I saw The Red Mill, and thanks to Jeff for sending me the recent print from TCM. It looks superb! This is one of Marion Davies's more lighthearted films, and those are always fun to watch. Her performance is endearing and enjoyable. This is yet another of her contrast roles, where she playes a character who briefly acts like someone different from herself, like in Quality Street, Show People and Little Old New York. In The Red Mill, her plain and a bit goofy Tina dresses up as a rich girl, so she gets to be both comically touching, and angelically beautiful. It looks like she had fun playing this part, and no wonder. What I find the most likable about her character is how gutsy and inventive she is. Since this movie also contains a scene where she scrubs the floor by using the scrubs as skates, and considering the way her braids are shaped, she reminds me of the Swedish children's book heroine Pippi Longstocking, who I love.
The Red Mill has a lot of fun with broad national stereotypes. All the women are blonde and wear hats and clogs, while all the Dutch men appear to be very fat, even the boys. That's something I usually expect from 20's comedies, though. I wonder whether they're making fun of the Dutch culture, of people's conception of the Dutch culture, or if they just never thought much about using theatrical stereotypes like that? Maybe it is I who tends think about things like that too much? I don't see anything mean-spirited about The Red Mill. It's just something I noticed.
I love the comedies Marion Davies made. The jokes in the intertitles can be a bit obvious at times, but the escapist storylines, and Marion Davies herself, are so charming that they are always uplifting to me.
I watched A Woman of Affairs on Garbo day. I hadn't seen that one. God, Garbo was amazing in her silents. She did everything from young exuberent girl who is sure everyone loves her to jaded woman of the world, to the tragedy of losing a baby (and her mind).
Wasn't so impressed with Two Faced Woman. Loved Constance Bennet's bitchy playwright, but felt like the script just wasn't all it could have been. Garbo could pull off comedy, but she needed a good script, like Ninotchka. It might have been somewhat better if they hadn't inserted the scene that let Melvyn Douglas's character in on the gag. That made Garbo's character look sort of naive and foolish.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. "~~Wilde
I watched several more pre-codes lately that I have neglected to write about, so here goes.
First up was the infamous Cecil B. DeMille epic, The Sign of the Cross. Having read a lot about the pre-code era, this movie gets talked about with a great frequency. Now having seen it, I can see why, it's a pretty wild film. Firstly it must be stated that any film that features a nude Claudette Colbert bathing in milk gets an automatic thumbs up from me. What a gal. Colbert's hotness aside, the film is pretty bizarre. It's obviously a historical piece set in AD 60 or so, after the death of Christ, but the acting wouldn't really reveal that. Pretty much everyone aside from Charles Laughton acts the film like a standard 1930's melodrama. Fredric March almost seems at ease with a more classical acting style, but ultimately he too seems out of place. It's kind of surreal watching Nat Pendleton play the role of a Roman thug with the exact same tone and style of the urban thugs he usually played. Even Claudette Colbert plays her role as the wicked empress in pure 1930's melodramatic style.
Yet despite the dissonance in terms of acting style the movie is still a lot of fun, and manages to have some really powerful scenes. The final half-hour is a surreal combination of grotesque violence, multiple scenes of animals attacking humans, and a quite powerful conversion sequence involving Elissa Landi and Fredric March. Landi plays one of the leaders of the Christian movement in Rome, while March is one of the Emperor's leading men. I liked that the March spends the whole movie trying to corrupt Landi and lead her to paganism, but in the end March is the one swayed. I guess I just liked how it was presented, it wasn't self-righteous or contrived, but rather made sense with March's character. Although even as a Christian myself I would be very tempted to go with Claudette Colbert in all her evil, nude-milk bathing, glory.
Oh and there's a lesbian scene too. All in all the film is a lot of fun, even if it is wildly inconsistent, and noticeably flawed. But despite it's limitations, I would say its reputation is well deserved.
