Saturday night's outdoor showing of Nosferatu

As you may have gathered from the title, there was an outdoor showing of Nosferatu Saturday night. Presented by Little Dog Cinema, it was hosted by T-Bone's Records, and the band Invincible Czars performed a live musical accompaniment that is my favorite of all I've heard for the film. I've seen this film dozens of times, and heard many different musical accompaniments for it, so that is no faint praise. I had to pick up the CD afterward. It was interesting to observe the reactions of the audience, knowing that nearly all of them were viewing their first silent film. I saw a couple of people leave early on, during the rather slow first fifteen minutes of the film, but most seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Thankfully, despite a very cloudy day, there was no rain. Frankly, you couldn't have ordered better weather. By the time the movie began, the heat of the day had subsided, and there was a nice steady breeze. All in all, it was a marvelous time, and I'm damn glad I was able to make it. Scroll down for a few photos!

Frankenstein (1910)

I intended to get this up during the day today so those of you who read during the workday would have a little something extra to get you over the hump, but life kinda got in the way of that today. Still, a few hours late ain't too bad! Today, we'll be looking at a film that was once considered lost, 1910's Frankenstein!

Thomas Edison's film company produced hundreds of films, most of which clocked in around the ten-minute mark. Frankenstein was no exception, running about 13 minutes. The film was shot in three days by director J. Searle Dawley at Edison's New York film studio in the Bronx.

Young Dr. Frankenstein(Augustus Phillips) departs for college, leaving his father and fiancee(Mary Fuller) behind. Frankenstein becomes obsessed with discovering the secrets of life and death. His ambition is to create the perfect human being, but the fruit of his labors is a horrific creature(Charles Ogle) that threatens all that Frankenstein holds dear.

None of the actors' careers survived the silent era. (Fuller, in particular, had a tragic life.) Ogle makes a distinct impression as the Monster, even with his limited screentime. The Monster makeup, which Ogle reportedly designed himself, has a design which has echoed through the decades in many of the Frankenstein Monster designs we've seen in all the years since. Most notably, the Monster's large, square forehead is one of the physical traits most strongly-identified with the Frankenstein Monster in pop culture. (It seems nearly impossible that Jack Pierce wasn't partially inspired by the Ogle Monster when designing Boris Karloff's makeup for Universal's version of Frankenstein in 1931. This is just conjecture, however.) The visually intriguing creation sequence, which must have absolutely floored audiences at the time, was accomplished through the use of a papier mache figure of the Monster. The figure was burned, and the footage was shown in the reverse in the film, so the Monster appears to be growing from the ether.

 As mentioned previously, the film was believed lost for decades until its rediscovery in the 1970s. A print had been purchased by a film collector in the '50s, who revealed its existence after he became aware of its rarity. A new 35MM print was made, and the film has since been given a DVD release.

Although it jettisons nearly everything from the source novel, Frankenstein remains the first film adaption of the famous story. The film feels rather stagebound, as only a couple of sets are seen; this was typical of many films of the era(when outdoor locations were not utilized, small sets were used instead). Today, it's probably more of a cinematic curiosity than genuine entertainment for most people, but what a curiosity it is! Frankenstein remains a landmark in film history, particularly for the horror genre. With its brief running time, and its status as a public domain film that is easily found on sites like Youtube, there's no reason not to watch it. In this film, you will see the embryonic form of one of the most enduring icons of our culture.

31 Days of Halloween: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

Few films are as respected and influential as 1921's Nosferatu. Directed in an eerie expressionist style by gifted German director F. W. Murnau, the film is the first time Bram Stoker's novel Dracula was adapted for the screen. However, copyright laws were not as well understood at that time, particularly in regard to film. Nosferatu was an unauthorized adaptation, and Stoker's widow Florence was fiercely protective of the copyright to her late husband's work. All prints of the film were ordered destroyed in an effort to erase the illegal film from existence; fortunately, these efforts were not entirely successful, and prints of the film survived. (Universal even acquired a print to study during pre-production on 1931's Dracula. Nosferatu's influence is very obvious during certain scenes in that film, and even more so in its Spanish counterpart.)

