WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[JackFavell]

My hair naturally would mimic Bow's... but alas not my face or figure. If I used an iron on it, I could make it sleek like Gloria's. I've been doing that occasionally, and it doesn't take much time with the ionic hair straightener, but it is not something I use every day.

[feaito]

Womanhandled came out on dvd this year. Ralston stars with Richard Dix in a Gregory LaCava comedy.

Hi Robert. I checked at Amazon but no dice. Do you know where it is available? I'm very interested. La Cava+Paramount+Esther+Dix...Like that combination!

[CineMaven]

For me, a little of Edward Everett Horton goes a long way. I don't mind him squirreling around as a supporting player But when they doubled the pleasure in “Lonely Wives” some of my hair fell out. The movie didn’t “sparkle” for me and could certainly have used The Lubitsch Touch. I didn’t see all of “Smarty.” Warren William looked like he brought it down a notch and our Joanie ( Blondell ) brought it up a notch. It also had your guy Wendy: Frank McHugh. Sorry I didn’t record it to see how it all would end. How it would end? Warren William and Joan Blondell get back together, of course.

When I was traveling almost every day up to your old stomping grounds Bob---> MoMA for the James Bond marathon, they played a slide show while waiting for the Bond movie to start, of other screenings at the Museum. One slide showed “The Case of Lena Smith” to screen at one of their other theatres. I jumped out of my skin a little bit. But when it gave the running time - 5 mins, I said “Huh?”

...we fans must be contented with her B pictures of the thirties, her punishment for spurning the advances of the reptilian Louis Mayer.”

Aaaaah, ye olde casting couch. To think he could have made more money putting Esther in some really good films with good scripts, good directors and strong leading men; extended her career. But he put his...libido first. Glad Esther held out. I don’t know if longevity in a film career is worth seeing Louis B in his BVDs. ((( )))

Wren, I hope your migraine has subsided. I thought your change of diet had eliminated those headaches. I’m with you on a hoary old movie being better than any daytime tv ( or reality tv show. )

[Robert Regan]

Fealto, Womanhandled is part of a three disc set put out by the National Film Preservation Foundation called Treasure 4 The West 1898-1938. Amazon has it new at $32 (marked down from $60) and used at $24. All of NFPF's collections are filled with otherwise scarce items. This one also includes Mantrap, a Victor Fleming with one of Clara Bow's best parts, The Lady of the Dugout, another excellent film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, written and produced by and starring real-life western bandit Al Jennings, Griffith's Over Silent Paths with a superb Marion Leonard, a Tom Mix, a Bronco Billy, and much more. Pricey, but worth it.

Yes, Theresa, Lena Smith is not completely lost. A few years ago, a Japanese archivist discovered this 5-minute fragment in a junk store! Let's keep hoping!

I'm not sure that it was Mayer's libido that was hurt here, but rather his desire for power and his resentment at having that power questioned. Insulted by John Gilbert, punched actually, he proceeded to carefully and deliberately destroy his company's most valuable property. MGM lost millions to assuage the boss' ego.

The casting couch may have also been a factor in Janet Shaw's career. She was contracted to Warners in the thirties and MGM in the forties, but neither of them really did anything with her. Maybe she was not "cooperative"!

[Gagman 66]

I can highly recommend the TREASURES WEST set. It is great. The transfers of both WOMAN HANDLED and MANTRAP are pristine from 35 millimeter prints.. Although WOMAN HANDLED is missing a reel I believe. It's still a fun little film. Worth getting the collection just for these films alone. But you also get Tom Mix and other goodies.

Here is a delightful clip from WOMAN HANDLED with my own scoring selections.


[youtube][/youtube]

[JackFavell]

La Cava+Paramount+Esther+Dix...Like that combination!

Exactly my thoughts, Nando. Can't get enough La Cava! And that clip, Jeff was just splendid! Your musical choices were excellent as usual and that copy was beautiful looking. I wish I could see the rest of the film now! Ah well. I wonder if the film's title is a reply to Gloria Swanson's Manhandled? It looks like a great story being set up in that clip, with lots of charm and humor, plus the typical LaCava timing. sigh.

Maven, my headaches are not as often, but I still get them occasionally. And I was bad yesterday, I ate something I wasn't supposed to because I didn't want to offend my mother-in-law, who doesn't understand food intolerance.

[feaito]

Thanks for the complete information Bob. I'm gonna look for that set. And thanks for that clip Jeff.

Wendy...Great minds think alike

[Robert Regan]

You're welcome, fealto. Let me know what you think when you get to see it. The other Treasures sets are also worth looking into, although I can live without those devoted to "avant garde".

By the way, make that Treasures 5, not 4.

[feaito]

Ok Bob thanks. A friend of mine has shared Treasures 1 and 2 (not sure about the numbers) with me. Thanks to that I was able to see "Toll of the Sea" (1921) and "Lady Windermere's Fan" (1925).

