The Silver Screen Oasis

Montgomery's early career (late 20's early thirties) doesn't really give any indication of what a good actor he became by about 1934 or 35. Had you only seen RM in early pre-codes, Alison? He's quite marvelous as he hits his stride.

I'm a bit patchy when it comes to RM, I've seen his films with Norma Shearer and I've seen him as Phillip Marlowe and I've yet to see him in Here Comes Mr Jordan. I wouldn't chose a film because he was in it but I wouldn't avoid it either, I'm ambivalent towards him.

I just love him, but I imagine he might be problematic for you because the studio did not really know what to do with him, and so he ends up playing British types with no British accent, or thugs.

If I were to recommend some of his movies they would be:

Hide-Out
Night Must Fall
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
They Were Expendable

I am sure there are more that I like but it's a start.

Alison, u must see him w/Roz Russell. He & Dame May Whitty are unbelievable. On 2nd thought, it might send u running from Bobby M. But he was great in the film...

Maybe perhaps Charlotte Greenwood was a bit out of place as the maid in this film (too American?)....Reginald Owen played the brother in both versions

If I were to recommend some of his movies they would be:

Put me down for RIDE THE PINK HORSE (1947) with Montgomery starring and directing.

I can rent They Were Expendable and Here Comes Mr Jordan. You're right, it's possibly because the studio didn't know what to do with him and it's an era of forceful leading men Gable, Flynn, Cagney etc. and when have I ever gone for the man who plays a Brit. You all know I like my men accented or Americans playing American. Even my favourite Briitsh actor, cary Grant doesn't often play British.

I think because my first RM movie was Here Comes Mr. Jordan, I was pre-disposed to like him. It really got to me when I was a teen and first saw it.

I came relatively late to him via Norma Shearer, I feel about him like I feel about Melvyn Douglas, he's an actor for a strong leading lady so it was pleasantly surprising to see him carrying A Man In Possession. I've seen him in Lady in the Lake, I preferred him in that.

Ann Harding wrote:

Last WE, French TV broadcast a rare silent: The Red Dance (1928, R. Walsh) with Dolores Del Rio and Charles Farrell. This vehicle for the gorgeous Dolores had a fairly silly script taking place during the Russian Revolution. Thinking about it, it's funny that Hollywood was making so many Russian pictures around that time: The Cossacks at MGM, Surrender at Universal and the best one The Last Command at Paramount. It must have been fashionable. In Red Dance, Tasia (Dolores) is the daughter of a political prisoner. She is been exploited by a couple of farmers. Then, she meets a big large soldier Ivan (Ivan Linow) who proposes to marry her and offers a horse to the farmers in exchange for his bride. But Tasia soon meets Grand Duke Eugen (a shy Charles Farrell) and falls in love with him. Of course, their story is doomed. As the Revolution gathers pace, Tasia becomes a dancer at the Moscow Theater. She will meet Eugen again and save his life. The whole plot was full of clichés about nasty aristocrats and vicious revolutionary, etc. It was obvious that the film was meant for Dolores Del Rio's fans. She gets a lot of lovely close-ups. Overall not a great Walsh picture, but enjoyable as lightweight entertainment.

Thanks to Christine I saw "The Red Dance" (1928) last night and I think that enjoyed it more than her, especially the wonderful cinematography and art direction of this handsome Silent. Dolores Del Río gives a fine performance, but the actor that impressed me the most is Ivan Linow, because he was not one-dimensional; he plays a tough but basically decent man. Dorothy Revier's beauty as Princess Varvara impressed me very favorably. Farrell is fine but not as good as in his films with Murnau and Borzage. It would make a good triple bill with "Tempest" (1928) and "The Cossacks" (1928).

There's probably a whole book about fashion in the twenties and how it influenced the movies, or vice versa. I think prior to the Russian craze, everyone was into chinoiserie.

Now that you mention fashion Wendy, the gowns of the ladies in this film were handsome but did not reflect the style of the 1910s, they were definitely more 1920s. The actress that played Empress Alexandra for instance, wore a rather low cut-back evening dress!

Christine, Featio,

Wow! I did not know that THE RED DANCE was on French TV last month? Apparently, it was a good print, but did it have a score? No one mentioned that here as far as I can see. Just got the new Milestone May Pickford RAGS And RICHES Blue-ray collection containing four films. 3 of them features. Two never before released on home video. This is available at a 20% discount now to all Nitrateville members, and subscribers to the Milestone Newsletter. It will not be officially released until November. But Milestone is offering it by mail right now. Note the sale price will not appear here unless you are registered on Nitrateville I don't think?

