FRIDAY
THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (Korda/United Artists-1941)
For those of you who have not seen this version of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, you have a wonderful experience to look forward to; particularly since this showing, on the Temple's huge screen, is from a I.B. Tech print.
The version of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD was a usual Korda production, filled with emergencies, crisis and an empty payroll department. Production began at Denham Studios in 1939, but the War closed production. Old Bagdad was moved and reconstructed in the Mojave desert. The finished film won the Academy Award for it's Technicolor photography, visual and sound effects, and art direction.
First timers are always surprised at how little this film resembles the Douglas Fairbanks original. It may be a different plot, but Korda's THIEF matches the silent in it's wit, action, and sumptuousness. Interestingly it was Fairbanks who proposed the idea of a remake to Korda.
The film was a huge success, grossing more than any other Korda film up to that time.
Short Break
THE BUCKAROO KID (Universal/Jewel-1926)
CAST: Hoot Gibson, Ethel Shannon, Burr McIntosh. DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: Lynn Reynolds, PRODUCER: Carl Laemmle, CINEMATOGRAPHY: Harry Newumann.
"Uncle" Carl Laemmle was one of the first in line when it came to film production. After opening his first theatre in Chicago in 1906, he quickly went into independent film production. With Thomas H. Ince and Florence Lawrence, (stolen from Biograph,) Laemmle fought 289 actions brought against his IMP company by the Trust. Laemmle not only survived, but with Pat Power's Picture Plays, Adam Kessel and Bison Life, formed The Universal Film Manufacturing Company. By 1915 he opened Universal City in California.
The 1920's were not particularly notable for Universal. Although Laemmle was one of the first film businessmen, new companies, like M.G.M and Paramount, bought huge theatre chains and squeezed Universal out of the marketplace. Most of their profit during this period came from Europe.
Universal specialized in comedies, melodramas and outdoor action pictures that could be assembled quickly at minimal cost. THE BUCKAROO KID is a typical example with better production values.
Edmund Richard "Hoot Gibson" acquired his nickname after his childhood passion for hunting owls. He worked the circus and rodeo circuits and went to Hollywood as a stuntman and double when his regular work was slow. He became friends with and stunt doubled for Harry Carey. After his army tour he returned to Universal for a series of popular westerns directed John Ford. His easy going manner infused his films with a comedic touch.
THE BUCKAROO KID is the usual "dirty work afoot at the ranch", but the action is tempered by Gibson's comic personality and the rugged settings give way to a modern hotel, a lavish office and a luxurious San Francisco mansion.
IB TECH AND BLACK & WHITE NITRATE TRAILERS AND CARTOONS
LIFE BEGINS FOR ANDY PANDA (Walter Lanz)
CHILDREN OF EVE (1915)
CAST: Viola Dana, DIRECTOR: John Collins
John Collins is one of the lost talents from the early Silent years. His reputation had grown through out the War years as an equal with Griffith and De Mille. He was the most successful director to emerge from the Edison Co. and in 1916 he moved to Metro Pictures and produced a series of social dramas and melodramas that were of consistently high quality.
CHILDREN OF EVE is the earliest example of Collins' work. It is a grim study of early labor conditions against the background of the Triangle Shirtwaist Loft fire, in which many young women were trapped and killed. There were no more films after 1919; Collins died in the great influenza epidemic at the age of 28 and his name has all but vanished from the film reference books.
(35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
ROADHOUSE MURDER (RKO-1932)
CAST: Eric Linden, Dorothy Jordan, Bruce Cabot, Purnell Pratt, William Morris, DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY: J. Walter Rubins.
RKO thought enough about ROADHOUSE MURDER in pre-production to borrow up and coming starlet Dorothy Jordan for MGM. The result is a tight, clever thriller, with Eric Linden giving a strong, taut performance as the cub reporter who tells one too many stories.
ROADHOUSE MURDER is definitely a programmer, but was constructed with care and craft, and it's easy to become engrossed in this clever little film.
