Tweet Raymond Griffith

So I've recently discovered the films of Raymond Griffith, and I'm curious what the general consensus is on him. Is he considered a forgotten genius? Why has he been neglected for so long?

I'm aware that a good number of his films are lost, and his surviving films have been more or less neglected by Paramount which would help explain his relative obscurity.

But what I've seen is excellent (I've seen Night Club and Hands Up! so far). He's smooth and elegant, and his characters tend to have an awareness of their surroundings and of themselves that contrasts quite nicely with the silent comedy giants. The only person who I'd say is comparable in style and tone is the mischievous Chaplin, who uses wile and smarts to get over on the world, but whereas Chaplin is always the tramp, Griffith is well-to-do. I think that's part of the appeal of what I've seen so far, is that Griffith isn't being assailed on by the world (ala Lloyd and Keaton), but rather he is forcing himself on the world...and succeeding (where The Tramp fails).

I'm not yet convinced he belongs in the same category with the big 3 + Fatty, though I'd rather watch him than Langdon, but I'm definitely interested in seeing more, and trying to unpack his legacy a bit.

He's also excellent in the Keystones I've seen. In some of them like THE SURF GIRL, he's a recognizable human being with real emotions, a standout in the crazies that inhabit that world. In others, like HIS FOOTHILL FOLLY, he is a clear burlesque of WILLIAM S. HART -- he looks like he mugged Bill and stole his clothes -- and, again, his canny, human underplaying makes him stand out, like Charles Grodin.

As for his relative obscurity, consider the fact that his acting career was basically over with the end of silents because of his voice, the unavailability of his films due to Paramount's malign neglect and the lack of someone to champion him. As much as I have issues with Raymond Rohauer's business practices, it is fair to say that without him -- and, of course, Walter Kerr's writings -- Buster Keaton would be about as obscure of Charley Chase, loved by the people who hang around here, but unknown by almost everyone else.

Bob

Hello? Where is Mr. Calvert? He's the go-to guy on Mr. Griffith!

So I've recently discovered the films of Raymond Griffith...But what I've seen is excellent (I've seen Night Club and Hands Up! so far).

You've GOT to find a copy of Paths to Paradise.

You've GOT to find a copy of Paths to Paradise.

It's in the mail along with a copy of Open All Night. I'm really looking forward to 'em.

As much as I have issues with Raymond Rohauer's business practices, it is fair to say that without him -- and, of course, Walter Kerr's writings -- he would be about as obscure of Charley Chase, loved by the people who hang around here, but unknown by almost everyone else.

I'd say he's more obscure than Charley Chase; I'd heard of Chase decades ago, but I'd never heard of Raymond Griffith until just a couple years ago, from the Silent Comedians and Nitrateville boards. And there's two (oops, now three) commercially released DVDs of Chase's films, and absolutely zero of Griffith's that I know of.

Whoops, I meant Buster Keaton would be as obscure as Charley Chase. I'll go back and edit my previous post now.

Bob

Griffith was rediscovered at Cinecon in the early 80s, and nearly all of his surviving features have been shown there since then; CHANGING HUSBANDS and YOU'D BE SURPRISED are also winners.

The reason he is less well known than Charley Chase is, obviously, he made far fewer films!

The record should also note that when sound came in, he joined Zanuck at 20th Century, staying through the Fox merger, where he was a successful writer/producer.

Mike S.

[Mike Gebert]

The real problem is that Griffith was basically one film for a while-- the only thing available when I was programming in 16mm in college (also early 80s) was Hands Up. Kind of hard to have a really big reputation on only one comedy. It's also a fact that the films are much less accessible, due to where they were made (Paramount, the studio with no memory as to whether it ever even made silents or owns them now), than Chaplin/Keaton/Lloyd/Langdon.

[silentfilm]

Sorry to join this thread late, been packing and moving all day...

There are several reasons for Griffith's obscurity, and Bob's already mentioned most of them. First of all, most of his best features were made a Paramount. Many of them are lost, and Paramount has not released any of them on VHS or DVD.

The survival rate of Griffith's shorts is really bad, only a handful of films from his Sennett and Triangle Komedy period survive. He started his career at Vitagraph, but I have not been able to find any films where he appeared there.

Griffith played supporting parts in features for several years when he left Sennett. He appeared in quite a few supporting dramatic roles in the early 1920s. So while many of his features are lost, some of them are just smaller parts.

When Walter Kerr wrote The Silent Clowns, he included a chapter on Griffith even though he could only see a few of Griffith's features.

Griffith's reputation rests mostly on Paths to Paradise and Hands Up!, but he has several other really good films that are still around. Although he probably doesn't appear for 10 minutes in Open All Night, he definitely livens up the film.

He lost his voice as a child from diptheria. And although sound killed his career, he was already making quite a bit of money doctoring scripts for comedy films. Paramount was not exactly the best studio to be making feature comedies during the twenties, as Roscoe Arbuckle and W.C. Fields discovered. The studio wanted to crank them out as fast as possible, and the quality could suffer. So Griffith broke his contract with Adolph Zukor in 1927 to strike out on his own.

I wrote an article a few years ago on Griffith for Classic Images. You can read it here, as well as browse through my Raymond Griffith photo collection.


Annette DeFoe and Griffith in An Aerial Joyride, which still exists.


Alice Lake, Lionel Belmore, Raymond Griffith, George Reed, and Marie Prevost in Red Lights (1923), which still exists.


Raymond Griffith and Virgina Lee Corbin in Hands Up! (1926)


Raymond Griffith, former comedy star and now an associate producer for 20th Century-Fox, discusses a portrait sitting with Simone Simon, who makes her American film debut in "Girls' Dormitory", which Griffith is handling. (1936)

Don't forget THE NIGHT CLUB, a neglected little gem. So much to enjoy in that one, especially Griffith's reaction to his wedding being derailed at the start.

Griffith's career paralleled Field's second go-round at Paramount in the sound era. They both had to prove themselves backing up others as supporting players for a few years - stealing most pictures with their appearances. They were both rewarded with their own starring features but it was fairly short lived - Fields because of illness and Grifith because he was ill of management.

Gary J.