![]() ![]() He was a known duper who made illegal copies of others' films to make money on the side. The next owner Larry Austin, may have conned Dorothy out of her ownership of the theater. John later died of cancer, possibly due to the chemicals that he used to clean film at the theater. John and Dorothy's only child was a special-needs child. Unfortunately, there are several tragic stories in the theater's history. Started in the 1940s by John and Dorothy Hampton, it always struggled to make a profit, but people who went there seem to always have had a memorable movie experience. It tells the story of the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles. I had seen Palace of Silents (2014) at Cinecon before, but it was fascinating to revisit it again. After one explosion, a large rock hit one of the crew members (not the cameraman) in the head and killed him. The film crew was filming blasting at the local rock quarry. The second accident was not included in the film for obvious reasons. As soon as the boats pass under, the railing of the bridge collapses and people tumble into the lake. When they were showing the boat races at the local lake, locals crowded onto a bridge to see the boats pass under the bridge. There are two interesting stories about the making of the film. We are treated to John Bengtson-like before and after views of Wausau locations. Interestingly, some scenes were tinted different colors, which was a lot of effort for a film that was likely a unique print. The nitrate film had been stored in a metal box at a local bank for decades, and we get to see it opened on film. The documentary is quite charming, as octogenarian residents comment on memories of the film and people who appeared in it. Unfortunately, the local lumber mill closed a few weeks after the film was made. It isn't really about a lumberjack, but it features a local couple as they go on "dates" and see the sights around Wausau. The filmmakers came to Wausau and had locals pay to be in the film. The first documentary, When You Wore a Tulip and I wore a Big Red Rose (1983) is about the rediscovery and back-story of the itinerant film The Lumberjack (1914) that was produced by Paragon Films in 1914 in Wausau, Wisconsin. ![]() Glad I finally got to watch this!įlicker Alley's We're in the Movies is actually a collection of two documentaries about silent films, plus it has several itinerant shorts from the silent and sound era. “Yes your Highness?” “Just Danilo Petrovich”. I have to think that the last inter title exchange between Murray and Gilbert amused the American audience. I wonder if von Stroheim would have preferred a gloomy ending like that, that but I imagine the original finale is a happy one? I was relieved though that he lived, it would have been depressing. I had actually thought Danilo had died after the duel (and for a second I thought Sally was imagining seeing him in the bed). Also, the weird blindfolded male and female musicians accompanying Danilo’s early attempt to seduce Sally, and the crown prince and his men randomly beating the disabled homeless man immediately after humiliating Sally, and the crown prince later looking at Sally and the screen showing only her jewels, as if in an X-ray. It reminded me of McTeague and Trina’s wedding in Greed with the funeral procession simultaneously seen out the window. My favorite parts were von Stroheim’s small, strange, wordless details following rapidly in succession, such as after Danilo’s no show as the queen shreds Danilo’s intended letter, Sally tears her wedding headdress apart in a rage, followed by the altar boy seen from behind, solemnly snuffing out the candles on the altar. Von Stroheim showed his usual fascination with extravagance / decadence/ pettiness and quite a bit of intended revenge later on although there was a happy ending after all in spite of a too long section of “just tell him/her how you really feel…” I imagine that’s in the original plot though? ![]() In fact I wish he had, he might have found a way to make the him more interesting, although maybe an actor can’t do much with such a relentlessly bad character. I wonder why the director didn’t play the evil crown prince himself? It seemed like a character much like others he had played, down to the monocle. Murray and John Gilbert certainly gave fine performances with star quality, and I could see how the story would have appealed to von Stroheim. I don’t remember (if I ever knew) the background as to how this film came about but I had long been curious to see it after reading the bio of Mae Murray a few years ago (and one of von Stroheim much longer ago). I watched The Merry Widow (1925) on the Warner Archive DVD. ![]()
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