Early Film: Norma Talmadge in THE BATTLE CRY OF PEACE
by Andre Soares
For those interested in early cinema:
Greta de Groat reports on her Norma Talmadge website that she has recently watched one reel of the 1915 war drama The Battle Cry of Peace. "This film had long been considered entirely lost," de Groat explains, "save for some battle sequences once used as stock footage, which [film historian] Kevin Brownlow included in his Hollywood series. However, the Svenska Filminstitute turned out to have a reel of unknown sequences. I viewed this and found that it seemed to be a reel from a condensed version of the film - one possibly reedited to capitalize on Norma Talmadge’s appearance, as it contains her most important scenes."
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6 Responses to “Early Film: Norma Talmadge in THE BATTLE CRY OF PEACE”
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That Norma Talmadge site has a wealth of material. Lots of silent-era stuff. Thanks for sharing the link; some of us (ok, me) would’ve missed it otherwise.
Thom,
If you look at the long, long, looooong sidebar next to my blog postings, scroll down to “actors.”
Besides Norma Talmadge, Greta de Groat has sites dedicated to Pauline Frederick, Alice Joyce, and Clara Kimball Young.
They’re all as informative as the Talmadge site.
Check them out!
Yes, Greta de Groat’s websites are a mine of rich information about many of the silent screen’s neglected actresses. I first came across her Norma Talmadge site probably six(maybe seven) years ago now. At that time the name Norma Talmadge was one that I had always heard of as a silent film enthusiast, but one that I had no real intimate experience with due to the obscurity of her films. One of the really frustrating things about Norma Talmadge’s latter-day obscurity is that unlike many of her silent film contemporaries where large sections of their careers have turned to dust, the majority of Norma’s films exist.(Many existing in good to gloriously beautiful prints in The Library Of Congress)
Through Greta’s site, I found online video outlets and bought up the pitifully few of Norma’s films available on video, and a few years later I made a trip to LOC and saw several of Norma’s films from her peak years as a film star. Norma is a fine actress and in a good role a superb one. Like most superstars though, most of her career was spent in formulaic, predictable, audience pleasing vehicles, which didn’t always allow her entire emotional range as an actress to be fully utilized. Still, despite a certain repetition, her films are invariably expertly made and pleasing. But, what’s interesting about Norma is that despite our image today of “drama queens” as fierce, dominating, and sometimes unsympathetic women, Norma is refreshingly down-to-earth, and unpretentious. Norma Talmadge is one of my great silent film interests. A sadly neglected star.
Here’s hoping Norma sees the much deserved renaissance of her work, and that she’s returned to her rightful place in the history of film stardom.
James,
Thanks for the post. What Talmadge movies did you watch at the Library of Congress? When you have the time, please let us know.
The Norma Talmadge films I viewed at LOC were:
The New Moon(1919)
Yes Or No(1920)
A Daughter Of Two Worlds(1920)
The Sign On The Door(1921)
Love Or Hate(1921)
Smilin Through(1922)
The Eternal Flame(1922)
Within The Law(1923
Song Of Love(1923)
Kiki(1926)
The Woman Disputed(1928)
New York Nights(1929)
Below, I’ll list some viewing comments about the films. I’m writing these off the top of my head, so I hope these make some sort of sense.
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The New Moon(1919)-Norma plays a Princess who goes in exile as a grocery store proprietress after her palace is savagely attacked by Bolseviks and her mother is killed. It’s a melodramatic, yet expertly made vehicle made under Norma’s production company which went into operation in late 1916. One of the most striking scenes features Norma fighting off a lustful Bolshevik( Who has already raped one peasant girl)in order to save the daughter of his commnding officer. She takes a whip from the wall and begins to savagely beat him. He in turn takes up an axe and hurls it at her, hitting the wall and missing her face by mere inches. She then wrestles him to the ground.
Yes Or No?(1920)- I’ll hold off from making too many criticisms about this. The LOC wasn’t sure what it did with the first two reels at the time I went, so I came in in the middle. What I saw was quite interesting. This features Norma in a duel role. In one role she plays Margaret,a rich society wife who feels neglected by her husband.In the other role as Min Norma plays a poor woman who also feels neglected by her ambitious husband. The two stories are woven together through Min’s sister,who is Margaret’s maid(Natalie Talmadge).Margaret decides to leave her husband for an affair with a society playboy(Lowell Sherman),while Min fights off the advances of Gladden James.
Later,Min and her husband have come into wealth after he invents a new washing machine which he was inspired to invent after watching Min struggle with the washing.Meanwhile Margaret’s husband has suffered a heart attack and died,and her lover has grown bored with her.
Daughter of Two Worlds(1920)- Norma plays the daughter of a criminal,who gets caught up in a check forgery rap.When found guilty of the crime she, with the help of her father, escapes and is sent into hideout in high society. She soon becomes a popular member of society,but is forced to reveal her true identity when one of her suitors is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to the electric chair.