Here is more information from Milestone's Dennis Doros.


For members of the Milestone newsletter and Nitratevillians, you can get it now! Our copies are in and you can go to http://milestonefilms.com/products/rags ... collection and order a DVD or Blu-Ray set for 20% off the list price.

For those too young to remember when we first announced this, RAGS AND RICHES: THE MARY PICKFORD COLLECTION consists of POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL, THE HOODLUM and SPARROWS on a 3-disc set.

Disc 1. The Poor Little Rich Girl. 1917. 75 mins. Director: Maurice Tourneur. Music composed and conducted by Philip Carli, performed by the Flower City Society Orchestra. Also: commentary by film historian Scott Eyman and a home movie from Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbank’s legendary Hollywood home, Pickfair.

Disc 2. The Hoodlum. 1919. 92 mins. Director: Sidney A. Franklin. Orchestral Score by Bonnie Ruth Janofsky, performed by the Rouse Philharmonic, conducted by Hugh Munro Neely. Also: Mary Pickford in Ramona (1910. 17 mins.)

Disc 3. Sparrows. 1926. 90 mins. Director: William Beaudine. Score by Jeffrey Silverman, performed by the Rouse Philharmonic, conducted by Hugh Munro Neely. Restored by the Library of Congress. Also, an original 1926 trailer, the “Angel” outtakes, a video interview with Mary Louise Miller's daughter Louise Paziak, and commentary by film historians Jeffrey Vance and Tony Maietta.

Happy viewing!

Dennis

Milestone Film & Video


http://milestonefilms.com/products/rags ... collection

Yesterday I saw my first Sarah Bernhardt feature at the French Cinémathèque. I wished I had not...



Jeanne Doré (1915, Louis Mercanton & René Hervil) with Sarah Bernhardt, Raymond Bernard and Jeanne Costa

Jeanne Doré (S. Bernhardt) is a widow following her husband's suicide. He was a gambler and left her destitute with her son Jacques. Some years later, Jacques (R. Bernard) is infatuated with a married woman Fanny who is a spendthrift...

In 1913, playwright Tristan Bernard who specialized in comedies wrote a melodrama for Sarah Bernhardt. He wanted to give his young son Raymond Bernard (the future director) his first chance to play on the stage. Raymond Bernard describes in great details his encounter with Sarah Bernhardt in her house in Belle-Isle-en-mer (an Island off the coast of Brittany). It's a hoot and if you understand French, you should listen to Bernard's interview on the Ina website. He remembers how one day he received a shower of Sarah's tears on his head. She had to do it she said because the prime minister was in the public! Tristan Bernard wrote a play that is pure hokum. It contains all the worst clichés you can expect in the worst melodramas. The widowed mother who survives to raise her son and the son becomes a criminal for the love of a married woman. This kind of story properly treated on the screen can be great. But, alas, Mercanton just records some static shots of Sarah either sitting or standing against a wall. It has to be remembered that in 1915, Sarah had one leg amputated and couldn't walk anymore. As a result the film is shot around her. She sits on a chair near a table with a bell she can ring to call the servant. Or either, she is propped up against a wall or some furniture. The film's structure is so dated it looks like a pre-1910 movie. We get long static scenes in long shot with lengthy titles explaining in advance what we will see next. There is never any attempt to create some suspense or any sophistication in the lighting. The studio scenes are incredibly flat. The outdoor shots are hardly better. The acting is pretty atrocious most of the time. And the screening yesterday was peppered with guffaws. Sarah motionless on her chair raised her arms and her eyes skywards while a young and slim Raymond Bernard gesticulated with gusto. Some sequences were really a hoot like when Jacques is pursued by two policemen. He disappears on foot through a bush and instead of following him, the policemen take their bikes. By 1915, French and American movies had reached a sophistication that is nowhere to be seen in this particular film. It does very little credit to a stage legend. This Eclipse picture is truly a museum piece. I really wonder what made Sarah Bernhardt such a darling of the public. My only guess is probably her voice: her declamatory tone was very peculiar and must have charmed the public. But this film must be avoided if you want to preserve her legend...

I have never seen sarah Bernhardt on screen, but after reading this I wouldn't want to Let's preserve her Theatrical Legend.