quiet_curiosity (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
quiet_curiosity) wrote2010-05-01 04:17 pm
quiet_curiosity) wrote2010-05-01 04:17 pm
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Souls for Sale (1923)
Summary: Remember "Mem" Steddon finds herself married to a man she cannot stand and decides to flee the train into the desert to get away from him. Lucky for Mem, she happens to stumble onto a film set and into an improbable career as an actor. Unluckily for her, that husband turns out to be a wanted lady-killer who chases her down once he realizes exactly what he let get away.
Stars: Eleanor Boardman, Frank Mayo, Richard Dix, Barbara La Marr, Mae Busch, Lew Cody, Forrest Robinson, Edith Yorke, William Haines
Directed by: Rupert Hughes
Viewed Via: TCM/DVR
Current Commercial Availability: Warner Archive DVD-R Program
1) This was the first major starring role for Eleanor Boardman, who is best known today for her role in The Crowd. I am, in generally, just gaga for Boardman after my first few encounters with her and she does not disappoint here. The movie shifts quickly between melodrama and comedy and she handles it all very well.
2) Richard Dix is fine as the director she falls in love with. He isn't particularly spectacular but he fits the role believably. He and Boardman have some chemistry.
3) Frank Mayo is fun as the "great lover" who also falls for Mem. He's sometimes the butt of the joke and he plays it off well.
4) There wasn't much for Mae Busch, the leading lady, to do here except be pissy when Mem starts to steal her thunder. He injury by falling light, however, is hilarious.
5) Barbara La Marr (aka "The Girl that is too Beautiful") didn't really light my world on fire as the vamp who is actually nice. She was fine but she wouldn't have really stood out to me had I not recognized the name going into the film.
6) Lew Cody is abit odd as Mem's bastard husband. His manners often come off abit too delicate for the renowned lady-killer. And he has some moments that are painfully over-acted.
7) The title cards aren't overly plentiful but are frequently witty/occasionally meta.
8) This movie was obviously made in the aftermath of the first major Hollywood scandals (The Roscoe Arbukle trial, the murder of William Desmond Taylor, and perhaps the death of Wallace Reid [who died in early 1923]). Hollywood is being denounced as a menace by Mem's pastor father and all the Hollywood folks are trying to play up their healthy work ethics while downplaying potential scandals. That kind of face-saving is fine in small doses but it becomes eye-roll inducing after awhile. Hollywood isn't the devil (because all groups have the potential to harbor and abet terrible members/tragedies), but don't bore me by telling me just how much you aren't. It didn't derail the picture but is was annoying.
9) The finale is this great fire on the circus set. And it is really great. The chaotic atmosphere is palatable and all the actors put their all into keeping up the feeling. But what really makes the section is the photography. The burning big top is very much real and exciting. While most of the film is black and white, the fire itself it tinted bright orange. The orange glow also shows up in an illuminating haze that can be seen in some scenes. It all looks really great and helps pull you into the moment.
10) Like Show People, this film has a ton of cameos. Of particular interest are the various directors we get to see in action: Eric von Stroheim working on Greed, Charlie Chaplin working on A Woman of Paris, Fred Niblo working on The Famous Mrs. Fair, and Marshall Neilan working on The Eternal Three. The Famous Mrs. Fair and The Eternal Three are considered to be lost.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film. It has a nice mixture of melodrama and wit.
Stars: Eleanor Boardman, Frank Mayo, Richard Dix, Barbara La Marr, Mae Busch, Lew Cody, Forrest Robinson, Edith Yorke, William Haines
Directed by: Rupert Hughes
Viewed Via: TCM/DVR
Current Commercial Availability: Warner Archive DVD-R Program
1) This was the first major starring role for Eleanor Boardman, who is best known today for her role in The Crowd. I am, in generally, just gaga for Boardman after my first few encounters with her and she does not disappoint here. The movie shifts quickly between melodrama and comedy and she handles it all very well.
2) Richard Dix is fine as the director she falls in love with. He isn't particularly spectacular but he fits the role believably. He and Boardman have some chemistry.
3) Frank Mayo is fun as the "great lover" who also falls for Mem. He's sometimes the butt of the joke and he plays it off well.
4) There wasn't much for Mae Busch, the leading lady, to do here except be pissy when Mem starts to steal her thunder. He injury by falling light, however, is hilarious.
5) Barbara La Marr (aka "The Girl that is too Beautiful") didn't really light my world on fire as the vamp who is actually nice. She was fine but she wouldn't have really stood out to me had I not recognized the name going into the film.
6) Lew Cody is abit odd as Mem's bastard husband. His manners often come off abit too delicate for the renowned lady-killer. And he has some moments that are painfully over-acted.
7) The title cards aren't overly plentiful but are frequently witty/occasionally meta.
8) This movie was obviously made in the aftermath of the first major Hollywood scandals (The Roscoe Arbukle trial, the murder of William Desmond Taylor, and perhaps the death of Wallace Reid [who died in early 1923]). Hollywood is being denounced as a menace by Mem's pastor father and all the Hollywood folks are trying to play up their healthy work ethics while downplaying potential scandals. That kind of face-saving is fine in small doses but it becomes eye-roll inducing after awhile. Hollywood isn't the devil (because all groups have the potential to harbor and abet terrible members/tragedies), but don't bore me by telling me just how much you aren't. It didn't derail the picture but is was annoying.
9) The finale is this great fire on the circus set. And it is really great. The chaotic atmosphere is palatable and all the actors put their all into keeping up the feeling. But what really makes the section is the photography. The burning big top is very much real and exciting. While most of the film is black and white, the fire itself it tinted bright orange. The orange glow also shows up in an illuminating haze that can be seen in some scenes. It all looks really great and helps pull you into the moment.
10) Like Show People, this film has a ton of cameos. Of particular interest are the various directors we get to see in action: Eric von Stroheim working on Greed, Charlie Chaplin working on A Woman of Paris, Fred Niblo working on The Famous Mrs. Fair, and Marshall Neilan working on The Eternal Three. The Famous Mrs. Fair and The Eternal Three are considered to be lost.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film. It has a nice mixture of melodrama and wit.