WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
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drednm
Even though I can't understand why anyone wouldn't love Gary 
, I guess that's okay. You couldn't pay me to watch a John Wayne movie but look at how many fans he has, so to each their own 
.
, I guess that's okay. You couldn't pay me to watch a John Wayne movie but look at how many fans he has, so to each their own .“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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myrnaloyisdope
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drednm, Temple Drake is fantastic, and it's pretty much all Miriam, I was surprised how good she was having only seen her in comedic roles beforehand. I'd love to see that one restored and get its proper due.
As for Gary Cooper, I'm willing to go back and rewatch some of his work with a more experienced eye and see if I can appreciate what he brings to the table. I mean I know he's handsome(heck sometimes he's downright beautiful, and I'm a straight man saying this), but I find him pretty stiff at times, and it really takes the right part or the right script for him to appeal to me.
And Ang, you don't like John Wayne??? Really??? I find him so much fun to watch. Considering your love of Coop, I expect you like westerns too. The only people I've met who don't like John Wayne, don't really like westerns, which kind of explains it. So it's surprising to hear you don't like the Duke.
As for Gary Cooper, I'm willing to go back and rewatch some of his work with a more experienced eye and see if I can appreciate what he brings to the table. I mean I know he's handsome(heck sometimes he's downright beautiful, and I'm a straight man saying this), but I find him pretty stiff at times, and it really takes the right part or the right script for him to appeal to me.
And Ang, you don't like John Wayne??? Really??? I find him so much fun to watch. Considering your love of Coop, I expect you like westerns too. The only people I've met who don't like John Wayne, don't really like westerns, which kind of explains it. So it's surprising to hear you don't like the Duke.
"Do you think it's dangerous to have Busby Berkeley dreams?" - The Magnetic Fields
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drednm
Hey Justin,
I hope you will give Gary another chance (and I plan to do the same for Miss Hopkins) because he really was a wonderfully gifted actor. Some people have said they think he’s stiff but really he’s just very understated. He’s not the kind of actor that jumps out and grabs you and pulls you in. He’s much more subtle and it’s like he invites you in but won’t force you to accept the invitation. I’m a pretty mellow, laid back person and I think that’s a big part of why his style appeals so much to me. He can do so much by seeming to do so little. I think he and Clara Bow had the most expressive faces I’ve ever seen. Just with a subtle change of expression or a simple gesture you could totally tell what’s going on in their characters minds and really feel what they are feeling. They seem much more like real, fleshed out people than simply characters on a two dimensional screen.
I don’t know how many of these you’ve seen but some of his best films are Pride of the Yankees (1942), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), All of his 1941 releases (Meet John Doe, Ball of Fire, Sergeant York), High Noon (1952), Man of the West (1958), and Peter Ibbetson (1935). I first noticed him in Pride of the Yankees and I’m proud to say that I actually was more impressed by his amazing acting ability than his looks. Of course I’m not really sure why since he was as good looking as he was talented – ha! When I saw Meet John Doe next, that’s when it all clicked and I have been a rabid fan ever since.
It’s funny that you said you imagine I must like Westerns. I have never really liked that genre and I still don’t. I’m a Texan through and through (grew up in the country surrounded by cattle) and all the men in my family love Westerns and I grew up watching Wayne and Eastwood’s movies, but I never liked any of them. So you can imagine how weird it seems to me that I love Gary’s Westerns the best of most of his films. I could watch High Noon, The Westerner, The Virginian, The Hanging Tree, Man of the West, Dallas, etc…. every day and never tire of them. With his background (growing up in Montana) he just seems more like a real cowboy to me than some other actors who had never even seen a horse until they were on a Western set. Me and my other Coop friends joke about how we all love him, but we all have our own unique fave “Gary”. Mine is older cowboy Gary (40s-50s).
Well, I’ll shut up for now. As I’m sure you’ve noticed once I get starting gushing over Gary, it’s hard to stop.
I hope you will give Gary another chance (and I plan to do the same for Miss Hopkins) because he really was a wonderfully gifted actor. Some people have said they think he’s stiff but really he’s just very understated. He’s not the kind of actor that jumps out and grabs you and pulls you in. He’s much more subtle and it’s like he invites you in but won’t force you to accept the invitation. I’m a pretty mellow, laid back person and I think that’s a big part of why his style appeals so much to me. He can do so much by seeming to do so little. I think he and Clara Bow had the most expressive faces I’ve ever seen. Just with a subtle change of expression or a simple gesture you could totally tell what’s going on in their characters minds and really feel what they are feeling. They seem much more like real, fleshed out people than simply characters on a two dimensional screen.
