Scott Lord on the Silent Film of Greta Garbo, Mauritz Stiller, Victor Sjostrom as Victor Seastrom, John Brunius, Gustaf Molander - the Golden Age of Swedish Silent Film........Lost Films in Found Magazines, among them Victor Seastrom directing John Gilbert and Lon Chaney, the printed word offering clues to deteriorated celluloid, extratextual discourse illustrating how novels were adapted to the screen; the photoplay as a literature;how it was reviewed, audience reception perhaps actor to actor.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Friday, November 1, 2024
Scott Lord Silent Film: Greta Garbo In The Joyless Street (G.W. Pabst, 1...
In The Film Till Now, a survey off world cinema, Paul Rotha writes, “It is impossible to witness the showing a Film by Pabst without marveling at his unerring choice of camera angle for the expression of mood or his employment of the moving camera to heighten action.” Notwithstanding he describes the “tempestuous and badly received” “The Joyless Street” as being only the second film made by the director and that the directors poularity as only having increased later. “With unerring psychology by which he caused the smallest actions of his characters to convey meaning. Pabst brought to his picture moments of searing pain, of mental anquish, of clear unblemished beauty. His extreme powers of truthfulness, of understanding, of reality, of the virtual meaning of hunger, love, lust and greed rendered this extraordinary film convincing.” Rotha noted the collaboration of actress Greta Garbo with the director Pabst. “Mention has been made of Greta Garbo in the film, for it is by this that one theorizes on her beauty and ability. In Hollywood this splendid woman has been wantonly distorted into the symbol of eroticism. But Greta Garbo, by reason of her sympathetic understanding of Pabst, brought a quality of loveliness into her playing as the professor’s eldest daughter. Her frail beauty, cold as ann ice flower warmed by the sun, stood secure in the starving city of Vienna, untouched by the vice and lust that dwelt in the dark Street.”
The script to the film was based on a novel by Hugo Bettauer that only a year earlier had been serialized in a newspaper in Vienna. The length of the film is listed as five reels, but apparently screened with extensive censorship cuts in a version considerably shorter than the modern restored version and in American versions which edited out the character portrayed by Asta Nielsen.
In his volume A Tale from Constantinople, written with Patrick Vondeau, Bo Florin, University of Stockholm, notes that originally actress Vilma Banky had been considered for the lead in the film "The Joyless Street", her having left for America before the shooting of the film. Mauritz Stillerwas on occaision seen at the studio, his apparently having had an interest in directing the film and he in fact having had an offer to direct six films in Europe when he decided to depart for America.
Actress Greta Garbo came directly to America without filming in Sweden after working with G.W. Pabst, and had in fact been working on a Film with Mauritz Stiller before having been given her role in “The Joyless Street”. The Private Life of Greta Garbo, published in 1931 by Rilla Page Palmborg at a time when the world didn’t know how private the life of Greta Garbo would later become, gives an account of Mauritz Stiller, Greta Garbo and Einar Hanson being in Constantinople to film the first movie ever made there. After delays in completing the script, it had finally been finished and Mauritz Stiller had started to direct when its financing had abruptly been discontinued and Stiller’s telegrams had gone unanswered. “In a few days, Mr.Stiller returned with the sad news that the backers of the picture had gone broke. There was nothing to do but disband and go home. But Mr. Stiller had plans for another picture that he wanted to make in Berlin. While she was waiting...Mr. Stiller got her a part in ‘The Street of Sorrow’...During this time, Louis B. Mayer, production head of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Hollywood was making a trip through Europe on the lookout for new talent. The night he saw ‘Gosta Berlings Saga’ he saw photography and new directorial tricks that had never been done before.He wanted to see the genius who directed the fine picture.”
Author Forsyth Hardy, typically as he is usually concise, devotes only a paragraph of his volume Scandinavian Film to the Mauritz Stiller endeavor "Kostantinopel", noting that after he had interested them in his already underway project, Stiller involved Greta Garbo and Einar Hanson deeply in the on location making of the film. The brief account continues: subsequently Garbo completed "The Joyless Street" and then agreed to go to Hollywood with Stiller.
Danish Silent Film Star Asta Nielsen remained in Berlin to film similar social dramas about the decadence, or downfall, of society, among them “Tragedy of the Street” (Rahn, 1927) and “The Vice of Humanity” (Meinhart, 1927) . At first glance, the films are connected to “The Joyless Street” by belonging to The New Objectivity, which depicted the cities of Germany realistically as being in post-War poverty. During 1925, already famous for her portrayal of “Hamlet” (Sven Gade, 1921), Asta Nielsen played the title role of Hedda Gabler in a film adapted and directed by Frank Eckstein and starred in the film “The Living Buddhas” under the direction of Paul Wegner. Only five minutes of the original footage of the film now survive, adding the film to the many now lost films of the silent era.
