NitrateVille.com

As we all know, Zasu Pitts originally played Paul's mother in ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT but was replaced by Beryl Mercer. She appeared in the original 1930 trailer, the picture portion of which survives. When I reconstructed the trailer soundtrack I had to use Beryl Mercer's voice looped in for Zasu's dialogue.

I just discovered a 1937 episode of SEEIN' STARS IN HOLLYWOOD with Feg Murray. In the show, the bedroom scene - the one that appears in the trailer - is recreated with Zasu Pitts and an unidentified actress.

Now you can hear Zasu as Paul's mother:

http://chelsearialtostudios.com/all_qui ... _pitts.mp3

What a great find! Thanks.

Makes you wish that Universal hadn't been gun shy about the preview reaction. Beryl Mercer is easily the weakest element in All Quiet.

I always found the story about the audience laughing when Zasu appeared on screen to be somewhat fishy. The preview would have taken place in very early 1930 since the film premiered in April 1930, and I question whether Zasu's fluttering comedianne persona was really that firmly entreched in audiences minds by that time. I know she played a few light comedy parts before that in films like The Squall, but she really wouldnt go into her consistent hand-wringing, "oh-dear" proclaiming comedy work until after the film premiered.

colbyco82 wrote:I always found the story about the audience laughing when Zasu appeared on screen to be somewhat fishy. The preview would have taken place in very early 1930 since the film premiered in April 1930, and I question whether Zasu's fluttering comedianne persona was really that firmly entreched in audiences minds by that time. I know she played a few light comedy parts before that in films like The Squall, but she really wouldnt go into her consistent hand-wringing, "oh-dear" proclaiming comedy work until after the film premiered.

Silent audiences didn't seem to have a problem with her in Greed, Lazybones and others.

Did the firm typecasting start with this film?

Good thing Ed O'Neill never ran for senator from Tennessee, then, I guess.

Actually, I found it jarring when Ferris Bueller's principal turned up in that movie.

And yet apparently nobody laughed when another comedian turned up to have a death scene in All Quiet on the Western Front, did they? Curious.

Mike Gebert wrote:And yet apparently nobody laughed when another comedian turned up to have a death scene in All Quiet on the Western Front, did they? Curious.

I seriously doubt that many in the audience would have recognized Raymond Griffith with his scruffy mustache, five o'clock shadow, and the extra avirdupois. They were used to seeing him neatly trimmed, svelte, and wearing a top hat.

Hard to say since obviously I know who he is, but I certainly have no trouble recognizing him as Raymond Griffith, he's put on a few pounds but it's not like Walter Slezak or Orson Welles.



And of course there's another comedian who's perfectly recognizable throughout-- Slim Summerville.

Maybe there was just something about playing the mom that didn't work if people expected comedy in those scenes (you could argue that Summerville is sort of in there for a form of comedy relief, at least his sad sack persona is tinged with a certain humor even if he doesn't explicitly do comedy in the picture).

Mike Gebert wrote:you could argue that Summerville is sort of in there for a form of comedy relief, at least his sad sack persona is tinged with a certain humor even if he doesn't explicitly do comedy in the picture.

I guess that character was part of the "formula" for a war film. Like Karl Dane in The Big Parade and George Tobias in Sergeant York.

I seriously doubt that many in the audience would have recognized Raymond Griffith with his scruffy mustache, five o'clock shadow, and the extra avirdupois. They were used to seeing him neatly trimmed, svelte, and wearing a top hat.[/quote]

Griffith didn't receive screen credit either, despite his inclusion in "official" cast lists by various well-meaning film historians.

Hal Erickson wrote:

I seriously doubt that many in the audience would have recognized Raymond Griffith with his scruffy mustache, five o'clock shadow, and the extra avirdupois. They were used to seeing him neatly trimmed, svelte, and wearing a top hat.

Griffith didn't receive screen credit either, despite his inclusion in "official" cast lists by various well-meaning film historians.

Griffith had basically quit acting by then and was working as a writer and associate producer. He was friends with AQOTWF director Lewis Milestone and Griffith also strongly believed in the film's pacifist message. Griffith's wife Bertha Mann also appeared in an unbilled part as a nun.

It was just a “bit” and the company felt it couldn't afford to pay anything like the customary Griffith salary. Director Milestone and Griffith have been friends for years and ‘Millie' had told Ray about the part one Sunday afternoon at Jimmie Gleason's house. Of course, Ray had read the book, and was immediately crazy to do the part. He saw in it not only a chance to do a great piece of work, but being violently opposed to war, he also saw an opportunity of helping to make the picture a great anti-war document.

