Student of Prague, The (1913)
“I agree that Mr. Scapinelli shall take from this room whatever he chooseth for his own use.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“I agree that Mr. Scapinelli shall take from this room whatever he chooseth for his own use.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“Sweet Santa, give me him.”
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Review: With that said, she does a fine job playing the film’s spunky, loyal heroine — a woman who willingly lies about being her roommate’s son’s mother, to prevent him from being taken away by authorities — and thus she eventually convinces us she’s very much an “It” girl worth desiring. Note: Film fanatics interested in learning more about Bow’s tragic life story should check out the informative and compassionate 1999 documentary Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl (narrated by Courtney Love). Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Categories
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“One cannot open a door without seeing misery in all its nakedness.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Please come and take us away from the Grimses cause they are awful mean to us.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“This is the last murder you’ll ever get away with in my district!”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“I love private investigators! I want you to investigate me!”
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Review: while Jack Weston is gleefully homicidal as Scott’s accomplice: and Jesse White demonstrates unexpected sex-appeal as the aptly named “Pete Flint”. Less successful is buxomy Joan O’Brien as Questel’s personal nurse, whose character seems to waver between genuine concern for Lewis’s safety and an undeniably gold-digging itch (does she really love him?). Ultimately, this one is only must-see viewing for diehard Lewis fans, but film fanatics likely won’t feel their time has been wasted. Note: Among the fifteen Jerry Lewis titles included in GFTFF (too many!), I recommend that ffs check out the following: At War With the Army (1950), Artists and Models (1955), The Bellboy (1960), The Nutty Professor (1963), and King of Comedy (1982); The Errand Boy (1961) is also worth a look simply for its brilliant “orchestra pantomime” scene. Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“Oh Alfred, what is the matter? You’re acting like a crocodile with a toothache.”
“Our play is made up of four separate stories, laid in different periods of history, each with its own set of characters. Each story shoes how hatred and intolerance, through all the ages, have battled against love and charity.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: With that said, there’s no denying that this three-hour-long silent movie will, for most ffs, feel like a bit of a long haul to get through. While Peary’s only complaint about the film is that Griffith’s “theme of ‘intolerance’ is a feeble link between the episodes” (he notes that Griffith “seems passionate only about the modern story”), I would argue that Griffith’s overly pedantic presentation style comes across as terribly dated throughout, and will be off-putting to most young ffs. Meanwhile, his groundbreaking attempt to weave numerous stories together has the unfortunate side effect of shifting our attention away from each scenario just as we’re beginning to make sense of it (and the characters). Indeed, despite its undeniable historical value, it’s difficult for me to agree with Peary that “this film has greatness written all over it”, simply given that it doesn’t touch me on an emotional level. I’m ultimately much more aligned with the sentiment of Time Out’s reviewer, who argues that despite the film’s “overwhelming” “visual poetry”, its “thematic approach no longer works”, and the “title cards are [both] stiffly Victorian and sometimes laughably pedantic”. As Chris Edwards argues in his “Silent Volume” blog, Intolerance “is not a silent film for someone new to the medium.” Of special interest, however, is what Time Out’s reviewer refers to as “the unbridled eroticism of the Babylon harem scenes”, which “demonstrate just what Hollywood lost when it later bowed to the censorship of the Hays Code”; indeed, these scenes are presented with such surprising casualness and lack of moral approbation that one can’t help feeling a renewed respect for Griffith’s sensibilities. Meanwhile, the enormously expensive, expansive sets truly are astonishing, and the lengthy recreation of a Babylonian battle is especially impressive in its rigor and attention to detail. I’m also fond of Mae Marsh’s performance as the female protagonist of the modern episode, playing a young woman whose falsely accused husband (Robert Harron) simply can’t seem to get a break in life; while her travails are presented in an overly melodramatic fashion, we remain fascinated throughout by her uniquely expressive face. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“You wouldn’t have kissed me if I weren’t your best girl.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: In his Alternate Oscars book (where he gives Pickford the Best Actress award for the year), Peary points out that My Best Girl is a “semi-remake of the recent It, starring Clara Bow”, with both films featuring a likeable young shopgirl who falls in love with the store’s wealthy heir. However, one minor problem with My Best Girl is that the otherwise charming Rogers prolongs his real identity from Pickford for far too long. While we understand that he must maintain his deception until he’s proven himself worthy to his father (by advancing his career at the store without the help of his name), there’s no excuse for his continued deception after this; we can’t help feeling sorry for Pickford as she’s kept in the dark by the man she loves — and we certainly don’t blame her for her complex, conflicted reaction upon learning the truth. Regardless, if one can accept this discomfiting narrative hitch, the film remains an enjoyable cross-class romantic comedy, one which allowed Pickford to play a character perhaps closest to her own life story. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“In a man’s life there is sometimes a good love and a bad love.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |