An Andalusian Dog (France, 1929)

This famous silent film short is a result of the cooperation of Luiz Bunel and famous surrealist artist Salvador Dali in the production/direction. And much has been said – even by Dali himself -that nothing in this film was meant to make any sense, still many reviewers and scholars have tried to find some meaning and connection between all scenes throughout the decades. Maybe an attempt to try to find coherence by all means or would there be any sense in the images shown, after all?

The film starts with a tango song in the background and the image of a man sharpening a razor. He goes to a balcony while holding the razor and smoking a cigarette. Then a woman who is sitting down is shown with her eye being cut by the razor at night. Eight years later, a man is shown riding a bicycle on a deserted street in a sunny day. He is wearing unusual clothes and the street looks beautiful. Right afterwards, the woman who had her eye cut a while ago is shown while sitting down on a chair and reading something. The background music changes, the guy on a bicycle pops up again. The woman gets tense, stops reading and goes to the window. The guy on a bicycle is shown again, this time from above. He falls off the bicycle on the sidewalk and the woman goes downstairs to help him.

The woman is shown in her bedroom upstairs again. She is holding a tie and puts it on the bed together with the clothes that belonged to the man who fell off the bicycle. She sits down on a chair and stares at the bed with the man’s clothes on it. Suddenly, a man is shown in the bedroom and he’s looking at one of his own hands and there are ants on it, which seems to be a symbolism of his urge to kill. The images change abruptly, almost in a raw way, and we can now see a man with androgynous features and clothing playing with a human hand with a can while a crowd is around him. Would it mean the use of of human suffering and misery for the entertainment of masses? Would this man be blind or something like that? A policeman comes and disperses the crowd. The man keeps on playing with the human hand with his can and the policeman bents down to collect the hand, puts it on a small box and delivers the hand back to the man.

Both the man and woman in the bedroom follow up this commotion from their window. The man on the street remains there, lonely, holding his small box with the human hand in it until he is hit by a car. The other man by the window seems to be deeply impacted by the event unfolding downstairs. The background tango song is back. The man in the window looks at the woman besides him in a rather scary way and then the shock: He tries to sexually assault the woman by his side even though she refuses his advances. The woman pushes him and runs inside the bedroom and tries to protect herself in any way she can. 

Then the man pushes the strings of two pianos and the audience can see two dead donkeys and two priests also being pushed, which weights down on the man heavily. Would it be a representation of the weight of the church and authorities over the back of common citizens? Upon seeing this, the woman leaves the room in horror. The man tries to follow her to no avail and then it is still visible to the audiences the ants on his hand, which might mean his wish to kill and the fact that his bad passions dominated him. Right afterwards the man is suddenly shown laying down on the bed in the same room where he was in the previous scenes.

“Around three in the morning” (as an intertitle says), another man rings the bell and the woman who was previously in the bedroom opens the door. This new man goes straight to the bed where the another man is laying down and he apparently urges him to stand up. The man laying down is quite puzzled and has a submissive attitude. Would this new man be the boss urging his employee to stand up and work, perhaps?

Another intertitle says “Sixteen years before”. Both guys now appear to look the same, even though the submissive guy keeps his oppressed attitude unchanged. There is a messy office desk with torn and dirty papers on it. One guy hands over a book to the other, the image blurs briefly and the submissive man is holding a gun towards the bossy man. He shoots. Would it be the embodiment of the oppressed becoming the oppressor and representing the change of luck of a person in life?

When the shot guy falls, he falls in a place outdoors and we can see the back of a half naked woman, who looks like the woman who was previously in the bedroom. The woman disappears after a short while. Some men are shown in this outdoors place and they find the body of the man who was shot and he is carried by the other man. It seems it was already too late to save his life. Would it be a representation that everything in life will eventually come to an end?

The old bedroom is shown once more. The woman is returning to the bedroom, there is the close up of a small butterfly. The man was waiting for her, which means that the old couple of the bedroom is reunited once more. The man rubs his hand on his lips and we can see that his mouth was deleted from his face. The woman applies some lipstick in her own lips. The man still has no mouth and the woman realizes that her body hair was also gone. She pulls a face on the man and leaves the bedroom again.

It’s windy outside, we can see the man on a beach, the woman walks towards him and the man on the beach is appears to be the same man who has just been seen in the bedroom but in another outfit. He shows his watch to the woman, as if he was reprehending for having arrived late. The woman kisses the man and they embrace. The beach gets muddy and they see some garbage, including old clothes, which look like the clothes that belonged to the man who fell off the bicycle in the beginning of the film. Would it be a representation of leaving the past behind and start a new life?

The couple walks happily on the beach and then another intertitle says “In the spring” and the couple is shown buried in the sand, apparently dead. A strong scene which maybe would mean that life is brief and that, despite all ups and downs, it eventually ends for everyone?

