Movie Review: Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Sherlock Jr. (1924) directed by Buster Keaton

A projectionist (Buster Keaton) also wants to be a detective, so he reads a book about it during his job's downtime. The theater manager berates him for not sweeping up. The projectionist (he never gets a name) sweeps the trash outside and sees the candy shop next door. He scrounges up some money to buy a box of chocolates for his girl (Kathryn McGuire). When he goes to see her, a rival (Ward Crane) shows up with a nicer box of chocolates. The rival could afford it because he swiped her father's pocket watch and sold it. The theft is discovered and the projectionist is on the case. He bumbles through searching everyone as the rival slips the pawn shop receipt into the projectionist's pocket. It's soon discovered and the father berates the projectionist and forbids him to come back. He goes to the theater where he falls asleep in the projection booth. His sleeping self gets up and walks into the film that's showing, where a similar plot is playing out with a stolen string of pearls. He has a rough time at first, because he stays in the same place on screen as the scenes change, resulting in some comic pratfalls. The camera eventually pans in and returns to the main story, the stolen pearls. The projectionist is now the famous detective Sherlock Jr. who tries to catch the bad guys while the bad guys try to kill him.

The plot is fairly simple and standard Keaton fare. He plays a beleaguered romantic who bumbles his way into adventures and heroics, besting his rivals not with direct conflict but by being a decent person or performing some fantastic stunt. The movie is a vehicle for lots of stunts and some amazing editing. His walking into the movie looks obviously like there's a set in place of the movie screen. But then the movie changes and Buster doesn't. The sequence of edits from the house to the street to the ocean to a snowscape and so forth is amazing to watch. The creative and technical genius of the film is unrivaled. And it's almost one hundred years old!

Highly recommended--this is in contention with The General for Keaton's best film.

Movie Review: The Cat and the Canary (1927)

The Cat and the Canary (1927) directed by Paul Leni

Cyrus West owned a great mansion on the Hudson River and had a substantial estate to bequeath on his relatives. Unfortunately, most of them swarmed on him like cats on a canary so he left his will to be opened twenty years after his death. Five cousins and an aunt come on a dark night when the family lawyer will finally read the will. The mansion has the standard-issue spooky housekeeper (Martha Mattox) who lets people in and seems to know more than she's letting on. If things weren't stressful enough, someone has tampered with the documents and a lunatic has escaped from a nearby asylum and may be on the grounds or even in the house. The mansion has a lot of cobwebs and creepy hands reaching out from secret panels and doors.

As an "old dark house" thriller (quite possibly the first film version--this is from the silent era), the movie works well. The cast has plenty of people to suspect, a fine heroine (Laura La Plante), and a bumbling comic relief guy (Creighton Hale). The balance of scares and laughs is just right and the actors give good performances. The filmmakers managed to put a lot of cat and canary references in throughout.

Recommended.

Dual/Duel Review: Nosferatwo

Dual/Duel reviews are an online smackdown between two books, movies, games, podcasts, etc. etc. that I think are interesting to compare, contrast, and comment on. For a list of other dual/duel reviews, go here.

Since this year (2022 as I publish) is the one hundredth anniversary of the release of Nosferatu, I thought it was high time to give it a review. Since I hadn't seen the remake by Werner Herzog from the 1970s, I couldn't resist the opportunity to make another Dual/Duel review.  

The Hypnogoria podcast has a series celebrating the anniversary with some history and analysis that is well worth listening to. I wouldn't have known about the centenary without listening to this fine podcast.

This year is also the fiftieth anniversary of The Godfather, so another Dual/Duel review is coming soon. Or maybe it's a The Sequel Was Better candidate...

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Graunes (1922) co-written and directed by F. W. Murnau

Hutter (Gustav von Wagenheim) is very happily married to Ellen (Greta Schroder). They live an idyllic life in Wisborn, Germany. That life changes when Hutter's boss Knock (Alexander Granach) sends him off to Transylvania to complete a contract with Count Orlok (Max Schrek) who wants to buy a house in Wisborn. Ellen is worried about her husband and has a tearful goodbye. She moves in with some neighbors while he's gone. 