I don’t know how many of these you’ve seen but some of his best films are Pride of the Yankees (1942), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), All of his 1941 releases (Meet John Doe, Ball of Fire, Sergeant York), High Noon (1952), Man of the West (1958), and Peter Ibbetson (1935). I first noticed him in Pride of the Yankees and I’m proud to say that I actually was more impressed by his amazing acting ability than his looks. Of course I’m not really sure why since he was as good looking as he was talented – ha! When I saw Meet John Doe next, that’s when it all clicked and I have been a rabid fan ever since.
It’s funny that you said you imagine I must like Westerns. I have never really liked that genre and I still don’t. I’m a Texan through and through (grew up in the country surrounded by cattle) and all the men in my family love Westerns and I grew up watching Wayne and Eastwood’s movies, but I never liked any of them. So you can imagine how weird it seems to me that I love Gary’s Westerns the best of most of his films. I could watch High Noon, The Westerner, The Virginian, The Hanging Tree, Man of the West, Dallas, etc…. every day and never tire of them. With his background (growing up in Montana) he just seems more like a real cowboy to me than some other actors who had never even seen a horse until they were on a Western set. Me and my other Coop friends joke about how we all love him, but we all have our own unique fave “Gary”. Mine is older cowboy Gary (40s-50s).
Well, I’ll shut up for now. As I’m sure you’ve noticed once I get starting gushing over Gary, it’s hard to stop.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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Ann Harding
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Personnaly, I think Cooper is an actor which needs a very good director of actors behind him. He was always at his best when directed by people like Ernst Lubitsch, King Vidor or Frank Borzage. But, he could verging on the boring and stiff when left to himself in films such as Curtiz's Bright Leaf or in DeMille's Unconquered (that script is a terrible pile of clichés!). I tend to perfer the 30s features with Cooper: Peter Ibbetson, Design for Living, City Streets, A Farewell to Arms, Desire, etc. He is a pure movie actor: his technique rests on his own great personal charm. But, if he has to tackle a complex part, he is struggling. Unlike somebody like Fredric March who had stage training and could easily encompass a wider range; he even played villains!
King Vidor had a to work very hard on Cooper to get him to perform Howard Roark in The Fountainhead. The result is really a tribute a great actors' director.
King Vidor had a to work very hard on Cooper to get him to perform Howard Roark in The Fountainhead. The result is really a tribute a great actors' director.
Hi Ann!
The Fountainhead seems to be a love it or hate it film and for me it took three tries to get all the way through it once and I will probably not make it a second time. It’s the only film of his I actively dislike. The dialogue is interminable and the characters all come off more like spoiled children than people standing up for their principles. By the end of the film I was actually rooting for Gary’s character to go to prison
. The best thing I can say about that one is it’s good for some sweet eye candy.
Gary was most definitely a film actor and even though he was given the opportunity later in his career to do some theater work, he wisely turned it down. He was so adept at playing to the camera that the subtle expressions and gestures he often used would not have come off as well from the stage.
I would argue though that stage experience does not always translate to successful movie work. These are definitely two very different mediums and while projecting to the balcony is necessary on the stage, it can come off hammy and heavy handed in the smaller space of a studio set. March however, along with many others such as Helen Hayes and Barbara Stanwyck, understood this and were able to find success in both areas.
I think Gary could have played a pretty good bad guy (the closest he came was in his last film, a suspense thriller called The Naked Edge) but the public did not want to see him that way after he became established as the All American Average Joe good guy. In Man of the West (1958) one of his last films, he plays a man who had a very bad past (armed robbery, murder and possibly even rape) but had now reformed and built a new life. It’s a wonderful movie with shades of King Lear in the plot but it did not do well in its initial release mainly because audiences couldn’t accept him as a man who would have done those things. So I would argue it wasn’t a lack of range that kept him from playing bad guys, but it just did not fit in with his image and audiences wouldn’t accept it.
I’m not surprised that you liked Peter Ibbetson since you seem to be a fan of Ann Harding. Isn’t that just a beautiful and heartbreaking movie? I would love to be able to see that one on a big screen one day as the cinematography is just breathtaking.