Thomas Hutter(Gustav von Wangenheim) leaves his home in Wisborg at the behest of his employer, Knock(Alexander Granach), to sell a house to the wealthy and mysterious Count Orlok(Max Schreck). Traveling to Transylvania, Hutter is greeted by Orlok, who quickly asserts his power over the young man. Orlok sees the locket containing a photo of Hutter's wife Ellen(Greta Schroder), and his attention shifts to her. Orlok travels to his new home in Wisborg, taking the black plague with him. His approach begins to affect Knock's mind, and he goes insane, devouring insects in an effort to consume their life force. Orlok arrives, and it is left to Ellen to find a way to destroy this ancient evil.

Nosferatu was filmed using real locations, a rather unusual practice for expressionist films. Hence, Count Orlok's castle is a real castle, his house is a real house, and so forth. The performances are quite good, in the rather broad style typical of silent film. Both Wangenheim and Schroder are particularly adept at communicating sheer terror when appropriate, and Wangenheim's swaggering bravado during scenes in which Orlok is not present gives Hutter far more character than Jonathan Harker has in most other Dracula adaptations.

Schreck-- whose name, incidentally, means "terror"--  is a revelation as Count Orlok. This is not a simple role, and Schreck brings all the greed, evil, and intimidation (and even a hint of nobility) to the table that the character calls for. Orlok is a menace, a festering evil that feeds on innocent blood and spreads the plague through the thousands of rats that accompany him everywhere. It has been nearly 90 years since Nosferatu was made, and we have never been given a more physically sinister and overtly evil vampire than Count Orlok. The character is one of the all-time great horror icons for good reason.

Nosferatu remains one of the creepiest, most unsettling films ever made. It may have lost its power to induce full-on terror in viewers, but it easily instills a sense of dread and real tension to this day. The film is so expertly crafted that it avoids many of the pitfalls typical of silent films, and never really becomes slow or stagey. It remains the finest vampire film ever made, and one of the most enthralling supernatural tales ever told. In this silent masterpiece, Murnau distilled the very essence of terror, and splashed it across the screen for all of us to enjoy. Nosferatu is one of those rare films that is required viewing for anyone with an interest in the horror film.

31 Days of Halloween: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

  Today, we're revisiting the Man of a Thousand Faces, with one of his greatest triumphs: 1923's The Hunchback of Notre Dame!

Deaf hunchback Quasimodo(Lon Chaney) lives in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, under the protection of benevolent archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo(Nigel De Brulier). Jehan Frollo(Brandon Hurst), the archdeacon's no-good brother, desires the gypsy dancer Esmeralda(Patsy Ruth Miller), adopted daughter of Chopin, the king of Paris' beggars(Ernest Torrence). Jehan convinces Quasimodo to kidnap her, and Quasimodo is captured in the act by Captain Phoebus de Chateaupers(Norman Kerry). Sentenced to a public lashing, Quasimodo is humiliated before the heckling crowd. When Esmeralda takes pity on him, bringing him water, he becomes infatuated with her. As the young woman is now desired by three men, each of them powerful in their own way, you can well imagine how events quickly escalate from here!

Hunchback, obviously, is Chaney's show from the get-go. This was the film that propelled Chaney, the popular character actor, into the stratosphere, and helped make him the most popular actor of the silent era. His elaborate makeup and uncanny pantomime skill create a performance that transcends the often stagy, overly-exaggerated performances of most actors of the silent era. Chaney's magnificent career is nearly unrivaled in film history, and this performance is one of its cornerstones.

Hunchback is nearly as well known for its incredible sets as for Chaney himself. This was a production on a massive scale, with a cast of thousands, and some of the photos I've included will give you a pretty good idea of the scope of this film.

Unfortunately, no 35mm print of Hunchback is known to exist. It was common practice at that time for studios to destroy the film once it had completed its theatrical run, and Hunchback was no exception. The existing copies come from a 16mm "show at home" version produced by Universal in the '20s and '30s, and duplicates of those prints produced by Blackhawk films in the '60s.