Hutter's trip gets interesting when he stops at a tavern about a day's journey from Orlok's castle. He asks to hurry up the meal because he has to visit Orlok; every patron at the bar suddenly looks somber and afraid. They convince him to wait until morning to continue his trip. In his room, he finds a book on the occult that describes various vampiric practices. He laughs and sticks it in his bag. The next morning, he continues on, though the stage coach will only take him as far as a bridge that leads to Orlok's lands. Hutter walks across the bridge and is picked up by a mysterious carriage with a heavily cloaked figure. He has a spooky ride to the castle. The castle is mostly empty except for Orlok, who claims his servants are asleep already. At dinner, Hutter cuts his finger and Orlok sees blood...and goes after it. Hutter is disturbed though the next morning he laughs it off. He also discovers two wounds on his neck. In a letter to Ellen, he claims the mosquitos are bad here. Ellen has been having troubled sleep because of her husband's jeopardy. The next night, Orlok sees a picture of Ellen and is smitten, telling Hutter she has a beautiful neck. In the morning, Hutter discovers Orlok's resting place, a coffin in the lower rooms of the castle! He tries to flee but is trapped in the castle. 

He sees Orlok load up six coffins filled with dirt. Orlok gets into the final coffin and magics the lid on. The driverless cart then speeds off. The cart arrives at a ship where the sailors load up the coffins. The crew opens one coffin on the shore and are surprised by the dirt. They tip it over and tons of rats go crawling out. Undaunted, they load the rest of the sinister cargo and sail off. On board, one sailor gets sick and sees visions (or are they?) of Orlok below decks. Eventually the crew is wiped out and the captain ties himself to the steering wheel, forcing the ship to Wisborn. 

Meanwhile, Hutter has escaped from the castle by tying strips of sheets together and descending out of his window. He still has a bit of a fall and is eventually found by farmers who take him to a hospital. He recovers and races off overland to Wisborn to protect his wife. 

Back in Wisborn, Knock has been locked up as insane. He starts eating flies and spiders with glee, waiting for "The Master" to return. Ellen is still having hard times sleeping; a local doctor thinks it's nothing to be worried about, just a blood disorder. Local Paracelsian, Professor Bulwer (John Gottowt) lectures on carnivorous plants and other weird horrors of nature and seems more open to supernatural explanations. 

The ship arrives in Wisborn. Orlok sneaks into town with his coffins of dirt. People claim there's an outbreak of plague and a quarantine is declared. Hutter makes it back to his wife, who discovers the occult book and reads about how to defeat the vampire--a virtuous woman must freely offer her blood and trick the vampire into staying up past dawn. She asks her husband to go and get Bulwer. Orlok comes over and she makes her sacrifice. Orlok realizes too late that the sun has risen. As he tries to cross the window, the sunlight reduces him to ashes. A closing shot shows his castle reduced to ruins, joining the fate of its owner.

The movie is clearly based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, though it does take significant liberties. The massive cast of characters is reduced to a handful (which is understandable for a 94 minute movie). Names and locations are changed. The filmmakers were sued by Stoker's estate and the movie was suppressed with more or less success. The plague subplot is not in the novel and was meant to capitalize on the fear generated by the Spanish Influenza epidemic that just ended. Watching it in 2022 as the Covid pandemic is winding down makes it a good time to watch with hundred-year old eyes.

Murnau was one of the most popular German Expressionist directors and uses the style here. Orlok's castle has a lot of weird rooms. Even the trip to the castle has a many strange and unsettling visual effects. Bulwer is in the show mainly for atmosphere, showcasing the creepy side of science and nature. Characters' facial hair is often exaggerated, including some amazing eyebrows. Orlok himself looks very feral and rat-like. His fangs are two sharp incisors. His long, boney fingers contrast with his bulbous, bald head. Schreck gives a great performance with his creepy eyes and stilted mannerisms. Some of the vampire's movements, like rising out of his coffin, show his unnatural abilities. His walk through nighttime Wisborn carrying the coffin is a bit comical, the only flaw in an otherwise great depiction.

The movie is visually amazing and does a great job getting a lot of action and some nice bits of comedy in its short running time. I watched the Image DVD which features the Alloy Orchestra accompaniment along with an organ score and a commentary track and some nice special features. The movie is also available on streaming from Kanopy.

Highly recommended.

