WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

drednm · Post by **drednm** » February 18th, 2009, 9:41 am

RED DUST is terrific. If I remember correctly, Jean Harlow reported for work on this film immediately after the death of her husband, Paul Bern (sp?) and that the first scene she filmed was the famous rain barrel scene. Amazing that Harlow could perform so well under such pressure.

My other favorite scene in RED DUST is when Gable and Astor get caught in the torrential downpour. Sexy stuff......

charliechaplinfan · February 18th, 2009, 2:54 pm

I'm glad you enjoyed Red Dust Fernando. It's my favorite of Jean's films and Clark's too come to think of it. That scene in the water barrel is so memorable and she had just lost Paul Bern. I also heard that she was naked in the barrel and at the end of the take she stood up to give the technician's a smile.

Birdy · Post by **Birdy** » February 18th, 2009, 7:32 pm

I like the reference to RedDust in Bombshell, the Harlowe movie where she is parodying herself. Her character gets a notice about a change in studio plans for the day and says something like, "If I have to get back in that rain barrell again!"
B

Synnove · Post by **Synnove** » February 19th, 2009, 5:29 pm

Christine, Lilyan Tashman certainly was a fascinating actress. In Bulldog Drummond she manages to be both wonderfully evil and a little bit sympathetic. She was a very interesting villainess, much more dynamic than the good girl.

I saw the charming, eerily nostalgic The Insects' Christmas, about a little Santa Claus in a cossack hat who invites all the frogs and insects to a party. It's short, and seems to end a bit abruptly, but I really enjoyed this little look into Christmas celebrations in Russia in 1913.

Then I saw The Voice of the Nightingale from 1923. This film was made when Władysław Starewicz had taken his whole family into exile in France after the Russian revolution. It stars his daughter as the little girl who captures a nightingale, and the nightingale tries to convince her to let him loose by telling her about his family. The story is a very Victorian fairytale, and perhaps not my taste. I know that if I would have been the same age as the little girl I would have adored it though. All of these films are recommended to children. On the other hand, The Voice of the Nightingale is the most beautifully animated film so far. The movements of the puppets, particularly the birds, are very smooth indeed. It's no trouble to suspend disbelief and pretend that the animated bird is actually interacting with the living girl. The film is also hand colored. The animated scenes are particularly nicely done, and enhance the old-fashioned fairytale feel.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » February 19th, 2009, 6:46 pm

Lilyan Tashman is pretty much forgotten now and it's a shame. She's a dynamo in GIRLS ABOUT TOWN, a hilarious pre-Coder about two paty girls (Kay Francis is the other) who try to fleece a couple of boobs (Joel McCrea and Eugene Pallette). The film is filled with great snappy retorts, lingerie, and boasts terrific performances by sensible Kay and wise-acre Lilyan.

Synnove · Post by **Synnove** » February 20th, 2009, 7:44 am

That one does sound like a winner, Drednm! From the little I have seen she seemed to be an actress who benefited from the style of the precodes. But of course, that's a meaningless thing to say since we've got nothing later to judge her by...

charliechaplinfan · February 20th, 2009, 1:55 pm

I watched The Threepenny Opera the film of Bertold Brecht's and Kurt Weill's opera. During the making of the film the creators fell out with director GW Pabst because he watered down the anticapitalist sentiment of the original work. What remains still makes for a fascinating film. The female leads Carola Neher and Lotte Lenya stealing the show from the Rudolf Forster as Mackie. Some songs were left out to make the film a manageable length but the songs especially when sung by the two actresses are the highlight, I wish they'd included all of them.

Carola Neher left Germany when the Nazi's came to power and went to the USSR she perished in a prison camp there in the 1940's.

Synnove · Post by **Synnove** » February 20th, 2009, 2:48 pm

I love that film. It is haunting to watch Carola Neher when you know what happened to her. I think her husband was also murdered. You can't really find much information about her on the web that isn't in German.

charliechaplinfan · February 20th, 2009, 2:59 pm

I can see it is a film that will improve on further acquaintance. I wish there could have been more of Lotte Lenya.

Ann Harding · Post by **Ann Harding** » February 22nd, 2009, 8:43 am

Recently I saw two French silents at the Cinémathèque.

