WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
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feaito
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Thanks to Christine I finally got to watch Harry D'Abbadie D'Arrast's "Laughter" (1930) a comedy-drama with screwballish touches, a clever script and an adult tackling of the story. An ex-Follies girl (Nancy Carroll) marries a millionaire (Frank Morgan-superb) on the rebound, because her true love (an artist deftly impersonated by Fredric March) went to Paris...the guy's back and wants to resume his relationship with Nancy, now a "respectable" 5th Avenue Mrs. March's and Carroll's antics are reminiscent of screwball comedies from the mid '30s, so it's correct to say that this early talkie was ahead of his time and that D'Arrast was a fine director (see "Topaze" (1933) with Myrna Loy & John Barrymore to confirm his talent). Doomed Diane Ellis, who died in the same year of the film's release plays Morgan's spoiled daughter and Glenn Anders a sensitive artist in love with Carroll. This film ought to be released by Universal as it deserves, because I know there is a fine print around.The dialogue, performances and situations are quite adult and well played; it isn't for nothing that Donald Ogden Stewart was on of the writers. Among Carroll's best films along with "Hot Saturday" (1932) and "Broken Lullaby" (1932) and reportedly one of March's favorites too. It's a pity that they were only teamed together again in the infamous "The Night Angel" (1931), a film that has horrible reviews, but which I got to see anyway. Some have said that Carroll's "Scarlet Dawn" (1932) is worse than the aforementioned film and I found SD all right!
Last edited by feaito on August 19th, 2010, 11:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ann Harding
- Posts: 1246
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Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Glad, you enjoyed it, Fernando! 
It's a favourite of mine among early talkies. Scarlet Dawn is indeed a fine feature, a trifle short but well directed.
It's a favourite of mine among early talkies. Scarlet Dawn is indeed a fine feature, a trifle short but well directed.
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I have Laughter and will put it on my short list. It sounds good.
I watched Underworld (1927) and thought it was terrific. A tough as nails crime story about redemption and the basic good in all of us. The three stars gave great performances. George Bancroft plays Bull Weed, a brutish gangster who robs and kills at the drop of a hat and who can bend coins in his bare hands. His girl is Feathers (Evelyn Brent) who thinks of nothing but herself and having a swell time. Into their little world comes an old drunk named Rolls Royce (Clive Brook) who is given another chance by Bull and becomes the "brains" because he is grateful. After a rival (Fred Kohler) attacks Feathers at a party, Bull gets rid of him and is convicted or murder. While Feathers and Rolls Royce plan to spring Bull from prison before he is to be hanged, Bull goes berserk and escapes when he's told that Rolls Royce and Feathers are having an affair. What follows is a brilliantly staged sequence of bullets and devotion.
This film won the first Oscar (Ben Hecht) for writing. It's a great story. Evelyn Brent looks great and her costumes are quite eye-catching. Clive Brook, almost unrecognizable in the opening, is terrific, and George Bancroft exudes power and energy in a great performance. Helen Lynch and Larry Semons co-star. This film is being newly released by Criterion with two other films directed by Josef von Sternberg. Not to be missed.
I watched Underworld (1927) and thought it was terrific. A tough as nails crime story about redemption and the basic good in all of us. The three stars gave great performances. George Bancroft plays Bull Weed, a brutish gangster who robs and kills at the drop of a hat and who can bend coins in his bare hands. His girl is Feathers (Evelyn Brent) who thinks of nothing but herself and having a swell time. Into their little world comes an old drunk named Rolls Royce (Clive Brook) who is given another chance by Bull and becomes the "brains" because he is grateful. After a rival (Fred Kohler) attacks Feathers at a party, Bull gets rid of him and is convicted or murder. While Feathers and Rolls Royce plan to spring Bull from prison before he is to be hanged, Bull goes berserk and escapes when he's told that Rolls Royce and Feathers are having an affair. What follows is a brilliantly staged sequence of bullets and devotion.
