"This is such a good picture that we intend seeing it again at the first
opportunity we have."
New York Times, September 8, 1924
Recent research from the Library of Congress has concluded
that up to 75% of American films made before the advent of sound have been lost. How much does this add to the allure of silent film and do we count ourselves especially lucky to be
able to watch that which survives? There’s no way of knowing how many classic
have been dumped and whether what remains is almost by definition the best, the
most watched and the most cherished? But, without doubt, many great films will never be seen again and many entertaining films that might have added to our appreciation
of the period and its entertainments.
Aside from bemoan their loss, what can we actually do
about non-extant films? Maybe the answer is to try and put them in context and
to try and give them some kind of existence in memory.
Maybe, like Bradbury’s characters in Fahrenheit 451, we should all task ourselves with committing to
memory at least one silent film so that it lives on in some way… maybe by
drawing together the available information we can somehow resurrect them at
least enough to catch a glimpse of what might-have-been and what actually-was…
Viola Dana and Glenn Hunter |
Merton of the Movies is a lost film from 1924 directed by James Cruze, starring
Glenn Hunter (who had earlier featured in Smilin' Through) and Viola Dana (star of many dozens of
films from 1910 onwards including Children of Eve) and which
enjoyed some success being nominated as one of the top ten films of the year by the New York Times.
It was based on a 1919 book written by Harry Leon Wilson who
also wrote The Ruggles of Red Gap
which was later turned into a film starring Charles Laughton... In 1922, the
book was adapted into a Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly
and a tie-in novel was published including stills from that production.
My copy of the 1922 edition, issued to tie in with the play's success: thanks Mary! |
My friend Mary found a copy for 75c in a bookstore near
where she lives in Santa Barbara and kindly sent it to me knowing it would be
just my cup of tea. So now, ladies and gentlemen, I am able to re-tell the
story of the book that led to the play and then onto the film and let your imaginations fill in the
rest with the aid of the few shots that remain…
The book begins with some very dense, florid prose as cowboy Buck Benson does battle with one Snake le Vasquez for the honour of city girl Estelle St. Clair… you
wonder if this is just aged creaky style but its Wilson’s post-modern humour
poking fun at not just the movies but also our dreamy devotion to them.
Buck confronts Snake le Vasquez |
The participants turn out to be two showroom dummies and one
stock room one: Merton Gill (Glenn Hunter) who whiles away his working hours
daydreaming of being a western film star. He is employed by Mr Gashwiler
(Charles Sellon) at his general store and is saving every penny for his big
chance in Hollywood.
Merton has an ally in Tessie Kearns (Gale Henry) who writes
scenarios in her spare time – none yet published – as well as accompanying
Merton on frequent trips to the local movie house. He worships BB the star of
dramatic serials and rather looks down on the slapstick shorts served on the
undercard: real drama was worth more than laughter.
Soon Merton heads off to chance his hand with his savings
and the promise of his old job back if things don’t work out - Mr Gashwiler
obviously seeing nothing much to lose in the extension of such generosity…
Merton finds room and board and begins a daily routine of
looking for work as an extra at the Holden Studios where BB films her serials…
part-stalker, part-dreamer, you wish Merton the best but you’re not convinced
he’ll get very far.
Flips buys Merton a square meal (image thanks to Jay Parrino...) |
Wilson’s construction of cohesive inner dialogue for Merton is expert and you wonder how this could ever be translated onto the silent screen – a voice-over would help explain the young man’s nativity and an earnestness that blinds him to neuro-typical responses almost throughout the whole book.
Flips sees something in him and she persuades slapstick
specialist Jeff Baird (DeWitt Jennings)
that his unflinching seriousness will have hilarious results when placed in the
context of the latter’s silly comedies. Young Merton also bears more than a
passing resemblance to Harold Parmalee
(Elliott Rothe), a successful and serious dramatic actor.
The formidable Flips |
So it is that Merton gets into the movies thinking that he’s
filming the start of a new serious strain of from the joker and his wobble-eyed
cast (any resemblance to Ben Turpin is entirely deliberate…). But it’s vital that in order to be the joke, Merton mustn’t
get the joke and Wilson works very hard to enable Baird’s hood-winking to
succeed. His every improvised excuse for how things look is rapidly assimilated
as justification for some of the extremes Merton must endure.
Things go well but Flips worries about how he’ll react when
he discovers the truth… in spite of it all she’s going soft on the guy.
But Bairns thinks only good can come from being successful
and even laughter is better than no applause at all… He rushes Merton into his
next feature and aims to complete that before the cat is let out of the bag.
No spoilers…
you can’t see the film but you really should read the book! There’s also a
remake featuring Red Skelton in 1947 but it’s also fair to say that Show People
owes more than a little to Merton.
Merton is so
well-informed about the movies, how they’re made and how the effort in front of
the camera can only truly be appreciated once all of the editing, cutting and
post-production has been completed. Merton’s nights on the lot show evidence of
Wilson’s depth of research and it’s especially fascinating to get a glimpse of
the production process. Most of all, the attitude of the film-makers to what
was already a massively successful business, is so revealing: the clichés were
already in place probably a decade before the book was written.
Glenn Hunter in the play |
The play was a huge success and Glenn Hunter had starred in
one of the touring products. You can imagine he’d do very well in this role but
Photoplay thought Charlie Ray would have been better. The New York Times was rather more enthused:
"Mr. Hunter's performance is all that could be wished. He makes Merton
wistful and hopeful... While he is pathetic, he is persistent, and his frowns and
smiles, his puffed-out chest and speaking eyebrows keep one constantly
interested, and often stir one to hilarity."
Glenn Hunter as Merton as Buck |
The Times described Viola Dana as splendid and you can imagine how she’d cope
very well with the wise-cracking Flips, always addressing life on the balls of
her feet – up for anything!
Ultimately, it’s hard to do anything other than imagine
which bits of the 335 page novel would have informed the film and perhaps the
play might provide a closer fit (it’s downloadable from the Internet Archive).
But the book, as all source materials, stands on its own right and is stillavailable from Amazon. Second hand copies are also on eBay, later editions
without dust-jackets are quite affordable, but a mint copy of the first edition
could set you back over $2,000.
Maybe one day the celluloid will be found… it’s a slim
chance but every so often, cinematic dreams do come true as Merton himself would attest.
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