This is a rather uneven film. Norma’s early scenes as a good-natured, yet tough, street wise girl of the slums are her best moments in the film and she displays a rather striking intensity in her courtroom moments. Once she gets into high society, she seems to absorb all the manners and sophistication of her surroundings, and she appears as the dignified, yet down-to-earth Norma seen in countless films. Thus, a very interesting and valuable plot element is lost. In the real world such a character would have had a certain period of adjustment. Most likely not a highly educated character who has had to live and survive by her wits and not used to the manners and customs of polite society, would lend for many embarassing faux pas as one culture clashed with the other
The Sign On The Door(1921)Norma plays the wife of a wealthy(and rather sanctimonious) man who seems to view all women as wanton souls ready to stumble on the primrose path at any given moment. An innocent indescretion from her past comes back in the form of Lew Cody( One of the finest examles of silent screen villiany)as she tries to keep her grown up stepdaughter from his clutches.In the films climax, Norma has a fantastic scene in which she finds herself locked in a room with a dead man. In a scene that could so easily have been overplayed, Norma is intelligent and in complete control of her movements, yet all the while brilliantly conveying her character’s increasingly rising sense of panic. Directed by Herbert Brenon, this is a expertly made and thoroughly entertaining film.
Love Or Hate(1921) Also known as The Passion Flower. This has to rank as Norma’s most unusual film. The first of three consecutive films Norma made under Herbert Brenon’s direction. Norma plays Acacia, the daughter of a Spanish widow(Eulalie Jenson). Still brooding over the death of her father, Acacia takes an active dislike to her stepfather(Courtney Foote). The film in it’s look( Uncompromisingly shocking and completely unusual for a Hollywood film of this period.) is something out of German Expressionism. With minimalistic sets and subdued, moody lighting, the films look seems to underscore the seething and passionate emotions boiling beneath the surface of the characters. It’s an unusual film, but one that might appeal to those who like something unusual. Norma never again did a film this out of the ordinary. Too bad. I’d love to see the outcome that a collaboration with Von Stroheim or Murnau could have brought.
Smilin Through(1922)- Considered Norma Talmade’s biggest hit of her career. This is a lovely film version of the play, although one that could stand a second viewing as some plot elements familiar in the last two versions are missing. In fact the 1932 and 1941 versions add a bit of extra material than the original play. Still, the film is gorgeously photographed, and Norma has one of her best directors, Sidney Franklin atthe helm. LOC has a lovely 35mm print just awaiting a first class DVD release.
The Eternal Flame(1922) I’d like to see this one again before deciding on it. Two pivotol reels are missing. What I can say is that it was a lavish and jaw-dropingly beautiful production.
Song Of Love(1923)- Song of Love is the story of an Arab dancing girl Noormahal who’s known as “The Rose-Of-All-The- World”She’s sent to beguile a member of the French Secret Service(Joseph Schildkraut),who’s planning to stop their plans of an Arab uprising to oust the French out of the country. This is a rather nothing sort of film and lots of fun. It seems to be a film made to cash in on the “Sheik” craze that was set in motion two years earlier with the Rudolph Valentino desert action-romance The Sheik.
Within The Law(1923)- This is the second of four screen versions of the play of the falsely accused and sentenced shopgirl. An earlier 1917 Vitagraph feature with Alice Joyce is lost, Ruth Hussey did a 1939 MGM B- version, and probably the most seen is the 1930 MGM feature retitled “Paid” with Joan Crawford. It’s interesting to compare the Crawford and the Talmadge versions. They show not only two different actresses who give two entirely different performances, but also showcases how dramatically the social climate had changed between 1923 and 1930. The Talmadge film is glossier, beautifully lit and photographed and featuring one of Norma’s best wardrobes. While the 1930 film, made while this nation was in the grips of the depression is much more uncompromisingly cynical and grim. Where Talmadge is sympathetic, Crawford is angry.Still, Norma gives a fine performance, and Lew Cody is exceptional in a rare sympathetic role as Norma’s partner in crime who loves her while she’s fallen for the son of the man who sent her to prison.
Kiki(1926) One of Norma’s rare comedies. A brilliant performance that seems all the more brilliant for it’s originality when compared with her other films. When I first saw it, it was incomplete. It has recently been restored and has screened in numerous places including the 2006 Fall Cinesation where I saw it. Norma throws herself into the physical comedy with ablomb as a young Parisian girl who steals her way into the show of a theatre manager(Ronald Colman) who she loves from afar. She immediately clashes with the managers super-tempermental actress girlfriend(Gertrude Astor)
The Woman Disputed(1928) This is an underrated film that seems to be trashed by many who’ve seen it. To me, it’s one of Norma’s most interesting vehicles and finest performances. She plays a good-natured prostitute who’s rescued by two friends( Gilbert Roland, Larry Kent) Both fall in love with her and the friendship is destroyed after Norma makes her choice between the two. Next WWI breaks out a puts the two men at opposite sides of the battle. When the army of the opposing side invades a town and takes a few of the townspeople hostage, the townspeople who had once rejected Norma, now ask her to sleep with the commanding officer in order to save them. Norma gives a bravura performance in all around excellent film. She’s ably supported by Gilbert Roland, Larry Kent, Gustav Von Seyffertitz, and Gladys Brockwell. And the film is beautifully photographed. Something a little different from her standard fare.
New York Nights(1929) Norma’s first talkie, although LOC only had two reels available for viewing, and Norma is only briefly seen in the footage that I saw.
It was interesting visiting LOC( A trip I keep planning to repeat) although an archive is not the most ideal place for film viewing. Blazing on a big screen with a good score and an appreciative audience would immeasurably enhance the viewing experience I had with these.
I left something out of my comments on Love Or Hate. When I said “Uncompromisingly shocking and unusual….”, in that instance I was referring to the ending.