The Fountainhead seems to be a love it or hate it film and for me it took three tries to get all the way through it once and I will probably not make it a second time. It’s the only film of his I actively dislike. The dialogue is interminable and the characters all come off more like spoiled children than people standing up for their principles. By the end of the film I was actually rooting for Gary’s character to go to prison
. The best thing I can say about that one is it’s good for some sweet eye candy. Gary was most definitely a film actor and even though he was given the opportunity later in his career to do some theater work, he wisely turned it down. He was so adept at playing to the camera that the subtle expressions and gestures he often used would not have come off as well from the stage.
I would argue though that stage experience does not always translate to successful movie work. These are definitely two very different mediums and while projecting to the balcony is necessary on the stage, it can come off hammy and heavy handed in the smaller space of a studio set. March however, along with many others such as Helen Hayes and Barbara Stanwyck, understood this and were able to find success in both areas.
I think Gary could have played a pretty good bad guy (the closest he came was in his last film, a suspense thriller called The Naked Edge) but the public did not want to see him that way after he became established as the All American Average Joe good guy. In Man of the West (1958) one of his last films, he plays a man who had a very bad past (armed robbery, murder and possibly even rape) but had now reformed and built a new life. It’s a wonderful movie with shades of King Lear in the plot but it did not do well in its initial release mainly because audiences couldn’t accept him as a man who would have done those things. So I would argue it wasn’t a lack of range that kept him from playing bad guys, but it just did not fit in with his image and audiences wouldn’t accept it.
I’m not surprised that you liked Peter Ibbetson since you seem to be a fan of Ann Harding. Isn’t that just a beautiful and heartbreaking movie? I would love to be able to see that one on a big screen one day as the cinematography is just breathtaking.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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Ann Harding
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The Fountainhead has always been a favourite of mine because of its excessive Wagnerian and bold imagery. It's certainly not a standard Cooper feature, but it's a great Vidor picture. 
But I don't like Pride of the Yankees; it's a typical long and stodgy Sam Wood fare for me... 
I agree that he had sometimes interesting parts later on, Man of the West is certainly worth a look. But They Came to Cordura is a failure unfortunately.
I should add that I was lucky enough to see Peter Ibbetson for the first time on a big screen and Charles Lang's cinematography is indeed magnificent. The same with the wonderful City Streets where Lee Garmes makes miracles!
But I don't like Pride of the Yankees; it's a typical long and stodgy Sam Wood fare for me... I agree that he had sometimes interesting parts later on, Man of the West is certainly worth a look. But They Came to Cordura is a failure unfortunately.
I should add that I was lucky enough to see Peter Ibbetson for the first time on a big screen and Charles Lang's cinematography is indeed magnificent. The same with the wonderful City Streets where Lee Garmes makes miracles!
I know April (Miss Goddess) has said before that stylistically, The Fountainhead plays somewhat like a silent movie. It is well filmed and even without the sound, you would still get a very strong impression of what the film is about. This no doubt is tied to Vidor’s experience with silents. It’s another of my Coop friends top films of his for her. She is from Russia so I think she appreciates the individualistic nature of the film more than I do.
I’m a huge baseball nut and Pride of the Yankees is one of my absolute favorite films and I cry like a baby every time I watch it.
There’s a long story behind They Came to Cordura but the short version is it was hacked up quite a bit by the studio so a lot of the better character development scenes were cut out. What makes it hard to watch for me and one of my least faves is the brutal treatment Gary’s character receives at the end. Once was enough with that one.
I’m so jealous that you got to see Peter Ibbetson and City Streets on the big screen . Besides High Noon (which I have gotten to see), Peter Ibbetson is the other of his I would like to see most that way.
I love how cleverly they filmed all the scenes where characters are rubbed out in City Streets. I don’t like gangster movies but this one is good and I love the art deco style. Nothing against Sylvia Sidney, but I wish Clara Bow had been able to play the part of Nan (a nervous breakdown kept her out) since she and Gary are my very faves and it would have been cool to see them in a talkie together.
I’m a huge baseball nut and Pride of the Yankees is one of my absolute favorite films and I cry like a baby every time I watch it.
There’s a long story behind They Came to Cordura but the short version is it was hacked up quite a bit by the studio so a lot of the better character development scenes were cut out. What makes it hard to watch for me and one of my least faves is the brutal treatment Gary’s character receives at the end. Once was enough with that one.
