Swedish smiles highlight the last day.
I’ve been coming to Le Giornate del Cinema Muto for just
under a decade so I’m relatively new round here but even so I’ve seen a lot of
silent film – it’s just a social habit… I can control it. I’m not an addict or
if I am I’m a functioning one… Anyway, there are always surprises every year
and who would have thought that three lost films and another showing a Swedish family
taking the mickey out of our opening gala night’s hero, Douglas Fairbanks,
would be one of the highlights of the last day and, indeed, the whole week.
The session was in celebration of actress/director
Pauline Brunius who we had already seen playing the Field Marshall’s femme
fatale wife who runs off with Gosta Ekman in her husband John W Brunius’ comedy
Gyurkovicsarna (SE 1920). Sadly very few examples of her directing work
survive by the SFI’s Magnus Rosborn was not going to let that get in his way
and proceeded to describe the films with productions stills and whatever snippets
that remain and, through his wit and fabulous comic timing, he was able to give
us a real feel for these film’s style and comedy.
He talked us through DE LÄCKRA SKALDJUREN (SE 1920), OMBYTTA ROLLER (SE 1920), HERR VINNERS STENÅLDERSDRÖM (SE 1924) and then showed us the whole of Lev Livet Leende (SE 1921) on wonderful 35mm from the SFI archive. Brunius had begun in the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1891 but moved into theatre and from there into film. Interestingly, as with say Gerda Lundequist (who made just two films, Gosta Berling Saga being one) she preferred the stage to the studio and, unlike her fellow ballerina, Jenny Hassleqvist, she never rose to prima roles and sustained a parallel career in dance and film.
Lev Livet Leende (SE 1921) is a loving send up of
Douglas Fairbank’s cheerfulness and positivity. He had published an autobiography,
Making Life Worth While, in 1918 and the family take his motto to the ultimate
conclusion and there are some impressive impressions of the Fairbanks fizzog!
Stephen Horne provided accompaniment for the fragments on
the first two, the seven minutes of the second and the whole of the last and
provided his own coherent backdrop to these tales of the Vinner family series
that ran from 1920-24. Seven were made but only one survives complete with
fragments of the three above.
 |
| George O'Briem: thank God the two halves fit together!! |
The Big Western Finish: The Iron Horse (US
1924; 132 min)
Time to address the huge George O’Brien in the room and
John Ford’s lyrical, folkloric tale of the building of the trans-continental
railway in the USA. We watched the Photoplay restoration from 1984 and with John
Lanchbery’s score performed by the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone conducted
by Ben Palmer. This was a powerful performance from a full orchestra but I
couldn’t shake the feeling that the score – being just 60 years after the film
and 42 away from now – was somehow stuck in the middle.
Every time an Irish, Chinese of Native American made an
appearance there was a little musical reference to their cultural origin
followed by a snatch of the American Anthem, Yankee Doodle Dandy and The
Yellow Rose of Texas. Now, this could well have been intended to highlight
the many immigrants and natives who helped forge this great nation but, in these
days when cultural origins are not seen as a good in of themselves, it raised a
few hackles for me.
You can’t imagine the undertrained and scruffy ranks of
ICE agents cheering this film? And, in terms of the blood count, a lot of
native Americans were despatched in the name of progress here… not to mention
the impact in flora and fauna. America’s God-given right to conquest is viewed
a little differently now and The Right can’t really complain given the bloody
history Westerns have never shied away from presenting.
As for the film… it’s complicated just like its director
John Ford, a Republican who apparently briefly appeared as a Klan member in Birth
of a Nation? Well, Ford’s baddy here is actually a white man who incites
the Cheyenne whilst the Pawnee are working with the white men and there are
many films which came after this one which dealt a less even hand to the Native
Americans although I’m not saying it's twenty first century politically
correct. That's an un-historical approach and therefore daft: everything in context.
Chief John Big Tree is un-credited as the Cheyenne Chief
but Ford paints his tribe as heroic in their own way… mislead by white greed.
