Simple Question, Difficult Answer: Best Director of the 1920s

As we come up on the end of the 1920s, it's time to start looking back.  I'll be putting up some polls and incorporating the results into my decade wrap-up.

First up, Best Director!

The choices are:

• Fritz Lang (Metropolis, Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler)
• F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, The Last Laugh, Sunrise)
• Erich von Stroheim (Greed, Queen Kelly)
• Buster Keaton (The General, The Seven Chances)
• Fred Niblo (Ben-Hur, The Mark of Zorro)
• Alfred Hitchcock (The Ring, The Manxman)
• Alan Crosland (The Jazz Singer, The Beloved Rogue)
• D.W. Griffith (Way Down East, America)
• Charles Chaplin (The Kid, The Gold Rush)
• Raoul Walsh (The Thief of Baghdad, Sadie Thompson)
• Or a choice of your own

The poll can be found in the sidebar. As always, feel free to show your work below!

Poll closes on July 21, 2012.

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Educational Films of 1928: When Nature Calls Edition

Today, we have three educational films from 1928. All three have an environmental theme. Let's get into it shall we?



The first deals with conservation and reforestation. It opens with some striking images of a lush green forest that is quickly juxtaposed against some clear cut forests. We soon learn that the images are part of a movie being shown to a classroom. The students decide they should reforest an area and the rest of the film is a field trip showing them digging and planting evergreens.

As someone with some environmental background, the most surprising moment comes near the end. The students finish eating their box lunch, dig a hole, place all the trash in the pit and light it on fire. Of course, this is before the age of plastics, but it is still surprising to see.



The second film deals with fish hatcheries. Most of the film is taken up by seeing a microscopic view of how fish mature from an egg. I'm sure there are modern versions of the same thing, but I found the film fascinating.It cannot be embedded so click here to view it.



The final is the most bizarre. It's a health and the environment piece that spends the first two-thirds showing pictures of daily life and asking "What is lacking here?" over and over again. At the end it starts telling us to get out and get fresh air. I'm sure this was intended to be used by teachers in an interactive lesson plan, but it's very oddly put together. It also has a moment of unintentional hilarity as a girl overacts the hell out of waking in her bed.

I like taking a few moments to watch these. They are little time capsules of what people were wearing, what life was like and what they were thinking about. On the last point, not a lot has changed.

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Shameless Self-Promotion: Classic Chops

Hey there's a new Classic Chops posted over at the Large Association of Movie Blogs!

And it includes my review of In Old Arizona!

It also has: Casablanca! Gentlemen Prefer Blondes! Sherlock Jr.! Singin' in the Rain!

Why are you still here?!  Why am I yelling?!  Go check it out!

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Look! It's a "That Guy"!: Ernest Torrence

Most people have heard of Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton and Mary Pickford. But what about the hundreds of other anonymous actors and actresses that pop up in film? You know, the ones that give you that faint glimmer of recognition and make you think "It's THAT guy!" Here we celebrate Hollywood's "that guy."

Whether it's a drama or a comedy, the fun or suspense of any movie depends on our hero having something to overcome.  There has to be conflict.  There has to be some big, immoveable object that makes us wonder how the star is going to get out of this one.

Enter Ernest Torrence.

You put him on screen and you had an instant conflict.  At 6'4", he towered over most of his costars.  He was an imposing figure.  And frankly, he was ugly.

He had only acted in a couple of films when he won the role of Luke Hatburn in Tol'able David.  Hatburn is one of a trio on the lam that take refuge in the quiet town that our hero David exists within.  They kill David's dog, cripple his older brother and cause his father to have a heart attack.  Ultimately, you know there is going to be a confrontation.


Torrence is perfect here.  He is so creepy and menacing in that, you believe David (played by Richard Barthelmess is in real danger.  There is a shot toward the end of him stalking David that is shocking and frightening.

The next role I saw him in was as Clopin in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  As the King of the Gypsys, he tries to keep his daughter Esmeralda from the captain of the guards Phoebus.  Theirs is the classic Romeo and Juliet set-up. The gypsys are despised by the king and Phoebus directly reports to the monarch.

Again, Torrence's stature and imposing figure serve him well.  We have to believe when he enters the ball to take Esmeralda away that he is a legitimate threat to the guards.  You take one look at him and you know the sentries will let him pass.

A few weeks ago I saw Torrance in a very different film as William Canfield, Sr. in Steamboat Bill, Jr.  As father to Buster Keaton's Jr., he still uses his large frame and frightening presence except now it's to get a laugh.  Frankly, all you have to do is introduce the idea that this hulk of a man could be father to a wisp of a son like Keaton to get the chuckles flowing.

Torrence makes the transition into talkies and would star usually as the villain in films before his untimely death in 1933.  I look forward to seeing more if his work, if only so I can point at the screen and say "Hey! It's THAT guy!"