I also watched the 1930 Gangster film Doorway to Hell, which was interesting in that it predates the more famous Public Enemy, Little Caesar, and Scarface by more than a year, but sets the template for what those films would do. Lew Ayres plays a mob boss who tries to go straight, but thanks to corrupt cops, and his aimless underlings he is pulled back in. James Cagney plays his right hand man in one of first roles, and I think his first gangster role. Ayres is somewhat miscast in that he doesn't have the sense of menace or danger to pull of the role, but he does bring an intelligence and a cockiness that does kind of work. Cagney is his forceful self, even if the interrogation scene where he gives in to the cops seems out of character. The story is fairly predictable, but is redeemed by the ending, which kind of sets the template for how gangsters end up in the pre-code era.
Finally I watched 1932's Central Park, starring my beloved Joan Blondell as a starving actress who gets mixed up with a bunch of crooks. The movie mimics the Grand Hotel style narrative, by incorporating a bunch of characters and storylines into one narrative. Guy Kibbee does his usual schtick as a security guard who is losing his sight on the eve of his retirement(and pension). Wallace Ford plays a down on his luck something-or-other who falls for Joan. Add to that an escaped lunatic, an escaped lion, and an extended heist and car-chase sequence and you should have a great film, especially at under an hour. But it's actually not very good.
There is some good sequences, but Joan is hardly in the film despite getting top billing, she's great when she's there, but she only gets about 15 minutes of screentime, and the rest kind of drags. The other thing that bothered me was a painfully racist scene in which the escaped lion wanders into a kitchen full of black cooks. The scene drags on painfully long and is filled with the cooks falling all over each other, leaping out of windows, causing havoc, and eventually leading to multiple close ups on one cook all bug-eyed and teeth chattering together in a typical stereotypical style. Ugh. It's an ugly scene. Somehow I find stuff like that infinitely more offensive than say the blackface sequence in Wonder Bar. I think it is because the sequence in Wonder Bar is impossible for me to take seriously, it's pure spectacle, and I wonder how much of the white audience at the time took it seriously. But the sequence in Central Park plays too close to the negative stereotypes of the black man as an easily frightened, bumbling fool. The fact that it involves real black people seems infinitely more dangerous to me.
"Do you think it's dangerous to have Busby Berkeley dreams?" - The Magnetic Fields
I too like The Sign of the Cross. I don't take the script too seriously, but it's a very enjoyable romp which I find lots of fun to watch thanks to the actors!
Yesteday, I watched The Wedding March (1928) by/with Erich von Stroheim. I had not seen it since the Channel 4 broadcast in 1998. Well, this is very enjoyable! As usual with Von Stroheim, we are in the world of turn-of-century decadant Vienna. The arisctocratic family of Prince Nikki (E. von Stroheim) is penniless and are thinking of marrying their son to a wealthy girl. In the meantime, he has fallen in love with lovely Mitzi (Fay Wray)... It's a shame that the whole film has not survived. The second part was at the French Cinémathèque, but it disappeared in a fire... Anyway what is left of the film is still extremely impressive. There is even a sequence in two-strips Technicolor. Carl Davis patterned his score from Lohengrin (Wedding march from Act 3), Die Fledermaus (about 80% of the film) and Wiener Blut. It offers a nice setting to Von Stroheim's usual obsessions with ladies' ankles, physical deformity and lust!
Thanks Jeffrey!
Wow, you sure saw a lot of Movies lately. Was WILD ORCHIDS from Laser-disc? Do you still need THE SINGLE STANDARD? Or which Gabo didn't you have?
Where Oh, where, did you find a copy of THE COSSACKS??? It took me well over two years to locate one? Does the version you found have a musical score to it of any kind??? I would be curious to hear how it compares to my own score for the film? I dubbed it twice, making some minor changes the second time, spending many hours on each effort.
I would be interested in the Pre-codes too, as I don't think that I have those titles yet? I just sent you a PM and an E-mail. I was sending you a package later today as well.
"...And Forever They Dance Amid The Stars!"
Jeff,
Hi, I answered your e-mail re. "The Cossacks" and the Pre-Codes in which you are interested.
I seem to recall that the source of "Wild Orchids" is TCM USA. I'm quite sure I have "The Single Standard" but haven't seen it yet. I'm looking forward to watch it since Nils and Greta make a great couple!
