Tweet 2 Stroheim Greats

Earlier this week I returned to Film Forum for more fun with Erich von Stroheim, this time a double feature: The Great Gabbo (1929) and The Great Flamarion (1945). An interesting pairing, for although they were made fifteen years apart under very different circumstances, the two films had a number of thematic parallels.

In each, Stroheim plays a successful stage star: Gabbo is a ventriloquist, while Flamarion has a sharp-shooting act. There are a lot of backstage scenes in each film. Both of Stroheim’s characters are egotistical and aloof, but Gabbo is downright cruel, and has no apparent redeeming features, while Flamarion is more sympathetic; he’s withdrawn from other people because of a romance that ended badly. Gabbo is so mean to his sweet-natured girlfriend (Betty Compson) she reluctantly leaves him, and his jealousy over her ultimately drives him mad. Flamarion’s personal situation is quite different, however. Against his better judgment he becomes involved with his attractive stage assistant (Mary Beth Hughes), who turns out to be a nasty piece of work. She lures him into committing murder, tricks him out of his savings, and then splits. His desire for revenge inspires him to track her down, and more violence erupts.

Gabbo is a primitive early talkie, and frankly pretty clunky for the most part, especially the musical numbers, but Stroheim’s weird relationship with his dummy, Otto, exerts a strange fascination even so. I have the Kino DVD of this film, and wondered how it would play with an audience. Well, at the show I attended people watched with interest, but there were snickers at times. Normally it bugs me when an audience laughs at a drama rather than with it, but in this case it was understandable, particularly during the “Caught in a Web of Love” number, where Compson and her boyfriend dance about, dressed as giant insects. Who could suppress a laugh during that sequence? Not me!

There was one big disappointment connected with this show. In Film Forum’s advertising, they promised that Gabbo would boast the restored Technicolor sequence. I recall a thread here on this topic a while back, and the consensus seemed to be that the Technicolor footage no longer exists, so I was surprised by this announcement and certainly looking forward to seeing it. But when we arrived at the box office, there was a sign at the window saying that the print was entirely in black & white, with apologies. I don’t know how the misunderstanding occurred.

Flamarion turned out to be surprisingly well made, and engaging. It’s one of Anthony Mann’s early directorial credits, and his storytelling talent is evident. By the standards of its studio, Republic, this was an A-picture, and next to the creakiness of Gabbo it was striking how slick it was: the cinematography, editing, etc., all looked quite good. Stroheim’s acting was also much more polished, by this point. And I was really taken with Mary Beth Hughes, as the femme fatale. She was terrific! I checked her credits afterward and realized I’d seen her in a few things, but she’d never made an impression on me until now. Too bad her performance here didn’t lead to better roles. I guess this flick didn’t do much for Stroheim‘s career, either, but it holds up better than a lot of the other films he acted in. Personally I enjoyed Flamarion a lot more than As You Desire Me.

Any other thoughts on these 2 Great’s? Or on that missing Technicolor sequence, or the underappreciated Mary Beth Hughes?

Gabbo is a primitive early talkie, and frankly pretty clunky for the most part, especially the musical numbers

WHAT??? Especially the musical numbers??? Seriously, my friend, if you think Marjorie Kane is "clunky," get an EKG tomorrow! That dummy more fascinating & beguiling than the crooked smile of Betty Compson! Why do those who don't care for the music, dance, & unique style of the late '20s trouble themselves to watch such pictures--and then inflict, inevitably, their Age of Gaga sensibilities (exactly what I'd expect to hear from the airheads lined up at the cineplex for the latest H'wood trash) on those who love this stuff.

Yes The Great Gabbo is "primitive" in that it's a 1929 sound film. I think Betty Compson is terrific in this film, and the "Caught in the Web of Love" number is quite imaginative (even if it's not really Compson dancing). Compson made something like 17 films (silents and talkies) in 1928 and 1929. She was probably the busiest actress in Hollywood at this time and arguably the top actress in talkies, considering output and performances. And yes I said aurguably.

Gabbo is a primitive early talkie, and frankly pretty clunky for the most part, especially the musical numbers

WHAT??? Especially the musical numbers??? Seriously, my friend, if you think Marjorie Kane is "clunky," get an EKG tomorrow! That dummy more fascinating & beguiling than the crooked smile of Betty Compson! Why do those who don't care for the music, dance, & unique style of the late '20s trouble themselves to watch such pictures--and then inflict, inevitably, their Age of Gaga sensibilities (exactly what I'd expect to hear from the airheads lined up at the cineplex for the latest H'wood trash) on those who love this stuff.

Pardon me, I neglected to mention that Marjorie Kane has two cute numbers. She is, by far, the best dancer on hand.

May I add that I wrote my post in a spirit of affection for this film? I believe I've made clear my fondness for the music & style of early talkies, in a general sense, in earlier posts. Really, there's no need to fly off the handle.

May I add that I wrote my post in a spirit of affection for this film?