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The Last Command (1928)

Directed by Josef von Sternberg
Starring Emil Jannings, William Powell and Evelyn Brent
Produced by Paramount Pictures

In an anonymous Hollywood office in 1928, a director prepping his next production pours over head shots in order to cast extras in his next movie. He's making a Russian war epic and bemoaning the fact that the current crop of Tinseltown actors look so inauthentic.

Then his eyes fall onto a picture of an old man. There's a glimmer of anticipation and even familiarity. He tells his staff to cast the man as the general in the film.

The old man receives the call and heads to the studio and waits with hundreds of others outside the gates.   As the lot opens, the potential extras push and yell at each other, trying to ensure their acting spot. The "general" navigates through this with a grace and dignity that none of the others can match.

When he finally dons the uniform, the general reaches into his case and produces his own medal to complete the outfit. The actor next to him asks where the man got the medal and the response is from the czar himself.

We flash back to 1917 and see the man without the world-weariness as General Dolgorucki of his cousin's army. He is trying to win the war, but he also has to make political maneuvers. When the czar visits the encampment, he pulls a division from the front lines to parade in front of the ruler. Never mind the fact that the men are desperately needed at the front, he has a czar to appease.



The general also must deal with a couple of actors who are really spies for the enemy. One of the spies, Leo, is the director from the opening scenes.  Dolgorucki whips him and locks him away. As for Leo's partner Natalie?  Well, the General takes a liking to the beautiful yet fiery woman and keeps her around as his consort.

Natalie still harbors a hatred for the government, but her time with the general leads her to respect the man's love for Russia. When her chance comes to kill her former enemy, Natalie cannot bring herself to do it.   The seeds of a romance are sown.

Unfortunately, the relationship never gets time to bloom. The train carrying the general and his men is hijacked by rebels and Natalie gleefully joins her former allies. The army officers are executed on the spot, but the general is spared so he can be hanged publicly. They send their captive to shovel coal into the train's furnace.

However, Natalie's alliance with the revolutionaries was only a ruse. She frees the general and he jumps from the train.  He can only watch in horror as the locomotive careens off of a bridge, killing the woman he loved.

Which brings us back to the present and the general's nascent acting career.  Will Leo exact his revenge?  And can the general lead his army of actors to one last victory?


Casual movie fans have doubtless heard of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton before. More serious cinephiles will recognize Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Lon Chaney.

How on earth Emil Jannings does not merit similar consideration is beyond me.

I had never heard of him before this marathon and shame on me.  If there is an Emil Jannings Fan Club, sign me up. I will gladly pay those dues.

In The Last Command, Jannings is required to pay two roles: a proud and physically imposing general and a frail, put-upon, would-be actor. He is fantastic in both roles and almost unrecognizable when you compare the two. He's impressive throughout, but when the finale requires him to transform from the destitute old man to the fierce battlefield commander, he pulls it off without the benefit of a special effect.

The rest of the actors here are good. I'd note William Powell's performance as Leo in particular. He's fine, but there's is little that hints at the leading man status he'd achieve in the next decade.

Beyond the acting, the script here is the real strength. The film sets up the central mystery of what happened to this once proud man and pays it off in spectacular fashion. It's a captivating story that gives all of the players a lot to work with.

The Last Command is about as great a drama as you'll see in the silent era. Jannings took home the first Best Actor Oscar and it could not have been more well-deserved.

***** out of *****

Photo from mubi.com

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In Old Arizona (1928)

Directed by Irving Cummings
Starring Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe and Dorothy Burgess
Produced by Fox Film Corporation

In an old western town, a mismatched group of people await passage on a stagecoach to take them across the desert. As the passengers board and set out, there are jokes and jibes. All of that frivolity is forgotten however when the stage is set upon by the notorious Cisco Kid.

The bandit disarms the drivers and demands they throw the strongbox down. The robber is not without honor and refuses to steal from the individual passengers. Even when a piece of jewelry worn by one of the travelers catches his eye, he doesn't just take it; he pays her in cash for the trinket.

We soon learn why he needs so much cash and jewelry. The Kid is in love with Tonia, a local girl who likes nothing more than to be treated like a queen. She oohs and aahs over everything her beau brings her. He thinks it's true love, and she is more than happy to let him think that. Of course, as soon as the Kid leaves, Tonia is entertaining a new gentleman caller.

In order to deal with the Cisco Kid once and for all, the army dispatches Sergeant Mickey Dunn to bring him in dead or alive. Dunn catches the eye of the lawman and, at first, protects her paramour. Of course, once she hears the Cisco Kid is worth $5000, her allegiance shifts quickly.

A scheme is hatched and a trap is set. Will Dunn and Tonia bring down the legendary outlaw? Or will the Cisco Kid turn the tables on his foes?




If I give my child a new toy car, he's going to be so excited, he won't know what to do. He'll race that car down a track. Across the floor. Up a wall. Around his brother's head. As a parent, you can correct him, but you also know the shine will wear off that car and your child will move on to the next thing.

I've reached the point with sound where I am waiting for Hollywood to lose interest.

