W. C. Fields, Carol Dempster in Sally of the Sawdust
Griffith Masterworks 2: ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE STRUGGLE
The final disc of the set contains Sally of the Sawdust (1925), a rare comedy feature starring Griffith protegee Carol Dempster and W. C. Fields. The Sally of the title (played by Dempster) performs in the circus with her "pop," Professor McGargle (Fields). Little does she know that McGargle came to be her guardian through an unlikely set of circumstances, and is not in fact her real father. As Sally nears adulthood, McGargle decides to bring her to her old hometown so that she might know the truth about her family; wacky hijinks ensue.
Sally of the Sawdust is a fine second-tier Griffith film, thanks mostly to the two leads. W. C. Fields displays gifts for physical comedy that were held somewhat in check in the later films for which he's known today. Since he first came to fame as a vaudeville comedian and juggler, it's good to finally get a look at him in a setting that's similar to where he spent most of his career. (Those who are strictly fans of the later, misanthropic Fields will however be relieved to know that he at least gets to kick a dog in this film.) And while Carol Dempster is the Griffith stock player that most cinephiles love to hate, she's excellent here, skillfully anchoring the film's blend of comedy and sentiment; she even gets the best gag in the film, involving a pair of stolen bread rolls.
Fields and Dempster more or less save the whole enterprise for, while Sally of the Sawdust is enjoyable enough on its own terms, it's clear that Griffith wasn't a natural comedy director. Few of the gags arise organically from the story, occurring more or less at random throughout the film. Furthermore, Griffith isn't able to resist his melodramatic impulses, resulting in a film that feels slightly schizophrenic — although the melodramatic parts are quite good, e.g., a very well done midpoint scene where Sally meets her grandmother.
The year that Sally of the Sawdust was released also saw the debuts of Seven Chances, The Freshman, and The Gold Rush, so I can't help but wonder if Sally didn't feel a bit dated even on its release. Still, it's a worthy addition to the set, and a fine way to end your Griffith binge.
Several extras pepper these discs:
Way Down East gets the regal treatment here. Mounds of material about the original play — vintage programs, photos, press clippings and so forth — are included, as is the "souvenir program book" that the first viewers of the film received. A clever essay on the compilation of the musical score show an interesting perspective on the use of film music, and a comparison between the climactic scene on the river and a similar sequence from an older Edison production of Uncle Tom's Cabin tops off the package.
The Avenging Conscience disc, in a nice bit of thematic unity, also features Griffith's previous take on Poe, the 1909 Edgar Allen Poe (sic) Biograph short. As with Way Down East, insightful notes on the musical score are present here as well.
The Abraham Lincoln / The Struggle disc features the official press book for Abraham Lincoln (which is well worth a look for the hilarious, PT-Barnum-esque suggestions for theater owners looking to drum up more business) and a fascinating interview with Griffith (by Walter Huston!) that was used as an introduction for one of the Birth of a Nation rereleases.
Sally of the Sawdust contains only two extras, but they're great: the original theatrical trailer from 1925, and a filmed introduction from Orson Welles (from the early 1970s), in which he shares some little-known gossip about W. C. Fields.
The video quality, on the whole, is very good, certainly better than the crummy public-domain versions that have been littering retail outlets for years. The sound on the Abraham Lincoln / The Struggle disc is good as well, though, given that the source material for both films were primitively-recorded mono tracks, I certainly wouldn't expect demonstration-quality audio. Though none of these films can quite stand up to those on Kino's previous set, any Griffith that is still salvageable today is mandatory viewing.
© Dan Erdman
Photos: Courtesy Kino International