Silent film director Georg Wilhelm Pabst is perhaps best known to contemporary audiences for directing actress Louise Brooks in the films "Pandora's Box" and "Diary of a Lost Girl" (Das tagebuch einer verbrenen"), both filmed during 1929.
Greta Garbo and Mauritz Stiller
Greta Garbo
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Scott Lord Silent Film: Lon Chaney inThe Phantom of the Opera (Jullian, 1925)
Author Mark A. Vieira, in Silent Prototypes, the first chapter of his volume “Hollywood Horror”, almost attributes an entire subgenre of “Gorilla movie”, or “man in a gorilla suit movies” to a 1912 novel written by Gaston Leroux entitled “Balaoo” which was filmed by Fox Studios during 1927, the creature being a “gorilla’s body and half a human head”. The film, which stars the very beautiful Leila Hyams, oddly enough is a lost film, of which the are presumed to be no surviving copies. It is interesting that author William Everson, in his volume Classics of the Horror Film, as early as 1974 wrote that "The Wizard" (six reels), directed by Richard Rossen, was in fact "the most fascinating, elusive and sought after of all 'lost' horror films." Everson includes a still phtotgraph of Edward Lowe being menaced by the ape, almost reminiscient of the many poliferated still photographs of Chaney from "London After Midnight" that seem to makes us feel the film is an apparition rather than the apparition is being filmed. Everson almost chides the studio's projectionist with , "the original film is probably gone beyond recall" and with the film being "sorely missed as a major gap in our knowledge".
Gaston Leroux created the fictional detective Joseph Rouletabile, who appeared in one of the earliest locked room mysteries, “The Mystery of the Yellow Room” (1907) and “The Perfume of the Lady in Black” (1908). Novelist Gaston Leroux had published “The Phantom of the Opera” in 1911.
Author Robert Gordon Anderson, in his volume Faces, forms, films; the artistry of Lon Chaney, chronicles the shooting of "The Phantom of the Opera" as having started in late 1924. "It had taken about ten weeks to do, although another eight months were spent in re-shooting some scenes, which were deleted in the final version."
During his early carrer at Universal Studios, Lon Chaney had most frequently appeared on screen under the direction of either Allan Dwan or Joseph De Grasse. Rupert Julian had not only directed but had also starred with Lon Chaney in the film "The Kaiser, The Beast of Berlin" (seven reels), made by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company during 1918. Apearing in the film with Julian and Chaney were actresses Betty Carpenter, Ruth Clifford and Gretchen Lederer. Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Silent Horror
Scott Lord Silent Film: Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Worsley, 1923)
Prior to having directed Lon Chaney in the twelve reel silent film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Wallace Worsely had been behind the camera for the films “The Penalty” (1920” and “The Ace of Hearts” (1921), both films having feature the Man of a Thousand Faces.
Moving Picture World magazine during 1924 deemed "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" to be a "spectacle drama". Film Daily included the Cathedral in a photolayout espousing "The Value of Large Sets" during 1926, claiming that Universal had reproduced 20 blocks of medieval France while making the film.
Author Mark A Vieira, in Silent Protypes, a chapter in his volume Hollywood Horror, christens "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" as the "Birth of the Monster", the first film made in the genre. Suprisingly, Vieira follows Lon Chaney to the newly formed merger of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Irving Thalberg. Lon Chaney had starred with John Gilbert and Norma Shearer in the first feature made at M.G.M directed by Victor Seastrom, formerly known in Sweden as Victor Sjostrom. While author Robert Anderson, in his 1971 volume Faces, Forms, Films, the artistry of Lon Chaney, claims that "in most of the Browning-Chaney films the plot evolved from the characterization", author Mark A.Vieira also gives Chaney credit for creating a new and original character with each new manifestation of make-up; each new character is automatically placed in an entirely different narrative based on Chaney's physical appearance. Vieira follows Chaney back to Universal and The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925).
The novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo had previously been filmed during 1906. Director J. Gordon Edwards adapted the novel to the screen during 1917 in a six reel production titled "The Darling of Paris" for Fox Film Corporation starring actress Theda Bara. The film is presumed lost with no existing copies. The synopsis of "The Darling of Paris" given by the periodical Motography during 1917 prooves the film to be a faithful adaptation of the story of Esmerelda and Quasimodo. It reviewed the performance of Theda Bara in the lost film, "The part taken by Theda Bara in'The Darling of Paris' is one of the most interesting characters she has been called upon to interpret since she has been in the silent drama. It is an unusual one, dominating the story beginning to end. There are but few moments when she is not in the picture, which adds to the importance of the production." The periodical Moving Picture World described the film, "To anyone not familiar with the Hugo romance, the Fox screen version presents a well put together photoplay, rich in picturesque incident, strong character drawing, authentic reproduction of an age long past, dramatic situations in abundence, and a climav of thrilling worth."
Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney
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