Cinesation 2007 Reviews: Part II
Cinesation 2007 Reviews: Part I
Some of the Cinesation 2007 reviews below may contain spoilers. Proceed at your own risk!
Saturday
Carry on, Sergeant! (1928)
In the more recent Cinesation editions, we’ve been treated to several fascinating little-seen gems from Canadian film archives. With so much of our film consciousness centered on the American and European industries, films such as Carry on, Sergeant! offer a rare glimpse into the activities of the less heralded film communities around the world.
Carry on, Sergeant! tells the story of a group of men of varying socioeconomic backgrounds who enlist in the Canadian army at the outbreak of World War I. Hailed as the most ambitious and expensive Canadian silent film, Carry on, Sergeant! is an interesting if uneven production that gets off to a rousing start, loses steam in the middle, and comes to life again after a spy subplot — which had been abandoned earlier on — is reintroduced into the story.
Directed by Bruce Bairnsfather (above, right) and with great cinematography by Bert Cann.
Destination Unknown (1933)
When a ship is gripped by a hurricane, it’s taken over by a gang of bootleggers smuggling 5,000 cases of liquor. The gangsters rule with an iron fist, controlling the ship’s last barrel of water. Help comes in the form of what amounts to be God in the form of Ralph Bellamy. An absorbing, taut actioner which is all but ruined by a wholly anti-climactic finale.
All Lit Up (1920)
Tedious Snub Pollard short
Capital Punishment (1925)
This film’s chief interest is the presence of a pre-superstardom Clara Bow (left), who steals the limelight from the nominal leading lady. That said, Capital Punishment is on its own a well-made suspense melodrama.
In order to expose the inhumanity of the death penalty after an innocent man is executed in the electric chair, Gordon Harrington (Elliott Dexter) makes a bet for $10,000 that he can have an innocent man convicted of murder and sent to the chair. He hires a poor newlywed (George Hackathorne) to play the role of the murderer, while the "victim" is Harrington’s friend Harry Phillip (Robert Ellis), who will hide out on Harrington’s yacht until the truth is to be revealed.
Of course, the drama gets into high gear when Harrington, during an altercation with Phillip over the same woman (Margaret Livingston), inadvertently kills his friend. Harrington then agonizes over whether to tell the truth or let an innocent man pay for his crime.
It’s an unlikely premise too reliant on plot clichés and contrivances, while Harrington’s ploy, no matter how well intended, come across as a gross abuse of the American justice system. But its flaws notwithstanding, Capital Punishment is a fine little picture with a capable cast of players. Director James P. Hogan effectively maintains a taut mood until the exciting, if predictable, final reel.
Three Wise Girls (1931)
A snappy pre-Code Columbia gem featuring Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow in a pre-MGM performance, Three Wise Girls follows three young women and their men problems while earning a living in the big city.
Harlow plays Cassie Barnes, a former small-town soda jerk who, after moving to New York, starts working as a clothes model at a fashionable dressmaker’s shop. Cassie also becomes involved with a wealthy — and very much married — society gentleman whose wife refuses him a divorce.
In looks, Jean Harlow, with her platinum blond hair and no-nonsense street smarts, is probably miscast as the small-town girl teetering on the thin line between virtue and the primrose path. Still, Harlow displays sincerity and warmth in enough quantity to make her part convincing.
Mae Clarke is excellent as a kept woman madly in love with her wealthy society boyfriend — who ends up marrying another woman. And Marie Prevost lends great support as Cassie’s sassy roommate.
Where the North Begins (1923)
This was the first entry in the successful string of films starring Rin-Tin-Tin. In it, Rinty and his master (Walter McGrail) are up against an unscrupulous store owner with designs on McGrail’s fiancee (Claire Adams). In order to rid himself of the competition, he frames McGrail with a fur theft that he himself committed.
Where the North Begins is one of those little gems that make being a film buff such a rewarding vocation. It probably failed to make great waves in 1923 (apart from the fact that it marked Rinty’s big-time debut), it has no big names in the cast (once again, apart from Rinty), and it offers no landmark technical innovations or cinematic flourishes.
In other words, Where the North Begins is merely a well-crafted production in which the forces of good and evil are clearly defined, and our intrepid hero triumphs over adversity to save the day. No real moral to impart or any highfalutin preaching about the human condition. Just good old-fashioned fun.
