American Cinematheque’s Retroformat began its series of early D.W. Griffith works at the Egyptian Theatre this past weekend with a handful of the films he produced for Biograph Films. This series will continue over the next few months and ultimately showcase more than 100 of Griffith’s films from 1908 to 1913, with this first night focusing on the period between 1908 and 1909.
Generally, when the TV guide describes a movie as “a bit of fluff,” as it did in the case of Everything I Have Is Yours, I’m not expecting much in terms of drama. So, I was perhaps particularly blindsided by this movie, which, although a musical on the surface (and in the TV guide), is also a meditative drama on the volatile nature of relationships, marriage, and family, with a particular focus on the gender roles of its era. Pretty heady stuff for a 1952 MGM musical, especially when I came in expecting a light vehicle for dancers Marge and Gower Champion.
The Show, Tod Browning’s 1927 semi-salicious silent drama starring John Gilbert, is both a great bit of fun as well as a great example of Browning’s skill in visual storytelling. It’s a gorgeously shot film with plenty of the offbeat elements that have made Browning a lasting figure in cult cinema.
“Every Sunday” is another of the shorts featured in Judy Garland section of That’s Entertainment, and it’s a sweet, charming MGM short film… which also belies a slightly more intriguing intent from the studio perspective.
The creatures of the night claimed the New Beverly for their own yesterday, as monster fans packed the house for two Frankenstein films, and a chance to see Karloff and Lugosi in person. It wasn’t the famous actors themselves who were appearing, of course, but rather, their offspring–Sara Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Jr. Ms. Karloff sported an elegant white streak in her hair that evoked the monster’s Bride, while the younger Lugosi dressed all in black, enhancing the already uncanny likeness of his father. Both children shared stories about their fathers and their opinions on the films that were playing that night, which were Son of Frankenstein (1939), celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and House of Frankenstein (1944), celebrating its 70th.
“La Fiesta de Santa Barbara” is a very colorful, very wacky musical comedy short from MGM, featuring a collection of many of their greatest stars at the time. It ostensibly takes place at a Spanish/Mexican-themed festival in Santa Barbara (though it certainly appears to be a backlot production), and it’s narrated in the classic newsreel style so as to properly highlight all of these famous faces.