In fact, the village so often battles the Turks that the men do no other work, while the women labor in the fields and farms, and even build and maintain the huts. Because it is a movie, the village apparently has no children. For men, military service is virtually compulsory, otherwise you will be outcast as a sissy.
That is the fate of John Gilbert at the beginning of the film. The son of hulking village leader Ernest Torrence, Gilbert would understandably rather pick daisies than fight. This turns off his hard-to-get childhood sweetheart Renée Adorée, who is also unimpressed by his riding skills, probably since they are instead performed by a stuntman.
Because it is a movie, Gilbert suddenly becomes the best fighter in the village, following a particularly humiliating round of village hazing. Now it is Adorée's turn to dote over Gilbert, to no avail.
Because it is a movie, a tall and handsome Russian prince shows up under orders to marry a Cossack woman. Naturally, he selects Adorée, but she continues to play hard to get. That is, until Gilbert slaps her and spends the night with a gypsy woman. Thus, Adorée and the prince become engaged.
Because it is a movie, Gilbert does all he can to break up the engagement. He even convinces his father to join him in an assault on the prince's caravan after he leaves the village with his new hottie brunette bride. Because it is a movie, the Turks attack the caravan first, leading to several scenes of intense R-rated violence, in addition to the inevitable reconciliation between our two lovebirds.
How others will see it. Nearly eight decades after his death, John Gilbert retains a strong cult following, particularly from women over 45. His films tend to be highly rated by that demographic, and it is no exception for The Cossacks. The costly MGM epic garners an 8.7 (out of 10) rating from women. Men give it an also high rating of 7.7, probably won over by third reel violence.
At the time of its release, however, the movie was likely a money-loser for MGM. Production troubles included reshoots, rewrites, and a change in director, from George W. Hill to Clarence Brown. The movie was ignored by the inaugural Academy Awards.
Internet chattering regarding the movie curiously focuses on its soundtrack. The original score, if any, is lost, and Turner Classic Movies eventually commissioned a replacement. I usually watch silent movies without sound, since modern soundtracks are always a distraction, and sometimes a detraction, from the film.
How I felt about it. The Cossacks was the seventh of eight movies that paired Gilbert and Adorée. Two are lost (Honor First and A Man's Mate) and one was a talkie (Redemption). Their most famous romantic epic was, of course, The Big Parade, easily the biggest movie from either career. Adorée had an exotic look that allowed her to be cast as European. Born in France proved to be an asset during the silent era.
The tragedy of The Cossacks was that the three leads would be dead by 1936. But Nils Asther, whose character dies during the movie, lived to be 84.
The film's most obvious flaw is the sudden transformation of Gilbert from frolicking pacifist to Turk-killing war hero. Adorée's reluctance to marry the wealthy and hunky young prince is also strictly cinematic. She'd take her mother along, and leave town with him in a heartbeat.
We wonder why the Turks would take Gilbert as a prisoner, but kill the Russian prince, whom they could ransom. It also seems unlikely that Gilbert would survive his stint as prisoner. It must also be said that Gilbert is quite the jerk toward Adorée. When he's not pestering her, or interfering with her wedding, he's cheating on her, or hitting her.