Best Films - 1924
by Andre Soares
Erich von Stroheim’s masterpiece and one of the best silent films ever made, Greed remains a powerful indictment against the deadly sin of the title. Based on Frank Norris‘ McTeague, Greed revolves around the misdeeds of a California dentist, his miserly wife, and her former lover, all of whom sacrifice their selves to the all-powerful Money God.
Despite his domineering screen presence, Gibson Gowland (center) never became a star, but Jean Hersholt (not in the picture) was a star character actor and to this date has his name attached to the humanitarian award given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ZaSu Pitts (left) is superb as the frail wife who goes totally bonkers after she wins the lottery. (Talk about a cautionary tale…)
Von Stroheim’s first cut of Greed lasted all of 47 reels, though eventually the picture was pared down to 10 reels (approximately 2h15m). That is all that is known to survive from the original film. But in spite of the drastic cuts, many of von Stroheim’s magnificently perverted excesses are very much in evidence in this unforgettable journey into inner hell.
FILM
The Enchanted Cottage
Greed
He Who Gets Slapped
The Thief of Baghdad
DIRECTOR
John S. Robertson (The Enchanted Cottage)
Victor Sjöström (aka Victor Seastrom) (He Who Gets Slapped)
Erich von Stroheim (Greed)
Raoul Walsh (The Thief of Baghdad)
ACTOR
Richard Barthelmess (The Enchanted Cottage)
Lon Chaney (He Who Gets Slapped)
George Hackathorne (The Turmoil)
Emil Jannings (Der Letzte Mann / The Last Laugh)
Percy Marmont (K–The Unknown)
William V. Mong (Thy Name Is Woman)
ACTRESS
Enid Bennett (The Red Lily)
Eleanor Boardman (The Turmoil)
Laura La Plante (Butterfly)
May McAvoy (The Enchanted Cottage)
ZaSu Pitts (Greed)
Norma Shearer (He Who Gets Slapped)
Virginia Valli (K–The Unknown)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Lon Chaney (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Conrad Veidt (Das Wachsfigurenkabinett / Waxworks)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Margarita Fischer (K–The Unknown)
Dorothy Gish (Romola)
Marie Prevost (The Marriage Circle)
SCREENPLAY
Josephine Lovett (script) Gertrude Chase (titles) (The Enchanted Cottage)
Edward T. Lowe, Jr. (The Turmoil)
Erich von Stroheim (script) June Mathis (titles) (Greed)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joseph H. August (Dante’s Inferno)
Norbert Brodine (Black Oxen)
Norbert Brodine (The Sea Hawk)
William H. Daniels, Ben F. Reynolds & Ernest B. Schoedsack (Greed)
Karl Freund (The Last Laugh)
Victor Milner (The Red Lily)
Milton Moore (He Who Gets Slapped)
Ray Overbaugh, William Schurr & Ferdinand Risi (Romola)
Charles Rosher (Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall)
Hendrik Sartov, G.W. Bitzer, Marcel Le Picard & Harold S. Sintzenich (America)
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