WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[silentscreen]

Alison, yes it is definitely the type of place that has died out now, but they were inexpensive places to eat. Better I'm sure than what we call "fast food" today. I think they were called "diners." I can see why she had no problem about leaving her old life behind. The scene in her run down little apartment with all the traffic right outside and her trying to nurture her one puny little plant was very telling. She had to blow the city grime off it!

Thanks for the compliment Fernando! The film is included in the new Borzage/Murnau set.



I have a friend who's going to let me borrow it. I can't wait to see the Borzage films, especially the talking ones and the documentaries! Too rich for my blood to buy it!

[silentscreen]

Since I was speaking of City Girl which starred Charles Farrell and Mary Duncan, I found this article about her an interesting read.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/con ... ebbed.html

[feaito]

Very enlightening article Brenda. Thanks for posting it. I saw Ms. Duncan last week in "Morning Glory" (1933) and she was very amusing as an affected Theatre star; but it's in "The River" (1929) where she gave her grandest performance. She oozed sensuality from every inch of her body. What a woman!

[charliechaplinfan]

Her performance in The River and City Girl are once seen never forgotten. Truly great films.

[feaito]

I have just re-watched "Monte Carlo" (1930) and although not as good as Lubitsch's other early 30s Musicals, it's still Lubitsch and it's good. Buchanan is no Chevalier, but he's fine as Jeanette's partner. ZaSu Pitts and Claude Allister are most enjoyable in their roles and there's the unique Lubitsch touch all around. Risqué, sexy but not as naughty as his other musicals. Frances Dee has a brief scene answering the telephone in a beauty salon. Charming.

[feaito]

I re-watched "The Divorcée" (1930) and I liked much more than the first time I watched it some four years ago. Norma Shearer's performance is quite powerful in its own right and she does not indulges in overacting here. The story is very adult and is capably acted by all the cast, especially by the wonderful Florence Eldridge. Daring for its time, but I maintain that "Strangers May Kiss" (1931) is Norma's wildest Pre-Code. I think that this film would improve even more if watched on a big screen.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've been reading Jeffrey Vance's book on Douglas Fairbanks, I'm just going to have to revisit The Thief of Bagdad. Does anyone here have any favorites from his films?

[feaito]

Alison, "The Thief of Bagdad" would be my favorite film of his so far, but I have seen very few films of his. I have yet to see "The Black Pirate" (1926) and "The Iron Mask" (1929), both of which I have on DVD, but I bet that TTOB is one of the best fantasies of the '20s.

I have just re-watched "One Hour With You" (1932) and it's delight from start to finish; a naughty, risqué, sexy Lubitsch Pre-Code with Maurice, Jeanette, Genevieve Tobin, Roland Young and Charlie Ruggles at their best. Ms. Tobin plays an outrageous, bold woman. What can Maurice do being hunted down by that naughty flirt? He's obviously helpless...

[feaito]

I have just finished watching "A Free Soul" (1931). This second time around I've liked it so much more. Norma's performance is almost flawless and she plays a bold, shameless young woman hard-as-nails. Her scenes with Gable are most powerful. They ignite the screen. And Gable is magnificent as the tough gangster who falls under Shearer's spell. Their relation is purely physical and it's clear from the beginning, 'cuz Norma does not want Clark to waste time "talking". Get it? At first, I felt sorry for Clark for the way he was being "used" by Norma. Then in the middle the picture gets more conventional. Lionel Barrymore is very good as Norma's drunken father. A great Pre-Code!

[movieman1957]

I watched Douglas Fairbanks in "Robin Hood" from 1922. Don't know whether this has come up before but there are good things and not-so-good things about it.

It has magnificent sets and costumes. At times the presentation is on a huge scale. Interestingly Alan Hale plays the same character in both this and the 1938 version. Wallace Beery plays King Richard. He has quite a different air than Ian Hunter's of 16 years later. In fact it looks as if Curtiz borrowed a couple of shots from this one.

The film always seems like it is on its way somewhere and doesn't quite get there. No a lot of action until the end and at two hours and ten minutes that is a long time to wait.

Maybe it's me but Fairbanks looks a bit old to play it. He is certainly athletic enough but he just looks older at least compared to Marian and the rest.

