The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (Ernst Lubitsch) ****

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Cast: Ramon Novarro, Norma Shearer, Jean Hersholt, Gustav von Seyffertitz

Background: Ernst Lubitsch is mostly known for his delightful sound pictures, such as The Shop Around Corner, Trouble in Paradise, and To Be or Not to Be. However, he had already made 47 films before 1927. Some of these silents received strong critical acclaim, including Lady Windemere's Fan and The Marriage Circle. Unfortunately, his films weren't financially successful and Warner Brothers terminated his contract. MGM/Paramount picked up the remainder of his contract, and his first film for them was an adaptation of a Wilhelm Meyer-Förster novel, The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg.

Story: Prince Karl (Novarro) lived a mostly sheltered childhood, unable to take part in games with normal children. He was being groomed to be King and that wouldn't be appropriate. Things change a bit when he is assigned an understanding tutor (Jean Hersholt) and goes off to college in Heidelberg. It is here where he is treated like a normal person for the first time. It is also where he will meet and fall in love with beautiful barmaid Kathi (Shearer), but class distinctions and family loyalty threaten their romance.

Thoughts: They don't make them the way Lubitsch did anymore. What seems to be a fairly standard romantic story (rich boy/poor girl) is energized by Lubitsch's wit and creativity. Lubitsch was always pretty advanced in the ways he dealt with sex (see Trouble in Paradise) and this one is no exception. There's a great scene where the Prince sees Kathi serving drinks to the gang, and he watches as they lift her up in celebration (she's just one of the guys) and she downs a full glass of beer in one shot. Karl is at first disgusted, but his expression quickly turns to one of lust. Lubitsch is also great at coaxing wonderful performances from his cast. Jean Hersholt has a memorable turn as the Prince's tutor, bringing so much life to his character that by the end of the movie, you feel like you've known him for years. Novarro and Shearer make a compelling romantic pair, although Shearer overplays her dramatic scenes a bit too much. By the end, Lubitsch has us fully invested in these character, and the delicately handled final few scenes of this wonderful film pack an emotional wallop.

Postscript: The film had a decent critical reception, but it lost money at the box office. Today, it is widely considered Lubitsch's best silent film. He would go on to great success in the 30s and 40s, with notable classics like Trouble in Paradise and The Shop Around the Corner. He was also a major inspiration for another great Americna director, Billy Wilder. Novarro kept working steadily for a few decades, but most of his success was as a supporting player. Norma Shearer would go on to play some major roles, including the lead in 1938's Marie Antoinette and Juliet in 1936's Romeo and Juliet. She was also part of the stellar cast that appeared in 1939's The Women. Jean Hersholt would continue his remarkable career as a supporting player and become President of the Academy of Motion Piicture Arts and Sciences in 1945.

The General (Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman) ***1/2

Director: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman

Cast: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack

Background: By 1927, Buster Keaton had already made a name for himself with some classic feature length comedies such as Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr., The Navigator, and (my personal favorite) Seven Chances.

Story: Johnny Gray (Keaton) is a railroad engineer in pre-Civil War south. When war breaks out, his girlfriend Annabelle (Mack) urges him to sign up and won't speak to him until he's wearing a uniform. When he goes to sign up, he is rejected because he's more valuable as an engineer, but of course she doesn't believe him. Time has passed and he's now engineer of a southern locomotive called the General. The Union attempts to steal this train (with Annabelle on board), and Johnny must rescue both his train and his girl.

Thoughts: Definitely a night and day situation when comparing this with Buster's other 1927 release College. Interestingly, while that one was derailed by a racist blackface sequence, this film where he plays a man wanting desperately to be a Confederate soldier features no such racial stereotypes. The situation boils down to a stolen train, and Buster's attempt to retreive it. This leads us on a long and hilarious chase sequence, which eventually doubles back on itself. There's some really funny stuff here. My favorite gag involves his miserable attempts to fire a cannon at the other train. One complaint I'd have about this film is that the chase sequence often feels repetitive. Buster constantly leaps from the front of the train to the back of the train, and while the stunts he performs are very impressive, they don't get more impressive through repetition. Despite that complaint, this is still one of Buster's best films.

Postscript: The General was an enormous failure at the box office and the critics savaged it. It was considered a classic later on and is commonly considered one of the greatest films ever made. It was #18 on the AFI 100 list and Buster Keaton was #21 on the AFI's Greatest Stars list.

Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (Merrian C. Cooper, Ernest Shoedsack) ***

Director: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Shoedsack

Cast: Kru, Chantui, Nah

Background: Inspired by the 1920 film Nanook of the North, which is considered the first documentary, directors Shoedsack and Cooper collaborated on the 1925 documentary Grass. This film followed the long journey of a Persian tribe through the mountains. Grass was very successful, leading the filmmakers to rejoin two years later for Chang.

Story: Chang follows the story of a farmer in Siam and the hardships he faces in trying to protect his family, his livestock, and his home from the many dangers lurking in the jungle.

Thoughts: Definitely some interesting stuff going on here. Much of it is certainly faked, but Shoedsack and Cooper do a good job at making everything look authentic. There's an expertly handled extended sequence where Kru sets a trap for a tiger. There's also what I assume must be the first talking animal. We get several title cards throughout the film informing us what Bimbo the pet monkey is saying. It's an interesting and sometimes amusing technique, but perhaps calls more attention to the dramatized nature of the events than Shoedsack and Cooper had intended. Can't really argue with the artistry of the final sequence, which is a bravura depiction of an elephant stampede.

Postscript: Chang was successful, making Shoedsack and Cooper major players. They would go on to direct one of the most well known films of all-time, 1933's King Kong. This would be Cooper's last film, but Shoedsack continued directing through the 40's, including The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young.

Underworld (Josef von Sternberg) ****

Director: Josef von Sternberg

Cast: George Bancroft, Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook, Fred Kohler, Larry Semon

Background: One of the early admirers of Sternberg was none other than Charlie Chaplin, who enjoyed Sternberg's directing debut, The Salvation Hunters. Sternberg was quickly snapped up by Paramount pictures, who asked him to take over directing duties on a gangster film called Underworld, where he would replace fired director Arthur Rosson.

Story: Bull Weed (Bancroft) is the toughest gangster in town and he likes to let people know it. One way he does this is to protect a lowly drunk (Brook) from the threats of a rival gangster. He helps the man (who now has the nickname "Rolls Royce") get back on his feet, and makes him one of his few trusted lieutenants. A problem arises when Bull's girlfriend Feathers (Brent) and Rolls Royce begin to fall for each other, but both are conflicted because of their loyalty to Bull.

Thoughts: The first thing I must point out is that Bull Weed is a fantastic character; a true badass on the level of the best of Cagney and Eastwood. There's a great early scene that illustrates this so well. After a confrontation with a rival gangster, Bull sends his few allies away. All by himself, he walks back into the bar and stares right at the gangster and his several accomplices, knowing that none of them have the courage to take him on. After all, he's Bull Weed. Bancroft completely sells the gravitas of this character, but what makes this movie great are not just the badass moments, but the fascinating complexities in this story of loyalty and ethics. The three main characters (especially Bull and Feathers) could easily be developed as stereotypes, but von Sternberg's direction and Ben Hecht's writing probes the emotional conflicts each of these characters are facing. There's even some fun wordplay in this silent film (ex. "I was framed!" - "What are you, a picture?") Bancroft, Brent, and Brook are completely convincing at every step and make for one of the few movie love triangles where you're really not rooting against anyone. The brilliant twists in the third act amp up the moral dilemma faced by Rolls Royce and Feathers, and the fantastic resolution to this dilemma could only be sold by filmmakers and actors working at the very top of their craft.

Postscript: The studio thought this was going to be a bomb, so it only started with a very small release. Screenwriter Ben Hecht even asked to have his name removed from the credits. Good word of mouth eventually made this movie a success, and Hecht would go on to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Von Sternberg would go on to a long and successful directing career, often pairing up with Marlene Dietrich. We will definitely be visiting many more works of his in the coming years. This film helped define Bancroft as a classic tough guy, and he would play off that image in future films with characters such as Cannoball Casey, Two-Gun Nolan, and Thunderbolt Jim Lang. He continued acting through 1942, including supporting roles in Angels with Dirty Faces and Stagecoach. BRent made a remarkably successful transition to sound and would continue acting (often in Von Sternberg films) through the 40's. Clive Brook also had a successful career, including several appearances as Sherlock Holmes.

