Sternberg was next tasked to direct film stars Mae Murray and Roy D'Arcy in "The Masked Bride", both of whom had played in Stroheim's highly acclaimed "The Merry Widow" (1925). Exasperated with his lack of control over any aspect of the production, Sternberg quit in two weeks – his final gesture turning the camera to the ceiling before walking off the set. Metro arranged a cancellation of his contract in August 1925. Frenchman Robert Florey, Sternberg's assistant director, reported that Sternberg's Stroheim-like histrionics emerged on the M-G-M sets to the consternation of production managers.