As the above still shows, there was respect and he avoids Griffiths’ simplistic
view and need to demonise.
That’s not to say that The Iron Horse isn't
entirely objective... there’s some sugar in there as, not for the first time or
the last, Hollywood improves History, although some would say merely by
celebrating US history you are painting to rosy a picture of a century of
ethnic cleansing and injustice across the board. But, within that context, it
does pay tribute to the millions of ordinary people who fought to make a better
land.
At the start we see a man called Brandon (James Gordon)
who has a dream to build a railroad across the USA, his friend Thomas Marsh
(Will Walling) is not convinced and thinks it’s all moonshine. Brandon’s son
Davy and Marsh’s daughter Miriam play games based on surveying - the acorn has
not fallen far from the tree. Brandon and his son set off as Miriam cries and
their other friend, Abraham Lincoln (Charles Edward Bull) tells Marsh that one
day men like him will be building Brandon’s dream…
Cut forward many years and Abraham has become president –
just like we all knew he would, he had something about him... In spite of the Civil War raging, he approves
the construction of a single railway and, as predicted, Marsh is one of the men
working to make this happen as the Union Pacific Railway Company builds
westward and the Central Pacific heads east…
It’s dangerous work with the constant threat of Native
American raids during one of which a pony express rider comes bolting out of
the dust followed by dozens of Indians, he heads towards a locomotive carrying
Marsh’s team and somehow managers to scramble on board. It turns out to be
Davy, who’s grown up (as strapping George O'Brien) and fighting for his father’s
dream. He and Miriam (now Madge Bellamy) have instant sparks a-flying but for
some reason she’s engaged to Peter Jesson (Cyril Chadwick) who apart from being
old enough to be her dad looks absolutely like a wrong ‘un.
If the first half of the film sets up the “history” –
perhaps almost too forensically – the sense is all about the human elements as
betrayals start to happen and Davy is almost killed by those who would keep the
railway longer and through their lands. It’s a civil engineering thriller as
well as a how America was made to be epic and can still be read on a number of
levels including the real human cost.
Looking at the actual history of the Transcontinental
project the impact was severe in terms of the workers and the indigenous
population. This was an exercise in expanding the white man’s economic
opportunities by and large…
"We must act with vindictive earnestness against
the Sioux, even to their extermination, men, women, children." General
Sherman
The Native Americans are shown as battling the construction
in the film, with the aid of some traitorous white men… but the fact remains
that many hundreds lost their lives and tribes lost territory with previous
agreements being as nothing to the need to forge ahead with rail.
According to Chinese American Historian, Ellen Lee, writing
for the BBC and elsewhere.
-
Some 20,000 Chinese workers were involved with
the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) failing to hire enough white workers
-
around 1,200 of whom died of avalanches,
explosions, and other accidents
-
After the construction was completed in 1869, “…every
effort was made to eradicate any and all people of Chinese descent from the
United States via local and state laws, mob attacks and lynchings.”
Even for Ford’s beloved Irish there was a cost with some
3,000 Irish labourers working on the Union Pacific portion of the
Transcontinental Railroad Between1865 and 1869. Hundreds died from explosions,
landslides, accidents, and disease during construction.
So, Ford may have shown the immigrants co-operation on
the project but as usual the reality was more mixed.
The film’s climax shows the completion of both sets of
tracks culminating in a re-enactment of the driving of the golden spike at
Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. Replicas of the two locos involved, the
Union Pacific No. 119 and Jupiter are used, even though they are claimed to be
the originals (which were scrapped in 1910).
A country “united” by rail… and surely will Miriam and
Davy will suit. But today this film leaves the taste of iron fillings in your
mouth.
Talking of history… The Spies Who Came in From the
Dull
Marshall Neilan’s Diplomacy (US 1920) is all about
a piece of paper and is the most plodding of confections. The entire action
seems to involve people on either side of the pre-war divide, trying to prevent
a crucial peace agreement from being delivered to the allies. Now, you might
think that there’s more than one copy of such an important document and that
with so many of the recipients in the film, that is shouldn’t be too hard to
deliver this news but no… there are devious counter agents of no fixed allegiance
who want to make mischief.