(35mm print courtesy of Paramount)
BRATS (Hal Roach/MGM-1930)
CAST: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy DIRECTOR: James Parrott STORY: Leo McCarey
BRATS was a triumph for Laurel and Hardy. Their best sound comedy up to that time, the team was entering their period of genius. BRATS has no plot, and has no need of one. The Boys are left by their wives to baby-sit the children, also played by Laurel and Hardy. The Boys play their adult selves versus their offspring to hilarious effect, with an aquatic finale that is as funny today as it was in 1930.
(35mm print)
POET AND PEASANT OVERTURE (Walter Lanz)
THEY WON'T FORGET (Warner Bros./First National-1937)
CAST: Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Edward Norris, Otto Kruger, Elisha Cook, Clinton Rosmond, Lana Turner DIRECTOR: Mervyn Leroy SCREENPLAY: Robert Rossen & Aben Kandel
Warner Brother's continued their cycle of strong social dramas with THEY WON'T FORGET. Rossen and Kandel's strong, bitter retelling of the Leo Frank case and Ward Green's novelization "Death in the Deep South" is perfect material for this director and this studio.
In this, his last film before he travels to MGM, Leroy draws exceptional performances out of his cast. Most notable are Claude Rains as the amoral prosecuting attorney with his eye on Governors chair, and Clinton Rosmond as the Black janitor who discovers the body. This body went with Leroy to MGM to win stardom as Lana Turner, who's brief bit in a tight sweater is one of the thirties most memorable images. Like PUBLIC ENEMY and I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG, THEY WON'T FORGET is still strong today, with an ice cold finale that hasn't lost any impact in the fifty five years since it was first released.
(35mm print)
A PLACE TO STAND (National Film Board of Canada)
One of the advantages of a huge theatre is a huge screen, and panoramic films look great at the Temple. This promotional film, shot for the Province of Ontario, was photographed in 70mm and Cinemascope, then printed down to 35mm. The travelogue was once an expected part of a film program; so sit back, relax, and enjoy the view.
(35mm IB print)
SPACE AVENGERS
35mm IB
WILD GOLD (Fox-1934)
CAST: John Boles, Claire Trevor, Harry Green, Roger Imhof, Monroe Owsley, Ruth Gillette. DIRECTOR: George Marshall
SCREENPLAY: Lester Cole and Henry Johnson PHOTOGRAPHY: Joseph Valentine
WILD GOLD was sold to the public as a comedy, but is a strange combination of comedy, drama, action and music. A group of impoverished depressionites head West to search for gold and a romantic triangle develops with singer Claire Trevor at it's apex. This tales unevenness extends to production, with performances that change in tone as the plot works itself out. The use of stock footage is obviously done, and several contemporary critics commented on the uneven visuals.
The great flood sequence was taken from THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD (1926,) which was Janet Gaynor's first film at Fox.
Surprise Grab Bag - 20 min.
TRIBUTE TO HERB GRAFF
HAPPY FEET (1929),
THE FARMER-EIE (1932),
THE CAVALCADE OF STUFF (1938),
ORANGE BLOSSOMS FOR VIOLET
(1952 - 20's material re-edited by Chuck Jones and Fritz Freeling)
WHAT AN IDEA (1933).
PETER PAN (Paramount-1924)
CAST: Betty Bronson, Mary Brian, Ernest Torrance, Ester Ralston, Cyril Chadwick, Anna May Wong, Phillipe De Lacy, DIRECTOR: Herbert Brenon PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES WONG HOWE
After several years of negotiations, J.M. Barrie finally granted permission to a Hollywood studio to film one of the era's most treasured stories. After much discussion, Barrie himself selected new comer Betty Bronson to portray Peter, much to the advantage of the film, and to the chagrin of Lillian Gish, who had lobbied for the role Staff director Herbert Brenon kept carefully, (perhaps too carefully,) to the original material. Although PETER PAN betrays it's stage origins, special effects wizard Roy Pomeroy created several lovely fantasy effects, especially the shot of the ship gliding into the air.
A highlight among the performances is Ernest Torrance, who's crusty Captain Hook is the perfect example of a child's idea of evil. Anna May Wong makes a exotic Tiger Lily, and Mary Brian is a warm and lovely Wendy. It is Bronson, however, who makes the film the charming experience it still is today. Unfortunately, Paramount could never quite figure out what to do with her. Except for A KISS FOR CINDERELLA and THE GOLDEN PRINCESS, Bronson really never found her niche. As an example of her versatility, her performance in BEN HUR, as the Holy Mother, is the saving grace of a badly overstated sequence.