This film won the first Oscar (Ben Hecht) for writing. It's a great story. Evelyn Brent looks great and her costumes are quite eye-catching. Clive Brook, almost unrecognizable in the opening, is terrific, and George Bancroft exudes power and energy in a great performance. Helen Lynch and Larry Semons co-star. This film is being newly released by Criterion with two other films directed by Josef von Sternberg. Not to be missed.
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Been reading a biography on Ramón Novarro and watched a number of his silents:
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)--Very enjoyable film starring Lewis Stone in the dual role as the King and the King's lookalike. Novarro looks like he's having a lot of fun playing bad guy Rupert and there's plenty of action to keep the film moving along. Director Rex Ingram takes full advantage of the sets and locations and while Zenda is nowhere near as good as his Four Horsemen, it's much better than his Scaramouche.
Scaramouche (1923)--Beautiful sets and costumes and plenty of extras help make this a visual feast. Alas, with the exception of the finale, Scaramouche is pretty much a snooze. Like the vastly superior remake, there are plenty of sword fights and duals, but in Ingram's silent, we don't see them, we read about them in intertitles. And when the big showdown finally does arrive, Ingram locks his camera in place so we just get a single long shot of Novarro and Lewis Stone offering a couple of tepid lunges and parries (and maybe a riposte, but I'm not sure), but that's it. The finale with the French Revolution erupting all over is pretty exciting, but here again, Ingram pauses the action--not once but twice!-- to reveal parentage. Any momentum built is instantly lost. Novarro himself is quite good and I wish he were used to better advantage. Co-star Alice Terry, however, is not helped by the period costumes and especially her wig, which not only ages her but is piled so high that her center of gravity appears such that if she were to sneeze she'd fall over.
The Red Lily (1924)--Pretty bleak fare, but not unrelentingly so. Two lovers are separated in Paris and it takes years and scraping the literal bottom for them to be reunited again. Novarro is okay, but often unconvincing as a struggling apprentice to the Parisian underground. He's also shockingly brave in the sequence when he finally finds his fiancée and learns what she's become (no fair guessing). His rage is pretty extraordinary and rather unexpected from the usually affable Novarro. (Wallace Berry, by the way, steals the film.)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)--Justly revered for its two spectacular action sequences, Ben-Hur is still a pretty flawed film. Melodramatic (to say the least), the film has trouble in setting and maintaining a tone. The two set-pieces are truly amazing, though, particularly, of course, the chariot race. But after the race and with the villain vanquished, the film has another third to go, and Hur's arbitrary conversion to the teachings of Christ (which happens in a title card), seems to belong to another movie. That said, Novarro is undeniably great as not-so-gentle Ben, and the silent film is eons better than the sound remake (and somewhat shorter, too!)
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)--Probably one of my all-time favorite silent films (I have a lot of 'em), this is an absolute delight from start to finish. Novarro and Shearer (who looks gorgeous) have terrific chemistry and, Jean Hersholt pretty much steals the show.
Across To Singapore (1928)--A period film with a very successful and humorous first section, which becomes laughably silly when the film's plot actually kicks in. Two of the three leads are mis-cast, I'll leave which two up to you but remember that Novarro and Ernest Torrence are supposed to be brothers (!) who are both sailors (!!) and none other than Joan Crawford is the love interest for the both of 'em (!!!). And that's just the casting; wait 'til you see the shipboard antics which include an unprovoked mutiny, not to mention Crawford's being the only--and decidedly unmolested--woman on board. Would that the film stayed ashore and been a character study as was presented in the opening sequences.
The Flying Fleet (1929)--The hackneyed plot is obviously an excuse to showcase some impressive aerial stunts but it's still a very enjoyable film (and the stunts are spectacular.) Novarro and Ralph Graves are best friends who are new Navy pilots and who have their eye on the same girl, Anita Page. You can grab your pencil and rundown the checklist of clichés, they're all here; but so what? Novarro, as usual, is quite comfortable in front of the camera and that ease helps Page enormously, and the two are terrific together.