BTW no avant-garde for me either...

[Robert Regan]

Ah yes, Toll of the Sea is fascinating as are all those early color films whether or not they are very good. And did Anna May Wong appear in any other color films? Have you seen The Viking, a 1928 2-strip film directed by Roy William Neill with Donald Crisp as Leif Ericson and Pauline Starke proving that Viking women shaved under their arms! Not the best work of anyone involved, but a pleasure to see.

Lady Windermere's Fan is another Lubitsch masterpiece. I can't believe that we still can't see So This Is Paris and Three Women, two that I remember fondly from a Lubitsch series at MOMA years ago.

Treasures 3, devoted to social issues has some other gems. DeMille's The Godless Girl is bizarre and fascinating, and Lois Weber's Where Are My Children, almost as good as her The Blot, gives us a rare opportunity to see Frank Borzage's wife Reza Royce. I have always admired him for being able to continue believing in the power of love when he had reason enough to be cynical.

[Robert Regan]

Thanks, kingrat. I forgot about that one. Still beautiful.

[feaito]

Ah yes, Toll of the Sea is fascinating as are all those early color films whether or not they are very good. And did Anna May Wong appear in any other color films? Have you seen The Viking, a 1928 2-strip film directed by Roy William Neill with Donald Crisp as Leif Ericson and Pauline Starke proving that Viking women shaved under their arms! Not the best work of anyone involved, but a pleasure to see.

Lady Windermere's Fan is another Lubitsch masterpiece. I can't believe that we still can't see So This Is Paris and Three Women, two that I remember fondly from a Lubitsch series at MOMA years ago.

Treasures 3, devoted to social issues has some other gems. DeMille's The Godless Girl is bizarre and fascinating, and Lois Weber's Where Are My Children, almost as good as her The Blot, gives us a rare opportunity to see Frank Borzage's wife Reza Royce. I have always admired him for being able to continue believing in the power of love when he had reason enough to be cynical.

Never seen The Viking, but would like to. Have seen production stills though.

I did not know that So This is Paris and 3 Woman are extant! What about Forbidden Paradise? I'd like to see that one too.

I loved The Godless Girl. In fact I used that film to introduce a friend to Silents; and he loved it too. I have Where Are My Children, but still haven't seen it.

As I told you on this or another thread, I enjoyed very much Bauer's Russian films from the teens.

[Gagman 66]

Robert, feaito,

TCM airs the THE GODLESS GIRL with the Carl Davis score. Unfortunately, that version is not on DVD. I think it's one of De Mille's greatest films. TCM has aired THE VIKING a few times, but it has undergone and even more recent restoration since then. Maybe that is why Warner Archive decided to wait to release it?

Yes, Ernst Lubitsch THREE WOMEN (WB, 1924) was just screened this past weekend at Cinefest. It has had a handful of screenings in the past two or three years. I would love to see this picture get a TCM Premiere. SO THIS IS PARIS (WB, 1926) aired on TCM France in a pristine transfer about 2 and half years ago. But I have never been able to track down a copy. I have seen a clip of the nightclub sequence, and dubbed a score, but it is no longer on Youtube. However, I can put it back up again. This is an extremely funny film. To the best of my knowledge TCM has never run THE MARRIAGE CIRCLE (WB, 1924), even though it's been on DVD from Image for over a decade. I was bored by the film when I first saw it, but loved it when I revisited the picture about a year and a half ago. Other than THE PATRIOT, the big missing Lubitsch Silent is KISS ME AGAIN (WB, 1925). Hopefully a print is located one of these days.

All I have seen of FORBIDDEN PARADISE (Paramount, 1924) is a 45 minute fragment with Czech flash cards that zip by so fat you can't read them, even if you knew Czech. However, even in that fragment the movie is a delight. Pola Negri and Pauline Stark looking here more like Bessie Love, are at their most beautiful in the film. The LOC or one of the major archives is supposed to have a complete 35 millimeter print with English inter-titles. I know a few folks who have seen the pristine print, at live screenings and they thought that the movie was terrific. This is really the film that catapulted Rod La Rocque's career. Made him a major Star. I'll re-post the night-club scene from SO THIS IS PARIS and link it here this evening. Not sure why I haven't done that already. I had lost it when my previous account was disabled. I also have some clips of LADY WINDEREMIERE'S FAN with a full Orchestral score that will knock your socks off. WINDERMERE'S has been on TCM before, but with only the piano score, And it has been like 7 or 8 years since last aired.

[charliechaplinfan]

I was really moved by The Toll of the Sea, basically a retelling of Madame Butterfly but the colours and Anna's performance made it necessary to revisit.

Wendy, my hair would resemble Clara's if I let it but alas not my face or figure either. I don't have the iconic hair straighteners but Libby has discovered she has them on her crimper. I don't think I'll be a stranger to them for my longer.

I'll leave the avant garde sections too on the Treasures disc, they're not for me.