The sky was falling in, lava exploding from a volcano,
baddies running around, horses flying, a heroine being menaced by a lady with a
whip, snake were coming out of rocks… it felt like the end of days and John
Sweeney was pummelling the Teatro Verdi’s Fazioli piano with the most
remarkable ferocity. John’s fierce clusters were totally controlled and there
were variations in theme and contrapuntal flourishes through the film’s
extended climax – people had hit that keyboard hard this week but to be playing
that fast and with so much finesse: no one was sleeping through that! No one
has driven this musical Maserati that fast and stayed within the rules of the
road… Magnifico!
As for the film? The Golden Abyss (1927) has twins played stylishly by Liane Haid who are separated by a sea disaster with one, Oédidée growing up on a remote island, saved
by a blind missionary (natch) whilst the other, Claire, has become a
vamp of the first order with Louise Brooks’ locks and looks to match. We get
some lascivious nightclub scenes that we should have got in Paris After Midnight and there’s a lot
of action even after the censor had their way.
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| Liane Haid's Oédidée can't take her eyes of the pith-helmet |
But… it was fun in the end all thanks to the Fazioli set aflame!
For the real deal, and one of the undoubted highlights of
the week, you knew we could rely on Ernst Lubitsch and Pola Negri in Forbidden
Paradise (1924) a film of such knowing sophistication it makes most of
the other Hollywood flickers we’ve seen look a little plodding.
This was Team Bergkatze re-united for the last time and showing
the Yankees how things are done.
It’s the story of a Russian Tsarina - Pola –
who has her hobbies and likes entertaining. She takes a shine to Alexie (Rod La
Rocque) a young officer, who has ridden to warn her of revolution (there’s not
much history really…) in spite of her Lord Chamberlain (the genius Adolphe
Menjou, without whom no film is complete) trying to keep the handsome cove
away.
Now Alexie’s true love is Anna (Pauline Starke, who I’d last
seeing getting killed in Captain
Salvation) and yet… he’s just another boy who can’t say no to the Tsarina
at least not initially.
The story is slight, but the direction is so subtle and
controlled and Pola’s performance is a master class in sass! No one else really
conveyed everyday sarcasm and street humour as well as Miss Negri and no one
else ever looked quite like her. Amazing and transfixing and as we all simmered
in a packed Teatro Verdi, grown men started to faint…
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| Pauline Starke, Rod La Rocque and Pola Negri |
The accompaniment was from Günter Buchwald and Gabriel
Thibaudeau and the roof was raised in appreciation at the finish. Lubitsch’s
daughter Nicola was in the audience too – a special, Giornate night indeed!
A Dangerous Wooing (1919) with Mauro Colombis
The day began with lots of fighting as Lars Hanson took on
all-comers for the hand of Aslaug (Gull Cronvall), the winsome daughter of
veteran cock of the walk, Knut Husaby (Theodor Blick) who describes himself as
the “Wolf” and his two sons as cubs… although Sigurd (Hugo Tranberg) and Eyvind
(Gosta Cederlund) seem scarcely feral at all, especially in comparison to Lars’
Tore Næsset.
Thormund (Hjalmar Peters), the wealthiest farmer in the area
approaches with his only son, Ola (Kurt Welin) who has all of the financial
backing and none of the front being a podgy lad who is easily despatched and
dunked in milk by Uno and his accomplice.
Then things get a little more serious as they all gang up on
Tore forcing him to take desperate measures to secure his love… All good fun
and it looks great of course!
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| Gull Cronvall and Lars |
This was followed by The
Home Maker (1925) on the Parade’s Gone By at 50 strand. It’s a fascinating
film about the expectations of men and women at the time: if the only way an
intelligent and able woman could carry on working as the main breadwinner and
the husband could be the home-maker was him to feign disability… you understand
the contemporary concerns of the film makers and Dorothy Canfield on whose
novel this was based. Canfield was a committed social reformer and was named one
of the ten most influential women in the United States by Eleanor Roosevelt.
The book has been re-published by Persephone Books and you can order it from them online.
Memory Lane (1926) with music and vocals from Donald Sosin
Now for two of my absolute favourite show people, who both
got their breaks in 1923 and who also starred together in Tell It to the
Marines (1926). Eleanor Boardman and William Haines are true Hollywood royalty
– classy, smart and living marvellous lives of real substance! I genuinely love
everything I see them in and this John M. Stahl comedy did not disappoint!
It’s slight stuff as Mary (Eleanor) has to choose between
Joe (William) and Jimmy (Conrad Nagel) and even after she marries the latter
there are complications as Joe ends up as their taxi driver and then kidnapper.
There’s some lovely comic riffing between Boardman and Haines as their car
breaks down in the rain. The characters are likable, and the gentle storyline
isn’t upsetting anyone but it warms your heart all the same.
Donald Sosin sang the theme song along with the props on
screen and this worked really well with this winsome winner!
Troll-Elgen (1927) with Maud Nelissen
Now it was time for some scenery as we landed in Norway for Walter
Fürst’s elk-based romance. The ghost elk is a revered animal that locals say
contains the soul of a departed man; to kill the elk would give you special
status but he’s almost mystically-difficult to track.
What this a-typical cervus
canadensis has to do with another rural romance based on status and restrictive
class tropes is purely tangential but it does add some lovely wildlife shots to
the mix.
As with Lars this morning, Bengt Djurberg’s Hans has a fight
on his hands to wed his love, Ingrid (Tove Tellback – who has the most penetrating
blue eyes) and he has to contend with Einar Tveito’s Gunnar Sløvika a richer
man and a huge bully as well. Now Tveito has form in this kind of role and is a
great baddy, this won’t be a pushover and Walter Fürst’s debut is a
good-looking and well-paced adventure that also squeezes in a circus act,
abusive Uncles and a hunt for the famed elk.
And that was a packed Friday… off to the plaza for
conversations late into the night…last day tomorrow.
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| Tove Tellback and Bengt Djurberg forget about the elk |
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