 |
| The vamp with a fool |
A Fool There Was is a decent melodrama but poorly executed. The only reason to watch the movie is for Theda Bara's "vamp" character. Bara created cinema's first femme fatale and became a sex symbol as a result of this film.
The husband played by Edward Jose, is a model of silent-era overacting. As he falls further under the vamp's power, he becomes an alcoholic and you know that because the second he touches a drink, he can't stand up and plasters a goofy smile on his face.
The husband's wife and friends make several attempts to save the "fool" from the vamp. The movie does not go with a happy ending here, which was a surprise and nicely done.
This movie, like Griffith's work, cuts between scenes in different locations, but does so less successfully. It also chooses odd places to cut the action. Sometimes this is intentional (the scene changes at a moment of violence for example), but other times seems inexplicable. During one scene, the husband's friends resolve to follow his wife to make sure she doesn't do anything rash. They follow her out to the street and... cue a "The next day" title card. Why were they following her? Where'd they go? Don't know.
This movie famously features a "scandalous title card as Bara's "vamp" says "Kiss me, my fool!" to one of her former lovers. We know this is shocking because every reference to the movie on the web says so, a fact that would be lost on modern audiences.
A Fool There Was is another one for film history buffs, but the story is not that interesting, it is poorly paced and is notable only for Bara's performance. The shots and cuts are so random at times that it feels like someone's home movies. All of the films of this era seem dated, but this one even more so.
Watched on DVD from Netflix
Photo from The Constant Viewer
0 comments:
Post a Comment