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) written and directed by Werner Herzog

Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) is sent by his employer Renfield (Roland Topor) to sell a house to Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski). Renfield is already fairly crazy but the promise of a huge commission gets Harker's interest. He wants to get a larger, better house for his wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani). She's been disturbed in her sleep with bad and surreal dreams of doom. He turns her over to some neighbors (the neighbor's wife is called Mina) in Wismar, and heads off on horseback to Transylvania. He has the same meal-in-a-tavern scene as Hutter, though the bar has a social (and physical) distance between the owner and the gypsies. The owner appeals to the gypsies to dissuade Harker from going to the castle. Around a campfire, the owner translates a speech from the head gypsy describing the horrors that lay ahead. Harker is undeterred, even after the owner's wife gives him a cross and a book of folklore about vampires. He sets off on foot the next day to the castle.

The trip is long, and a bit boring/scenic, but he is eventually overtaken by a coach that transports him the rest of the way. At the castle, he sees a boy playing violin outside. Inside, it's the usual spooky doors and lone count who wants to get the paperwork done quickly. Dracula is pale and bald with two pointy teeth in front, but he's not as extreme looking as Orlok. There's the dinner scene with the finger cut. Dracula at first resists forcing himself on Harker, but does suck on his finger. The horrified Harker retreats to a fireplace where Dracula suggests they just sit and wait for dawn. Harker has already been backed into a chair. He falls asleep after a while of Dracula waxing poetic about "The children of the night" making music--that's the sound of wolves howling in the distance. Dracula is a very melancholic figure, complaining about some creatures who can never die, even if they want to. When Harker falls asleep, Lucy wakes up back home, shrieking. Dr. Van Helsing comes to treat her. He is strictly focused on scientific answers to her problems.

The next day, Harker explores the castle and discovers the tomb of Dracula. The next night, they finish up the paperwork. Dracula locks Harker in, then he stacks a bunch of coffins on a cart, putting himself in one. The cart trundles off as Harker desperately searches for an exit. He's reduced to tearing up sheets to make a rope. The rope isn't quite long enough and he crashes just outside the castle. The violinist discovers him and Harker winds up in a hospital.

Meanwhile, the coffins are loaded onto a boat with a nosy inspector discovering one of the coffins full of rats. Undeterred, he lets the ship depart with its cargo. There are a lot of loving shots of the ship at sea. The captain logs that the crew is slowly disappearing or getting sick. The remaining crew think a stranger is on board. The captain winds up lashing himself to the wheel as Dracula comes on deck.

Harker leaves the hospital before he is fully cured because he wants to beat the black coffins back home. He finds a horse and races on. The ship gets their first, though the only human body left on the ship is the captain's. The ship has tons of rats on board, who come onto land when a party boards to investigate. The captain's body is taken to the town council who can't make heads or tails of the situation. They read the captain's log entries and panic when he suggests that plague is the cause of the on-board deaths. The councilmen all race home and the town goes into lockdown. Renfield has been doing his crazy bit on and off in the local jail.

At this point, Harker returns though he is a shell of his former self. He's taken to the neighbor's house though he does not recognize Lucy. They take him in and she reads the occult book about vampires and Harker's journal of what happened at the castle. She tries to enlist Van Helsing, though he refuses to give in to superstition and faith. They have a little argument where she claims faith is believing in things you know to be false. She starts her campaign against Dracula by taking Eucharistic hosts and crumbling them up in one of his coffins (thus preventing him from returning). The townsfolk have given in to despair and are partying in the town square, trying to die happily. Lucy refuses to join in. When she gets back to the house, Mina has died and Mina' husband has gone insane and fled. Renfield breaks out of jail and goes to "The Master," who informs Renfield to go north and have the army of rats follow him, presumably to spread the plague. 

Harker is also deteriorating, so Lucy corners him in a chair and crumbles up hosts around him, effectively trapping him in the chair. She then prepares to summon Dracula so that she can keep him out till after "cock crows" so that he will be defeated. Dracula shows up, starts fondling her, and then gets to the business of drinking her dry. He almost quits but she forces him back down on her neck. Finally, the cock crows and he curls up in a corner incapacitated. Van Helsing shows up and realizes Dracula really is a vampire and Lucy is dead. He fetches a hammer and stake and kills Dracula off-screen. Harker is distraught at this. When Van Helsing comes back downstairs, Harker accuses him of murdering the Count. Some local officials have shown up and have an argument about whether they can arrest him and where to take him. One of them takes Van Helsing into custody. Harker then orders one of the servants to dust up all the crumbs. Once he is free, he shows his two pointy teeth and heads off, presumably to start more trouble elsewhere.