The Pagan (1929)--Bare-chested and sarong wearing, Novarro gives one of his best, and certainly his most relaxed performance as the half-caste carefree French Polynesian native, who enjoys idling his time in the sun being serenaded by his uke-playing friend, Madge (Renée Adorée). He's soon drawn by the song of a beautiful siren, who is the ward of a jealous older man, and a plot is born. Novarro is quick with that winning smile and he and his girl (Dorothy Janis) are so at ease with each other that there's no acting involved. Poor gum-chewing Adorée (a habit which, rumor has it, she learned from John Gilbert) plays a prostitute with a heart of gold, who is oddly over-dressed, especially considering the tropical island local.
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)--Very enjoyable film starring Lewis Stone in the dual role as the King and the King's lookalike. Novarro looks like he's having a lot of fun playing bad guy Rupert and there's plenty of action to keep the film moving along. Director Rex Ingram takes full advantage of the sets and locations and while Zenda is nowhere near as good as his Four Horsemen, it's much better than his Scaramouche.
Scaramouche (1923)--Beautiful sets and costumes and plenty of extras help make this a visual feast. Alas, with the exception of the finale, Scaramouche is pretty much a snooze. Like the vastly superior remake, there are plenty of sword fights and duals, but in Ingram's silent, we don't see them, we read about them in intertitles. And when the big showdown finally does arrive, Ingram locks his camera in place so we just get a single long shot of Novarro and Lewis Stone offering a couple of tepid lunges and parries (and maybe a riposte, but I'm not sure), but that's it. The finale with the French Revolution erupting all over is pretty exciting, but here again, Ingram pauses the action--not once but twice!-- to reveal parentage. Any momentum built is instantly lost. Novarro himself is quite good and I wish he were used to better advantage. Co-star Alice Terry, however, is not helped by the period costumes and especially her wig, which not only ages her but is piled so high that her center of gravity appears such that if she were to sneeze she'd fall over.
The Red Lily (1924)--Pretty bleak fare, but not unrelentingly so. Two lovers are separated in Paris and it takes years and scraping the literal bottom for them to be reunited again. Novarro is okay, but often unconvincing as a struggling apprentice to the Parisian underground. He's also shockingly brave in the sequence when he finally finds his fiancée and learns what she's become (no fair guessing). His rage is pretty extraordinary and rather unexpected from the usually affable Novarro. (Wallace Berry, by the way, steals the film.)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)--Justly revered for its two spectacular action sequences, Ben-Hur is still a pretty flawed film. Melodramatic (to say the least), the film has trouble in setting and maintaining a tone. The two set-pieces are truly amazing, though, particularly, of course, the chariot race. But after the race and with the villain vanquished, the film has another third to go, and Hur's arbitrary conversion to the teachings of Christ (which happens in a title card), seems to belong to another movie. That said, Novarro is undeniably great as not-so-gentle Ben, and the silent film is eons better than the sound remake (and somewhat shorter, too!)
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927)--Probably one of my all-time favorite silent films (I have a lot of 'em), this is an absolute delight from start to finish. Novarro and Shearer (who looks gorgeous) have terrific chemistry and, Jean Hersholt pretty much steals the show.
Across To Singapore (1928)--A period film with a very successful and humorous first section, which becomes laughably silly when the film's plot actually kicks in. Two of the three leads are mis-cast, I'll leave which two up to you but remember that Novarro and Ernest Torrence are supposed to be brothers (!) who are both sailors (!!) and none other than Joan Crawford is the love interest for the both of 'em (!!!). And that's just the casting; wait 'til you see the shipboard antics which include an unprovoked mutiny, not to mention Crawford's being the only--and decidedly unmolested--woman on board. Would that the film stayed ashore and been a character study as was presented in the opening sequences.
