The Mystic

1925 [XX]

Crime / Drama

4
IMDb Rating 6.7/10 10 668 668

gypsy scam artist fortune

Plot summary

Zara, a phony psychic in a Hungarian carnival who, under the guidance of a Svengali-like con man crashes — and proceeds to swindle — American high society.

Director

Tod Browning Photo
Tod Browning

Top cast

Aileen Pringle Photo
Aileen Pringle as Zara
Conway Tearle Photo
Conway Tearle as Michael Nash
Robert Ober Photo
Robert Ober as Anton
Stanton Heck Photo
Stanton Heck as Carlo
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
677.8 MB
960*720
Xx 2.0
NR
Subtitles xx  
21.978 fps
1 hr 13 min
Seeds ...
1.23 GB
1440*1080
Xx 2.0
NR
Subtitles xx  
21.978 fps
1 hr 13 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by MogwaiMovieReviews 7 / 10

Spooks & Swindlers

This fantastic film I'd never even heard of until today, made by the creator of the immortal Freaks (1932) and Dracula (1931), Tod Browning. It's never even been released on any home video format before, but the recent blu-ray has been lovingly restored, and now, almost a hundred years later, looks the best it ever has, with one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard accompany a silent, care of the long-time David Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley, who adds a woozy, warped, disorientating atmosphere you can cut with a knife, along with painstakingly-added sound effects, all of which enhance the experience enormously. Every silent film should be accompanied in this way.Like Freaks, Mystic is the story of carnival folk with a moral code of their own, this time a phony psychic act that travels from Hungary to New York to try get rich by fleecing the wealthy before falling foul of the law. It loses steam a little towards the end, but the early parts put me in mind of Nightmare Alley (1947) and Varieté (released the same year, 1925), and it's not far off being as good as them both, which is quite the complement. A splendid discovery.7.5/10.
Reviewed by planktonrules 8 / 10

A little melodramatic and a bit hard to believe...but also quite good.

While in Hungary, American crook Michael Nash (Conway Tearle) comes upon an idea for his next caper. He has seen a Gypsy mystic in action and thinks he can being her to the States and use her to dupe rich fools out of their money. And, at first, it goes quite well. The props he designed work great and folks are indeed taken in by the ruse. However, problems develop when Nash finds he cannot close the deal with a young heiress. She's just too nice and Nash feels compelled to let this fish off the hook. But what about Madame Zara, his medium. She's in love with Nash. And what about their confederates...they're not the sort to let this rich lady out of their clutches.While the story is a big farfetched (such as a career criminal having problems with his conscience), the story is very good. I particularly loved the ending which seemed to tie everything together very well. Well crafted and well worth seeing.
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