Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's Go To The Movies:
Face Time
Part IX
It's all in the face. It can be read like a book. Or so these films would have us believe.
The silver screen has been home to so many beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) faces, lighting up the dark, showing us the way, sharing celluloid dreams. It seems only fitting that we take them at their word and look a these films one face at a time.
Yes, these faces may belong to a bygone era, but in the movies?
A face lives forever.
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Three Faces East
(1926)
Based on a popular 1918 Broadway play by Anthony Paul Kelly, this American silent drama was directed by Rupert Julian and stars Jetta Goudal, Robert Ames, Henry B. Walthall and Clive Brook.
Tall, regal and elegant, Jetta Goudal traveled Europe as part of a theatrical troupe until she was discovered by director Sidney Olcott, who encouraged her to move to the states and pursue a film career. On an information sheet for the Paramount Public Department she wrote that she was born at Versailles on July 12, 1901 (shaving 10 years off her age), the daughter of a fictional Maurice Guillaume Goudal, a lawyer. In fact, she was the daughter of a Dutch/Jewish diamond cutter. Her entire family would perish in the concentration camps with the exception of a female cousin. Goudal rose in fame, moving from studio to studio, receiving high praise for her work. She landed a contract with Cecille DeMille, who eventually fired her, claiming her too difficult to work with. She sued for breach of contract - and surprisingly won, when DeMille refused to turn over his financial records in order to show the losses he endured due to her conduct. Goudal's career continued as she easily made the transition to sound pictures. However, her activism as part of Actor's Equity eventually ruffled enough feathers in the industry that her time in pictures came to an end in 1932.
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Three Faces East
(1930)
During World War I, an English woman, Frances Hawtree, operating as a German spy known as 'ZI' is sent to the estate of Sir Winston Chamberlain, first Lord of the Admiralty, to uncover information that will alert the German navy about the Atlantic crossing of the First American Division. Posing as a nurse, Frances pretends that she is returning the belongings of the Chamberlain's eldest son, who she says died at the same German hospital she escaped from. Also at the estate is Chamberlain's other son, Arthur, who comes home on leave and falls in love with Frances. Unknown to the family, their seemingly humble butler, Valdar, is also a German spy and the person who masterminded Frances' mission. Valdar is charmed by Frances, but suspicious of her, and eventually suspects that she is a double agent, whose true loyalties are to the British government. When Valdar is sending a radiogram to the German U-boats on the true landing point of the American fleet, Francis warns Valdar to stop and then shoots him when he ignores her. She then continues sending the message, diverting the Germans.
a sound remake of the original filmed version which was based on the popular 1918 Broadway play by Anthony Paul Kelly, this American Pre-Code spy drama was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Constance Bennett, William Holden and Erich von Stroheim.
This film has survived complete. It was transferred into a 16mm film by Associated Artists Productions in 1956-1958 and shown on television. A 16mm copy is housed at the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. Another print exists and will be preserved at the Library of Congress.
In 1940, Warner Bros. produced yet another adaptation of the play under the title British Intelligence (1939) adapted to take place during WWII, directed by Terry O. Morse and starring Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay.
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Three Faces West
(1940)
This American drama was directed by Bernard Vorhaus and stars John Wayne, Sigrid Gurie and Charles Coburn.
The film, mainly set in North Dakota was one of a handful of overtly anti-Nazi films produced by Hollywood before American entry into World War II. Isolationists and Nazi sympathizers condemned such Hollywood movies for being pro-British "propaganda" or for "glorifying war", however, Three Faces West was deliberately crafted to celebrate the pioneer spirit of America, and the determination of Americans to survive the dust bowl. The film contrasted these values with the evils of Nazism, thus preventing isolationists and Nazi sympathizers from being able to criticize it as they had other anti-Nazi films during this period.
Two of the movie's main characters are introduced via a radio program called We The People. This was a real radio show which ran on the CBS blue network from 1937 to 1949. The sponsor was Calumet Baking Powder. The show was created to give "a half-hour to the people of this country so we can hear their experiences." The radio program shown in this movie is essentially the same as in real life - real people spoke at the microphone telling their own stories. Wendell Niles, the 'man on the street' reporter after the big dust storm, was a real radio announcer. He worked on many shows of the golden-age of radio including The Burns and Allen Show. And Douglas Evans, shown as the master of ceremonies for the radio show We The People, was a radio announcer for KFI in Los Angeles during the 1930s.
