall and limber man, Von Stroheim. He approaches the actors and pushes one out of the way and puts himself nose-to-nose with the other actor. “Fight dammit! You need to actually fight. Hate one another the way you hate me!”

Both men cower in fear. Stroheim turns around and leans into the other man. “Do you hate me? Of course you hate me, but you are too coward to show it.” He storms back off camera.

“Again from the top!”

The men begin fighting again as the camera’s roll and we see a sly smile rise on Stroheim’s face. You can see the pride in his eyes.

As a younger man we see Erich Von Stroheim arriving on Ellis Island and signing his name for the first time as Von Stroheim. It is interlaced with narration from the interviews conducted with those who knew or adore Von Stroheim.

Erich’s next big step is when he began to work with D.W. Griffith and this is the moment his vision began. We see an image of D.W. Griffith directing his film and it fades into Stroheim directing on the set of Greed again as he repeats the same direction that Griffith was using.

We look into the eyes of the actors on the set of Greed as they attempt to follow his direction and we fade into the image of a younger Stroheim who is struggling through acting out a scene on one of his earlier projects and he is getting mad at himself while the crew attempts to calm him down and explain that they can shoot it again but he continually is telling them that he can’t fail at acting because this is a Stroheim production.

Stroheim continues to act but after Queen Kelly he begins to get blackballed. This time in his life is intercut with the time on the set of Greed when Von Stroheim kills the burro. It is very symbolic of the death of his career.

Erich leaves his wife for his lover and on the set of Greed we see him leave the set for a moment of alone time. While he is there he talks to himself, “You are a Von Stroheim. This production must be perfect and it will be as long as these damn actors follow my perfect instruction.”

As the scene from Greed plays out we cut to Sunset Boulevard as Erich and Gloria Swanson overcome their former problems. The director on Sunset Boulevard calls for a wrap and it transitions into Von Stroheim calling for a wrap on Greed.