WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[MichiganJ]

Picking a "worst" Buster silent feature is like picking Beethoven's "worst" symphony. Even his worst is better than most others best.

I think I've written before that, for me, Go West feels like a long "short" and works best when looking at it as a loving poke at the sentiment creeping into Chaplin's and even some of Lloyd's features. (Of course Griffith is in the mix, too.) I see Go West as a gentle satire first, and a Western spoof second.

[JackFavell]

ccfan-

I feel just the same way about Vic. He seems like a grand fellow.

[Gagman 66]

Fernando,

Glad that you got to see TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS. it is indeed a very funny film. I agree with Kevin that it's among the first films I would show a person to introduce them to Silents, or if they are just getting into them. This film was considered lost for decades. As you mentioned there are some scenes that are in bad shape, but allot of the film also look great. I haven't been around here much in recent months, but hope to be more active again.

[charliechaplinfan]

Picking a "worst" Buster silent feature is like picking Beethoven's "worst" symphony. Even his worst is better than most others best.

I think I've written before that, for me, Go West feels like a long "short" and works best when looking at it as a loving poke at the sentiment creeping into Chaplin's and even some of Lloyd's features. (Of course Griffith is in the mix, too.) I see Go West as a gentle satire first, and a Western spoof second.

I agree with you completely, Buster's worst is still better than most.

[movieman1957]

MichiganJ:

What a great analogy. There are not weak Beethoven symphonies just different types.

[drednm]

I re-watched The Love of Sunya last night and really enjoyed it. A remake of Clara Kimball Young's Eyes of Youth, Gloria Swanson (in her first film as producer) stars as a woman torn between love, ambition, and her father's financial plight. Terrific story opens with Gloria in ancient Egypt seeking refuge in a temple but then having to escape the priest (Hugh Miller). She jumps into a fire pit and we are told that the soul of the priest will forever wander the earth via reincarnation until he rights his wrong.

Jump to present day where Sunya Ashling (Swanson) is getting it from all sides. Her mentor (Andres de Segurola) wants her to go to Pairs with him to study singing so she can become an opera star. Her boy friend (John Boles in his first major role) has just been transferred to South America and he wants Swanson to marry him and go NOW. But daddy is on the verge of financial ruin and he wants Swanson to marry oily Robert Goring (Anders Randolf) so they will all be financially secure. There's also her younger sister to consider.

Enter the reincarnated priest who offers Swanson a chance to see the future (his way of repaying her) via his crystal ball. What ensues are three stories about the choices Swanson has. This narrative structure allows Swanson to play basically three difference characters: the haughty opera star, the discarded wife of a rich man, and a sweetheart. Then she has to make her choice!

The Love of Sunya ranks among my favorite Swanson films although it's always listed as having been a flop. I can't find any actual figures regarding production costs or box office, but Swanson claims in her autobiography that it did well. The film is a footnote in movie history as the film that opened the magnificent Roxy Theater in NYC. In her book Swanson says it was one of the biggest movie premieres of all time (see articles in the NY Times from 1927) and got a long standing ovation from the SRO crowd.

[MichiganJ]

Wow, The Love of Sunya sounds like a wild film!

I must admit that I'm not much of a Swanson fan. While I think she's terrific in Sadie Thompson and Queen Kelly, she doesn't do much for me in the DeMille films (although she wears her clothes well) and, oddly, she doesn't seem to share any chemistry with Valentino in the goofy (but fun) Beyond the Rocks.

I even have mixed feelings about Sunset Boulevard, although I think that's more with the film itself than Swanson's performance. (She is the only reason to watch Airport 1975, where she plays herself and makes endless plugs about her new autobiography!)

[drednm]

As Sunya, Swanson wears some incredible clothes by a designer she discovered, Rene Hubert. One outfit in particular was a black sheath-like dress with eye-popping art deco jewelry. For a short woman, she certainly could wear some spectacular outfits. One of her tricks was to have herself filmed on a stairway while she wore a dress with a long train thing that would hang down a couple steps below her, making her look like an Amazon.

[MichiganJ]

That's interesting about Swanson being photographed on staircases. I seem to recall many shots just like that.

Swanson made a good impression on me in her segment on the Dick Cavett Show. (It's in the Rock Icons collection and Swanson is on the show with Janis Joplin I believe.) While she took herself quite seriously, she also had a good sense of humor, and looks pretty great. (I'm a sucker for her eyes.)

[myrnaloyisdope]

(She is the only reason to watch Airport 1975, where she plays herself and makes endless plugs about her new autobiography!)

Hey no love for a soused up Myrna Loy??

As for Buster, well The Saphead isn't very good, but it's not a Buster film in the sense of him being it's creator and main artistic force. Otherwise, well The Navigator is probably the weakest I've seen, but not bad by any stretch, and Steamboat Bill, Jr. is pretty dull up until the beyond amazing climactic sequence which astonishes me every time.

[MichiganJ]

Hey no love for a soused up Myrna Loy??

You're right, my mistake. I'd forgotten that there are many reasons to watch Airport 1975. Swanson and Loy for sure, but let us not forget the stellar performance by Helen Reddy! (And if we go to Airport '77: A New Hope there's Jimmy Stewart giving one of his all-time best, not to mention Joseph Cotton and Olivia De Havilland!)

Since Keaton is only an actor in The Saphead, I generally don't count it as one of his features (although he's the only reason to watch it.) I really like The Navigator, though, particularly the scene where he cooks for two in the huge galley. And Steamboat Bill, Jr., well, the climax does overwhelm everything else, but I still love Torrence and Keaton's chemistry, particularly in the "hat" scene.

[charliechaplinfan]

The Saphead does showcase Buster's deadpan style, it's interesting, it's strange imagining Buster in a role made famous by Doug Fairbanks, I don't know what changed more, the original play or Doug's screen persona. The character in The Saphead is nothing like I'd imagine Doug Fairbanks playing it.

The Navigator was one of Buster's biggest hits but I'd list most of his features ahead of it. The features that I would rate as sheer perfection are Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jnr, Seven Chances, The General and The Cameraman. Very near to perfection are Steamboat Bill Jnr, College and Spite Marriage.

The Love of Sunya, didn't Gloria write the screenplay herself?

[MichiganJ]

I don't know what changed more, the original play or Doug's screen persona.

Definitely Doug's screen persona. The character in The Saphead (or The Lamb as a play) is similar to the characters Doug played in his early comedies. Nearly all of them were ineffectual "lambs", who, by the story's end turned into a '"lion".

I think a case can be made even for The Mark of Zorro, although there, Doug's lion is masquerading as the lamb--the fop Don Diego.

Rating Buster's films is too difficult for me, with the exception of Our Hospitality as number one. I guess I put College below most, simply because it feels "safe" , especially coming after The General. It's very funny, just not terrible original.

[charliechaplinfan]

I have seen Doug in The Ballad of the Leaping Fish and The Mark of Zorro and I've read about Doug's earlier film work, his film career must have advanced in the direction we know him for, still I have trouble seeing him as Bertie, well the way Buster plays him at least.

I like College, I know it cashed in on the success of The Freshman but for me it's the more enjoyable film apart from the black face moment but I can put that down to the times as I squirm.

[drednm]

The Love of Sunya had several credited writers.... Swanson did not write the screenplay but she did produce the film (her first) for Gloria Swanson Productions.