WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[charliechaplinfan]

I watched The Mantrap beautifully restored to capture Clara's sparkling screen presence as Alverna a manicurist in a Minneapolis salon who marries and returns to the Canadian wilderness with her husband played by Ernest Torrence who is completely at her back and call and doesn't mind all her flirty ways, unlike the divorce lawyer played by Percy Marmont from New York who despises women like Clara but falls for her nevertheless. Clara/Alverna can't stop flirting, she just can't help herself and ends up running away with the lawyer. It's based on a serious play but turned very much tongue in cheek here and played for laughs. The director is Victor Fleming, the scenes going into Minneapolis are a joy to watch, giving us a glimpse of everyday life in the suburbs, the wilderness shots some of the best I've seen on silent films.

[charliechaplinfan]

Thanks to Synnove I got to watch a 1916 documentary on The Somme made with footage that some British photographers shot and shown in the cinemas at the time. It's split into 5 parts, the first seeming very eerie to me, men waiting to go to the front, expecting the big offensive that will gain so much ground and help shorten the war. I can't help thinking just how many of those men were living at the end of the battle. We see artillery being taken into battle, lots of the scenes are set behind the trenches in the towns and fields were men are getting prepared. we see one scene, a very famous scene of men going over the top. we see shell holes 40 foot deep, injured men being dragged out of no man's land, German's captured and injured and occasionally dead. Scenes in field hospials and feeding stations after the offensive, it doesn't show any of the huge human sacrifice that these men made for their country, intended to be shwon in the cinemas at home it would be bad for moral to show the reality that we know to have happened. It's eerie, it's moving, it shows a war that we don't see very often, behind the scenes in hospitals and getting prepared for the offensive, the trenches rarely seen, perhaps this too was withheld from public. Very moving and should be compulsory viewing for schools lest we ever make the mistakes again.

[Ann Harding]

Sounds interesting, Alison!

Recently I've been watching some Jean Harlow pictures I had never seen before. Some proved really great. First, Bombshell (1933, V. Fleming) a brilliant comedy about a Hollywood movie star struggling with her family (which dilapidates her money) and with the studio publicity man who spends all his time creating gossips about her. Her attempts at a 'normal life' are abject failures. The film is a real hoot with brillant performances from Harlow and Lee Tracy plus a host great character actors such as C. Aubrey Smith playing an failed actor and complaining that "he cannot understand what they find in that Lewis Stone!" It's one of the best Harlow pictures and of Victor Fleming.
Reckless (1935, V. Fleming) with Harlow and Powell is musical melodrama about a Broadway star accused falsely of murdering her husband. The film starts as a comedy and ends as a melodrama. The script written by DO Selznick was written with Crawford in mind. But Harlow landed the part. I found her pretty good, even if her voice was dubbed and her dancing was reduced to the minimum. The musical numbers were well shot and the Powell-Harlow partnership works very well.
Riffraff (1936, J. W. Ruben) showcases Tracy and Harlow as working class people struggling to make a living. The script by Frances Marion is intelligently done. Harlow shows she can play a dramatic part rather than just dumb platinum blondes. I enjoyed very much her sparring with Tracy. Great supporting cast again with Mickey Rooney as the brattish son of Una Merkel, playing Harlow's sister.

[moira finnie]

Thanks to Synnove I got to watch a 1916 documentary on The Somme made with footage that some British photographers shot and shown in the cinemas at the time.

Alison, is this documentary called The Battle of the Somme (1916), described here? It sounds fascinating.

[charliechaplinfan]

Yes, it was from the Imperial War Museum in London, being so used to seeing the First World War crop up in all kinds of programmes I'm used to seeing the men going over the top and trench warfare but seeing the men actually marching to battle coupled with the fact that most of them looked really cheerful like they were out on manouevres was both horrifying but compelling. It does include a very famous scene of men going over the top but the other images are ones I haven't seen before. Once seen, never forgotten.

[Ann Harding]

Yesterday, I saw this wonderful Mosjoukine picture at the CF. I discovered it in 2008 and I had as much pleasure as the first time I saw it.