I'll take you at your word...but speaking of joining the tittering gave me a different impression. Flying off the handle might be an extreme & inappropriate reaction, except for the sorry fact that I've read remarks of the same tenor on other boards, never expecting to encounter them here; the pump was primed, in other words, the fire-horses in harness. Criticism of anything but the music, I can accomodate with equanimity, but I must admit to being hyper-sensitive about song & dance.

May I add that I wrote my post in a spirit of affection for this film?

I'll take you at your word...but speaking of joining the tittering gave me a different impression. Flying off the handle might be an extreme & inappropriate reaction, except for the sorry fact that I've read remarks of the same tenor on other boards, never expecting to encounter them here; the pump was primed, in other words, the fire-horses in harness. Criticism of anything but the music, I can accomodate with equanimity, but I must admit to being hyper-sensitive about song & dance.

Fair enough. And I can be more specific about what, exactly, provoked titters: during "Caught in a Web of Love," the two romantic leads have a conversation about their relationship (and about Gabbo) which plays out during the number. That is, they dance -- then talk -- then dance -- then talk, all while dressed as insects. I'll allow -- as noted above -- that it was imaginative, but whatever the filmmakers' intentions, it comes off as funny. Some viewers in 1929 may have thought so too, I don't know. But it wasn't the music or the dancing, per se, which provoked giggles the other night.

What I remember most about the web number is that the long shots of the dancers is so obviously not Compson.

If fakery there must be, I almost think I'd prefer it to be obvious, lest a false illusion take root...such as my initial assumption that Betty's singing in On With the Show & other pictures was her own; how deflating to learn later that she'd been dubbed! Of all H'wood illusions, dubbing is the most hurtfully deceitful.

I always assumed Compson did her own violin playing in several films, but others says that was dubbed also.....

I agree about the similarity between the two films mentioned.

The beautiful Mary Beth Hughes was great in her many roles at Fox, PRC and other studios--but really went over the top as the wicked woman in FLAMARION!

Von Stroheim was also always worth seeing in his many talkie roles! (Especially SUNSET BOULEVARD)

BTW---Grapevine Video has an EXCELLENT transfer of GABBO!
I think VCI has the only regular release on DVD of FLAMARION......

BTW---Grapevine Video has an EXCELLENT transfer of GABBO!

Couldn't be better! but let me take this opportunity to plug an even greater Grapevine bargain--their Glorifying the American Girl--Dixiana double-feature; if emprisioned with only one DVD in my cell, this would be it.

Von Stroheim was also always worth seeing in his many talkie roles! (Especially SUNSET BOULEVARD)

I'm also a fan of his earlier performance for Billy Wilder, Five Graves to Cairo (1943). It's interesting, and a little surprising, to see General Rommel portrayed in this somewhat nuanced fashion in a film made during the war. Certainly a far cry from the evil Hun officers of World War I movies.

I'm also a fan of his earlier performance for Billy Wilder, Five Graves to Cairo (1943).

I've neglected to watch or record this when it appeared on TCM, but will make a point of doing so the next time. I love his performance in Lost Command (1931), in which he plays "himself"--a H'wood director; not so nuanced, but deliciously malicious.

I looked up contemporary reviews of The Great Flamarion, but generally speaking the critics of the day didn’t think much of it. Alton Cook of the New York World-Telegram wrote: “This is the kind of story Erich von Stroheim used to make back in the silent picture days. It has an antique flavor now, a little more showy and gaudy than the realistic mood that movies of today usually strike.” I’m at a loss to figure out which of Stroheim’s silent films had stories anything at all like this. Cook seems to be referring more to the tone of Flamarion than its content -- in which case he’s talking about Anthony Mann’s work, not Stroheim’s -- but that’s not what he said. Cook concludes: “Set this one down as a minor and preposterous little melodrama, not bad for an evening when you are in the mood for extravagant, posturing fancy.”

None of the other reviews I found were as harsh as that, but the film didn’t have any strong defenders in its time, either. However, I did find a more positive assessment (unsigned, unfortunately) in the August 1970 issue of Films and Filming. This piece looks at Flamarion in the larger context of Mann’s career, and has this to say:

“In spite of the low budget the sets are well designed and chosen, and the atmosphere is permeated by a blunt sexuality with an explicit use of phallic imagery -- Von Stroheim pointing his gun directly at Mary Beth Hughes as she enters his room to make the first overtures; she casually brushes it aside, caressing the barrel as she suggests the ‘accident.’ Low key lighting, a sweeping, tracking camera style (James Spencer Brown, Jr.) and conscientious playing by the principals pull it off.”

That’s more like it.

The beautiful Mary Beth Hughes was great in her many roles at Fox, PRC and other studios--but really went over the top as the wicked woman in FLAMARION!

Could you recommend any of her other films? As noted above, I found her impressive here, so I'd be interested to hear from someone familiar with her work.

I see GABBO, FLAMARION and MASK OF DIIJON (1945) as a sort of trilogy...

By coincidence, Artus Films of France has just released a set of four Erich von Stroheim movies, "The Great Gabbo", "The Crime of Dr. Crespi", "The Mask of Diijon", and "The Lady and the Monster". All of them are of course in English, with removable French subs. There is a 12-pages booklet and four portraits of Stroheim (post-card size) and four US posters reproduced. It's in Pal, of course. The set is named "Erich von Stroheim Mystérieux".