The Siren of the Tropics (Henri Etievant, Mario Nalpas) 1/2*

Director: Henri Etievant, Mario Nalpas


Cast: Josephine Baker, Pierre Batcheff, Regina Dalthy, Regina Thomas, Georges Melchior

Background: Josephine Baker started dancing proffessionally at the age of 13 and later performed as a chorus girl on Broadway. In 1925, she became a huge star in Paris where she didn't have to deal with the same prejudices that would'v elimited her in the United States. As her popularity began to rise, she began to appear in French films designed to take advantage of her talents. The first of these was The Siren of the Tropics.

Story: Andre Breval wants to marry his girlfriend, but her godfather also has his eyes set on her, and refuses to allow the marriage. He sends Andre on a business trip to the tropics, with a plan for him to never return. While there, he interrupts the attempted rape of an island girl named Papitou (Baker). She returns the favor and later saves his life. She falls in love with him, but he spurns her advances. Undaunted, she flees the islands to make her way to Paris and try to win his love.

Thoughts: Wow, this is a big pile of steaming crap and by far the worst silent movie I have seen to date. Josephine Baker is certainly a talented entertainer, but like Al Jolson, she is not a very good actress (at least she wasn't at this point). Her reactions are overwrought when they should be subtle and blank when they should be overwrought. She isn't helped by the (maybe unintentionally) racist screenplay. For some reason they have Papitou speaking in horribly broken language like "Papitou not go there" throughout the film. However, her father is a white man who speaks perfect English eventhough he's a drunk. It doesn't make any sense. Not only that, but they constantly have her hopping around on bookshelves and chairs and tables like she's an uncivilized creature, despite no one else in the movie acting like this. Maybe the intent was to show off her physical skills, but it came across all wrong. The French may have been more progressive on racial matters than the US at this time, but this film sure makes it look like they still didn't have an overall positive view of minorities. Of course, there are problems of this nature in many films during this era and some people argue that exceptions should be made. The problem with this film is even if you do that, it's still an incredibly stupid story with dull direction and an idiotic resolution.

Postscript: Baker would make a few more movies after this, but would never really gain notoriety as a movie star. She attempted to come back to the U.S., but received terrible reviews from critics and audiences not used to work, or they wer ejust plain racist. Afte rthis, she returned to Paris where she was a major star. She did join the civil rights movement later on and even spoke at rallies with Martin Luther King Jr.

The Unknown (Tod Browning) ****

Director: Tod Browning

Cast: Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford, Norman Kerry, John George

Background: Tod Browning was a film actor who had minor parts in several DW Griffith films. A serious car accident laid him up for an extended period of time, and during this time he wrote scripts. Two years after this, he begam directing and never looked back. By 1927, Browning already had more than 40 films to his credit, including several with Lon Chaney. The most notable of these were London After Midnight (now lost) and The Unholy Three.

Story: Alonzo (Chaney) is a circus performer who has no arms. His act consists of using his feet to throw knives at a woman. He falls in love with Nanon (Crawford), the daughter of the circus owner, but isn't happy to find out that he has a rival for her affections in fellow circus performer Malabar the Mighty (Kerry).

Thoughts: That's about all I'm willing to say about the story, because this is a film filled with wonderful, shocking surprises. Browning has created a fascinating world of castoffs marking their existence in a travelling circus show. Nothing that happens in this world is as you would expect it. Browning was really ahead of many other directors of his time. The final sequence is a masterpeice of precision editing that creates more excitement than you'll find in most modern thrillers. Chaney's performance at the center is one of the most remarkable I've ever seen. There is a sequence where he goes through several emotions at once, all while trying to hide these emotions from people standing right in front of him. It's an incredible scene that every aspiring actor should watch. There's also a very nice performance from a young Joan Crawford. She would later state that she learned more about acting from Chaney than anyone else, and it's not hard to see the connection between Chaney's powerful performance here and the intense Joan Crawford we would see in a few years.

Postscript: The film received mixed reviews upon release, but was a box office success and is regarded as one of the best of the many Browning-Chaney collaborations. Browning would go on to make a name for himself with Dracula in 1931 and Freaks in 1932. Chaney would die from lung cancer just three years after this film completed. Crawford would go on to be one of the most notable stars of her time.

College (James Horne, Buster Keaton) **1/2

Director: James Horne, Buster Keaton

Cast: Buster Keaton, Anne Cornwall, Harold Goodwin, Snitz Edwards

Background: Not much info can be found on the making of this one, but Buster Keaton said he did not get along with co-director James Horne and ended up directing most of the movie himself. It is also rumored that a scene of Buster playing football was removed to avoid the appearance of copying Harold Lloyd's 1926 comedy The Freshman.