MichiganJ wrote:As for Gilbert in talkies, I think I might have to disagree with you a little, feaito. I don’t think Gilbert is in the same category as Valentino, who probably wouldn’t have maintained his persona in sound films. (Had he survived, of course. Although I bet he would have been pretty good in some sound romantic comedies, maybe even spoofing his Sheik-ness ). Gilbert, however, was fine in the sound films I’ve seen, particularly in Queen Christina, where he and Garbo pick right up where they left off in their silents. Sure, their actual romance had long been over, but their chemistry on screen was still in abundance, and “the morning after” scene, where Garbo memorizes the room they shared, is one of the highlights in Garbo’s sound career. In no small part do I attribute Garbo’s magical performance in that scene to Gilbert. Gilbert was given a raw deal in sound films, especially if the Mayer story is true (and I kinda believe it). I think Gilbert would have done just fine if given better roles, and wouldn’t be thought of simply as a silent film star, now, if he had.
Have you seen Gilbert’s final silent, Desert Nights? Again, thanks to Gagman (:D ) I saw that, and Gilbert gives one of his most entertaining, almost effortless performances. And talk about chemistry with his co-star. He and Mary Nolan are, quite literally, HOT. Ernest Torrence is also featured, (as he is in nearly every Silent film!) and is, as usual, wonderful.
Hi Michigan J,
Very interesting points of view in relation with "The Cossacks" (1928).
Concerning Gilbert, maybe I did not made myself well understood. I think that Gilbert is different from Valentino, but what I tried to say is that some actors' screen images during the Silent Era, couldn't have been transferred to the Talkies. Of course Gilbert's Persona wasn't in the same category as Novarro's or Valentino's, but I feel that the screen persona built around him in such films as "The Cossacks", "The Flesh and the Devil", for example, was difficult to maintain during the talkies, due to the changes of the times, people's tastes, the difference between Silent film and the Talking pictures, etc. Gilbert was indeed a gifted actor and he gave some very fine performances in talking pictures, but it was, IMO, a "different" John Gilbert and in spite that there was nothing wrong with his voice, I feel that his accent and tone did not match his Silent Screen Persona or what moviegoers expected to hear. I don't know how to put it right, but I feel that most of the stars who made the transition to sound succesfully, even to greater stardom, in a way "reinvented" themselves. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Gilbert was already THE male superstar when the talkies arrived and he couldn't go any higher. Just my two cents.
I haven't seen Gilbert in "Desert Nights", but from what you tell it must be some pretty sexy film! And Mary Nolan was surely a very sensuous woman!
Last edited by feaito on August 25th, 2008, 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I've now seen a couple of John Gilbert's talkies. They are much better than I thought they would be. John Gilberts speaking voice, although fine doesn't match up with his silet screen persona but it isn't a bad voice and in some ways he's better in talkies, I find him more toned down and less enthusiastic. I haven't seen Desert Nights.
I have to agree with you Michagan about the scene in Queen Christina, from what I've seen of Garbo's talkies, it is one of the highlights of her talkie career. The morning after scene has got to be one of the most romantic scenes of the thirties.
I prefer Garbo in silents.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
I find it fascinating that people still think John Gilbert's voice "didn't match his silent screen persona." What does that even mean? I don't imagine people in the 20s sat around wondering what this or that actor sounded like in real life. Why would they?
The whole voice issue during the transition to sound was mostly a tabloid stunt to grab headlines and a studio trick to get rid of expensive stars.
Beyond Gilbert (whose talkies are just fine even if they are basically B pictures handed him by MGM), the comparison between Greta Garbo and Vilma Banky is indeed interesting.
While MGM nurtured Garbo (whose films made a fortune in Europe) she was eased into talkies in ANNA CHRISTIE and yes her voice is fine and the accent works. Meanwhile superstar Banky also made a few talkies but was judged to have too heavy an accent. Yet when I saw her film A LADY TO LOVE, her voice was of the same timbre and accent (basically) as Garbo's.
So here's another Hollywood legend of the Hungarian Banky unable to talk that proves (like the Gilbert legend) to be baloney.
I just finished a book called "Dangerous Men", about males in pre-code film. The author Mick LaSalle, argues that the death of Gilbert had less to do with him and his voice, and more with the death of the silent film hero. The male heroes of pre-code were more or less anti-heroes, while male leads in silent film generally are presented either as romantic lovers, or completely virtuous. Douglas Fairbanks and Ramon Navarro didn't find a niche in the talkies either.