A surrealist work of art gives room for all sorts of interpretations. It can mean nothing and everything, all at the same time, but the imagery always makes people uncomfortable and raises lots of thoughts, which is the intent of the surrealist movement. Definitely it is not a film for everyone and it helps audiences if audiences are open minded about non linear plots.

Mabel and Fatty's Married Life (USA, 1915)

Comedians Mabel Normand and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle are paired again, this time as a married couple and the plot of this film deals with another commonplace in silent films (both comedies and dramas): A wife -within the typical damsel in distress stereotype – has to face a burglar all by herself while her husband is away to work. Sometimes the danger was genuine, but it could also be a false alarm.

In the beginning of the film it is shown the intertitle “She reads exciting books” and Mabel was sitting on a park bench while she was reading books and Roscoe was her company. They were likely discussing the book and then Roscoe spotted an organ grinder and a short time later the monkey ended up jumping on Mabel, who was really scared. Roscoe got the monkey, threw it away and the organ grinder was furious when he saw it. Both Roscoe and the organ grinder started to fight and Roscoe beat up the guy. Feeling deeply insulted and humiliated by this defeat, the organ grinder takes “an oath of vengeance”, as one of intertitles stated. Roscoe did not feel intimidated and beat up the organ grinder even more.

The couple left the park shortly afterwards, but it was only the beginning of problems. Roscoe left Mabel at home and then went out, but he soon realized that he had forgotten his papers at home and returned home to get them. Roscoe was followed by his driver, who Roscoe asked to wait for him in the livingroom. Meanwhile, Mabel was apparently a little bit uneasy for being alone at home and started reading the newspaper in order to distract herself. She read a headline saying that there were bands of thieves operating in the residence district and needless to say that it only made Mabel more nervous.

Roscoe opened the drawers, looking for his papers, Mabel heard the noise and took a revolver to defend herself as she thought the house was being burglarized. Roscoe ended up being shot on the butt and locked himself in the closet in sheer horror. Mabel kept on shooting and the driver entered the house to check what was going on, but he was also scared with Mabel’s shootings. After a while, Roscoe left the closet and Mabel fainted in his arms. When she woke up, Roscoe asked Mabel to calm down. They said good bye, Roscoe left home and met the driver (who at this point was hiding himself in the car after all that mess inside the house).

Roscoe finally left to work and Mabel was not completely calm yet. Meanwhile, the organ grinder and another man arrived to Roscoe’s house and they wanted revenge due to the previous incident in the park. Mabel saw them through the window and engaged in sewing to relax, which did not work. She made a brief phone call and a woman picked up the telephone. Some minutes later, Mabel went to the door and bumped into the organ grinder, who was trying to force his entrance into the house. He eventually got it and Mabel threw all sorts of things on the organ grinder to defend herself but it was not enough to keep the organ grinder at bay. Mabel ran away and locked herself in the bedroom.

The woman Mabel had previously called ended up calling the police and the incompetent Keystone Cops were employed to solve the problem. When the policemen arrived, it looked like the neighbors saw that Mabel was in trouble and there were many people gathered on the porch, which created a huge confusion. The policemen went upstairs while the organ grinder was by the bedroom’s door, trying to enter. Mabel opened the door and guided one of the policemen to the window, as she thought that the burglar was there. In the middle of all this chaos Roscoe and the driver arrived back home. It turned out that the noise that came from the window was made by the monkey, who the organ grinder brought with him. Roscoe thought that all the chaos had happened because Mabel called the police without any reason and got angry with her at first, but after a while he managed to laugh at the situation.

Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Mabel Normand were very popular on their era and we can see why. Even though this plot was not new not even in the 1910s, the tenderness of the couple, the innocent confusion and witness of a lifestyle that has been already over for a long time remains of interest to modern-day audiences. Without mentioning the physical gags and the stunts, which are challenging in any era. It is not likely that actors would do their own stunts virtually all the time nowadays like actors did in most slapstick comedies.

Mabel, Fatty and the Law (USA, 1915)

Again we can see the successful pairing of Mabel Normand and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. They made films together in the 1910s that were very popular among audiences and this is one of them. The theme portrayed in this short film is a classic in slapstick comedies: misunderstanding.

We cannot stop love, can we? Fatty and Mabel are a married couple and both of them are bored in their marriage. In the beginning of the film we can see Fatty playing the piano at home livingroom while innocently flirting with the housemaid. Mabel saw it, got furious and expelled the maid out of the livingroom immediately. Fatty kissed Mabel to apologize, but she slapped and physically assaulted Fatty as she was really angry with his flirty behavior. After some minutes Mabel calmed down, regreted her impulsive atitude and apologized with Fatty. Then, she dressed up to go outside with Fatty.