The Flying Fleet (1929)--The hackneyed plot is obviously an excuse to showcase some impressive aerial stunts but it's still a very enjoyable film (and the stunts are spectacular.) Novarro and Ralph Graves are best friends who are new Navy pilots and who have their eye on the same girl, Anita Page. You can grab your pencil and rundown the checklist of clichés, they're all here; but so what? Novarro, as usual, is quite comfortable in front of the camera and that ease helps Page enormously, and the two are terrific together.
The Pagan (1929)--Bare-chested and sarong wearing, Novarro gives one of his best, and certainly his most relaxed performance as the half-caste carefree French Polynesian native, who enjoys idling his time in the sun being serenaded by his uke-playing friend, Madge (Renée Adorée). He's soon drawn by the song of a beautiful siren, who is the ward of a jealous older man, and a plot is born. Novarro is quick with that winning smile and he and his girl (Dorothy Janis) are so at ease with each other that there's no acting involved. Poor gum-chewing Adorée (a habit which, rumor has it, she learned from John Gilbert) plays a prostitute with a heart of gold, who is oddly over-dressed, especially considering the tropical island local.
"Let's be independent together." Dr. Hermey DDS
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
The Student Prince in Old Heidelburg is one of the loveliest silents I've ever seen -- a high point for Novarro and Shearer, and of course director Ernst Lubitsch. It deserves a major presentation on DVD... which it will never get. Maybe it will finally show up as an Archive title. Fortunately I bought it on laser disc.
I've seen The Student Prince on stage a few times and my happiest time with it was seeing it performed in the courtyard of Heidelburg Castle. It started early on a perfect summer evening and ended with the stars twinkling above. Of course it was staged purely for the benefit of sentimental Americans such as myself but I have to say, sometimes sentimentality feels SOOOO good. Plus, it really is a wonderful musical... touching story and that glorious score! Thank you Mr. Sigmund Romberg and Miss Dorothy Donnnelly (and Wilhelm Meyer-Forster, author of the original play).
I've seen The Student Prince on stage a few times and my happiest time with it was seeing it performed in the courtyard of Heidelburg Castle. It started early on a perfect summer evening and ended with the stars twinkling above. Of course it was staged purely for the benefit of sentimental Americans such as myself but I have to say, sometimes sentimentality feels SOOOO good. Plus, it really is a wonderful musical... touching story and that glorious score! Thank you Mr. Sigmund Romberg and Miss Dorothy Donnnelly (and Wilhelm Meyer-Forster, author of the original play).
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JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I agree with pretty much all of your reviews of the Novarro films. Even with the flaws, I think Ben Hur 1925 is still the best biblical film ever made.
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charliechaplinfan
- Posts: 9040
- Joined: January 15th, 2008, 9:49 am
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I love the silent Ben Hur, I can't ever imagine watching the talkie.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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feaito
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Both films have their merits, after all, the 1959 version was directed by Willy Wyler, who also directed "Dodsworth" and "The Best Years of Your Lives", among other masterpieces.
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JackFavell
- Posts: 11926
- Joined: April 20th, 2009, 9:56 am
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
William Wyler also worked on the 1925 version as you all probably already know.
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feaito
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feaito
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I finally watched the 1925 version of "The Merry Widow" -thanks Christine- personally directed by Erich Von Stroheim. The plot is very different to the later musical versions -1934 & 1952-, it is obviously more closely related -in terms of atmosphere and plot- to "The Wedding March" (1928) than to the aforementioned talking versions.
The film is sumptuous, decadent, with some extremely perverse and twisted characters, most notably Crown Prince Mirko. He seems perfectly right as the -one-dimentional- villain of the film and I have to admit that after seeing him in "Bardelys the Magnificent" (1926) and this superb film, his way of playing leering, mocking villains is not my cup of tea, however it might not be inappropiate for the character he tackles in this landmark film. Mae Murray is very good as the "young", good natured and vivacious Sally O'Hara, notwisthstanding that she was already 35 or 36 years old when she played the role. But the actor who makes this film a delight is undoubtedly Mister John Gilbert, whose debonair, nonchalant, yet vulnerable and touching impersonation of Prince Danilo is superb. Excellent.