LaSalle brings up an interesting point about Gilbert, noting that his sardonic personality, and the darker undertones of his personality should have made him ably suited to adapt, but he got off to a bad start, and never recovered really. He talks at length about a film he made in 1932 called Bedside which sounds pretty fascinating, as Gilbert basically swindles and seduces a wealthy family, and plays a total scumbag.
I'm not a fan of Queen Christina, but there is nothing wrong with his performance, and he's also quite good in Fast Workers. I expect if he lived he would have worked steadily, even if in B-pictures.
Also I get the impression that Banky was not a star of Garbo's calibre. Even in the 20's people gushed about Garbo with a kind of reverance that borders on awe. Garbo was worth protecting because she was unique, a once in a lifetime figure. I think Garbo was also more forceful and selective about her parts, she didn't merely just take what was given, she complained, and fought for herself.
"Do you think it's dangerous to have Busby Berkeley dreams?" - The Magnetic Fields
What does that even mean? I don't imagine people in the 20s sat around wondering what this or that actor sounded like in real life. Why would they?
People were fascinated by those flickering images, and flocked to the movies in droves. I would imagine there were a lot of people who wondered what their heroes, villains, and character actors voices sounded like. Mean? Funny? Darkly romantic? Girlish? Sexy? The world of make believe, and an entire medium to be explored. With no outlet, of course myths and legends grew up. The bigger the star, the more the fascination, and the more erroneous gossip taken as truth.
"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.. It's the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
""Most people pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
Possibly, but without talking pictures in the foreseeable future, it seems unlikely people would have been very curious about voices. Plus many silent stars had been on stage or vaudeville, radio, records etc.
I think the fascination with silent stars' voices came AFTER the fact and after the crash of many careers.
Perhaps people didn't sit around wondering what their idols sounded like but subconsciously I think they would have expected certain qualities especially from their favorites. I would have expected Gilbert's voice to have been of a deeper timbre. However I know that isn't true because of what happened to his career and what's been written about it. When I did get to listen to him it wasn't anyway as bad as I'd thought he'd be but the voice doesn't match all those romantic heroes he played. That's my opinion.
I agree with Myrnaloyisdope it wasn't only his voice that did for him but the type of hero he embodied. He showed in Fast Workers that he was more than capable of playing the antihero but th audience had moved on to guys like Cagney and Gable. I wish he'd have stayed around I think he'd have been a fine supporting actor and writer perhaps even director.
I think someone mentioned Rudolph Valentino, would he have made it into talkies? Before he died he was worried about his receding hairline and the effects aging would have on his image.I think his image is part of the twenties, his acting was best when he was not taking himself too seriously. Who knows what would have happened, I like to think he would have continued making movies in some capacity.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
I find it fascinating that people still think John Gilbert's voice "didn't match his silent screen persona." What does that even mean?
Haven’t you ever heard a radio announcer’s voice, and formed a picture in your head as to what he or she looks like, and then seen a picture of them and not believed the face matched the voice? Happens to me all the time. My mind’s eye can’t help but form a picture, and the same is true for my mind’s ear. It’s not like I consciously sit around and conjure up an image when listening to the radio or a voice when watching a silent film, it just happens. It’s always fun when the two “meet”, and I can see how accurate my imagination was; nine times out of ten, I’m not even close.
Anyway what is left of the film is still extremely impressive. There is even a sequence in two-strips Technicolor. Carl Davis patterned his score from Lohengrin (Wedding march from Act 3), Die Fledermaus (about 80% of the film) and Wiener Blut. It offers a nice setting to Von Stroheim's usual obsessions with ladies' ankles, physical deformity and lust! 
Wow, you sure saw a lot of Movies lately. Was WILD ORCHIDS from Laser-disc? Do you still need THE SINGLE STANDARD? Or which Gabo didn't you have? 
Where Oh, where, did you find a copy of THE COSSACKS??? It took me well over two years to locate one? Does the version you found have a musical score to it of any kind??? I would be curious to hear how it compares to my own score for the film? I dubbed it twice, making some minor changes the second time, spending many hours on each effort. 
I would be interested in the Pre-codes too, as I don't think that I have those titles yet? I just sent you a PM and an E-mail. I was sending you a package later today as well. 
