Othello (1922)

In substance, the film largely follows William Shakespeare’s play. Othello, a Black general in the army of the Republic of Venice, has secretly married the beautiful, cultivated Desdemona. When the inexperienced Cassio is promoted to lieutenant by Othello ahead of Iago, Iago—a character as scheming as he is envious, as malicious as he is destructive—immediately plots deadly revenge. He wants to take everything Othello has and destroy him. His instrument is the young Rodrigo, who also loves Desdemona and likewise cannot bear to see the woman of his dreams in the hands of the Moor. The plot against Othello takes a dangerous turn when Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, learns of the affair between his daughter and the Black general. He believes that this could not have happened without dangerous sorcery. From then on, Iago excels at setting everyone against everyone else, and the web of intrigue he spins soon leads them all to distrust one another. Othello’s pathological jealousy is further fueled when Iago insinuates that Cassio is betraying Othello with the supposedly unfaithful Desdemona—a suggestion Othello, all too eager to believe his false friend’s whispers, readily accepts. Now mad with jealousy, Othello strangles his entirely innocent wife. When Iago’s scheme is exposed, Othello, overwhelmed with grief over the bloody deed he has committed, stabs himself to death.