Blood, Brutes and Black Bess – Kevin Brownlow’s Vitagraph home movies, Kennington Bioscope

It’s some kind of summer now: the start of the festival season and the Bioscope responded in its unique way with eight films in three hours. Our host Kevin Brownlow wanted to fit in another but most of us had homes to go to.

What we saw was a collection of 9.5mm prints intended for home viewing and which featured condensed versions of their source material ranging from one to three reels from the Vitagraph Company of America. Even stripped of their establishing narrative these films still made sense and were still impactful not least because of some spectacular action including horses racing a steam engine, cowboys, a steam engine ploughing through a forest fire and what looked like a full-scale sea battle.

But we also had Colleen Moore’s unique energy, Victor McLaglen’s physicality and a host of stars with successful careers and who should be better recalled: Irene Rich, J. Warren Kerrigan, Warren Baxter…

The latest in home projection technology!

In order to present these frail wonders on a large screen they had to be projected onto a small screen and fed through the digital projector at the Cinema Museum. The projectionist worked wonders, stopping the frames so the audience could read the intertitles and making running repairs when the celluloid snapped: hats off to Dave Locke who performed his usual wonders.

Black Bess/Black Beauty (1921) accompaniment by Costas Fotopulas

Jean Paige, Dobbin and James Morrison

Starring Jean Paige – later wife of this film’s director, David Smith – as Jessie and James Morrison as hero Harry, this film featured a stunning horse race at the climax as Harry rides the much-travelled black steed across country to outwit the baddie Jack (George Webb) and his inferior horse(-manship).

It’s exciting stuff and even with the under-cranking, showed immense courage from the riders as the race each other over field and fence in order to catch a steam engine.

The Ninety and Nine (1922) accompaniment by Meg Morley

This was Colleen pre-bob and Flaming Youth but she still presents with her trademark endeavour and pure focus even in a film described as “old school” by one contemporary review.

Colleen plays Ruth, whose parents have her lined up for a clearly unsuitable cheater when she, naturally enough, prefers the young and virile Tom (Warner Baxter). The bad suitor tries to fit the more deserving with a cheap charge of theft – employing the local “poor half-wit” to place Father’s wallet in an incriminating suitcase. But Warner’s too quick and stops the con chasing the boy off – not that this stops him being accused by parents who decide that it’s best for Ruth to go away to Forest Hill.

There’s a forest fire on that Hill though and only one man can save the day by driving a train into the heart of the heat…

On the Banks of the Wabash (1924) accompaniment by Cyrus Gabrysch

This was seven reels chopped down to two and there was just enough to capture some good interplay between a young inventor, David (James Morrison) and Dolly (a young Madge Evans who was later to feature in the excellent Dinner at Eight). David has invented a revolutionary device to radio control boats and this almost leads him astray before steadfast Dolly shows him the value of real love.

There is an impressive sequence involving a flood and a rescue from a Mississippi river boat as David’s threatens to cost him everything…

The Man from Brodneys (1923) accompaniment by John Sweeney

Kevin quoted a scathing review from Picture Play which described the audience on this film’s Broadway presentation as being “exceptionally impolite” but we’re a lot more forgiving with a film we’re almost certain never to see in its full form.

What’s left showed a British colonial outpost under attack from scheming “Hindoos” and whilst the mind inevitably conjured up the closing scenes from Carry on up the Khyber, there was some impressive action as the plucky Brits enlisted the help of the exceptionally convenient and well-armed US Navy to win the day!

J. Warren Kerrigan stars as Hollingsworth Chase – we’ll see more of him in a while – along with Wanda Hawley as Lady Agnes Deppingham (not the Deptford Deppingham’s the other lot… the ones in the country) and Alice Calhoun as Princess Genevra.

No doubt Boris would have just loved it!

Behold This Woman (1924) accompaniment from Costas Fotopoulos

This featured Irene Rich as film star Louise Maurel who falls for John Strangeway (Charles A. Post) a lunk of a backwoods boy after her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere – there are no hotels and she has to stay with him and his backwards misogynist father. John follows her to California and glimpses another world in which his now-hipster beard must be trimmed to help fit him in.

There were some fascinating glimpses of period Hollywood as the two attempted to make the bridge between Tinsel Town and Country.  Marguerite De La Motte is also in it and we’ll see her again in a moment.

The Clean Heart (1924) accompaniment from Meg Morley

This was a strange tale involving Philip (Manhunt’s Percy Marmont) working himself into a nervous breakdown and finding solace in the arms of the aforementioned Marguerite as Essie Bickers. As with all these “small” versions you wonder not only how much concrete meaning has been lost in the picture play precis but also how the story itself has been changed.