Daughter of the Poor (1917)
Bessie Love plays Rose, a young working-class girl who runs a small shop, is loved by a struggling bohemian artist (George Beranger), and lives with her uncle (Max Davidson), a janitor at a big publishing firm and a lecturer on the oppression of the poor by the rich. One day, Rose meets a wealthy young man whom she mistakes for a working-class boy. The two see each other often, as he continues to allow her to think he’s "working class" while refraining from telling her that he’s already engaged.
Daughter of the Poor goes through the usual paces, but it is enhanced by the cast’s charming performances. Bessie Love does justice to her name: sweet and lovely, she displays both a certain Lillian Gish-like radiance and enough spunk so as not to seem saccharine. Max Davidson, for his part, is delightful as her shiftless uncle.
One of the more curious aspects of Daughter of the Poor — in fact, of many films from the 1910s — is the effective use of exterior locations, which provide a sense of casual authenticity.
Sunday
The Golden Bed (1925)
This is one of Cecil B. DeMille’s jaw-dropping morality tales served up with a side of sex and over-the-top decadence. The three protagonists are Admah Holtz, a poor boy who peddles candy, and Flora and Margaret Peake, two sisters who come from a proud but crumbling aristocratic Southern family. Admah loves the beautiful Flora and gives her free candy, while he always charges Margaret no matter how hard she smiles at him.
Years later, in order to help her family, Flora (Lillian Rich) marries a wealthy Marquis while Margaret (Vera Reynolds) goes to work for Admah (Rod La Rocque), who has just set up his own little candy shop. Through her ideas and pointers, Margaret helps Admah build a thriving business. She is also secretly in love with him.
Flora returns after the death of her husband — the Marquis had thrown himself and Flora’s lover over a high peak. Still in love with Flora, Admah marries her. Shortly thereafter, she begins to drain him financially as a result of her insatiable hunger for clothes and jewels. The breaking point is when Admah embezzles the company profits in order to throw his wife a lavish Candy Ball.
When Admah is caught, Flora refuses to help. Instead, she runs off with another man. Admah is sent to jail. When he’s released, Margaret is waiting for him and has even gotten his business started again.
Though melodramatic, The Golden Bed is done with style. The highlight is the legendary Candy Ball sequence which must be seen to be believed. No words can adequately describe a jazz band clad in peppermint, chocolate-covered slaves wearing candy chains sold to the highest bidder, and scantily clad girls wearing edible clothes that men are allowed to eat right off their bodies.
The cast performs admirably, with perhaps the best performance coming from Vera Reynolds as the faithful Margaret. She’s a quiet, serene presence in the midst of all that highly charged melodrama.
The Bashful Suitor (1921)
A follow-up to last year’s Hope, The Bashful Suitor is part of Lejaren a’Hiller’s film series based on famous paintings, in this case one by Josef Israels. Set in a lace-making village in 19th-century Holland, the film tells the story of a shy young man who vies with the town’s girl-chaser for the attentions of the local belle. Things take a somber turn when the shy youth is falsely accused of a crime and is ostracized by the community.
The Bashful Suitor is a well-crafted film, making great use of its (Canadian) exteriors. As a plus, the film offers pleasing performances from the mostly youthful cast.
The Willow Tree (1920)
Perhaps the most visually stunning film of the weekend. The Willow Tree is a sort of retelling of the Madame Butterfly story — which even by 1920 was already well-worn territory — but with a lighter touch.
Metro star Viola Dana plays a Japanese maiden who fakes her own suicide in order to avoid an arranged marriage. She then wanders into the home of a handsome young Englishman who has fled to Japan after a failed romance back home. The two soon fall in love. When World War I breaks out the Englishman refuses to enlist and leave the young maiden.
Rather than let him face social disgrace, she again fakes her suicide allowing him to perform his duty. After the war, the two reunite. Most remarkably, the evocative closing shot confirms that the two will live on happily.
The Willow Tree represents quite a departure from the usual handling of interracial romance in early American cinema, where one of the lovers had to commit suicide (while gaining some self-sacrificing nobility in the process). Directed by Henry Otto and adapted for the screen by June Mathis, The Willow Tree is a charming tale much enhanced by Viola Dana’s enchanting performance. As a plus, M.P. Staulcup’s art direction and John Arnold’s cinematography lend the film an impressive authenticity, fully capturing the look and feel of a Japanese village.
Well, that’s my report from the 2007 Fall Cinesation — and what a great time it was. Thanks a lot, guys! I’m already counting down the days until next year.
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Tags: Classic Movies, Film Festivals, Film Reviews, Silent Films
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