The film is essentially the same story as Mary Pickford's Rosita which was filmed around the same time as The Spanish Dancer with Negri's old colleague from Germany Ernst Lubitsch directing. Negri's The Spanish Dancer was considered the better film.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review,[2] Maritana, a beautiful Spanish young woman, is so full of life and fun that she is adored by the poor people among whom she lives and who dote on her dancing in the public squares. Through her daring, she and her sweetheart Don Cesar de Bazan become involved in the affairs of the Spanish court, and he with his life is to pay the supreme penalty. Using her feminine charms and her artful wiles, she not only saves him but wins a respected place for herself.
^"Tried and Proven Pictures: The Spanish Dancer". Exhibitors Trade Review. New York, NY: Exhibitors Review Publishing Corporation: 41. May 3, 1924. Retrieved November 28, 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.