This seem to be going fine for Philip and Essie until they enter a scenic thatched cottage and suddenly their relationship seems to advance from dreamy to divorce in seconds, as if the building was haunted by past traumas… Then we have drama!

Captain Blood (1924) accompaniment from Cyrus Gabrysch

The film was based on the novel, Captain Blood, His Odyssey, by Rafael Sabatini and was Vitagraph’s biggest success costing a fortune with what look very much like actual, near-full-size galleons sinking, engaging in battle and being blown up in spectacular fashion.

It also featured some rare Brownlow Benshi as KB translated French intertitles using a discrete light pen – all adding to the feeling that we really were being treated to some rare views.

Of the 110 minute original only these 30 minutes survive and we’re lucky to have those.

David Smith directs again and Jean Paige stars again as Arabella Bishop who is surely too good for the bold neo-pirate that is Peter Blood who is secretly a qualified physician! The studio held a ballot for their audience to nominate who should play Blood and Smith was distraught when our old pal J. Warren Kerrigan – remember him from paragraph three? – got the gig: he wasn’t a fan. But JWK does well as the dandy sea-way man…

There’s a huge amount of dramatic doings as you’d expect but whoever edited this all down left in sufficient humiliation of pompous British imperialists and magnificent sailing ships to keep me happy: a grand, albeit mini, adventure!

Big film, massive crew!

As The Screen review said: “Youngsters who revel in the ruddy activities of seventeenth century pirates, will find plenty to think and dream about in this picture.” Count me young then! They went on to find various faults including that “Miss Paige… is a very quiet little lady, intent on showing her profile… She has little real opportunity to act, and is only pretty.”

Best of all: “Charlotte Merriam's eyebrows are of an up-to-date variety, which we might hazard did not exist in those turbulent times.” People: always make sure your eyebrows are up-to-date!

Charlotte's are up-to-date but I'm not sure about Warren's!

The Beloved Brute (1924) accompanied by John Sweeney

A brother from the same mother...

Time was running out but it was decided to end with the bang and crash of Victor McLaglen’s Hollywood debut!

As Mr Mordaunt Hall wrote in his New York Times review: “Although Mr. McLaglen facially is no Ramon Novarro, Ronald Colman or a Rudolph Valentino, he has a sympathetic personality and a wonderful facility for appearing at ease before the inquiring eye of the camera.”

And it’s true, Victor shines on screen with a tremendous charisma which completely overshadows his boxer’s nose - in 1909 at Vancouver fought six rounds with Jack Johnson – he is a heck of a performer who appears to have hit the ground running in this “western with a soul”.

Marguerite De La Motte

Directed by Vitagraph mainstay, J. Stuart Blackton, the sequences we have showed an intense story of brothers lost and found but only after bare-chested wrestling – Charles (Victor) – who does know - letting David (William Russell) - who doesn’t – win.

The two then contest a battle over dancer in search of a better life, Jacinta (Marguerite De La Motte yet again, not that anyone was complaining) - who proved more than capable of looking after herself. Dynamic fun and you just wished there was more: but if this is all we have... that is so much better than nothing!

Yeah, you heard, six rounds with Johnson!

In the end we ran out of time and Kevin promised we’d all meet again for further films. Yes, let’s do this again!

A huge tip of a Ten-Gallon Hat to the Bioscope’s superb musicians too without whom we’d only have half a show – you can find out more about them on the Bioscope site: a remarkable ensemble who play all of the right notes always in the right order, even when faced with unknown films, celluloid snaps and cruel cuts in the action.

This was another special cinema club evening at the Cinema Museum and you know the first rule of Cinema Club is that no one should talk about Cinema Club: but you simply have to!

Hearts of darkness… West of Zanzibar (1928) & Kongo (1932)

Mr Chaney

It says a lot about the shift in audience tastes that both these film were produced so differently in just a four year period.  Technically, of course, one’s a talkie but how much did that influence the presentation of what are both fairly claustrophobic tales? The former film could easily have been a talkie such is the focus on Lon Chaney whilst parts of the latter could work equally well as a silent with so much superb physicality from Walter Huston in the same role
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A number of people have written about the talkie after watching the silent but I’ve done it the other way round: not much of a USP but it’ll have to do. The sound film struck me as incredibly lacking in hope and more than unnecessarily sleazy whereas the original trusts in Lon Chaney to act his way through the outlandish narrative emerging with something like believable redemption. Huston’s so far damned St Peter’s bookies have stopped taking bets on which level of Hell he’ll end up in… but for Lon… Purgatory is still a long shot.