This movie is much more comfortable using the names of characters from the novel. Some of the roles from the novel are mixed up, like Lucy being Harker's wife and Mina being the friend, or Van Helsing being a strict scientist who lacks occult expertise. The plot is still essentially the one from the first movie with some additionsThe changes are a big shift in the Orlok/Dracula character and at the end. 

This movie is a lot more contemplative, lingering on scenes and visuals. The opening credits are over an extensive montage of desiccated corpses. Harker's trip through the mountains is more detailed and scenic. The feasting on the town square is shown at length as empty bravado in the face of the plague-caused doom. The movie's philosophical discussions about faith, science, and the undying nature of the vampire show a lot more thought, even when they are hard to agree with (e.g., faith is believing in things you can't be certain of, not things you know are false).

This vampire is quite sympathetic, often pathetically going after blood when he can. He also seems depressed and reluctant to do evil. Dracula shows a lot of existential anguish. The ending is different from the book and the first movie, with Harker going off to be the next Dracula and the heroine left dead. It's quite shocking and pessimistic.

Which is better?

Let's look at some elements of each film:

• The depiction of the vampire: The original film treats Orlok as a predator and a horror. He is unsympathetic in the extreme and a force for evil. Herzog's Dracula is a lot more sympathetic as he causes a lot of destruction in his wake. Viewers are clearly meant to feel bad for his burden of immortality. He's not quite as ugly though he is just as aggressive. Personally, I like the rat-faced monster much better as an honest look at how bad a vampire is. Slight advantage Murnau.
• The depiction of religious elements: The first film is chock-full of occult writing and imagery. Christianity is left out, depriving the characters of the typical tools of the vampire-fighting trade. There's still a sense that occult matters are something to be avoided, i.e. they are bad. The second film has a more Catholic sensibility, even using the Eucharist to hamper the vampire (which is something that happens in Stoker's novel). When it comes to dispatching the vampire, Herzog's heroes follow the typical methods. This winds up as a tie.
• Relation to the original novel: The first film starts off quite faithful to the novel, with just name and location substitutions. The second half is more original, making the wife the true hero and slayer of the vampire, not the novel's set of male hunters. The second film takes its cues from the first film, though it does use the names from the novel. The jumbling of the character names is a little confusing but not too bad. Advantage Murnau. 
• Visual style: As mentioned above, the first film is a classic in Expressionism, which has a distinctive style that is especially suited to fantastic stories. Nobody makes films like this nowadays, so it looks fresh and different. Some of the special effects are fairly primitive but I usually make allowances for when a film was made as long as they made a sincere effort (like the original King Kong) and do have some talent (unlike Plan 9 from Outer Space). The second film has the lingering, existential style the Herzog has displayed throughout his career. I like it as well though viewers may find bits too drawn out. It's hard to compare the two styles without reverting to personal preferences, so: Tie.
• The ending: The first film has the vampire completely vanquished. The second film has Dracula being dispatched, but vampirism lives on in his disciples, leaving viewers on a down beat. Advantage Murnau

Winner:

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Graunes 

Loser:

Nosferatu the Vampyre 

Both are interesting films and are available to stream on Kanopy. Try them out yourself!

Movie Review: The General (1926)

The General (1926) co-written and co-directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman

Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) is an engineer on a southern railway line who has two loves: his engine (called The General) and his girl (called Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack)). The American Civil War breaks out. Annabelle's father and brother sign up for the army. Johnny tries to enlist but is rejected because he is more valuable as an engineer. The recruiters don't bother to tell him this. Annabelle is disappointed in Johnny, especially when her relatives say he wouldn't even get in line with them (he had already been rejected). She refuses to see him again unless he's in a uniform. A year passes and the war is raging. A Union general plans to steal his engine and bust up the rail line so the army can attack. A group of northerns sneak into town and steal The General just when Annabelle is riding to the front to check on her wounded father. Johnny sees the train steaming away and races off in pursuit of his two loves.

This movie is widely regarded as Keaton's best. The movie has a lot of pathos and a plethora of sight gags. The comedy works very well, capitalizing on Keaton's stone-faced reactions to the improbable events and circumstances. Keaton has good chemistry with Mack. Their reunion and escape from the northerners gives the movie some dramatic weight and some opportunities for Keaton to play off his costar. They make an entertaining couple as they try to help each other make it back home.