The film is sumptuous, decadent, with some extremely perverse and twisted characters, most notably Crown Prince Mirko. He seems perfectly right as the -one-dimentional- villain of the film and I have to admit that after seeing him in "Bardelys the Magnificent" (1926) and this superb film, his way of playing leering, mocking villains is not my cup of tea, however it might not be inappropiate for the character he tackles in this landmark film. Mae Murray is very good as the "young", good natured and vivacious Sally O'Hara, notwisthstanding that she was already 35 or 36 years old when she played the role. But the actor who makes this film a delight is undoubtedly Mister John Gilbert, whose debonair, nonchalant, yet vulnerable and touching impersonation of Prince Danilo is superb. Excellent.
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feaito
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Since I'm reading Thalberg's Bio and there is extensive background on the making of "Red Headed Woman" (1932), I decided to revisit the film with my wife and we watched it in the projection room and boy we had a lot of fun! My wife was amazed at Harlow's character's shamelessly audacity and I made up my mind that Lil is even a decidedly bolder and wilder character than Lily Powers (of "Baby Face" (1933)). In the latter, you get to know Lily's background, how her father pimped her -the motive behind he way of being- and she was redeemed by love. There's no redemption about Lil and no explanation for her mercenary, greedy ways. She's just a brazen gold-digger. She could well be the female counterpart -as I've stated before- of the bold chauffeur impersonated by John Gilbert in his rawest Pre-Code: "Downstairs" (1932).
In Thalberg's Bio Vieira tells that the sneak preview of the film did not go well, because audiences tended to sympathize with Chester Morris' wife (Leila Hyams), so they added the opening scenes in which they show Lil dying her hair red, trying a see-through dress, thus establishing the nature of Harlow's character, and then audiences laughed at Lil's shenanigans. Anyhow, she's brutal in her pursue of comfort and money; completely ruthless. My wife doesn't find Jean Harlow beautiful, in fact she found Leila Hyams a knockout beauty. And I agree with her in that Leila Hyams was on of the most beautiful actresses of the period: beautiful blue eyes, flawless features, a long neck, beautiful collar-bones, elegant, chic, sexy.... but she lacked Harlow's raw sex-appeal and in-your-face attitude. People nowadays might not perceive all the fuss about Harlow, but in those days a body like Jean's: fuller in the hips and legs, not wearing a bra or undies, with those tight satin dresses clinging to her body...Wow! She set the screen on flames. In my opinion, Harlow got more beautiful when MGM (due to Censorship issues) softened her image and in films like "Wife Vs. Secretary" (1936) she looks much prettier. Men (Chester Morris, Henry Stephenson) are showcased as complete fools in this picture; easily manipulated and had. To see Charles Boyer's (playing a chauffeur) as Harlow's love (& sex) interest is an added bonus to the all-around quality of this Pre-Code. One of the wildest Pre-Codes!