Mr Huston

The sound film starts in the heart of darkness whereas the silent explains the backstory more clearly and our sympathy is in place for a more morally-complex story. Maybe it’s slower than the sound, or maybe they just wanted to get straight to the steamy action, a more than vague hint of sadomasochism and eye-popping views of Ida Lupino’s exceptionally tight dress.

But in silence, we get caught up with another tragedy for Lon Chaney and his acting, as always, is peerless. Not that it’s so cut and dried as Walter Huston is no slouch and played the role first, starring in the 1926 Broadway play by Chester de Vonde.

Silent back-story: Phroso and Anna

In the Browning version, we see Chaney’s character in civilisation – a stage act called Phroso – another of his tragic clowns – who is very much in love with his wife Anna (Jacqueline Gadsden). Sadly, Anna’s not getting what she wants from the relationship and is making eyes at another performer, Crane (Lionel Barrymore). Anna decides to leave with Crane and in the bitter altercation that follows, Phroso is pushed from on high, falling silently, his legs lost for ever. It’s a tragedy and we feel for Phroso…

Cut forward to the talkie, directed by William J. Cowen, we start only with Huston now known as “Deadlegs” Flint. He drags himself around with the determined ease of a man who has had to re-purpose his body and who force of will still enables him to dominate all those around him. He’s a self-made monster driven on pure indignation with his remaining faculties refined by pure hate. We only discover the cause of his burning hatred later.

Flint holds court over a group of misfits all of whom are physically and mentally incapable of leaving his domain. There’s the English Cookie Harris (Forrester Harvey) whose criminal past locks him into African exile, Hogan (Mitchell Lewis)  and a woman whose purpose can only be guessed at, Tula (Lupe Velez  who is distractedly wrapped in a very pre-code cloth).

Lupe Velez and Walter Houston

This is very much the heart of darkness and Flint maintains control over the locals through magic tricks and stage craft, persuading them to do his bidding in stealing ivory from competitors. He’s saving up for a rainy day and the visit of an old friend… here called Gregg (C. Henry Gordon).

Phroso too has created his little empire on the same basis but his entourage is rather more homely – even including a Doctor (Warner Baxter) there to help control his constant pain. “Dead-Legs” Phroso has his men and the natives steal directly from Crane and his plan becomes clearer early on: he has been keeping tabs on a woman born to his ex-wife while she was with Crane and is intent on dragging her from her protected world into his as a part of his ultimate revenge on Crane.

Lionel Barrymore and C. Henry Gordon

The girl, Maizie, (played by Mary Nolan) arrives and is soon degraded and turned to drink by his vengeful master. Phroso will break her father’s business and force him to come to deal with him and thereby find the humiliated husk of his daughter…

Back in 1932 – is this getting confusing? – Flint has used a mixture of drugs, slavery and drink to pervert not only the girl, here called Ann Whitehall (Virginia Bruce) but also the doctor, (Conrad Nagel) who comes along just before she arrives. The two are helpless, addicted and drained with Crane intent on killing them both as softly as it takes…

Mary Nolan - before

The modern vogue for “pre-code” is based on seeking out evidence of a continuity of thought – un-guarded expressions regarding crime, sexuality and the desire to lift both legs up from the floor onto the bed should the need so arise. But this film is so dark I’ve even seen modern commentators describe it as more than a little depraved.

In 1928 a lot was left to the imagination and Chaney’s unmatched expressiveness carries across so much more than just a reptilian thirst for revenge.

He encounters his nemesis and the end game begins with Lionel Barrymore’s Crane edging C. Henry Gordon’s Gregg – he is much fuller as a character and his greater role in the plot is another way the story is made more complete.

Virginia Bruce - after

Flint’s actions, remaining unexplained largely, carry less impact and are seemingly just sadistic for the heck of it until long into the story. Phroso has motivation, if not necessarily full sympathy, but that may come later.

The two doctors are men of honour, the talker perhaps the less strong-minded but both the young women perform well – both pulled down from their pure-mannered education to the life of drug-addled, jungle prostitution:  Virginia Bruce just edging it with her words actually giving her the advantage over Mary Nolan for the only time in the contest.

Warner Baxter, Conrad Nagel and Virginia Bruce

No spoilers… how could I? This isn’t just one film but two although I’d strongly recommend a hot bath after the talkie and a strong drink after the silent.

Walter Huston does give a spectacular performance as the man with mind and body twisted by the need for the most distasteful revenge against the man who robbed him of his wife and his legs. But Lon Chaney edges it for his uncanny physicality: you believe his legs are useless and you not only hate him you cry for his loss as well.

Both films are available from Warner Archives the talkie is here and the silent is here.