In Old Arizona is rightfully recognized as an historic achievement. It's the first film to feature sound recorded outdoors. Actors are no longer limited to performing on soundstages indoors. Directors can capture their movements and their voices anywhere. When you consider that two years earlier, sound films were almost nonexistent, this a big step forward.

Of course, you hand that kind of new toy over to the wrong guy and...

This film is a full-on sonic onslaught.

The director is so fascinated with sound, he forgets how to be quiet. Every scene has some constant source of noise in the background. The guitars of a mariachi band. The singing of a barbershop quartet. The rhythmic tapping from a telegraph. If there are only two people in a room, turn on the phonograph. One person trying to sleep?  Queue the wailing infant.

What could be impressive with a modicum of restraint becomes mind-numbing. Once the sound hits during the overture, it almost never stops.

There are some more forgivable and unintentionally amusing aspects of this first foray into sound. A gunshot in a canyon produces a muffled thump. Wagons sound pretty much the same whether they are five feet or five hundred feet away. And horse hooves make the same clopping sound on hard scrabble ground and a stream.

Warner Baxter is fun as the Cisco Kid. He has a swagger and charm that immediately has the audience rooting for him, despite being an outlaw.

On the flip side, Edmund Lowe's portrayal of Dunn constantly brings the film to a screeching halt. Part of it is in Lowe's blustering performance, but a lot of the problem comes down to the script. We know Dunn is a gambler and a womanizer because we spend a lot of time watching him do those things in a boring, obvious way. We don't know why he'd be a danger to our hero. We are told by others that he's the Army's best shot, but we never see any evidence of it.

As for Dorothy Burgess' Tonia, I hated the performance. It was by turns over the top and wooden. One moment she's a flurry of activity and the next a statue with her emotion chiseled onto her face.

On the whole, In Old Arizona remains an important step in the development of filmmaking technology. That and an engaging lead performance from Baxter are all this has going for it.

** out of *****

Note: Baxter won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance. As much as I like his work here, I have no idea why he won an Oscar.

Photo from Alt Film Guide

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1973: The Year I Made Contact

This post is part of The Year I Made Contact Blogathon.  Find a complete list of participants at The Movie Waffler.

It took about five seconds after I agreed to participate in this blogathon for me to have a realization: "Crap, I guess I'm putting my age out there for the world."  After toying with lying and putting forward a list topped by say Pulp Fiction or The Matrix, I figured I'd come clean and say...

Hello, my name is Patrick and I was born in 1973.

It wasn't until recently that it even occurred to me that my presence on-line is probably pulling the average film blogger age north.  I listen to the LambCast, Slashfilm and other podcasts, hear the reviewers describing seeing The Phantom Menace as a kid and realize "Man, I'm getting old."

That, however, is what it is.  Despite being a devoted cinephile, it never even occurred to me to look at the films released during my birth year.  So, what started as excitement with participating, then turned to horror at putting my age out there, finally rounded into intellectual curiosity best summed up as:

"How about that?  I was born the same year Battle for the Planet of the Apes was released."

Without further ado, my top five movies released during my birth year:



5. Robin Hood - A sentimental favorite for me growing up.  I've seen it recently and my brain can see its flaws, but my heart keeps rudely shouldering my cranium aside to fall completely in love with Disney's anthropomorphic treatment of the classic tale. 

4. American Graffiti - I think I first saw this in high school.  Beyond the realization that Han Solo was behind the wheel of one of the cars, it's that rare movie that both encapsulates a moment in time while remaining completely timeless.  Every kid goes through the struggles and confusion these teens go through.  And it allowed George Lucas to make Star Wars.

3. The Sting - It's been a while since I've seen this.  I remember just being blown away by the ending.  This for me is the ultimate con movie.  And if you saw Robert Shaw as Quint in Jaws yet still remain unsure as to his cinema god status... check him out here.  Must... watch...again...

2. The Exorcist - I first saw this on a television. As a kid. In the middle of the night.  Alone.  Not sure how old I was, but definitely not old enough.  The mood and Linda Blair creep rotating head were nightmare food for weeks.  Today, I really appreciate the craft of what director William Friedkin created.  That constant sense of dread and building suspense does not just happen.

1. Enter the Dragon - Again, my brain said The Exorcist was number one, but my heart just cannot let it by Enter the Dragon.  I spent most Saturdays watching syndicated, dubbed kung fu movies.  Couldn't get enough of them.  However, when I first saw Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, everything else fell a step.  It's one of those movies with one of those performances that simply cannot be unseen.  The early death of Lee remains one of cinema's great tragedies.  And the final battle in the House of Mirrors is one of film's most bad ass sequences.

I feel it's important to note that there is a fair amount I have not seen.  Badlands, Serpico or Walking Tall for example may sneak onto the list when I see them.  Battle for the Planet of the Apes will remain the sixth best movie of 1973 regardless.  Of course, at the rate I'm moving through films that will be six years from now before I even get to 1973.

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