AllMovie

One of the first full-length Jules Verne adaptations, Michael Strogoff served as a vehicle for Jacob P. Adler, legendary figure of the Yiddish stage (and the father of actor Luther Adler and acting coach Stella Adler). On a secret mission for the Czar, Michael Strogoff encounters several adventures and perils, and at one point is captured and sentenced to be blinded by a Siberian war lord. He also fights a spectacular sword duel with his hated rival Ivan, a sequence which, according to the trade magazine Variety, was disappointingly short and underdeveloped. For a Selig production, Michael Strogoff was unusually lavish, especially the climactic burning of a Siberian city. The Verne original would be refilmed several times, most memorably as a multi-national 1937 production starring Anton Walbrook and titled The Soldier and the Lady.