Despite numerous adaptations in the decades since its production, Chaney's version of Hunchback has yet to be equalled(although some, such as the Charles Laughton version, are quite good on their own merits). The Hunchback of Notre Dame may not be a horror film through and through-- at best, it's a historical epic with elements of horror-- but as one of the greatest classics of the silent era, and one of the finest showcases for the tremendous skill of Lon Chaney, it earns its spot here as we count down to Halloween.

31 Days of Halloween: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

 Silent classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is recognized as one of the earliest, if not the first, examples of the horror film. Made in Germany in 1920, the film is extremely influential; traces of it turn up everywhere from music videos, animated shows, rock albums, and motion pictures.

Dr. Caligari (Werner Krause) has a sideshow booth at the carnival in the small German town of Holstenwall. He unveils Cesare(Conrad Veidt), a somnambulist who can supposedly answer any question that is asked of him. Alan(Hans Heinrich von Twardowski), who has come to the carnival with his friend Francis(Friedrich Feher), asks Cesare how long he will live. Cesare tells him that he will die before dawn. When Alan does indeed turn up dead that night, Francis and his fiancee Judy (Lil Dagover) decide to investigate Caligari.

The performances are typical of the silent era, with exaggerated movements and such. The standouts are Krause's Caligari and Veidt's Cesare, although the entire cast still seems quite at home in the film due to its dreamlike quality.

Much of that dreamlike mood of the film has to do with the set designs by Hermann Warm. The designs in the film are stunning examples of expressionism, perhaps the boldest ever committed to film.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was also the first film to employ a twist ending, an innovation that only seems to grow more popular as the years go by.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of the most atmospheric films ever made. It no longer has the capacity to horrify viewers, as it did when released, but it is a fascinating film nevertheless. As one views the film, they will realize that much of what they have seen onscreen in the years since contain echoes of its brilliance and innovation.

31 Days of Halloween: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

 In 1925, Lon Chaney was the biggest star in the world. Audiences waited with baited breath for his next cinematic spectacle, and the unique and mesmerizing characters he created were a big contributing factor. Of all these iconic characterizations, not one can challenge Erik from 1925's The Phantom of the Opera for supremacy. It is quite possibly the best-remembered character from the silent era, and the role with which Chaney is most strongly identified to this day.

The plot revolves around a series of attacks and disasters perpetrated by the Phantom in order to force the managers of the Paris Opera House to make Christine, the woman he loves, the opera's star. Subplots abound, but that is the meat of the story.

Chaney is absolutely riveting in this film. A master of pantomime, he was a natural for the silent film, delivering one marvelous performance after another. Although he is primarily remembered for his horror films, they actually only made up a fairly small percentage of his total body of work. From gangsters to soldiers, world-weary cops to con men, and yes, hunchbacks to unhinged criminal masterminds, Chaney could do it all.

For all his versatility, however, it is still little surprise that the Phantom is the role for which he is best-remembered. In the Phantom, Chaney created one of the screen's immortal villains, a diabolical fiend who will go to any lengths to get what he desires.

In the 1925 film, of course, what he desires is the love of Christine(Mary Philbin). Naturally, her would-be suitor Raoul (Norman Kerry) is none to pleased with that, and becomes the nominal hero of the film. He's a good deal more hardy and effective than the leading men Universal would be throwing at us in a few years, so ya gotta give him that much.

The remarkable set designs were based on the actual Paris Opera house, including the catacombs that lie beneath it, which serve as the Phantom's lair.

Unfortunately, most of us who think we've seen the original silent version of The Phantom of the Opera have actually seen the silent version of 1930's sound reissue. This version includes many re-shot scenes, and alternate takes of shots from the original film. There has also been about a half hour trimmed from the film, resulting in many plot holes. Some of these cuts are so severe that they can make certain aspects of the film rather hard to follow at times. For a few more details, check this out.  For the entire story, this book is highly recommended.

Chaney's performance survives in the truncated version, and it is the centerpiece of the film. Silent movies aren't for everyone, but for the fan of the classic horror film, The Phantom of the Opera is absolutely required viewing. There are many DVD copies out there, many of them bargain-basement versions with lousy pictures. I recommend the version linked to at the bottom of this post, as it includes the 16MM version of the 1925 original, as well as a version of the 1930 reissue. It's not perfect, but it's the best we have for now.