I’m so jealous that you got to see Peter Ibbetson and City Streets on the big screen
. Besides High Noon (which I have gotten to see), Peter Ibbetson is the other of his I would like to see most that way. I love how cleverly they filmed all the scenes where characters are rubbed out in City Streets. I don’t like gangster movies but this one is good and I love the art deco style. Nothing against Sylvia Sidney, but I wish Clara Bow had been able to play the part of Nan (a nervous breakdown kept her out) since she and Gary are my very faves and it would have been cool to see them in a talkie together.
“I never really thought of myself as an actor. But I’d learned to ride on my dad’s ranch and I could do some roping stunts and working as an extra was better than starving as an artist nobody wanted on the West Coast.” - Gary Cooper
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Ann Harding
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I have just seen Mitchell Leisen's Tonight is Ours (1933) with Claudette Colbert and Fredric March. The film was co-directed by Stuart Walker.
Colbert is a royalty living in exile in Paris. She meets very romantically a man (F. March) during a masked ball. They kiss before realising they are not kissing the right person! The romance develops and they are going to marry when, alas, she is recalled to her country. She has become the new queen of her small kingdom in political upheaval and has to leave behind her lover....
The film was based on a Noël Coward play. But, frankly, it was obvious that the Coward wit had been heavily diluted by Edwin Justus Meyer! Nevertheless, there was some very interesting bitter sweet scenes between Colbert and her future royal consort where they both discuss their heartbreaks. Paul Cavanagh was not as stiff as usual in the scene. March and Colbert are doing their best with their parts. But, somehow one feels that their characters are not quite as well as delineated as they should be. The (happy) ending was a bit rushed and not quite believable. But, I don't regret the trip as I saw a gorgeous 35 mm print with glowing close-ups lit by Karl Struss and superb gowns by Travis Banton, and incredibly beautiful sets by Hans Dreier. The film had its pre-code naughty aspect with Colbert spending a night with her lover just before contracting a loveless marriage... Overall, enjoyable!
Colbert is a royalty living in exile in Paris. She meets very romantically a man (F. March) during a masked ball. They kiss before realising they are not kissing the right person! The romance develops and they are going to marry when, alas, she is recalled to her country. She has become the new queen of her small kingdom in political upheaval and has to leave behind her lover....
The film was based on a Noël Coward play. But, frankly, it was obvious that the Coward wit had been heavily diluted by Edwin Justus Meyer! Nevertheless, there was some very interesting bitter sweet scenes between Colbert and her future royal consort where they both discuss their heartbreaks. Paul Cavanagh was not as stiff as usual in the scene. March and Colbert are doing their best with their parts. But, somehow one feels that their characters are not quite as well as delineated as they should be. The (happy) ending was a bit rushed and not quite believable. But, I don't regret the trip as I saw a gorgeous 35 mm print with glowing close-ups lit by Karl Struss and superb gowns by Travis Banton, and incredibly beautiful sets by Hans Dreier.
The film had its pre-code naughty aspect with Colbert spending a night with her lover just before contracting a loveless marriage... Overall, enjoyable! -
feaito
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Ann Harding
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I got to see a British silent by Herbert Wilcox, Dawn (1928) with Sybil Thorndike. The film tells the life story of a British nurse, Edith Cavell. She worked in a hospital in Brussels and was arrested by the Germans in 1915 for helping French and British POW to escape to France. She was shot.
This British film created an outcry in 1928. It was censored in various countries. The story of Edith Cavell was still pretty raw and 10 years after the war nobody wanted it recalled. I saw a French print (censored). The film takes great care with locations: the film was shot in the actual locations in Brussels. Sybil Thorndike gave a very understated performance and the film overall looked like a perfect recreation of the actual event (with probably some licence). The scene which had been censored is the following: a German soldier refuses to shoot Edith and he is killed by his officer. Then the officer turns his gun towards Edith and kills her. But the film wasn't a standard propaganda film like the ones made just after the war. The German soldiers or officers were more complex than just the standard thug. Wilcox is not an imaginative director but I enjoyed the film. A young pianist accompanied the film very well. This is definitely worth investigating if you have a chance to see it.
This British film created an outcry in 1928. It was censored in various countries. The story of Edith Cavell was still pretty raw and 10 years after the war nobody wanted it recalled. I saw a French print (censored). The film takes great care with locations: the film was shot in the actual locations in Brussels. Sybil Thorndike gave a very understated performance and the film overall looked like a perfect recreation of the actual event (with probably some licence). The scene which had been censored is the following: a German soldier refuses to shoot Edith and he is killed by his officer. Then the officer turns his gun towards Edith and kills her. But the film wasn't a standard propaganda film like the ones made just after the war. The German soldiers or officers were more complex than just the standard thug. Wilcox is not an imaginative director but I enjoyed the film. A young pianist accompanied the film very well. This is definitely worth investigating if you have a chance to see it.