Maybe because I have seen Flynn's version enough that I like it better than Fairbanks. The music, while pleasant enough and difficult to play, sounds like it was put together on the composer's home keyboard system. It does a lot of stuff but sounds thin.

It's ok.

[MichiganJ]

CCF:
You can't go wrong with any Fairbanks, my favorites being both Zorro's and The Three Musketeers and its sequel, The Iron Mask. The Gaucho is great, too, and provides Fairbanks with a slightly more unusual character (there's a cameo by Mary Pickford, too!). While I also love Bagdad, I do think it is flawed. Too long, and while some of the special effects are spectacular, some fall a little flat (but then again it does have Anna May Wong!)
Here's a link to my Fairbanks page if you care to read my silly musings....
http://digitalsilents.com/Douglas%20Fai ... banks.html


More silent Russian fare this weekend started with some stop-motion animation films of Wladyslaw Staewicz. Opening with the delightful Dragonfly and the Ant, a fable about a hard working ant, and a fiddle-playing dragonfly, basically the Three Little Pigs with bugs. The third film in the volume also featured animated insects, but Lily of Belgium is far more accomplished and fascinating. An allegory of the German invasion of Belgium, this time the grasshoppers and other insects fight the motorcycle ridding, helmet wearing beetles (insert "Ringo" joke here___) who aren't afraid to shoot their weaponry. The animation is amazing (if not a bit odd, what was it about insects, anyway?)

The central film in this volume is the live-action Christmas Eve. Odd doesn't begin to describe this film, but it is in no way traditional holiday fare. Featuring witches and starring the devil, Christmas Eve is filled with interesting special effects, but the wacky "plot" is, at times, difficult to follow (not many titles, again). Still, highly rewarding, and often quite funny.

Volume four features two spectacular Provincial films. The Wedding Day is just that, a celebration of a Jewish wedding, and featuring a boy who continues to mug directly to the camera. He and the entire film feels completely authentic.

By far the best film so far, and, at least for the moment one of my favorite silent film shorts, ever, Merchant Bashkirov's Daughter is simply brilliant. A daughter is in love, but her father has her promised to another man in an arranged marriage. There is a surprising accidental death, which sets off a nearly "noir-like" set of events that are horrific, but stem from the basis of reality. The naturalistic acting is absolutely fabulous, particularly given the plot (which sounds melodramatic, but is presented in such stark, realistic terms, it really isn't. There is absolutely no moralizing in the film, which is refreshing.). Surprises abound, as the story unfolds, and it all lead to a horrific (if abrupt) conclusion. (Apparently two reels are missing, but, except for the abrupt ending, the story feel complete.)

Wonderful film.

[melwalton]

We watched one about mountain climbing with Rudolph Valentino and Goria Swanson
I was interested ( curious? ? ) but I fell asleep .... mel

[Garbomaniac]

Oh, what a shame, mel! It was one of the rarest of the rare. I have wanted to see it for more than 25 years. It was considered lost. One copy turned up in the Netherlands, and it was restored as best it could be. The only time Gloria Swanson and Rudoph Valentino worked together was in this film: Beyond the Rocks. It was really a silly little film, but what a treat. I just happened to stumble on it right at the beginning. I almost jumped for joy.

I have to say Valentino was SOMETHING! And, I have to say Gilbert didn't hold a candle to him. It was probably a good thing Rudy died; it gave Gilbert the break he needed. When I think of Garbo and Valentino, HOLY SMOKES! Anyway, it was good, but I thought Gloria looked a little old. I think she was supposed to be a teenager, like 19 or something, but she looked 25/30 to me.

[MichiganJ]

Dr. Stephen Weissman, the author of the latest Charlie Chaplin biography, Chaplin: A Life, was interviewed for an hour on Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show yesterday. Here's a Real Audio/ Windows Media link to hear the interview.
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/01/12.php#24475

It's also available as a free download on iTunes at:
WAMU: The Diane Rehm Show Podcast

[MikeBSG]

I watched the Harold Lloyd comedy "Why Worry?" last night with my son and daughter. We had a great time. What surprised me was that most of the gags seemed to be generated by the giant instead of Lloyd. That was a very generous gesture.