The craftsmanship is amazing. Keaton is famous for doing his own stunts, often very elaborate and dangerous stunts. The movie uses real trains and he performs complicated and amazing comedy routines on the tracks. There's no Godzilla-style miniatures or dodgy CGI here, just real people executing carefully-timed stunts that deliver the laughs and the wows. The battle scenes have tons of extras and have a lot happening on the screen. Even little details are surprising. At one point, Johnny is hiding under a table where the northern officers are planning their attack. One of the officers accidentally burns a hole in the tablecloth and in Johnny's sleeve. He has the appropriate comic reaction. But then Annabelle is brought into the room. The tablecloth hole provides Johnny a way to see Annabelle. The hole also make a wonderful frame for Annabelle's face. I appreciated the attention to detail that makes this well worth watching.

The version I watched has an excellent score by the Alloy Orchestra. There aren't many copies left at Amazon. The DVD comes with Steamboat Bill Jr., which I saw with them perform live back in the 1990s. 

Highly recommended--this is the third time I've watched this and it's just as enjoyable as ever.

This movie is discussed, along with The Lodger, on A Good Story is Hard to Find Podcast #277!

Movie Review: Downhill/When Boys Leave Home (1927)

Downhill/When Boys Leave Home (1927) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

One of two prep school friends becomes involved with a young lady who becomes unhappy with the affair. When she goes to the school to make an accusation, innocent Roddy Berwick (Ivor Novello) takes the blame for his pal. He's summarily expelled from school. Roddy returns home where his father kicks him out. On his own, he bums around London until he gets an inheritance from his godmother. With the money, he marries an actress. She turns out to be a gold digger who cleans him out, leaving him in an even worse state. Things just get worse for him from there.

The story is very melodramatic and relies on some heavy symbolism. The women in the film (aside from Roddy's mom) cause a lot of trouble and are not depicted in the best light. Visually, the movie has a lot of nice transitions (one passage of time fades from a pocket watch to the face of a clock tower!) and visual moments, early Hitchcock stylings. A good piano score accompanies the film on the Criterion Collection DVD. Novello gives a good performance though he is a bit old to be playing a prep-school student. Overall, I was underwhelmed. It's a typical life story drama.

Slightly recommended. This movie came as a second feature on The Lodger DVD and it definitely has a B-side vibe. The two titles above are the British and the American titles.

Movie Review: The Lodger (1927)

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Young blonde women are being murdered on the streets of London! On his victims' clothes, the killer pins a scrap of paper with "The Avenger" written inside a triangle. He was sighted fleeing his latest murder and the distraught elderly witness identified him as tall, well dressed, with a scarf wrapped around the lower part of his face.

Young blonde Daisy (June Tripp) works as a model in a store and lives with her parents. She's dating a cop named Joe (Malcolm Keen) who is excited to be assigned to the murder case. Once he puts a noose around the culprit, he'll put a ring on Daisy's finger. The parents are happy about that. 

The family has a room to let. One foggy night, a gentleman (Ivor Novello) comes to rent the room. He's tall and mysterious and handsome. And he has a scarf around the lower part of his face! When he gets to the room, he asks the parents to remove all the paintings of young blonde women that are on the walls. His mysterious valise is locked away in a desk. He starts wooing Daisy. He paces the floor anxiously and often goes out at night on mysterious errands.

With this set up, Hitchcock is in his usual form. All the circumstantial evidence points to the lodger as the culprit. He's distracted and prickly. The cop doesn't like him because the lodger and Daisy are getting along very well. Daisy grows in affection for the new guy, causing tension. The story drama is enhanced by the visual flare typical of Hitchcock. At one point, viewers see the lodger pacing through a glass ceiling. The family just see their plain chandelier moving about as the lodger walks around. Even after the "is he or isn't he the killer" issue is resolved, Hitchcock gets more drama and tension out of the story.

For a silent film, it is very engaging. I watched the Criterion Collection DVD which is from a restoration by the BFI. A lot of the visual flourishes seem like they'd be from later work, but filmmakers were consummate artists even in the silent era. The score goes well with the movie, imitating the famous Bernard Herrmann compositions for later classic films like North by Northwest and Vertigo.

Highly recommended--this is a hidden Hitchcock gem, probably because it is a silent film.

Also, this will be discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast, which is having a whole month of silent films!