Princesse Masha (1927) by René Leprince was a huge blockbuster at the time lavishly produced with giant sets reproducing St Petersburg and its palaces. I saw a gorgeous new 35 mm print made from the camera negative. It was so sharp and contrasted, incredible!

But, alas, the script and acting were not equal to the beautiful cinematography.
It followed the destiny of Masha, abandones shortly after birth near the Neva, around 1890. The baby is rescued by a 'revolutionary' professor who raises her as his daughter. When she reaches 20, she goes to Paris to escape the unwanted attention of the nasty and vicious Colonel Bourgassoff....
The lead actress (Claudia Victrix) was apparently an opera singer. She displayed a very narrow range of acting for a part that required a wide one. On top, she isn't very atractive...

The script jumps from St Petersburg to Paris without ever allowing any character evolution. Towards the end of the film, there was a very limp attempt at copying the sleigh chase from The Saga of Gösta Berling. Totally ineffective...

But, I have no regret: I now realise the extreme quality of silent cinematography. It should look as sharp as if it was filmed yesterday. Unfortunately, few films have been preserved in that condition!

Maldone (1927) by Jean Grémillon with Annabella & Charles Dullin.
Unlike the previous feature, this film boats a great cast. Grémillon is a brilliant film maker but this film suffered some huge cuts. The producer didn't like its length and it was cut down mercilessly. We follow the adventurer Olivier Maldone (C. Dullin) who works along canals pulling barges with his horses. One day, he inherits the family's fortune and goes back to live with his family. He marries one landowner's daughter Flora (Annabella) but he is obsessed with a gipsy girl he saw...
Grémillon indulges in a lot of subjective camera shots in this film. Probably too much. As if he was obsessed with 'shape' rather than content. It's hard to judge the film's script as the film is now truncated. Dullin is his usual excellent self; Annabella had very little to do as his frutrasted wife. I still feel Grémillon was looking for his own style which he found later on in the 30s when he made some masterpieces (L'Etrange Monsieur Victor, Remorques). Still interesting to watch.

myrnaloyisdope · Post by **myrnaloyisdope** » February 22nd, 2009, 3:34 pm

I've been reading a good biography of Ernst Lubitsch and I am learning alot about the silent German film industry, as well as some of the turnover from the silent to the the talkie era in Hollywood.

Anyway I've had a copy of Josef von Sternberg's The Last Command for a couple months, but reading in this biography about how Lubitsch came up with the idea after meeting a former Russian soldier now working as an extra, and then reading a synopsis, I knew I had to watch it. I mean I like Jannings and von Sternberg quite a bit, but this film wasn't high on my list.

Thie idea is pretty brilliant, I mean a former Russian general during the Russian revolution now working as an extra in Hollywood is given the part of a general during the Russian revolution. Jannings is in fine form, giving one of his more restrained performances. I really felt his devastation as he was betrayed by both his country and his girl. I also dug Evelyn Brent as the female lead, a great mix of sexiness, compassion, and heelishness. I've yet to see Underworld, which is supposedly her best film, but I'm excited to see more of her. It was also cool to see William Powell in a silent film, as I'd never seen him in a silent before. Dashing as always, even if he is somewhat of the villain.

As for von Sternberg, well his direction is astute and distinctive as always. Busy mise-en-scene, and lots of action in the foreground. The closing shot is astonishingly good, among the best things I've ever seen.

What a great film.

drednm · Post by **drednm** » February 22nd, 2009, 6:47 pm

When I saw this film I cried through the entire finale..... Jannings is brilliant.

myrnaloyisdope · Post by **myrnaloyisdope** » February 22nd, 2009, 9:56 pm

The minute Brent's character turns on him, I was tearing up, and that lasted throughout the rest of the film.

charliechaplinfan · February 23rd, 2009, 2:06 pm

For me too it's Jannings best performance and I cried too at the finale.

bdp · Post by **bdp** » February 23rd, 2009, 2:53 pm

William Powell has a supporting role in Beau Geste (1926), which is in circulation - I have a Japanese laserdisc of it, and in fact I was watching it today, having just burned a new DVD-R of it.

The Silver Screen Oasis

The Silver Screen Oasis

WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?