Meanwhile, in another house it is shown a husband (played by actor Harry Gribbon) who was also flirting with the housemaid and his wife (played by actress Minta Durfee, who was real-life wife of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle at that time) saw it and got as furious with her husband as Mabel did in the previous scene. After an argument, it is shown that this couple had also gone out.

Fatty and Mabel sit down on the bench in a park and there was a sign besides the bench saying “No spooning allowed”. This can be an alert to the audience that it will not take long until a misunderstanding happen. Then the other couple arrive in the park and sits down on a similar bench, with a similar spooning sign. The husband starts smoking a cigar and there was lots of smoke, his wife stood up angrily and approached the bench where Fatty and Mabel were sitting down. After a while, she left and Fatty followed this other woman and started flirting with her.

At the same time, the other husband was alone on the bench and started at Mabel (who was also alone) while she was reading a newspaper and got immediately interested on her. Weirdly, he tried to catch Mabel’s attention by throwing some pieces of food towards her. After one of those pieces hit Mabel’s face he started flirting with her and she was enjoying the attention she was getting from that total stranger without realizing that Fatty was actually flirting with the wife of that unknown man.

Finally, the stranger sat on the bench besides Mabel, but he was caught in the act by a hiding policeman, who saw everything while he was sitting on the branch of a tree. Keep in mind that spooning was prohibited and who was called to restore order? The mega incompetent Keystone Cops, who chased Mabel and the other man out of the blue. They both ended up parting their ways after being chased.

However, it was not the end of the problems because that same policeman who was sitting on the branch of a tree saw Fatty flirting with the other woman and the Keystone Cops were called again but this time they got to arrest both Fatty and the woman and both of them ended up being taken to the police station. They would either pay thirty dollars of fine or would be jailed for thirty days. Everyone started to argue but Fatty and the woman could not avoid being thrown in jail.

Both Fatty and the woman called home to ask their respective spouses to take them out of jail and both calls were answered by their maids. The spouses went to the police station, Mabel arrived first and started to argue with the other woman. Then the husband of the other woman arrived a short time later and Mabel realized he was the man who was flirting with her at the park earlier that day. Both couples had finally reunited and continued arguing on the sidewalk of the police station after they were released. A policeman showed up outside in order to stop with the confusion and this is how it ended what was supposed to be a relaxing walk on the park on a sunny day.

Although this film is no different than the average films of the era and is far from revolutionary, it remains an interesting film to simply watch, relaxing without taking things too seriously or analyzing every detail. It is also a nice historical witness of parks back to the 1910s and how people had fun out of home. The gags easy to be understood and the aura of innocence in the so-called marriage life remain appealing to this day.

When Love Took Wings (USA,1915)

In real life actress Mabel Normand was really ahead of her time. She was not only a beauty, but also a pioneer in many fields. She drove cars, airplanes, had her own financial independence and even directed her own films in her own studio for a while in the 1910s in the Keystone Studios (which was subsequently renamed as “Mack Sennett comedies” as of 1917). As of circa 1915 she was paired with another star of the studio, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and they made romantically-oriented comedies, some of them praised by cinema critics to this day.

As usual, Mabel’s character was admired by the guys and had more than one suitor, to the displeasure of her father. One of suitors was Fatty, who was not approved by Mabel’s father either. One day it showed up another suitor, a neighbor (played by actor Al St. John) who was finally accepted by Mabel’s father. Unfortunately, Mabel did not like him and, to make things worse, Fatty was visiting Mabel at the time and felt insulted when he realized there would be another competitor for Mabel’s affections and then it started an argument between Fatty and Mabel’s father and things soon got physically violent. Meanwhile, Mabel herself literally kicked the neighbor suitor out of the living room.

As if things were not messy enough, it resurfaced another Mabel’s suitor (the one who was firstly seen visiting her in the beginning of the film). Mabel’s father tried to force her to accept the affections of her neighbor, but she refused vehemently. Fatty watched it and decided to take matters into own hands by removing Mabel from home and her other suitor tried to do the same thing while Fatty left a note to her father, but fortunately Mabel got to run away. Fatty realized what was going on upon his return outdoors but it was just the beginning of the chaos because Mabel’s father had just called the police.

Who rescued them? The reckless, incompetent Keystone cops, of course. While the cops were on their way, Fatty and the other suitor were fighting, to Mabel’s horror – even though it would not take long until she started laughing at the situation. Fatty and Mabel soon reunited and it was when they saw an empty airplane, which was a relatively new invention at the time. As Mabel’s father and one of her suitors were approaching, their only option was leaving in the airplane. Although everybody else tried to reach them both by car and bicycle, they could not keep up with the plane for obvious reasons. Even the Keystone cops arrived late.