Movie Review: Fantomas Serial (1913-14)

Fantomas Serial (1913-14) directed by Louis Feuillade

This five-part French silent film series is named after its main character. Fantomas (Rene Navarre) is a criminal who focuses on upper-class victims and is a master of disguise. Inspector Juve (Edmond Breon) has been assigned to hunt him down. Juve is assisted by Fandor (Georges Melchior), a newspaper reporter. Each part is about an hour to an hour and a half long. The films were restored by a French consortium in 2013 so the print looks great, the title cards are up-to-date, and the score is wonderful. Here's a part-by-part synopsis.

1. In the Shadow of the Guillotine: Fantomas starts his crime spree robbing a wealthy woman at a hotel. He's bold enough to hide in her room and rob her of 120,000 francs and a pearl necklace as she watches. He makes a fantastic escape. His next caper is the killing of Lord Beltham, since Fantomas has taken a liking to Lady Beltham. She is in on the crime and helps Fantomas to escape from prison when he is caught by Juve. The escape plan is complicated but amazing and works flawlessly.

2. Juve vs. Fantomas: As the title suggest, Fantomas and Juve cross swords metaphorically several times in this part. Lady Beltham is apparently dead--a mangled corpse has identifying documents on it. The corpse was left at a doctor's house. He immediately reported it so as not to be a suspect. But he is in fact Fantomas. He's plotting an elaborate robbery of a wine merchant with help from Josephine (Yvette Andreyor), whom the film describes as "the strumpette!" She's part of his gang and successfully pulls off the robbery. Well, almost successfully--the merchant is carrying half the money from a deal he made, but literally half. All the bills are cut in two with the promise of the other half when the wine merchant's deal is closed. Fantomas goes after the rest of the money but is confronted by Juve, who barely escapes with his life. Meanwhile, Lady Beltham is at a nunnery and is summoned by Fantomas back to her old house for a rendezvous. Juve and Fandor find out and try to lay a trap on a subsequent visit. The trap almost works but Fantomas manages a crafty escape, then blows up the building, bidding the lawmen "farewell!"

3. The Murderous Corpse: Fandor is badly injured and Juve has disappeared. A pile of corpses was found at the house, so he's presumed dead. Meanwhile, Fantomas sends a dead body to a sculptor's studio and the sculptor is accused of the murder. In jail, one of Fantomas's agents kills the sculptor, who is later discovered dead in the holding cell. The next day, the sculptor's body is gone. Fantomas continues his crime spree, now leaving clues behind--the fingerprints of the dead sculptor! Fortunately, Juve is not dead and has been infiltrating Fantomas's gang. He almost catches Fantomas literally red-handed, but the villain makes a fantastic escape (again!).

4. Fantomas vs Fantomas: A theory makes the public rounds that Fantomas and Juve are the same person. That would explain Juve's inability to catch the master criminal. Fandor is outraged as Juve winds up in prison. Lady Beltham puts on a masquerade ball to raise money for the capture of the real Fantomas. Fandor decides to go as the Man in Black (one of Fantomas's identities), though one of the police inspectors makes the same choice. Naturally, Fantomas shows up in his own garb. He picks a fight with the police inspector version of himself. Later, Fandor finds the inspector dead. Fantomas has already escaped and moved on to other plans. He needs to settle things with his gang, who are also wondering if Juve and Fantomas are one and the same. Juve is kidnapped in broad daylight from police headquarters by the gang. They try to trick him into admitting he is Fantomas. Fandor is hiding out at their secret lair and turns the tables on them. The gang winds up captured but Fantomas eludes the police yet again.

5. The False Magistrate: A marquis is in dire straits and needs money so he decides to sell his wife's jewelry to a gem merchant. Through some implausible contrivances, both the jewels and the cash to pay for them are stolen...but not by Fantomas! He's in a Belgian jail serving a life sentence. In order to get him, Juve hatches a fantastic plot. He will go to Belgium as an accomplice and help Fantomas escape from prison. The French police will pick Fantomas up at the border and the Belgians will be forced to release Juve when two Fantomases is clearly one too many. The plan fails when Fantomas dodges the officers following him and he assumes the identity of a magistrate. He then meets up with his gang who pulled off the marquis heist. Plot machinations continue from there as Juve and Fantomas try as many tricks as they can to win the day. 

Overall, the series has a lot to recommend itself. The plots are interesting, if not always plausible, and move along at a steady pace (though it's slower than modern film storytelling). The actors are good, especially at being in disguise. The story uses a lot of doubling, mirroring, and reversing of situations and characters. The first film starts with Fantomas taking on someone else's identity to make his escape; the film ends with him forcing someone else to take his identity so Fantomas can escape. While clever and daring, Fantomas is never really sympathetic--he's too rough on his victims and too duplicitous with his allies. Juve is a good foil for the villain, having many of the same skills but using them in the cause of justice, not selfishly. He depends on Fandor and is true to his allies. The restoration looks great (none of the graininess and choppiness of many silent films) and the musical score has a classical sound but is crisp and clean.