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Ann Harding
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I watched two Rex Ingram pictures. First Scaramouche (1923) with Alice Terry, Lewis Stone and Ramon Novarro. I had not seen the film for about 20 years. It's a beautifully crafted recreation of Paris during the French Revolution. It's another Sabatini novel adapted to the screen. I read it some years back. Sabatini is not a great writer but his subjects are interesting enough to provide good material for a film.
The 1952 remake was centered on action and comedy while the original is more like a costume melodrama. Novarro is very good in the title role. Alice Terry is beautiful but hasn't got much to do. The big crowd scenes are impressive. Overall, beautiful to look at, it is just a shame it's not a tinted print with a bit more contrast and sharpness.
Second, Mare Nostrum (1926) with Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno. This film was shot in the South of France (Studio de la Victorine, Nice) where Ingram was living at the time.
Alice Terry, a German spy, manages to seduce the apeless sea captain played by Antonio Moreno with fatal consequences...
If the story is not very original, at least, it's absolutely gorgeous to look at. John Seitz creates a real atmosphere with his beautiful cinematography. And there is a wonderful allegorical ending where the two dead lovers meet at the depth of the ocean. I noticed several scenes which have been in the oldest part of Nice. it hasn't changed much since the 20s. It's still the same narrow streets with linen hanging from the windows.
My favourite Ingram so far is still The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The 1952 remake was centered on action and comedy while the original is more like a costume melodrama. Novarro is very good in the title role. Alice Terry is beautiful but hasn't got much to do. The big crowd scenes are impressive. Overall, beautiful to look at, it is just a shame it's not a tinted print with a bit more contrast and sharpness.
Second, Mare Nostrum (1926) with Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno. This film was shot in the South of France (Studio de la Victorine, Nice) where Ingram was living at the time.
Alice Terry, a German spy, manages to seduce the apeless sea captain played by Antonio Moreno with fatal consequences...
If the story is not very original, at least, it's absolutely gorgeous to look at. John Seitz creates a real atmosphere with his beautiful cinematography. And there is a wonderful allegorical ending where the two dead lovers meet at the depth of the ocean. I noticed several scenes which have been in the oldest part of Nice. it hasn't changed much since the 20s. It's still the same narrow streets with linen hanging from the windows.
My favourite Ingram so far is still The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
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silentscreen
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Glad you enjoyed the films Christine. Both were recorded off TCM. It would be nice if they did more restoration on both and released them in an offical release. They could add tinting then, and new scores. How often do we say that we want an offical release?"Humor is nothing less than a sense of the fitness of things." Carole Lombard
Brenda,
I think you might have gotten both SCARMOUCHE and MARE NOSTRUM from me several months ago? I don't remember?
Neither film needs extensive restoration at all. Although, I wouldn't mind seeing a full orchestral score recorded for MARE NOSTRUM. The Jeffrey Mark Silverman score for SCARAMOUCHE I found a be very good. Silverman recently composed a score for Mary Pickford's SPARROWS, and this will be on DVD soon with the new score.
The Silent SCARAMOUCHE is much more gritty, and serious, than the light hearted toned down 50's remake. MARE NOSTRUNM is a film I must confess that I have never finished watching. I will have to do that one of these days.
Have not heard from you in many months. Send me an E-mail. I have all kinds of new stuff here. Happy Halloween!!!
http://goldenageofhollywood.ning.com/profile/TheGiant
I think you might have gotten both SCARMOUCHE and MARE NOSTRUM from me several months ago? I don't remember? Neither film needs extensive restoration at all. Although, I wouldn't mind seeing a full orchestral score recorded for MARE NOSTRUM. The Jeffrey Mark Silverman score for SCARAMOUCHE I found a be very good. Silverman recently composed a score for Mary Pickford's SPARROWS, and this will be on DVD soon with the new score. The Silent SCARAMOUCHE is much more gritty, and serious, than the light hearted toned down 50's remake. MARE NOSTRUNM is a film I must confess that I have never finished watching. I will have to do that one of these days. Have not heard from you in many months. Send me an E-mail. I have all kinds of new stuff here. Happy Halloween!!!
http://goldenageofhollywood.ning.com/profile/TheGiant