Too many times .this boils down to a forensic examination
of very little - people hide in rooms
and papers are stolen before being revealed and then one of the super spies is
revealed by a bluff that an envelope contained a confession from the key
conspirator that his accomplice slowly tears open – and I mean very slowly
– before revealing the full story.
I work in marketing and publishing and even I know this
is not really spying (I’ve seen all the John Le Carre’s) and this seems a) far
to slow to work and b) a paper trail with far too many points of failure.
Accompaniment cam from Masterclass student Lulu Chen who
did a fabulous job with what was in front of her. I look forward to seeing and hearing
more of her in the future!
Phantom Tram Ride of the Day Award: Tram Ride
Through Rochdale (GB (1905)
Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon’s 4'59" of 35mm
magic remains a powerful document of the times. It has been snowing in
Rochdale, as it so often does, and its denizens are walking gingerly across the
road. It adds an extra element to the scenes of normally sure-footed Lancastrians
as well as a fairy-tale dusting to one of the most deprived areas of the towns
of near the Pennines.
Philip Carli accompanied and I’ll go t’ th’ foot o’ our
stairs, he was wearing a fine period suit and silk cravat!
 |
| Italia Almirante Manzini and Andrea Habay |
Is there a Diva in the House? La grande passione
(1922)
“This adaptation of Alessandro Varaldo’s novel… is excellent. The subject itself was illogical in some respects … [yet Mario] Almirante has lent it poetry and beauty, striving for as much humanity as possible to make the narrative appear more real..”
Carlo Sircana, La Rivista Cinematografica
(25.03.1924).
Italia Almirante Manzini was most certainly available and
gave one of her most forceful performances of the week and in another of her major
successes. Directed by Mario Almirante this one was a complex tug of love
involving Italia’s character Maria, her much older husband Carli (Joaquin
Carrasco) and their two children, her ex-lover and general bad sort Cesare (Joaquin
Carrasco) along with a new man who sees her in trouble and wants to help André (Andrea
Habay) … Oh, Italia what have you gotten yourself into now?!
It's a very well-paced film as the full entanglements of
Maria’s life are only gradually revealed and all this only really after she
catches the attention of the well-intentioned stranger, Andre, who sees her in
an emotional turmoil and wants to help. Soon enough he gets in deeper and when
her heartless lover returns to the picture, a duel is called and Maria faces
losing one or both. Ultimately hers will be the choice that breaks the fewest
hearts…
A new performance by Italia Almirante Manzini is always a brilliant new assertion of the art of Italian cinema; but perhaps never as in this film has the great actress been able to conquer the public…”
“Arro” in La Rivista Cinematografica (10-25.05.1924),
Gabriel Thibaudeau accompanied with some marvellous
flourishes and a real feel for the dramatic love on screen. One of the best of
Manzini’s films this week!
Encore plus de problèmes à la scierie: La Glace à
trois faces (FR 1927)
Three women were in love with a man.
But was he in love with any one of them?
Fitting to end this week on a riddle or at least a film
by Jean Epstein who always required his audience to complete the story either
emotionally or intellectually. In this case the tale of one man and three women…
and the director makes it absolutely unclear that we won’t know the exact nature
of the relationships between the four people. So. We need to watch carefully.
An adaptation of the eponymous short story by Paul Morand,
also referred to as Three-Sided Mirror, this features a young adventurer (René
Ferté) and his relationships with three women:
1. a
beautiful Englishwoman, Pearl (Olga Day)
2. a
Russian artist, Athalia (Suzy Pierson_ and
3. a
charming factory worker, Lucie (Jeanne Helbling)
The relationships are shown in order with the director’s
usual oblique style and we experience the good, the unsure and the diffident as
life moves on for the young man with no cares in the world. Whatever happens…
it just goes to show. It just goes to show…
John Sweeney accompanied and he was well aware of Jean’s
wayward ways.
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