That was the way to bow out, thousands of soldiers on
horseback running at and around the camera as they charge, quick cuts of faces
in battle, sword slashes, men falling… all as Edith Jehanne’s character plays
the Polish anthem on her piano, envisaging a triumph as the San Marco Orchestra
played Henri Rabaud’s original score at full volume.
It’s been a grand – exhausting - week and this last push
lifted our tired spirits high up to the huge screen of the Teatro Verdi, fully
engaging in Raymond Bernard's images and thoughts brimming over with so many highlights
and wonderful conversations with a community passionately interested in communication,
history and preservation. A week of shared values which showed, as the man
said, how culture transcends boundaries. With attendees from across the globe,
Le Giornate proves this every year as, whether from the Lower East Side, the
North West, the Far East or the East End, we all want to learn more and to
enquire without. Cinema Muto: it’s film
for the curious…
The Chess Player
is a masterclass in late-silent cinema technique that was made at the same time
as Gance’s Napoleon and shares some
of the scope and invention with the mobile camera and epic scale as well as
innovative cutting, framing and that focus on filming thought… as Charles
Dullin’s character, the clockwork inventor, faces his demise he sees the clogs
of life turning and his death comes not wearing a shroud or on horseback but as
an automaton… with a scythe the shape of a clock’s ticker.
 |
| Edith Jehanne et Pierre Batcheff |
It’s a film of two halves, literally as well as figuratively: set in Eighteenth Century Poland after the Russian invasion of 1776, the first part covers the delicate balance between the locals and the occupying army of Tsarina Catherine II (so different from Pola Negri’s Tsarina…).
Debonair Pierre Blanchar is the pig-tailed Polish noble,
Boleslas Vorowski, a master chess player and military leader who’s adopted
sister Sophie Novinska (Edith Jehanne) seen as a symbol of Polish independence
with her face even painted on the army’s standards. Her ward is the mysterious
inventor Baron von Kempelen (Charles Dullin) a man whose genius has earned him
royal favour and yet who seems to harbour deep agendas.
Sophie loves Boleslas like a brother, and loves his
unlikely best friend, a Russian officer Serge Oblomoff (Pierre Batcheff) in a
quite different way. But love of country will soon intervene and tear them apart.
A friendly game of chess between Boleslas and the Russian Major Nicolaieff
(Camille Bert) as the officer’s relax in the mess, degenerates after a Polish dancer,
Wanda (Jackie Monnier), is pursued by an aggressive group of Russian offices.
Boleslas goes to her rescue and starts a fight that sparks a war.
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| Pierre Blanchar et Edith Jehanne |
The Poles succeed in driving the Russians from Vilnius
but they are eventually defeated by the latter’s superior numbers. There
follows the battle mentioned at the top as the real battle is imagined by
Sophie at her piano… Jehanne is just superb in this moment, emotion playing
across her face as fluidly as the piano combinations as she watched and hopes
in tortured isolation.
The uprising is brutally suppressed and whilst Boleslas
survives the battle he is badly wounded, as the Russians search him out the
Baron has an idea… it’s crazy, but it just might work. And so, it is that we take a left turn down the alley
marked Georgian Steam Punk or at least the 1920’s equivalent of science
fantasy.
 |
| Catherine is the Great Big Cheat! |
Von Kempelen has invented many disturbing automatons,
including one of himself and a platoon of sword-wielding full-size toy-soldier
and he has an idea how to hide Poland’s great hope as he recuperates… inside a
chess-playing automaton called the Turk. The film now shows the tour of The
Turk, accompanied by von Kempelen, Sophie and Wanda, as the mechanical wonder
beats all comers and travels ever closer to Germany and freedom.
But, Major Nicolaieff recognises the playing style in
losing to the machine and realises that the clock-work grand master hides a
secret. He persuades their host, King Stanislas, to send the Turk to the
Empress in St Petersburg… out of the frying pan… and into a no-win scenario
for, not only does Nicolaieff now the secret, Catherine has an even bigger
secret about Sophie which could completely undermine the fight for Poland… the
pace changes but the strange atmospheric and claustrophobia of the last hour,
make for thrilling denouement.
 |
| Blanchar and Dullin |
There was indeed a mechanical chess player known as The
Turk who defeated almost all opponents from 1770 to 1854 and baffled the best
minds of Europe including Napoleon Bonaparte (not to mention Benjamin
Franklin). Remarkably it was only “exposed” in the 1820s... some trick but it
wasn’t in Poland and Russia.