“So Ray told Junior Laemmle that he would play the part for nothing and forthwith started raising a beard . . .” - “He Got No Pay for Genius” , Photoplay, July 1930.

precode wrote:And of course, we've all heard what happened to George Reeves in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.

Yeah, but what REALLY happened was this: nothing. Reeves' role was not trimmed, reduced or otherwise edited from the film. There was never a "sneak preview" for FHTE. Reeves' biographer, actor Jim Beaver (Ellsworth on Deadwood), examined every draft of the script from first to shooting, and found Reeves' part at no point was any longer or different than what appears on screen today.

The film premiered at the Hollywood Pantages on September 30, and some members of the audience did whisper "There's Superman!" during Reeves' big scene with Burt Lancaster. <i>Superman</i> had by then been airing at 8:30 pm Monday evenings in Los Angeles for nearly eight months and was outdrawing <i>Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts</i> in the process, so it's no surprise that adults in the audience would immediately recognize him. But it made no difference to Columbia; the film went into general release with no additional changes or deletions.

This infamous tale began when a <i>Superman</i> cast member, who was in the audience for the premiere, caught the film on television some twenty years later, decided that Reeves' role was much smaller than remembered and deduced that he must have been cut from the final release print after the premiere, which must have actually been a "preview." The cast member shared this insight with author Gary Grossman, and another urban legend was born.

Michael J. Hayde
author, FLIGHTS OF FANTASY: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman
2009, BearManor Media

I have ZaSu as the prostitute in 'Frisco in Greed and knowing her usual role it did surprise me when I ran my Laserdisc of Greed. But the silent version is supposed to exist with ZaSu's role intact in All Quiet but I have never seen it. I am watching her tonight, in the just released on DVD in the Universal Vault series, in Ruggles of Red Gap. Many of her scenes are with Charles Laughton who is Ruggles. Her next door neighbor at one time was the growing up Shirley Temple.

In the early 80s, Kevin Brownlow and I were at a National Film Society banquet at the Beverly Hills Hotel and were wandering around the green room beforehand, chatting with a pretty impressive lineup of stars from Jackie Coogan to Ruby Keeler to Esther Ralston to Frank Capra. We started chatting with Lew Ayres and Kevin told him that, coincidentally, he had recently run the silent verion of "All Quiet."

"Oh no," Ayres said, "that was a sound film."

Kevin replied that yes, it was a sound film but that a silent version had also been released. Ayres was adamant: nope that movie was a talkie. Kevin must be mistaken. After a few minutes, Kevin politely gave up and changed the subject.

MikeH0714 wrote:

precode wrote:And of course, we've all heard what happened to George Reeves in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.

Yeah, but what REALLY happened was this: nothing. Reeves' role was not trimmed, reduced or otherwise edited from the film. There was never a "sneak preview" for FHTE. Reeves' biographer, actor Jim Beaver (Ellsworth on Deadwood), examined every draft of the script from first to shooting, and found Reeves' part at no point was any longer or different than what appears on screen today.

The film premiered at the Hollywood Pantages on September 30, and some members of the audience did whisper "There's Superman!" during Reeves' big scene with Burt Lancaster. <i>Superman</i> had by then been airing at 8:30 pm Monday evenings in Los Angeles for nearly eight months and was outdrawing <i>Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts</i> in the process, so it's no surprise that adults in the audience would immediately recognize him. But it made no difference to Columbia; the film went into general release with no additional changes or deletions.

This infamous tale began when a <i>Superman</i> cast member, who was in the audience for the premiere, caught the film on television some twenty years later, decided that Reeves' role was much smaller than remembered and deduced that he must have been cut from the final release print after the premiere, which must have actually been a "preview." The cast member shared this insight with author Gary Grossman, and another urban legend was born.

Michael J. Hayde
author, FLIGHTS OF FANTASY: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's Adventures of Superman
2009, BearManor Media

Another Hollywood illusion shattered. Thanks for the correction.

Mike S.

precode wrote:
Another Hollywood illusion shattered. Thanks for the correction.

Mike S.

I hate it when that happens.

There is a silent version of Hitch's 1930 Blackmail as well that exists and has been shown at the National Film Theatre in London. Anny Ondra was dubbed in the hurriedly made sound version. This has not been issued to my knowlege on DVD but it should be.

moviepas wrote:There is a silent version of Hitch's 1930 Blackmail as well that exists and has been shown at the National Film Theatre in London. Anny Ondra was dubbed in the hurriedly made sound version. This has not been issued to my knowlege on DVD but it should be.

Actually, it's available on an excellent DVD from Germany.