(I. Mosjoukine, A. Brabant & H. Krauss)
Les Ombres qui passent (Shadows going by, 1924) by Alexandre Volkoff with Ivan Mosjoukine, Andrée Brabant, Nathalie Lissenko and Henry Krauss

Louis Barclay (I. Mosjoukine) lives in Southern England with his father (H. Krauss) and his wife Alice (A. Brabant). His domineering father makes him live according to Thoreau's precepts. But, one day, he receives a letter announcing a huge inheritance. He leaves his family to go to Paris...

The script of this film was written by Mosjoukine himself with Kenelm Foss. Instead of adapting a play or a novel, he created his own story with elements coming from various traditions. He mixes happily American comedy, Russian tragedy and French melodrama. Les Ombres qui passent is certainly the film that showcases the best Mosjoukine's comic talent. In 1913, he was already hilarious in Domik v Kolomne (The small house in Kolomna, 1913) playing a cook in disguise. For this film, he becomes a shy and naive young man leaving in the countryside. In the morning, he goes to the beach riding with his wife, both dressed only in swimsuit (much to the astonishment of a local vicar). The life is nice and uncomplicated, if it weren't for his domineering dad. The prospect of leaving to go to Paris is extremely attractive. He goes to a local tailor to buy a suit. And what a suit! The pants are too short and the jacket is a bit large. Dressed like Buster Keaton, he takes the boat to France. He doesn't go unnoticed when he arrives at the Paris hotel. Everybody is having a good laugh at his eccentric appearance. His first diner in the restaurant is equally hilarious as he moves his chair around to look at the ladies while swallowing a huge dinner. Suddenly, Louis has a taste of freedom like never before. But his is also the target of various crooks who want to get all his money. And his father's arrival doesn't change his mind. He wants to follow the gloriously attired (Paul Poiret no less) Jacqueline (N. Lissenko) whatever the consequences, not knowing she is one of the crooks. But she has fallen for the young man and refuses to go on the deception. The last part of the film, shot in Corsica, moves slowly towards tragedy. Louis will lose his true love and will have to go back to his former life. The whole film is a marvellous showcase of Mosjoukine's multiple talents. Athlete, comedian or tragedian, he is always projecting his personality with just the right note. The other actors give also their best: Henry Krauss, the former star of the Capellani pictures of the teens, André Brabant, as the sweet mischevious wife and Nathalie Lissenko as the brroding adventuress. To top it all the sets by Lochakoff are gorgeous Art Deco at its best and Fedote Bourgassoff provides some very elegant camerawork. The CF print is a gorgeous tinted print and among the best prints from Albatros. The film was played silent, as usual with the Cinematheque. It deserves the best musicians available to give it the right atmosphere.

[feaito]

Great review Christine.

Last sunday I watched "This is the Night" (1932) an appealing Precoder directed at Paramount by Frank Tuttle, who borrows not only from Lubitsch in this movie, but also from Mamoulian. This sexy comedy stars Roland Young as a bon-vivant who's having an affair with beautiful but bad-tempered Thelma Todd (who's always losing her clothes!) who's cheating her husband, a young, athletic and good looking javelin thrower perfectly impersonated by Cary Grant in his first film. To avoid the jealous husband's suspicions that her wife is being unfaithful with him, Young, with the help of his funny pal (Charles Ruggles) hires mousy Lili (aka Lily) Damita to pose as his wife. Damita impersonates the role of a sexy woman so well that Young, Grant and Ruggles fall for her! Quite funny and engaging. All the night scenes are tinted in blue. Definitely worth a watch and not bad as legend has it (much like "Night After Night" (1932) which is very good too).

[charliechaplinfan]

I've just watched This is the Night and it's my thoughts exactly, it has the feel of an early Lubistch movie, perhaps not quite as polished but I loved the tinting in the night scenes, like some of the earlier talkies. The choice of Thelma Todd as the wife of Cary Grant and lover of Roland Young is wonderful with her acid humour and jealousy. I've never seen Roland Young so enchanting and witty, the delightful Charlie Ruggles and the chlothes that never stayed put. My only question was why didn't Cary Grant hit the big time on this movie only, he's gorgeous, witty and has screen presence.

[feaito]

It's one of those mysteries Ali, I thought the same...Cary is great as Todd's husband, although some reviewers complained that it wasn't credible that Thelma could be having an affair with Roland Young being married to an athletic and younger guy with Grant's looks...

