Monday night and it’s time for something mighty begun by
Erich von Stroheim and completed by Rupert Julien as the studio system clamped
down on all that trust, creativity and budget abuse… not to mention Erich's "...flagrant disregard of the principles of censorship”. Lewis Milestone later
claimed this as the moment when “the age of the director” was superseded by the
producer system. Maybe Merry-go-Round (1923) is also then, the first
example of a film that suffered as a result of no single vision?
It's certainly a film with many powerful moments, not
least the finest performance I’ve ever seen from Mary Philbin as Agnes the poor
fairground worker who is romanced by a Prince incognito played by Norman Kerry.
There’s part of the problem as Norman is better at the confident Prince than
the lovelorn warrior and the segment after WWI could have done with some trimming,
re-editing. There’s also some issues with tone with the unremitting cruelty of the
demon Merry-go-Round owner, played by George Siegmann who terrorises his staff,
doesn’t care of they live or die and tries to sexually assault, feels very von
Stroheim whilst the more romantic interludes, perhaps Julien – accounts vary.
But all this said, the film is dramatic and keeps you
guessing right until the far from Hollywood ending – it’s not all joyous. It was
a smash hit and tonight it looked as fabulous as is possible. It is the most
complete version to date and the restorers of this new version spent 20 years
conducting a worldwide search, comparing each of the elements shot by shot, to
restore tints and scenes in order to reconstruct the whole film in its original
form. It's a Hollywood classic with excellent support from
Their efforts were supported further by two hours of finely
wrought accompaniment from Mauro Colombis, Romano Todesco and Frank Bockius –
currently the hardest working drummer in show business! The three combined as a
tightly together as with the film and for the second night running my arms hurt
from too much clapping: just stop it guys!
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| Ludwig Trautmann |
Getting to know almost forgotten German, actor, director,
writer, producer… Harry Piel’s tricks and flicks. Not for nothing was he known
as "the dynamite director" as cars and illicit diamond factories blew
up in today’s first film, Das Teufelsauge (The Devil’s Eye) (1914), a
breathless adventure spinning at a Paul Auster level of coincidence much like
yesterday’s Das Abenteuer Eines Journalisten (1914) whilst also
featuring two drops from bridges into water, one more than Erblich Belastet
(1913). It was clearly a winning formula although there were gasps when a horse
appeared to fall off a bridge and certainly there was a high risk of equine
injury when our hero and his pursuers are chased down a very steep sandbank on
horseback.
Ludwig Trautmann plays François Rennée, an attaché) who
is romancing Countess Rita Pignatelli (Anny [Anni] Timm) but, dressed as a Pierrot
at one of her parties, gets accused of stealing her crown jewel, The Devil’s
Eye… Even though she’s a woman of influence he has to go on the run, and
charges off a clown on horseback, jumping of bridges into moving cars,
performing a kind of pierotte parkour, a clown in constant motion off to prove
his innocence. It’s inventive, comic-book fun and an improbable story well told
by Piel.
The other Piel film was Das Rollende Hotel (The Rolling Hotel) (1918) was altogether gentler with a young private detective trying to help his friend Editor Tom marry the girl he loves rather than the suitor her father prefers on financial grounds. Even this took us into a wild chase with scenes high in the snow and of a portable hotel/caravan which, as you’d expect, crashed off a bridge and into the waters below! This was a very entertaining film with a lively cast including Heinrich Schroth as Detective Joe Deebs, Josef Ewald as Tom and the girl he wants to marry is Addy played by Käthe Haack who, in reality, chose Heinrich Schroth.
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| Italia Vitaliani |
La Madre (1917), featuring Italia Vitaliani, an
almost forgotten Italian Diva from the great age and who was first cousin once
removed of Eleonora Duse, who was considered as her rival on stage for technique
and naturalistic playing. La Duse influenced everyone from Bertini and Borelli
to Asta and it’s rare to see her cousin on screen. Giuseppe Sterni’s film was only
recently found and restored in the Netherlands and allows the actress to run
through her expressive repertoire as the mother of a would-be artist who finds
the wrong muse… she preservers to save him from himself and in her anguish
provides him with the perfect portrait.
Diva film are perfect little arias that make sense unto themselves, every time I watch I relax and float down stream suspended entirely by belief.
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| Alternative title |
The programme had this next section as Slapstick – Prog 2 "Clowns and Cretins"? I understand why this subtitle was chosen but “cretins” is now an ableist slur used to cover a whole range of neuro-atypical conditions. Yes, André Deed used a number of screen names but Cretinetti Che Bello! was made in 1909, we’re all historian enough to understand the title but we shouldn’t be reducing the significance of this word which, as the father of an ASD son I find uncomfortable.
On the bright side Deed is on fine form, with a typically
surreal adventure – whatever his name he was anarchic and innovative, tearing himself
apart and pulling himself together again.
As for the clowns, the famous Fratellini Brothers, François,
Paul and Albert, get a chance to show parts of their act and then to fill out
the thinnest of plots as they try and work out why Dolorès Braga (Yane Odoni)
is the only person in the tent not laughing at their jokes. Dolorès, I’m with
you babe, I was traumatised as a small child at Blackpool Tower Circus and I
now can’t look at a clown without crying…
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| Madeline Hurlock, Ben Turpin and Dave Morris |
In the battle of two mythical mid-European states Ben
Turpin emerged as a surprise winner on account of laughs per minute and the
coherence of his ideas in When a Man’s a Prince (1926) leaving Elinor
Glyn’s project, The Only Thing (1925) in it’s wake as a confusion of
anti-royalist/anti-revolutionary/pro-glamour. Ben’s on top form and the timing
is impeccable throughout with a great supporting cast including Madeline
Hurlock as a flirty lady-in-waiting, Dave Morris as Grand Duke Ludwig and
Blanche Payson Hilda, The Princess of Amazonia!
On the plus side, having seen Eleanor Boardman in the
deliberately “unglamourous” The Crowd, last month at the BFI, it’s great
to see her on the big screen showcasing the kind of style she was famous for.
She doesn’t have much to work with but does have good chemistry with the
equally decorative Conrad Nagel and the two form a classy bubble in a story
also full of Glyn’s entitlement and exploitative cruelty.
Boardman is Thyra, Princess of Svendborg, politically
forced into a marriage with the ageing King of Chekia (Edward Connelly) and
there’s a running joke about how he has ‘orrible big ears as do all of his
family, even the one working with the revolutionaries. Its hardly a prospect
that would delight and carries uncomfortable echoes of royal marriages before
and since. Anyway, she fancies the British noble, he fancies her and yet what could
stop her fulfilling her duty? A revolution perhaps, and one involving perhaps a
bit too much tortured female flesh and outlandish cruelty for my liking. Mildly grumpy on Day Three...
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| King Charles, Eleanor Boardman and Conrad Nagel |
Another fine day in Pordenone, feels like Wednesday
but it’s still barely Tuesday. Weds is Hindle Wakes Day, in fact it’s Wakes
Week in so many ways… (niche Yorkshire/Lancashire reference that will make
sense come the day!!
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| Don't dream of clowns... |
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