Story: Ronald (Keaton) is a very smart high school student who is named valedictorian of his high school class. During his graduation speech, he derides athletics as being worthless. This upsets his girlfriend Mary (Cornwall), who can't stand his elitist attitude. To win her back, he decides to try and be an athlete when he gets to college. His attempts at being an athlete result in consistent disaster.

Thoughts: You can't deny that Buster is a gifted physical comedian. There's an extended baseball sequence early on that is absolutely hilarious. However, this film contains one of the more blatantly racist moments I've seen. There's a sequence where Buster pretends to be a soda clerk to spy on Mary and the jock she is spending time with. The way he's able to hide from them is by doing blackface. The sequence is awful for many reasons. First of all, it's obvious that he is a white man doing blackface. I mean, it's possible we're to believe that the jock is stupid, but if Mary's that dumb, then perhaps Ronald should move on (more on that later). It's even worse that they've cast actual African-American actors as the other soda clerks, making it even more obvious that Buster would easily be caught. The absolute nadir of this sequence is when it looks like Ronald may be caught, but he saves himself by walking away with a limp. This is far more bothersome than the blackface sequences in The Jazz Singer. I guess we're supposed to think this is okay because Buster gets found out by the black characters when his makeup comes off, and they're really angry at him for it. This still doesn't excuse the fact that this scene is patently stupid because it makes no logical sense or that Buster used a limp for comedic effect. This sequence is so stupid and offensive that it drowns out everything else that goes on, which is a shame, because there is some funny stuff here. Another problem is the character of Mary. We're never given a reason why Buster likes her, and she's mean to him for most of the movie. I'd like just once for Buster to give up at the end of one of these movies, and say the girl isn't worth it.

Postscript: This is not one of Buster’s more memorable films. He would have more success with The General, which was released the same year and followed that up with a pair of highly praised films in 1928: The Cameraman and Steamboat Bill Jr. The sound era came and Buster kept working, but he was never as successful as he was in the silents. Perhaps his most notable performance was a supporting role in 1952’s Limelight, where he appeared alongside none other than Charlie Chaplin.

Seventh Heaven (Frank Borzage) ***1/2

Director: Frank Borzage

Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, David Butler, Albert Gran, Gladys Brockwell

Background: Not much information on the making of this film is available, but at the time Frank Borzage was a veteran director with 57 films to his credit, althought not many of them are available today. The film was adapted from a stage play written by Austin Strong.

Story: In pre-World War 1 Paris, Diane (Gaynor) is a poor young woman living with her sadistic sister (Brockwell). One day, while running from a particularly bad beating, she is rescued by a street cleaner named Chico (Farrell). The circumstances of his rescue mean she must pose as his wife for a period of time and they soon begin to fall in love, but their newfound love is interrupted by the start of World War 1.

Thoughts: This is a textbook example of how to properly make a romantic melodrama. Borzage isn't shy about playing up the seemingly sappy moments as much as possible. Because of this, we are completely drawn into the world he has created. For something that sounds like it could be a dry melodrama, he adds a surprising amount of creativity with the set design, particularly with Chico's 7th floor apartment (hence the title), complete with a bridge that connects him with his best friend across the street. He's aided by two romantic leads who are capable of expressing every overwrought emotion with total conviction. Gaynor and Farrell have so much natural chemistry that it's not surprising at all they would make 11 more films together. Brockwell also delivers a great performance, making the most of her brief scenes as the abusive sister. The ending is as ridiculous as it is romantic, just as it should be.

Postscript: Per Wikipedia, this was the 13th highest grossing silent film in history. It was nominated for 5 Oscars and won three - Best Actress (Gaynor), Best Director (Borzage), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Benjamin Glazer).

This film was a real launching pad for those involved. The same trio would successfully reunite the following year for Street Angel. Borzage would ocntinue directing through the 50s, including a 1932 version of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. Gaynor and Farrell would appear in 12 films together. Gaynor would forever be remembered for her performance in FW Murnau's Sunrise, which was released later that year and is now on the AFI list of 100 Greatest American Movies. She would later get another Oscar nomination for the 1937 version of A Star is Born. Farrell would find popularity on the 1950's TV series "My Little Margie".