Silent film has a special quality to bring to Fantasy, and PETER PAN is one of this genres best examples. PETER PAN was so popular as a movie that it was shown first-run in New York City at both the Rialto and the Rivoli theatres, a very unusual practice for this period.
(35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
END OF THE WORLD
(35mm print courtesy of AFI and Columbia Pictures)
SALUTE (FOX-1929)
CAST: George O'Brien, Helen Chandler, Frank Albertson, Ward Bond, Joyce Compton, Stepin Fetchit DIRECTOR: John Ford SCREENPLAY: J.K. Mc Guinness PHOTOGRAPHY: J.A. August
SALUTE is in that first generation of sound films that was peaking out of the tight, soundproof environment of the soundstage. Producers realized, now that there was sound, it might be nice to have a little
action, too. It was becoming obvious that the public was tiring of photographed stage plays.
SALUTE has every opportunity for action. The story, concerning college football in a military town, gives the opportunity for lots of action photography, attractive young players, a little drama, and the big game, with the last seconds ticking away. It was all done to greater effect in later films, but SALUTE is a fun picture, and it's exciting to watch John Ford and his crew venture into the unknown world of outdoor, sound film making.
Most important in the supporting cast are two young actors who would long be associated with Ford: John Wayne and Ward Bond. Both were part of the USC football team, which Ford had taken to the film's Annapolis location to participate in some of the game scenes. Wayne had worked for Ford previously, but Bond had not appeared in films before. Nevertheless, they both demonstrated to Ford that they could read lines and he gave them small roles.
Be sure to watch for the announcer. Behind that mustache is Lee Tracy, in an unbilled bit.
(35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
GORDON BERKOW will introduce a series of good shorts including
DUMB BELL (Hal Roach - 1932),
BLACK OXFORD (Sennett - 1924),
A MAN ABOUT TOWN
RONARRY LOVE (Tiffany - two color tech)
THE NICKELHOPPER (Hal Roach/Pathe-1926)
CAST: Mable Normand, Oliver Hardy, Boris Karloff
An amazing group of comedians passed through Hal Roach's "Fun Factory" in the 1920's. One of the best known is Oliver Hardy, who's pre Laurel career started in 1913 at Lubin. Hardy spent most of the early years of his career playing a second string Eric Campbell to performers like Billy West. After playing an assortment of heavies, both comic and dramatic for Vitagraph, Hardy caught Roach's attention in REX, KING OF THE WILD HORSES (1924.)
It took some time for Roach to find a niche for Hardy. In THE NICKELHOPPER, Hardy plays an unusually energetic jazz drummer. Star Mable Normand, worn out by scandal and illness, is just a few years away from the end of her life.
Hardy, after teaming with Stan Laurel, followed Roach to MGM, RKO and United Artists, remaining with him for over sixteen years.
YANKEE CLIPPER (DeMille Pictures-1927)
CAST: William Boyd, Elinor Fair, Junior Coghlan, John Miljan, Walter Long, DIRECTOR: Rupert Julian
YANKEE CLIPPER is the type of film that Hollywood can't (alas) seem to produce anymore: an unabashedly fun film with no pretensions other than to simply entertain. There is something in YANKEE CLIPPER for everyone--intense melodrama, high-spirited action and an amiable love story set against a clipper ship race to determine which of two merchants will win control of America's tea trade. The production is large and handsome (courtesy of the DeMille company, which produced the picture), aspects accentuated today by the special tints and tones on this print, which add a period flavor (the 1926 period, that is!) to the proceedings. Even if you've seen this film before, this print warrants a second look.
Although William Boyd in his pre "Hopalong Cassidy" days and Elinor Fair, Boyd's off-screen wife, make a convincing "screen couple," the film is nearly stolen by the menacing Walter Long as Portuguese Joe--everyone loves a good villain! So sit back, relax and enjoy this rollicking sea adventure, an entertaining film that makes one pine for those long ago Saturday afternoons at the local Bijou.
