Let's be honest - those interested in the work of Germaine Dulac have probably only seen 1928's surrealist masterpiece La Coquille et le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman). I have only been fortunate enough to see 3 of her films and The Cigarette, while being her earliest surviving film, really does not have much to recommend it other than that trivial designation. Like many early silents, the pace is slow, the story slight and the picture quality is extremely poor. I'd say a good 20% of this film is so damaged and eroded that it is almost impossible to see what is going on. But it hardly matters as the story is fairly easy to follow even with occasion degraded images. If you're really interested in Dulac for her feminist stance, see 1923's La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet). Or if you want to see her true surrealist masterpiece see La Coquille et le Clergyman. But this film is really for completists only. Oh - and if you happen to see this and are befuddled by the French title cards, try turning on Closed Captioning; the version I saw had the title cards translated into English with CC on.