What I remember most about the web number is that the long shots of the dancers is so obviously not Compson.

Here ya go, the "Web of Love" number, 1960's-style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbv8p1Yf ... re=related

Mary Beth Hughes is best known--in my opinion--for her recurring role as Lloyd Nolan's fiancee in the 1940s MICHAEL SHAYNE series (released to DVD a few years ago) as well as her role as a meddling musician's wife in ORCHESTRA WIVES (1942).

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0400794/

THE GREAT GABBO is still available in an excellent pairing with BLIND HUSBANDS from KINO:

http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Husbands-The-Great-Gabbo/dp/B000094J79/ref=pd_sim_mov_2

I see GABBO, FLAMARION and MASK OF DIIJON (1945) as a sort of trilogy...

According to the Arthur Lennig biography of Stroheim, which I just finished reading recently, the man himself was quite taken with Gabbo as a story idea, and tried to acquire the rights in later years for a remake. Unfortunately, like so many of his latter-day projects, it never happened, but it strikes me that The Great Flamarion was something of a substitute project; not a remake, but a loose reworking of certain elements with (in my opinion) a more interesting storyline, and a much better role for the leading lady.

Something else Lennig mentions struck me as interesting: Stroheim didn’t approve of the flashback structure of Flamarion, and, moreover, didn’t like flashbacks in general. He felt that having a story narrated by a dying man removed the suspense, since we know how he’s going to wind up from the beginning. So he probably didn’t approve of the structure of Billy Wilder’s script for Sunset Boulevard, either, but if so he kept his mouth shut about it. God knows, Stroheim had enough problems already, emotionally speaking, playing Gloria Swanson’s butler.

According to the Arthur Lennig biography of Stroheim, which I just finished reading recently, the man himself was quite taken with Gabbo as a story idea, and tried to acquire the rights in later years for a remake. Unfortunately, like so many of his latter-day projects, it never happened...

I read somewhere that Edgar Bergen was also interested in remaking THE GREAT GABBO as a dramatic project for himself (I believe without the comedy of his wooden pals Charlie and Mortimer).
That of course, also never happened.

THE GREAT GABBO could have been a much better picture if it had remained true to its literary source. Ben Hecht's story "The Rival Dummy," published in the August 18, 1928 issue of Liberty, was a chilling but poignant story of a weird love triangle, and a great character study to boot. If it had been filmed as the psychological backstage story that it was -- in much the same style that Rouben Mamoulian filmed APPLAUSE, keeping Erich von Stroheim in the leading role -- it probably would have retained much of its emotional power.

Instead, all of the psychological angles were squeezed out of it, and James Cruze filmed it as a conventional backstage musical. What a missed opportunity!

So if John F. Hamilton was the baggy-pants neighbor, who plays his wife? She gets no credit that I could find....

Donald Douglas was in a ton of films til 1945, but he didn't look at all familiar to me....

We see the chorus girls getting out of their chicken outfits and Gabbo hallucinates the chicken routine during his mental breakdown, but we never see it. Anyone know anything about this cut number?

Best moment was when the contorted dancer posing as Betty Compson is bent backwards over Douglas' knee and mouths a line dubbed by Compson..... eerie.

We see the chorus girls getting out of their chicken outfits and Gabbo hallucinates the chicken routine during his mental breakdown, but we never see it. Anyone know anything about this cut cumber?

That's the "Ga Ga Bird" number, apparently missing from all known prints.

Barrios says the story Gabbo was based on had a different ending from the film's. In the story, Gabbo kills Mary and then all deranged (like has hasn't been from the start?) goes out to do his act with Mary's corpse as his dummy.

Now THAT would have been a ending to remember!

Also from Barrios: Jeanette MacDonald was James Cruze's first choice. He settled for Pauline Starke whom he fired when wife Betty Compson became available.

We see the chorus girls getting out of their chicken outfits and Gabbo hallucinates the chicken routine during his mental breakdown, but we never see it. Anyone know anything about this cut cumber?

That's the "Ga Ga Bird" number, apparently missing from all known prints.

Was that number originally in color? Or is the number which was originally in color now black & white in surviving prints?

I believe all the production numbers were shot in color and survive only in B&W except the Ga Ga Bird, which is lost.

I believe all the production numbers were shot in color and survive only in B&W except the Ga Ga Bird, which is lost.

Thanks, I've been curious about that for a while now. I do wonder how the folks at Film Forum got the impression they would be getting a "restored" print, They advertised it as such right up to the day of the screening.

There is no restored version with color sequences.

Barrios says the story Gabbo was based on had a different ending from the film's. In the story, Gabbo kills Mary and then all deranged (like has hasn't been from the start?) goes out to do his act with Mary's corpse as his dummy.

Now THAT would have been a ending to remember!

Say WHAT?? That's not the original ending of the story. It's not even close. Where did Barrios get his information?