Wonderland Burlesque's
Let's Go To The Movies:
Where That Girl From?
Part II
Everybody's from somewhere. In theory. Even in the abstract.
Today's cinema excursion dares to ask the poignant question: Where That Girl From?
And who has the answer?
Hollywood, of course. For Tinseltown has the 411 on anything or anyone who has ever graced the silver screen.
So, off we go... seeking answers, which these vintage films offer up in spades.
Yes, never fear. When it comes to the movies?
You are never truly lost.
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The Girl From Nowhere
(1921)
Mavis Cole defies her grandfather and runs away with Herbert Whitman, a man of high social standing but poor character. Herbert plants a stolen necklace on Mavis and attempts to have her arrested when he comes under suspicion. Mavis seeks refuge in a hunting lodge with young Jimmy Ryder, and she claims to be Mrs. Ryder, Jimmy agrees to make the title legal. Meanwhile, Herbert bribes ex-convict Steve La Marche to steal a jewel from Dorothy Grosscup. Jimmy captures the thief, who at first refuses to confess. Dorothy accuses Mavis of the theft, but she is cleared by Steve, resulting in Herbert's arrest.
This American silent drama was directed by George Archainbaud and stars Elaine Hammerstein, William B. Davidson and Huntley Gordon.
Elaine Hammerstein was born in Manhattan, the daughter of Jean Allison Hammerstein and opera producer Arthur Hammerstein. She was the granddaughter of Oscar Hammerstein I, the niece of William Hammerstein, and the cousin of Oscar Hammerstein II. She later became the stepdaughter of fellow actress Dorothy Dalton when her father married Dalton in 1924. Elaine Hammerstein was one year younger than Dalton.
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The Girl From Everywhere
(1927)
A Mack Sennett comedy short-subject spoofing filmmaking, with girls, lions, and Limburger cheese.
This American silent comedy was directed by Edward F. Cline and stars Daphne Pollard, Dot Farley, Mack Swain and Carole Lombard.
The 2-strip Technicolor sequence, 295 feet in length, consists of a series of tableaux with the Sennett Bathing Girls in various poses.
Carole Lombard
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The Girl From Nowhere
(1928)
A Mack Sennett comedy short-subject featuring plenty of action and his famous 'bathing beauties' known as 'The Sennett Girls'.
This American silent comedy was directed by Harry Edwards and stars Daphne Pollard, Mack Swain, Billy Bevan, and Carole Lombard.
Two brief 2-strip Technicolor flashes of the Sennett Bathing Girls pop up amid the proceedings, but total only a mere 17 feet in all. They are not known to survive.
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The Girl From The Third Row
(1949)
Is man's existence really meaningful and hopeful? As a reply to Ingmar Bergman's Prison (1949), this movie claims that it is. A ring passes between a lot of different people, giving the bearer or someone close a new meaning to life. Actors, embezzlers, old ladies, and cheated husbands all seem to gain temporary hope from misery and disillusionment.
This Swedish comedy was directed by Hasse Ekman and stars Hasse Ekman, Eva Henning, and Hilda Borgström.
Hilda Borgström was born in 1871 in Stockholm, Borgström made her film debut in 1912. She was an actress of Sweden's national stage, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, between 1900 and 1912 and 1920 and 1938. She retired from the stage in 1938 because of stage fright and returned to film. Altogether she she appeared in over 80 films. This was her final film.
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(1954)
In a Scottish inn, the owners, employees and guests sit in the bar. Out of the blue, a flying saucer lands nearby and a woman dressed in black leather arrives armed with a ray-gun. She tells them she is Nyah from Mars and was on her way to London when her spacecraft collided with an airplane and was damaged, forcing her to land. She explains she is looking for men to breed with females of her race since the male population is dying after warfare between men and women and they need offspring. Nyah has brought with her a robot named Chani to help her to capture men. However she would much prefer that one the men volunteer to go with her to Mars. Who's game?
This British second feature black-and-white science fiction film was directed by David MacDonald and stars Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Peter Reynolds, and Adrienne Corri.
According to screenwriter John Chartres Mather, this film came about when the producers, The Danziger Brothers, had leftover studio time after completing their Calling Scotland Yard serials. They turned to Mather and told him to use it up making this movie. Made on a very low budget, it was shot in three weeks time with no retakes. Frequently filming late into the night, actress Hazel Court later said, "I remember great fun on the set. It was like a repertory company acting that film."
Patricia Laffan was not allowed to eat or drink because of the difficulties of getting out of her PVC costume, which the actress found to be hot and uncomfortable. The 'devil girl' costume was economically made by designer John Sutcliffe.
The robot, named Chani, was constructed by Jack Whitehead and operated by a human being.
To save time and money, composer Edwin Astley reused his musical score from the television series, Saber of London.
Gavin Lambert wrote in The Monthly Film Bulletin: "This primitive British effort at science-fiction is quite enjoyably ludicrous, mainly on account of Patricia Laffan's splendid Nyah. Clothed in black silk tights, a black cloak, a metallurgical-looking wig and walled in make-up, she moves with the air of a sleep-walker, never looking at the person to whom she is talking and speaking her lines – particularly those describing the scientific marvels of her planet – in an impatient monotone, as if contemptuous of any meaning they may, from time to time, contain. One would like to see Nyah again, preferably in a serial. The romance of mannequin and journalist, also, will have its appeal to connoisseurs of life among the English. Settings, dialogue, characterization and special effects are of a low order; but even their modest unreality has its charm. There is really no fault in this film that one would like to see eliminated. Everything, in its way, is quite perfect."
You can watch this movie in for free in its entirety on YouTube.
Girl From The Red Cabaret
(1973)
AKA: Wild Girl
Mr. Harvey is 48 years old and owns 12 casinos. When he decides to take revenge on Larry Elliot, he plans a meticulous warfare strategy. After two years of surveillance, it's not difficult to convince Larry's four latest mistresses to spend time in Mr. Harvey's mansion and give him all the intel about Larry's most private tastes. From there, Harvey searches for the perfect woman to fit into his plan. Among thousands, he chooses a young girl named María who has never had intimate relations with any man, despite making her living as a showgirl in the Red Cabaret, a third-rate music hall.
This Spanish musical drama film directed by Eugenio Martín and stars Marisol, Renaud Verley and Mel Ferrer.
The film's sets were designed by the art director Gil Parrondo.
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And that's all for now, folks!
Tune in next time...
Same place, same channel...
The Devil Girl From Mars - Movie Trailer
(1954)
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