Fatty and Mabel were having fun while Fatty made some maneuvers with their airplane, which gave to the audiences a very interesting chase with multiple vehicles. When Fatty and Mabel finally landed they went to a house where there was a clergyman and Mabel had inadvertently lost her wig, which deeply shocked Fatty and made him have second thoughts about the upcoming marriage. After lots of confusion, Fatty and all other suitors run away and gave up Mabel for good.

All in all, this is a typical 1910s slapstick comedy short, with broad gestures, exaggerated physical gags and simple plots. Those comedies were very popular in their own era and their charm remain due to their easy understanding, ingenuous physical scenes and good acting. Behind the apparently simplicity there is lots of talent and bravery. In case you are interested to watch other Fatty and Mabel films of this type, it is recommended -among others - He Did and He Didn't (USA, 1916), Fatty and Mabel Adrift (USA, 1916), Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition (USA,1915), Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day (USA, 1915).

Love (USA, 1919)

Oh, love! That beautiful feeling even though sometimes it is not possible to make things come true. We can see once more the real-life uncle and nephew actors Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Al St. John with more mature humor compared with the films they made some years before in the Keystone Studios. They still engaged in physical comedies but with more elaborate plots and more realistic building up of characters.

Arbuckle is a good-natured, naive farm boy, deeply in love with Winifred, the daughter of a man he rescued when he fell into a well. Unfortunately, a rich neighbor offered the farmer large piece of land if he agreed to marry Winifred to his son (played by Al St. John) and her father promptly agree with the proposal and the girl ended up trapped in an arranged marriage with a man she did not like. To make matters worse, it was Arbuckle who Winifred really loved.

Realizing that no one else but themselves cared about their feelings, Arbuckle and Winifred decided to elope. It was all fun and games until Winifred had her neck stuck in a window while she was trying to leave her house and this situation gave room to some hilarious gags. Nevertheless, all this mess had only made Winifred’s father realizing she was running away and the girl was brought back home, to her despair.

After a while (and with a little help of Arbuckle, who added soap to the food that Winifred’s family was about to eat), her father decided to hire a new cook and it was Arbuckle himself – dressed in drag -who showed up in an attempt to get the job. It was not unusual Arbuckle to dress up as a woman in his films, usually as a disguise and a prompt for causing even more confusion in the plot. Anyway, although Arbuckle had problems to provide reliable references, he was hired as the new cook (the family thinking he was a woman).

On the day of the wedding there was a rehearsal, as it was the first time the clergyman was marrying anyone. The cook – who was actually Arbuckle -volunteered herself to play the groom’s role. The clergyman spoke the official words, Arbuckle put the ring on Winifred’s finger. When the real wedding was about to occur, Arbuckle announced in front of all guests that  Winifred was already married to him during the rehearsal and at the same time he disclosed his real identity. This gave lots of happiness to  Winifred and a great shock to her family.

This film was presumed lost for a long time until two prints of it were found and then it was made a compilation that enabled its recovery and restoration. Due to this initiative, modern-day audiences can watch this story in its entirety. Back to 1919, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle had already accomplished his professional maturity and the peak of his popularity, having even started his successful partnership with Buster Keaton (who did not participate in this film, though). The Arbuckle-Keaton duo was briefly paused when Keaton was in the army during World War 1 and he was replaced by Italian-born Monty Banks (who played the role of Farmhand in this film).

The Waiters' Ball (USA, 1916)

Something that brings lots of chaos in silent films is two gentlemen competing for the affection of the same sweetheart. This is what happened between the characters of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle (The Cook) and Al St. John (The Waiter). Al St. John was Roscoe’s nephew in real life and both of them made many silent films together and were skilled in physical gags. Needless to say that such gags were plentiful in this film, Arbuckle remade with St. John and Buster Keaton by the name The Cook (USA,1918).

The Cook is seen carrying out his tasks in the kitchen by cleaning the floor and cooking -both at the same time. At the same time, the waiter is trying to carry some plates without breaking them and he was not exactly successful. When it came to both workmen, clumsiness ruled. Something they also had in common was that they liked the same woman – the cashier of the restaurant where they worked.

In the next scene the cashier shows an ad to the waiter about the upcoming waiter’s ball. However, there was a problem because the attendees were supposed to wear formal party clothes. The waiter and the cashier started arguing while the cook was trying to sweep the floor without causing any confusion, which did not work. The cook feel on the dining room over the leg on cast of a client and it ended up leaving the poor gentleman in pain.

The waiter showed up in the dining room to sweep the floor into the kitchen much to the annoyance of the cook. They fought and after a while they started working again. The waiter told the clients’ requests to the cook, who brought to the waiter the dishes he was supposed to serve to the clients. This situation brought other physical gags which involved even animals and uncooperative foods and lots of chaos in the restaurant.

After a while it finally came the time of the ball. The cook had a tuxedo, but the waiter did not have proper clothes to attend it. But the waiter did not accept his defeat so easily and he stole the cook’s tuxedo. On the other hand, the cook did not let it preventing him from going to the party and he attended in women’s clothes.

The party was lively and everybody was having fun, at least until the cook caught the waiter wearing his tuxedo. Then, they both fought in the ballroom, which disrupted the fun of the guests. The female dishwasher of the restaurant, after realized that her clothes were stolen, ended up going to the party and when she caught the cook wearing her clothes there was another fight and the party was in deep chaos.

A policeman happened to be nearby and he arrested both the cook and the waiter who by this time had already lost half of the clothes they were wearing and had to cover themselves with a barrel whole the party’s guests laughed at their fate.

If slapstick comedies with frantic pace, “fast and furious” rhythm, overtly physical humor are your piece of cake, you will surely love this silent film. The gags are simple and it makes them extremely easy to be understood by audiences of all eras. Therefore, this film stood quite well the test of time. It is also a golden opportunity to see some high-profile silent actors in action displaying their skills and it is not difficult to understand why they were so popular with the audiences back to the silent era.

His Wife's Mistakes (USA,1916)

An important part of silent comedies was misunderstandings and all the confusion it caused among the characters, which included mistaken conclusions against the good morals of a couple. This is exactly what happened in this film.

The film started in what looked like a department store, both the place and people look sophisticated. Al St. John was smoking besides a well-dressed elderly man who is smoking a pipe, they both worked together in the same office. At that moment, a woman arrived.

Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle crossed the street, entered a place, had difficulties with a revolving door. Roscoe got to solve his problems with the door, a crook arrived at the store and stole the handbag of a lady. The thief bumped into the revolving door and fell and as Fatty was still nearby, the crowd thought he had caught the thief. The lady gave some money to Fatty out of gratitude.

Right afterwards Fatty applied for a job as a janitor. As one of intertitles said, a broker, Mr. I. Steele, has a client who “will arrive about noon with certified check for $ 10.000 to close a deal” and the option expires at three o’clock. The broker left the office and requested a note to be delivered for his wife, letting her know about the upcoming business deal.

Meanwhile, Fatty was carrying out his duties in the most clumsy way possible, even causing accidents involving other passerby people and flirting with beautiful women around him. This scene was an opportunity for a plenty of people falling on their butts in full splendor.

While Fatty was causing all that mess downstairs, a woman caught the elevator and entered the broker’s office. It was his wife. She was greeted by her husbands’ co-workers, received the note and read that he wanted her to entertain his client until he arrived. The husband also wrote in the note that his client was a rather eccentric man.

Fatty was asked by a couple to watch their beauty parlor until they arrived back. However, some seconds later a woman came and asked Fatty to keep his eyes on the candy shop. A short time after the woman left, it arrived a client to the barber and, for any weird reason, Fatty did the job on the poor man’s beard. To add insult to injury, Fatty left the gentleman alone in the barber while he was servicing a female client in the candy shop. Eventually, the barber’s client was “sore, but satisfied” despite the complete inability of Fatty to work as a barber.

Subsequently, Fatty caught the elevator and entered the broker’s office. Fatty noticed there was another guy in the elevator, but kept going. The broker’s wife had mistaken Fatty as her husband’s client and invited him to have lunch with her at the oriental café. Fatty gladly accepted the proposal, unaware of the chaos that would happen soon. The café was lavishly decorated and unfortunately Fatty lacked enough social skills to attend this type of sophisticated place.

The broker finally returned to his office and was told by Al St. John that his wife “went out with the janitor”. The broker was furious and immediately took a revolver that he kept in his drawer. He was determined to take revenge and while his wife and the janitor were having fun in the café watching a rather over the top show, the husband arrived to wash his honor with blood. He tried to shoot Fatty, but the janitor got to run away in fear.

In the middle of all this chaos, the real client arrived at the office and was received by the broker’s co-workers. The real client claimed that the papers must be signed by three o’clock otherwise the deal would expire. And he could not wait much longer because it was actually almost three’ o’clock.

It looked like the employees got to tell the broker about the misunderstanding and the documents were signed on time. Yes “it looked like” because it seems there are some scenes missing in the end and the last scene the audiences see is Al St. John and his colleagues running on the street and then the film abruptly ended. It is not clear if the end of this film is lost or if it is just some printings that don’t show the entire film, though.

In addition to being a funny comedy to this day, this film also has interesting historical value because it enables modern-day audiences to catch a glimpse of 1910s buildings, offices, elevators, typewriters, etc. and compare with how those items look like nowadays. It is like traveling in a time machine and a genuine one-of-a-kind experience.

