Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
A dentist and his wife are transformed by sudden money and an increasingly destructive obsession with wealth.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
San Francisco dentist McTeague marries Trina after treating her and initially accepts a modest life. Her lottery win awakens possessiveness, while former friend Marcus Schouler's resentment and financial pressure turn money into the marriage's dominant force.
Why it belongs
Erich von Stroheim makes greed bodily through coins, cramped rooms, food, labor, and faces progressively stripped of social restraint.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
Von Stroheim fashions McTeague's conscience-bound collapse from natural locations, crowded domestic detail, money and gold imagery, and increasingly harsh physical spaces, allowing material desire to erode marriage and friendship with almost forensic patience.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Good for
Film Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound185IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness9.3
Engagement7.0
Ease3.8
English · Not Rated Silent Feature Mood: Challenging & Demanding
