Josef von Sternberg. The Case of Lena Smith

The Case of Lena Smith stands as one of the legendary lost films in cinema history—only a single fragment has survived.

In what would become his final silent film, master director Josef von Sternberg resurrected the city and era of his youth: fin-de-siècle Vienna. This book offers a richly detailed reconstruction of the acclaimed melodrama, using over 150 original production stills, set designs, script excerpts, archival documents, and literary reflections.

Rather than lamenting the film’s loss, this volume brings it vividly to life—framing The Case of Lena Smith not only as a vanished cinematic work but as a cultural artifact that continues to speak through images, texts, and memory. At its core is the story of a young woman navigating the rigid class structures of 1900s Vienna, rendered with Sternberg’s trademark visual elegance and emotional precision.

As filmmaker Guy Maddin notes: “These images show that Sternberg was already at the absolute zenith of his shimmery mise-en-scène powers ... and that should be enough to embolden readers to plummet into these dreamy pages with the conviction they're going to a better place.”

This book is not a substitute for the film—it is its spectral double, offering a portal into its lost cinematic world.