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
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Four Faces West
(1948)
AKA: They Passed This Way
Cowboy Ross McEwen arrives in town and asks the banker for a loan of $2000. When the banker asks about securing such a large loan, McEwen shows him his six-gun collateral. The banker hands over the money in exchange for an IOU, signed 'Jefferson Davis'. McEwen rides out of town and catches a train, but not before being bitten by a rattler. On the train, a nurse, Miss Hollister, tends to his wound. A posse searches the train, but McEwen manages to escape notice. However a mysterious Mexican has taken note of the cowboy, and a loudmouthed brat is still nosing around. Who will be the first to claim the reward for the robber's capture?
Based on the novel Pasó por aquí by Eugene Manlove Rhodes, this American Western film was directed by Alfred E. Green and stars Joel McCrea, his real-life wife Frances Dee, and Charles Bickford.
For its genre, the film is unusual - one of very few or possibly the only western to not feature a gunfight, or even a shot fired. It doesn't even contain a brawl. But it's still engaging, suspenseful and underrated thanks to a compelling script, the fine work of its stars, and solid direction by veteran director Alfred E. Green. Contemporary reviews commented favorably on the film's lack of violence and its attempt to portray the period authentically.
Alfred E. Green had about 100 films to his credit dating back to 1916, but he had never made a western. Joel McCrea carried director approval on this picture but, when his choice of Raoul Walsh was unavailable, producer Harry Sherman suggested Green. McCrea thought for a moment before reasoning, "Al Green is a sensitive, intelligent fellow. He doesn't need to have made a western. Let him do it. And he did it. It worked out great."
Cinematographer Russell Harlan was in the midst of a distinguished career that would garner him six Oscar nominations. His first nomination would come only five years later - Howard Hawks' The Big Sky (1952) starring Kirk Douglas.
This, the fourth and final on-screen pairing of Joel McCrea and Frances Dee resulted in perhaps their best picture. The stars had been married to each other since making their first film together, The Silver Cord (1933), although they had met months before that on a beach in Santa Monica, where Dee was shooting publicity photos. McCrea had pursued her without result until a romance started in earnest while working on The Silver Cord. Theirs would become one of the most successful marriages of any pair of movie stars, lasting 57 years until McCrea's death in 1990.
Local Navajo Indians helped the film team hoist equipment to the tops of cliffs for some shots. The production provided box lunches to the Indian children, among other payments. "As a reward," claimed the notes, "the tribal elders swore in the entire company as honorary braves - the largest mass induction in 50 years."
For a sequence that called for heavy cloud cover despite being filmed on a clear blue day, the commanding officer of a nearby depot agreed to detonate a large store of obsolete ammunition 48 hours ahead of schedule. The man-made clouds saved a full day's shooting.
Producer Harry Sherman later said of Joel McCrea: "Joel is the greatest natural western star since Tom Mix and William S. Hart, and he's the first natural horseman I've ever seen. No trick rider, just a guy who knows how to sit on a horse with grace and authority." Sherman's sentiment was shared by many around Hollywood, and McCrea himself often spoke of his love for the genre. Frances Dee later said, "Joel preferred westerns. He always wanted to do them. He'd say, 'If I have to do claptrap, I want to do it on a horse!'" She also said that his favorite horse, Dollar, can be seen in this film, distinguishable by the dollar sign on his hip.
This was producer Harry Sherman's last film. He died on September 25, 1952. According to modern sources, Sherman, who had made his reputation as a producer of low-budget Westerns, was particularly proud of the million-dollar Four Faces West. The picture, however, was a box office flop.
This was producer Harry Sherman's last film. He died on September 25, 1952. According to modern sources, Sherman, who had made his reputation as a producer of low-budget Westerns, was particularly proud of the million-dollar Four Faces West. The picture, however, was a box office flop.
Despite the film's lack of commercial success, it helped Joel McCrea's career and industry standing. He immediately was offered a contract at Warner Brothers for two more westerns: South of St. Louis (1949) and the excellent Colorado Territory (1949).
You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.
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The Three Faces
(1965)
A story with three segments that all adhered to the titular theme, depicting aspects of a woman with three faces.
Italian anthology film consisting of three segments directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, Mauro Bolognini, and Franco Indovina, starring Soraya either as herself or in fictitious roles.
Richard Harris' voice was dubbed into Italian by another actor.
The role of Rodolph was supposed to be played by Richard Harris, too, but it was later decided to cast Paul Hubschmid. He finished this small supporting part, but was replaced again, by José Luis de Vilallonga for the final release print of the movie.
According to director Antonioni, producer De Laurentiis had imposed severe cuts on his segment, which in the theatrically released version served as a preface to the other two segments.
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary
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And that's all for now, folks!
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel.
Scene from The Three Faces
(1965)
