Mary Lou (1928)

Mary Lou, the daughter of Russian Grand Duke Peter, once had to flee the Bolsheviks in Russia, who had launched the October Revolution in 1917. The old Captain Lund helped her escape, and she subsequently lived with him. But one day, this little oasis of safety in a cottage on the edge of a forest was invaded by two thugs who meant no good to her or to the old sea dog, whom they suspected of possessing real treasures. One of the villains shot Lund, before Mary Lou could leap onto her white horse and escape this extremely dangerous situation under cover of darkness. She ended up with a small touring circus run by Director Belloni. From then on, she lived and worked with the troupe and tried her luck as a circus performer. Together with her fellow countryman Felix Rimsky, once a guards officer of the tsar and now a talented trick rider, she put together a Circassian dance act. Through their work together, the two young people also fell in love. One day, a luxurious car arrived in the town where the circus was performing. A distinguished gentleman got out, looking for Mary Lou. He had read in the newspaper about the murder of Mary Lou’s foster father, Captain Lund. The stranger turned out to be the girl’s uncle, Grand Duke Dimitri, who had also managed to escape to the West. The aristocrat felt obliged to uphold the family’s honor by removing the young woman from the milieu of itinerant performers and taking her under his wing. The Grand Duke was greatly displeased by Mary Lou’s relationship with Felix, which he considered not quite appropriate to her station. Through a carefully contrived scheme, he did manage to separate the two lovers, convincing Felix that it would be best for Mary Lou if he let her go. So Felix wrote her a farewell letter, falsely claiming that he was already married. Some time has passed since then, and Mary Lou is living in the grand ducal castle somewhere in the south. But the young woman has not forgotten her former sweetheart. The lavish parties held for her sake and the many admirers surrounding Mary Lou cannot change that. One day, the Belloni touring circus sets up nearby. Mary Lou manages to find out why Felix had supposedly turned away from her back then and, as she sees it, destroyed their relationship. With the help of Rigoletto, Rimsky’s loyal servant, the misunderstandings are cleared up, and Mary Lou returns to her old love. When Felix can take Mary Lou in his arms again, she realizes that the circus will be her world and her home from then on.