IB TECH NITRATE TRAILERS
(35mm print)
SCRAPPY BIRTHDAY (Walter Lanz-1951)
Andy Panda's last cartoon.
(35mm print)
FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS (Walter Lanz)
Woody Woodpecker.
(35mm IB print)
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Paramount-1923)
CAST: Prologue; Theodore Roberts, Charles de Roche, Julia Faye, Estelle Taylor Story; Richard Dix, Rod La Rocque, Leatrice Joy, Edythe Chapman, Nita Nalti DIRECTOR: Cecil De Mille SCENARIO: Jeannie Macpherson SET DESIGN: Paul Iribe COSTUMES: Clair West
It was Jeannie Macpherson's idea to change De Mille's habit of having an exotic flashback within his new melodrama. Instead, they would film a prologue, and use the story of Moses and the flight from Egypt. De Mille was delighted, and soon distributed copies of the Bible to his entire staff, with a note saying that they would be filming the entire Book of Exodus on location in Egypt. Producer Adolph Zukor kept the company from getting any farther away than Guadalupe, where Paul Iribe built sets that pleased De Mille so much that he copied them in the 1950's for the remake.
The budget quickly double to $1,200,000, and Paramount considered taking the project away from De Mille. Several planned sections were scrapped, and the company traveled to San Francisco, where scenes were filmed on location at the unfinished Church of St Peter and Paul. The immense cost led to a rift between DeMille and Paramount.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS has become a watershed film for both silents and De Mille. The masterfully handled crowd and action scenes balance out against some rather turgid melodrama. Edythe Chapman plays one of the most annoying old biddies in the history of Christianity, and Nita Naldi slinks massively about as the leprous Other Woman. Leatrice Joy and Rod La Rocque throw themselves into their roles with just enough irony to keep things from getting to thick.
This weekend's screening offers a double bonus: Bob Vaughan's stirring new organ score, and the scenes in two-color Technicolor (preserved from DeMille's own print), which marked the first use of that process in a major-studio film.
As you watch the Israelites escape from Thebes, it's interesting to realize that the buried ruins of this lost Hollywood city are now being rediscovered by a team of archaeologists.
(35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
WIDE OPEN SPACES (RKO/Pathe-1930-A Masquers Club Comedy)
CAST: Ned Sparks, Antonio Moreno
Not all the films produced by the Majors were primarily aimed at the waiting public. A large amount of footage was shot just for the hell of it. Special trailers for exhibitors, out takes reels for parties, and special shorts just for themselves were assembled at all of the studios.
Celebrity comedies, like THE STOLEN JOOLS, were shot for a particular occasion or charity. The Masquers produced several two reel comedies for their organization, like OH, OH, CLEOPATRA with Wheeler and Woolsey and our comedy, WIDE OPEN SPACES.
HORROR OF DRACULA (Hammer-1959)
CAST: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Melissa Stribling, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh, John Van Eyssen. DIRECTOR: Terence Fisher SCREENPLAY: Jimmy Sangster
Hammer Films are rarely seen outside of latenight Television and Horror Conventions. HORROR OF DRACULA is Hammer's finest, and good, solid film making by any standards. High on the list of it's attractions is a unrepeatable cast at their very best. Director Terence Fisher guides this well known story away from the bat and cobweb style, and presents a chilling psychological thriller. Lee and Cushing, as the Count and the Professor, generate a great deal of tension as they circle each other, looking for the advantage. James Bernard's full, evocative score, and this glorious I.B. Tech print make this a great 82 minutes at the movies.
(35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
DRACULA (Universal - 1931 Spanish language version no sub-titles)
CAST: Carlos Villarias, Lupita Tovar, DIRECTOR: George Melford, CINEMATOGRAPHY: George Robinson.
During the silent era, Universal made half of its revenues from foreign countries. Thus, it seemed perfectly logical to "Uncle" Carl Lemmle that a spanish language version of DRACULA be produced. As producer Paul Kohmer pointed out, the production could be realized for a fraction of the original's cost by using the same sets, cheaper foreign talent and shooting at night after the regular crew left for the day.
Kohmer had just finished producing a spanish version of THE CAT CREEPS that was so atmospherically lit that "Uncle" Carl ordered the American version re-shot in the same manor. The heroine of CAT, the lovely Lupita Tovar was chosen for the female lead in the Spanish DRACULA. Director Melford is best remembered as the director of THE SHEIK. Cameraman Robinson, who worked on all of the Dracula follow-ups, added a highly developed visual sensitivity, a mobil camera, complex compositions and deep shadows.
Sadly some of the best work in the film came in the highly effective thrid reel, which fell victim to nitrate decomposition and is not available in this country. This reel contains Dracula's vampire wives (wild exotic creatures unlike the robot, zombie schoolmarms of the English version), the journey to London on the doomed ship, and the concert hall where Dracula meets the main characters. The only existing copy of the complete version is in the Cuban Film Archives.
The story is the same as the Lugosi version and is easy to follow without sub-titles.
(35mm print courtesy of AFI and Universal)
LIFE'S HARMONY (The American Manufacturing Co.-1916)
Director: Frank Borzagi
We are happy to present this recently discovered 3-reel film which may be the earliest existing work of director Frank Borzagi.
The story seems to cover familiar Borzagi territory dealing sentimentally with the basic goodness of human nature and the triumph of the human spirit. It will be one of the foundation stones of next years major Borzagi retrospect at the Port Film Festival.
RAFFLES (Famous Players-1917)
Cast: John Barrymore, Frederick Perry, Evelyn Brent,
DIRECTOR: George Irving
John Barrymore was a veteran of film acting when Adolf Zukor decided to remake this popular tale of the gentleman bandit, already acted on the screen in 1905 by J. Barney Sherry. As Ernest Hornung's hero, Barrymore has a character with great range, offering opportunities for sophistication, dramatics, and action.
RAFFLES was Barrymore's ninth film for Famous Players, his first being AN AMERICAN CITIZEN in 1914. A "Jack Barrymore" had been making films for the Lubin Company in Philadelphia in 1912. By 1917, the discipline required by his heavy stage roles was beginning to pall, and he was attracted by the short schedules and quick money that motion pictures offered. A minor footnote, Hornung was Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law and the famous writer is believed to have provided assistance in the writing of the early Raffles novels.
(35mm print courtesy of The George Eastman House)
TRENT'S LAST CASE (Fox, 1929)
CAST: Raymond Griffith, Donald Crisp, Raymond Hatton, Marceline Day, and Edgar Kennedy, DIRECTOR: Howard Hawks.
Prior to the publication of "Trent's Last Case", most mystery writers followed the pattern of Conan Doyle. Author E.C. Bentley followed his own course and the result was a mystery novel considered by Somerset Maugham and S.S. VanDyne to be a "nearly perfect mystery novel."
Howard Hawks began the film as a silent, then Fox decided to add sound. The only problem was that the star, Raymond Griffith, had damaged vocal cords and could only talk in a harsh whisper. As a result, the film was shot silent with a musical track. This may have been a blessing considering the early sound equipment because it forced Hawks to find a way of telling a story that required dialogue without real dialogue. The outcome was a fast paced mystery that alternated between suspense and comedy with Donald Crisp outstanding as the villain.
So far as we have been able to discern, this is the only surviving print and sad to report that one of the middle reels is missing. However, we have elected to present it because we felt it was an important (and we hope entertaining) film which Hawks reported "had a very limited release and probably has not had a public screening since 1929."
This was Hawks' last silent film and he was fired by Fox when it was finished. It contains the same fast pacing that would be evident in the later Hawks' comedies.
Silent comic great Raymond Griffith would appear in one more film as the dying soldier in ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. After that he turned his talents behind the camera as an associate producer on GOLDDIGGERS OF 1933 and later joined Darryl Zanuch at 20th Century Fox where he remained until his retirement in 1940. He died in 1957.
(35mm print courtesy of AFI and Janus)
BATHING BUDDIES (Walter Lanz)
Woody Woodpecker and Wally Walrus.
(35mm print)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Organists: Bob Vaughn and Mark Kotishion
Pianist: Phil Carli
NOTES: John Seville, Terry Hoover, Jim Limbacher and Rick DeCroix