Combining the two stories together makes for a unique blend
and it worked so well with the full-blooded sound of the orchestra in the
Teatro’s precision crafted acoustic space. Mark Fitz-Gerald conducted and deserved every bow in this most
heated finale!
In Old Kentucky (1927) with Philip Carli
Our last John M. Stahl movie provided far gentler fare
and was the rare opportunity of seeing James Murray not in The Crowd, although he was in several crowds and called on to do
his trademark man-at-the-edge-of-his-tether routine. This film presumable
happened after The Crowd – if the stories of Vidor’s discovery of the actor are
true and probably Stahl’s use of Murray would confirm the chronology given his
character arc.
Murray plays Jimmy Brierly the son of a long line of
proud and successful Brierly’s (Edward Martindel) whom have made themselves rich
through horse breeding and racing. Murray’s girl is Nancy (Helene Costello) and
both seem well-adjusted kids… But when Jimmy gets called off to the Great War,
things are about to change.
He returns a shell of the man he was before, drinking and
unable to function let alone live up to father’s expectations. His relationship
with both sweetheart and family breaks down and he walks away just as his
father’s financial difficulties threaten the family’s future. But – you’ve seen
this coming haven’t you… there’s always a chance at redemption if you happen to
find your old thoroughbred in a army horse sale and the horse, who performed so
valiantly with Jimmy in the tranches, is a “mudder”… the day of the big, make or
break race approaches and it’s a dry sunny day… if only it would rain, the old
nag would have a chance?!
The film features a number of actual black actors which
is always a good thing to see although there’s a lead character in black face…
still, this must have been progress. The film ends with Highpockets (Stepin
Fetchit… real name Lincoln Perry) agreeing to marry Lily May (Carolynne Snowden)
and as the two embrace, he picks her pocket… what a rogue! Snowdon especially
performs well and does the right thing for her “employers” … she deserves more
than being the comic relief and Stahl does allow her character through to the drama.
 |
| The Vengeance du Sergent de Ville (1913) |
Desmet Collection Discoveries,
with Nick Sosin
The next generation got the chance to shine with Donald’s
son Nick Sosin performing experimental and humorous accompaniment to a series of
shorts.
I especially liked The
Two Little Boys Next Door (1911) was a British short with the titular lads
being very naughty indeed in battling their neighbours to Nick’s quirky
accompaniment of hi-register scatt and ukulele.
Also good was Mes
Voisins Font Danser (1908) featured the attempts of Max Linder to get some
rest avec une malle du tete! There’s a choir rehearsing upstairs and they
respond to his request to “turn that noise down” by starting to dance, so much
so that, naturally the roof caves in. It’s comedy chaos but it’s also The
Master, as Charlie called him, being masterly.
Louis Feuillade’s The Vengeance du Sergent de Ville (1913)
was also a hoot as the policeman in question is a noisy neighbour, playing his
horn far too load and forcing the other tenants to try stop him and resorting
to slapping a paper mache model of the copper. My advice leave it out, he ain’t
worth it!
The concentrated joy of these early shorts was a timely
reminder of the prevalence and popularity of the short form comedy. And it was
good to see at least a few this week!
So, that’s it, I’m leaving on a jet plane… DO know when I’ll
be back again though! June for Bolgna and October for Pordenone and Le
Giornate del Cinema Muto 38!! An excellent week and as Stephen Horne and Luigi Vitale
collected the new David Gill Award for best musical collaboration – deservedly so
for me – Stephen dedicated it to all of
the Giornate’s musicians, who even he is in awe of: me too and I’m not alone!
So, thank you for the music Giornate players, you have ALL
brought us so much joy this week and we are loving your work.
Arrividerchi and see you all in 2019!
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