In Thalberg's Bio Vieira tells that the sneak preview of the film did not go well, because audiences tended to sympathize with Chester Morris' wife (Leila Hyams), so they added the opening scenes in which they show Lil dying her hair red, trying a see-through dress, thus establishing the nature of Harlow's character, and then audiences laughed at Lil's shenanigans. Anyhow, she's brutal in her pursue of comfort and money; completely ruthless. My wife doesn't find Jean Harlow beautiful, in fact she found Leila Hyams a knockout beauty. And I agree with her in that Leila Hyams was on of the most beautiful actresses of the period: beautiful blue eyes, flawless features, a long neck, beautiful collar-bones, elegant, chic, sexy.... but she lacked Harlow's raw sex-appeal and in-your-face attitude. People nowadays might not perceive all the fuss about Harlow, but in those days a body like Jean's: fuller in the hips and legs, not wearing a bra or undies, with those tight satin dresses clinging to her body...Wow! She set the screen on flames. In my opinion, Harlow got more beautiful when MGM (due to Censorship issues) softened her image and in films like "Wife Vs. Secretary" (1936) she looks much prettier. Men (Chester Morris, Henry Stephenson) are showcased as complete fools in this picture; easily manipulated and had. To see Charles Boyer's (playing a chauffeur) as Harlow's love (& sex) interest is an added bonus to the all-around quality of this Pre-Code. One of the wildest Pre-Codes!
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Fernando,
Sorry I have been away for so long. Where did you land a copy of A KISS FOR CINDERELLA? I agree this is a wonderful picture. Have you seen Betty Bronson in ARE PARENTS PEOPLE? with Adolphe Mejou and Florence Vidor. Oh, I love that movie!
Here is a taste of THE MERRY WIDOW (1925) with a Orchestral score by Robert Israel recorded in 2004, not the John Muri Theater Organ score from the 80's or early 90's that TCM airs.
A glimpse of the film with the Orchestral Score:
http://fan.tcm.com/_John-Gilbert-and-Ma ... 66470.html
http://fan.tcm.com/_Mae-Murray-and-John ... 70.html?b=
And here is a link to a a clip with the Maud Nelissen arrangement.
http://maudnelissen.com/Merry.html
Over the weekend just prior to Tuesday's Summer Under The Stars tribute to Jack, I have started work on this slide-show tribute. Still very much a work in progress, it goes by pretty fast. The whole thing is under 2 and a half minutes! I have allot more photos of Gilbert I could have used, but I struggled to find them. Try as I may my attempts to adjust the duration so these stills won't appear so briefly has repeatedly failed. I make the changes, but they do not hold in place. I need to add several more pictures from THE MERRY WIDOW. Does anyone have some that they might share? Also need to include a number of additional movie posters.
The opening music is by William Axt and David Mendoza, Followed by for about 5 seconds THE MERRY WIDOW. Next, the Main-Title of THE BIG PARADE by Carl Davis. Blends into IN ST MALO from the Mont Alto Orchestra score to BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT, which is a vintage Photoplay movie music Melody. Back to Carl and Cue- the Romance theme from FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Fades to the Love theme for THE COSSACKS, by Juan Carlos Cobian and closes with the same music as I opened with.
Here is the link on TCM-CFU.
http://fan.tcm.com/_John-Gilbert-Slide- ... 66470.html
Several of the talkies are rarely ever shown. Especially, THE PHANTOM OF PARIS and DOWNSTAIRS. Also WAY FOR A SAILOR and THE CAPTAIN HATES THE SEA. Heck A GENTLEMAN'S FATE too. Has REDEMPTION ever been on TCM? My copy goes back to the late 80's off TNT and even has commercials. I could have done with a better recording.
What would have made this even greater event is if we had finally gotten the new restoration of THE BIG PARADE which has been sitting around for six years, but hasn't been on TCM. Perhaps the new Orchestral score to Von Stroheim's THE MERRY WIDOW (1925), that we won't be hearing Also if they could have premiered THE COSSACKS (1928), one of my favorite Silents with Renee Adoree and Nils Asther. Or maybe TWELVE MILES OUT (1927) with Joan Crawford, and Betty Compson. Or even King Vidor's HIS HOUR (1924) which is in-fact thee film that made Gilbert a Mega-Star. Any of those would have made for a terrific and highly unexpected TCM debut. it is still a great day of programming nevertheless. Fabulous to be seeing Jack honored at last.