A Strong Revenge (USA,1913)

This is one of one reelers (short films that lasted around 11 minutes) made in the beginning of Keystone studios (which had been opened on the previous year in California) with simple plots and straightforward gags, including overtly fake facial hair, exaggerated gestures, actors falling on their butts and even weird dancing (the latter being pretty much the case in this film). Mabel, so sweet and cute, had two suitors, who fought each other in order to have her affection. Mabel invited one of them (Schnitz, the grocer, a character played by Mack Sennett himself, who was the founder and director of Keystone Studios in real life) to her party. The problem is that Mabel also invited her other suitor (Meyer, the cobbler, a character played by Ford Sterling, one of the most popular comedians of the studio in its first years). Of course it would trigger the rivalry between both men even more.

A short time later we could see that Meyer bought some fresh cheese. The reason of it was not disclosed at first, but the audience would know it really soon. Unfortunately it turned out that the cheese did not really smell well (actually, it stink). Some time passed, both men got ready for the party and “dressed for the occasion” as one of the intertitles says. Meyer arrived at the party and gave some flowers to Mabel. People were dancing happily and Mabel and Meyer joined them in the ballroom. Then Schnitz arrived and he brought flowers to Mabel too. He gave them to her and started dancing with Mabel, pushing Meyer away from them. Meyer did not take this insult easily and would take a revenge in the first opportunity. Actually, “Schnitz scents trouble” as both men confronted each other, Mabel got upset and the environment of the party, which was happy until then, became tense.

The reason of the sudden change of vibe is that Schnitz started to stink all of a sudden, scaring off even the other guests. He tried to puff perfume on himself to disguise the problem but it seems the situation worsened because virtually everyone left the party altogether. Schnitz was insulted, tried to dance with Mabel again (to her despair) even though they were both literally alone in the ballroom now. An argument was started and Schnitz left the party in anger, carrying with him the flowers he gave to Mabel. Then Meyer was delighted because he could have Mabel all to himself and his rival was defeated. However, when Schnitz returned home he found out that the cheese on his shoe and he would not accept to be deceived his way and decided to fight back. He returned to the party, talked to a boy, who asked Meyer to go outside. While both of them talked, Schnitz discreetly put the cheese on Meyer’s pocket.

The party continued, the guests were dancing in the same ballroom, having fun while Schnitz was watching from a window the result of his plan to embarrass Meyer in front of everyone and the guests run away from the ballroom as soon as Meyer returned to the house. Mabel got angry, gave back to Meyer the ring he had previously given her while Schnitz laughed in joy. After a while, Meyer found out the cheese in his pocket. Meanwhile, Schnitz entered the party while the disgusted guests were packing the living room as no one wanted to return to that stinking ballroom. When Meyer saw Schnitz he threw the cheese on him and another argument took place, but it did not last long because both Mayer and Mabel fainted due to the strong smell while Schnitz watched it in shock. 

Although the plot might seem too simplistic for nowadays’ audiences, those short films stood well the test of time as they have gags that can be easily understood to this day, which might explain the success of those slapstick comedies in their own era. The charm of a film that simply entertains and relaxes is something hard to resist, regardless of era.

Won in a Cupboard (USA,1914)

This film has a historical importance because, to this date, it is the earliest-surviving film directed by Mabel Normand. She was 21 years old at the time and was at the height of her beauty and vitality. Previously thought to be a lost film, it was discovered in 2010 in New Zealand.

The 1910s comedies by Keystone studios show us that it is possible to be funny with simple resources. They were mainly one or two reelers with very simple plots and the gags were the center of all action. In addition to frantic chases, quick pace, fake facial hair and occasional broad gestures, an important component in those comedies was misunderstanding. And this is exactly what we will see in this film.

A woman is sweeping the floor outside a house and a man with a big sheriff badge approaches her. Then, there’s an intertitle saying: “Dreaming of her ideal” and we see Mabel sitting down outdoors. Two men are shown, one of them approaches Mabel. She does not care very much and leave and walk towards a river and the other man laugh at the man who was rejected. 

It is shown once more the woman who was sweeping the floor and the sheriff. The woman enter the house leaving the man outside speaking a lot. 

The two men are shown again. The other man try her lucky in approaching Mabel while the rejected man look at it from a distance. This other man end up being rejected by Mabel just like the previous one. 

The sheriff return to the police department, the other policemen are idle and the sheriff complain about it. 

Now Mabel is in a sort of forest and both men are still all around her. There is an intertitle: “Her ideal” and we see another man and it is shown to the audiences that they really liked each other, to the disgust of the two men who were interested in Mabel previously in the film. At this point of the film, there is a split screen with both love interests walking towards each other, which create a very beautiful and innocent event. Mabel’s love interest give a fruit to her and she accept it with joy.

On the following scene it is shown the sheriff once more visiting the woman who was out of her house and the audiences can see that there is mutual romantic interest between them.

Both of Mabel’s previous suitors approach the couple, but Mabel refuse to speak to them. The men started to bully Mabel’s love interest and she get angry. A fight take place and everyone start throwing things at each other. The sheriff appear by chance in the middle of the chaos and was hit by accident too. The sheriff beat up Mabel’s suitor and took her away.

It is shown the intertitle: “Mother’s pet”. Mabel’s love interest return home, which is the same house where the woman sweeping the floor live and it become clear that he is her son and a kind of coward person. It is also clear that Mabel is the sheriff’s daughter. Both Mabel and her suitor were admonished by their parents at homed due to the fighting they were involved.

But Mabel’s love interest did not give up and he showed up at her house. Mabel talked to him by the window and meet him outside. Meanwhile, the sheriff was visiting his love interest and at this point it become clear to the audiences that the parents of Mabel and her suitor were having an affair. The boy’s mother enter a cupboard within her house, the sheriff enter the house and does not see her.

Mabel and her suitor meet a tramp while they are walking outdoors. Right afterwards, the couple was passing nearby the boy’s house and he invite Mabel to go inside. The problem is that the sheriff was already within the house and in order to avoid being seen by the couple, the sheriff decided to hide inside a cupboard, the same place where the woman (his sweetheart, the owner of the house and the boy’s mother) was also hiding. Both people realize that their children were outside and got nervous in fear of a scandal if their children found out about their affair. 

Mabel and her sweetheart enter the boy’s home and Mabel see that there is somebody inside the cupboard and she think that the tramp they have met on the street a short time ago was the one who was hiding in the cupboard. The boy go outside and cry for help and meanwhile Mabel barricade the cupboard’s door. Many people in the neighborhood go to the house to help them get rid of the so-called tramp and Mabel also called the police department. 

Chaos ensue as many people go to the boy’s house at the same time, including the policemen and the neighbors carrying rifles. The cupboard is removed from the house and people try to open it in whatever way they can. Of course that after all effort the cupboard’s door was eventually open and everyone knew who was inside. It turned out that the scandal and gossip could not be avoided.

Won in a Cupboard was categorized as a nonsense number by Moving Picture World in 1914 and I have to say this is an average comedy of the era, but it remain worth seeing. It is a nice example of Mabel’s directorial style. She had her own production unit in Keystone studios at the time and it would last for around one year and, during this time, she directed all films of that unit. This film is also a precious witness of a country life that has been gone a long time ago. It’s a joy that the film was recovered after so many years. 

Pordenone Silent Film Festival - 2020 - On line version

In such weird year, when the world has stopped due to a pandemic and the humankind has had to assess how to deal with isolation and to do as many activities as home as possible, we have for the first time the on line version of Pordenone Silent Film Festival, which is considered the most important festival devoted to silent films and that has existed for almost 40 years. It started being held in September 1982 when a small group of friends organized a three-day festival in response to the 1976 Friuli earthquake that had devastated much of Northern Italy.

The festival was a pioneering event in the beginning and it has been pioneering now, with the initiative of holding the counterpart of a large cinema festival on line due to a pandemic that impacted the entire world and, for a while, it was particularly harsh with the Northern of Italy itself. As it is the case with all pioneering initiatives, nobody was certain about the results of an on line festival of silent films with attendees of all parts of the world. 

But it truly worked. With the usual careful selection of films mixing rarities and known films from a plenty of countries, Pordenone did not really fail in providing immersion for the audiences. In addition to the films, there were also lectures about the films themselves and silent film music. Pordenone Masterclasses is when the musicians of the festival talk to the audience about their work, which is a rare opportunity to increase the understanding of the films themselves. 

Another pleasant surprise was that together with the introductions of the films the audiences could see the work of film archives in some countries and it was fascinating to have an introduction on how films were restored, to see their facilities, the employees working, the reels on the shelves. It’s a dream for every fan of history of cinema. It is an interesting bridge between past and present and context is also important to the understanding of silent films, especially for the new generations.

They also have an event called Collegium, which according to the festival’s website is: “to attract new, young generations to the discovery of silent cinema and to infiltrate these newcomers into the very special community that has evolved around the Giornate during its three decades. It is designed to take advantage of the unique conditions of the Giornate – a highly concentrated one-week event; the possibility to see an extensive collection of rare archival films; the presence in one place and at one time of many (perhaps most) of the world’s best qualified experts in film history – scholars, historians, archivists, collectors, critics, academics, and just plain enthusiasts”

On the technical side, the films were shown through an Italian platform that worked really well. The films could have their intertitles translated into both Italian and English and were available for 24 hours to be watched. After this time, the films were no longer available. An interesting detail is that there was an interface in each film that reproduced the chairs of a real-life cinema that showed how many people were watching the films at the same time as you. 