I watched this series on Hoopla.

Recommended.

Movie Review: The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The Man Who Laughs (1928) directed by Paul Leni, based on Victor Hugo's novel

Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt) is the son of disgraced nobleman Lord Clancharlie under English King James II. The king punishes the nobleman by turning the ten-year old Gwynplaine (Julius Molnar) over to Comprachicos, a band of gypsies who disfigure people and sell them. The king gets the idea from his sadistic jester Barkilphedro (Brandon Hurst). The Comprachicos give Gwynplaine a broad, ridiculous grin. James banishes the Comprachicos from England but they leave Gwynplaine behind. Gwynplaine flees through the snows, discovering a baby cradled by a dead mother. He takes the baby and winds up at the house of Ursus the Philosopher (Cesare Gravina), who takes both of them in as his children. Ursus is also a traveling showman. 

Once the children are grown, the trio wanders England putting on shows featuring Gwynplaine as "The Man Who Laughs." The show is popular but Gwynplaine is ashamed of his disfigurement. The baby has grown up to be Dea (Mary Philbin), who is blind but still performs in the show. She loves Gwynplaine but he can't believe any woman would love him with the way he looks. They go to a popular fair near London where the doctor from the Comprachicos has his own freak show (including a five-legged cow!). The doctor recognizes his work. He also knows that the spoiled Duchess Josiana (Olga Baclanova) has inherited the Clancharlie estate. The doctor plans to blackmail Josiana. The plan doesn't work out because Barkilphedro, who has become a noble, intercepts the letter. He offers the information to Queen Anne so she can get rid of Josiana, or better yet, humiliate her by forcing her to marry Gwynplaine, who is now destined to wind up in the House of Lords. Tragedy ensues.

Veidt's makeup inspired the look of Batman's arch-nemesis, The Joker. Barkilphedro seems more like the inspiration for Joker's personality. He's sadistic and vicious, ready to take advantage of anyone for his own benefit or even just his own amusement. Gwynplaine is a sensitive and caring man who can barely stand other people seeing his face. Veidt gives the character lots of pathos and delivers a great performance, though often only his eyes are visible. The rest of the cast is also good. The movie is a silent film and the actors use the typical exaggerated gestures common in the silent era. 

The sets are impressive, capturing the gloominess of the story and the roughness of the late seventeenth/early eighteenth century England. Leni's directorial style is nice, with occasional expressionistic flourishes that heighten the drama. I was a little worried when I bought this BluRay/DVD because the cover art looks unprofessional, but the film looks great and the score is fine.

Recommended, highly for silent film buffs.

Movie Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) directed by John S. Robertson

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John Barrymore plays the title roles in this early adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale. Dr. Jekyll is a kind-hearted and morally-upright medical doctor with a progressive bent. One night as he dines with his finacee's father, Sir George (Brandon Hurst), the conversation turns to man's dual nature. Sir George doesn't believe Jekyll can possibly be as nice as he seems. He tells Jekyll that he can't surpress his dark side forever and that he should enjoy the pleasures of life more. They go to a music hall where George invites the voluptuous and scantily-clad singer to meet Jekyll. Jekyll is uncomfortable and soon leaves. But the seed is planted and he begins working on a serum that would allow his baser self to enjoy the morally dubious things in life while he, Jekyll, would remain innocent. The plan doesn't work out so well as his alter-ego, Hyde, lives a hedonistic lifestyle, often at Jekyll's expense, both financial and moral.

The story is fairly faithful to the book. Barrymore gives a great performance. He projects the moral uprightness of Jekyll and the loathsomeness of Hyde. Since this is a silent film, the acting is very over-the-top at times, especially when he drinks the serum and reacts with painful spasms. The transformations are the classic "fade into the actor in different makeup" (think of all the old Wolfman movies), which I didn't mind though it does look dated. The Hyde makeup is hideous in the proper way but not so silly as the monkey-boy look in the Frederick March version. 

This is a silent film. I watched the Kino version through Hoopla which has a good musical soundtrack added.

Recommended, though surely it is no substitute for reading the book.