Sorry I have been away for so long. Where did you land a copy of A KISS FOR CINDERELLA? I agree this is a wonderful picture. Have you seen Betty Bronson in ARE PARENTS PEOPLE? with Adolphe Mejou and Florence Vidor. Oh, I love that movie! Here is a taste of THE MERRY WIDOW (1925) with a Orchestral score by Robert Israel recorded in 2004, not the John Muri Theater Organ score from the 80's or early 90's that TCM airs.
A glimpse of the film with the Orchestral Score:
http://fan.tcm.com/_John-Gilbert-and-Ma ... 66470.html
http://fan.tcm.com/_Mae-Murray-and-John ... 70.html?b=
And here is a link to a a clip with the Maud Nelissen arrangement.
http://maudnelissen.com/Merry.html
Over the weekend just prior to Tuesday's Summer Under The Stars tribute to Jack, I have started work on this slide-show tribute. Still very much a work in progress, it goes by pretty fast. The whole thing is under 2 and a half minutes! I have allot more photos of Gilbert I could have used, but I struggled to find them. Try as I may my attempts to adjust the duration so these stills won't appear so briefly has repeatedly failed. I make the changes, but they do not hold in place. I need to add several more pictures from THE MERRY WIDOW. Does anyone have some that they might share? Also need to include a number of additional movie posters.
The opening music is by William Axt and David Mendoza, Followed by for about 5 seconds THE MERRY WIDOW. Next, the Main-Title of THE BIG PARADE by Carl Davis. Blends into IN ST MALO from the Mont Alto Orchestra score to BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT, which is a vintage Photoplay movie music Melody. Back to Carl and Cue- the Romance theme from FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Fades to the Love theme for THE COSSACKS, by Juan Carlos Cobian and closes with the same music as I opened with.
Here is the link on TCM-CFU.
http://fan.tcm.com/_John-Gilbert-Slide- ... 66470.html
Several of the talkies are rarely ever shown. Especially, THE PHANTOM OF PARIS and DOWNSTAIRS. Also WAY FOR A SAILOR and THE CAPTAIN HATES THE SEA. Heck A GENTLEMAN'S FATE too. Has REDEMPTION ever been on TCM? My copy goes back to the late 80's off TNT and even has commercials. I could have done with a better recording.
What would have made this even greater event is if we had finally gotten the new restoration of THE BIG PARADE which has been sitting around for six years, but hasn't been on TCM. Perhaps the new Orchestral score to Von Stroheim's THE MERRY WIDOW (1925), that we won't be hearing Also if they could have premiered THE COSSACKS (1928), one of my favorite Silents with Renee Adoree and Nils Asther. Or maybe TWELVE MILES OUT (1927) with Joan Crawford, and Betty Compson. Or even King Vidor's HIS HOUR (1924) which is in-fact thee film that made Gilbert a Mega-Star. Any of those would have made for a terrific and highly unexpected TCM debut. it is still a great day of programming nevertheless. Fabulous to be seeing Jack honored at last.
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I watched The Safety Curtain (1918) with Norma Talmadge as Puck, a "dainty dancer" married to a brutish strong man (Anders Randolph) who starts a fire in a theater during which the safety curtain drops, containing the fire. Talmadge is rescued by a visiting military man (Eugene O'Brien) who falls in love with her and takes her away to India. Of course she thinks the husband in dead after reading an article in the newspaper. She lives a happy live in India until a gossipy guy she new in the states (Gladden James) recognizes her at a social function. And who should show up next?
Talmadge and O'Brien are quite good in this neat little film which has a surprisingly strong plot for a 60-minute film. The intertitles are very talkie and the script is sometimes hard to read.
Talmadge and O'Brien are quite good in this neat little film which has a surprisingly strong plot for a 60-minute film. The intertitles are very talkie and the script is sometimes hard to read.
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feaito
Re: WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Hello Jeffrey,
I Haven't seen "Are Parents People?". Thanks for your links and recommendations.
I Haven't seen "Are Parents People?". Thanks for your links and recommendations.