[charliechaplinfan]

Yes that was the obvious flaw I mean who would pass up Cary? He was quite a nice guy too, the only character who wasn't that likeable was Todd's character. I like Thelma's films, she's much more than a footnote in Hollywood's murkier history but a talented comedienne, it's just a pity that she didn't get bigger pictures.

Lila Damita known to me as Errol Flynn's first other half, meant to be tempestuous but by all accounts devoted to Flynn and their son. I'd expected to get smacked more between the eyes by her character and wanted so much to see lots of sparkle there but she just fell a little way short for me, just that little bit that made the difference of a few years more longevity of stardom.

I loved this and will watch it again to get another eyeful of Cary

[feaito]

I have just seen a superbt Precoder: "The Man in Possession" (1931), a MGM film directed by Sam Wood. it's a charming, frothy, risqué comedy and love story, full of nuances and with excellent performances. Robert Montgomery and Irene Purcell make a great team together: they sparkle, have chemistry and give splendid performances. The rest of the cast is very good: Charlotte Greenwood, Reggie Owen, C. Aubrey Smith, Alan Mowbray, Beryl Mercer, Forrester Harvey, etc. A must-see for Pre-Code fans. I wonder why Irene Purcell did not make more pictures or became a well-known movie actress. She certainly had talent, beauty and charm. A must-see.

There are some fine Pre-Code moments: implied sex between the two leads, the maid finding a torn nightgown or negligée the morning after, Purcell dreamily lying on her bed that morning, etc.

I must now get hold of the remake "Personal Property" (1937), with Bob Taylor and Jean Harlow to compare...although I'm sure it can't top the original. Two members of the cast of the original film reprised their roles her: Reginald Owen and Forrester Harvey.

[CineMaven]

Recently I've been watching some Jean Harlow pictures I had never seen before. Some proved really great. First, Bombshell (1933, V. Fleming) a brilliant comedy about a Hollywood movie star struggling with her family (which dilapidates her money) and with the studio publicity man who spends all his time creating gossips about her. Her attempts at a 'normal life' are abject failures. The film is a real hoot with brillant performances from Harlow and Lee Tracy plus a host great character actors such as C. Aubrey Smith playing an failed actor and complaining that "he cannot understand what they find in that Lewis Stone!" It's one of the best Harlow pictures and of Victor Fleming...

I think "BOMBSHELL" and "LIBELED LADY" are my two favorite Harlow films. In both of them this poor beauty is harangued and put upon by folks who want to use her. She gives as good as she gets and I found Harlow fantastic in these two films.

[Ann Harding]

I must now get hold of the remake "Personal Property" (1937), with Bob Taylor and Jean Harlow to compare...although I'm sure it can't top the original. Two members of the cast of the original film reprised their roles her: Reginald Owen and Forrester Harvey.

I've seen the remake with Harlow & Taylor. It's fairly average. The pre-code sounds a lot better.

[feaito]

I also think so Christine, although reading Quirk's review of "Personal Property" (1937) in his book "The Films of Robert Taylor" had made me doubt about its quality for a moment, because he praises it quite a bit.

Yesterday, thanks to "YouTube" I watched the entertaining "The Passionate Plumber" (1932) with Buster Keaton, lovely Irene Purcell, Jimmy Durante, Polly Moran, Gilbert Roland and Mona Maris. When I was watching it the plot seemed reminiscent of another film, and then I realized that the film has the same story than "The Cardboard Lover" (1928)/"Her Cardboard Lover" (1942) (I saw the Shearer vehicle last year).

Keaton impersonates a clumsy plumber who's "hired" by Purcell (Why on earth she did not have a longer career in films?) as her cardboard lover to keep womanizer Gilbert Roland at a distance. Attractive Argentinian actress Mona Maris plays the other woman in Roland's life. Roland cheats on both woman and his performance seemed somewhat forced IMO. Maris' fiery character is perhaps too strident. Durante plays one of Purcell's employees and is less annoying than usual and Keaton's performance is good. Irene Purcell once more demonstrates her gift as a comedienne and her incredible charm. In all, enjoyable, because I giggled constantly through the film.

[Ann Harding]

The lovely Mona Maris was Mrs Clarence Brown. I've seen her in a German silent comedy with Kurt Bois.