Francesca Bertini is a spy for the Other Guys; who is who on which side is never made clear, but she's working for the guys whose spymaster wears baggy plus-fours, if that's any help. She's ordered to seduce Captain Gustavo Serena, and does so easily enough. But she also falls in love with the guy. This causes he to emote heavily and the guy who's taking all her information and shipping it off via carrier pigeon to suspect she's about to turn coat.

If that seems a bit abrupt, you'll have to blame it on the print. It's been restored, but about a quarter of its length is believed lost. That would increase the length of this one-hour feature by 20 minutes, and allow some subetety in the performance. That subtlety is certainly there in the beginning, as Signorina Bertini offers a nicely restrained performance for the first half hour. She was the real deal when it came to stardom, pulling down more money that year than Mary Pickford. As a result, everyone else is reduced to neatly circumscribed bits in a film genre that would very quickly become ossified. I don't doubt that other performers had their chances to shine in those missing twenty minutes, but given that this version is 60 minutes to the second, it was clearly edited down at some point to focus on Signorina Bertini. She certainly gives a varied and lively performance.

Diana is assigned to find out the details of the enemy's war tactics. Together with her partner in crime, Robertson, she manages to get in touch with Captain Argo and retrieves secret information.

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Francesca Bertini in Diana, l'affascinatrice (1915)

Diana, l'affascinatrice

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