Other interesting details is that the audiences could take a peek on the beauty of Pordenone city in the introduction of the films. Artistic Director Jay Weissberg made all introductions and was straightforward and informative. It was an interesting way to have some contact with the Italian cities and their culture.

Of course that nothing replaces the real-life experience of attending the screening of a film with live accompaniment, the get together with fellow silent film fans, the networking but the production made sure that audiences had an as close to real life experience as possible. 

For example, right in the first day there were nine travelogues produced between 1911 and 1939 shown under the name “The Urge to Travel”, which demonstrated that despite being a festival related to the history of the cinema, Pordenone Silent Film festival is also in touch with the current events. This bridge between past and present is very important to contextualize silent films to new audiences and show them that the understanding of silent films helps to figure out the world as it is nowadays. 

The experience that those travelogues provided was truly awesome. Some of them were filmed in such a way as if we were walking down the street with the people who were being filmed and it gave a very interesting feeling of travelling in a time machine. That was really touching because the audiences witnessed an era that has been gone for a long time. And it was only the first round of films of the first day. Afterwards, there were rare films from countries like China, Greece and even lesser known films of the United States, together with classics.

All in all, Pordenone Silent Film Festival, got to keep up with its high standards and not only provided films, but also experiences to the audiences. They could experience travels in time machines, they could listen to scholars talking, watch the films. Variety was also thought of and the films were really interesting and the music was awesome. The festival is a very worthwhile experience even for those who are not hardcore fans of silent films especially because, after an entire week being in touch with those films, it is likely that you will end up becoming a fan too. 

Blood and Sand (USA, 1922)

This film was based on the 1909 Spanish novel Sangre y arena (Blood and Sand) by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and the play version of the book by Thomas Cushing. It was produced by Paramount Pictures. Rudolph Valentino was already a heartthrob and very popular among the audiences after the hits of The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, in 1921. The latter film was also an adaptation of Vicente Blasco Ibáñez’s book. 

Rudolph Valentino played the role of Juan Gallardo, a bullfighter born in a poor family in a village located in Seville, Spain. He was a relaxed and charismatic lad who enjoyed a life of adventure. His mother was a widow who worried about the safety of Juan due to the fact he played at bullfighting. Juan Gallardo was considered a good-for-nothing son due to his failure to work at his father’s trade and his family strongly disapproved of his lifestyle.

After two years, Juan Gallardo became the idol of the entire Spain, being known even in Madrid. He had many fans who gathered themselves only to see him. It was also clear that he was already a quite wealthy man at this point. 

Then his luck changed and, as it was said in one of the intertitles: “The news of the “Little Shoemaker’s” prowess spread through Seville, attracting the wealthy patrons of the national sport”. His bravery in the arena became a sensation among the local population, which catapulted him into fame. Even Juan’s brother in law, who could not stand him and did not believe his capabilities, started to act in a friendly way towards Juan after he became famous. 

However, success can sometimes spoil people and bring them temptations that are hard to resist. Juan became the idol of the Seville cafés and ended up living a bohemian life around many women and drinking heavily. That was the beginning of Juan Gallardo losing his focus in life.

At his point, Gallardo had already married the beautiful and virtuous Carmen,  “the playmate of his childhood”. Then the sensuous and wealthy Doña Sol (played by actress Nita Naldi) enters Gallardo’s life. She was the niece of the Marquis of Moraima, “breeder of the finest bulls in Spain” and widow of an ambassador and quite popular among kings and diplomats of Europe for her beauty. At first Gallardo tried to resist to Doña Sol’s interest in him, but they ended up having an affair, which would jeopardize Gallardo both socially and professionally while Carmen knew about the affair through the newspapers. And she suffered as the virtuous woman she was. In silence, always devoted, without complaints. At the same timed Gallardo’s friends have noticed that he changed and seemed out of focus and worried.

Once more we see in a silent film a woman being portrayed as a “vamp”, the woman who represented temptation and could ruin lives of honest men with her seducing powers. This includes the famous mention to sadomasochism, which was rather daring for the era and Doña Sol being called “serpent from hell” in one of intertitles when Gallardo was divided between the love-hate feelings and he could no longer have control over his own emotions.

Knowing that Gallardo was trying to drift away from her, Doña Sol followed him to his home village. She was not being used to be rejected and she brought many problems to Gallardo by imposing her presence and tension reached the point when Doña Sol told about her affair with Gallardo to his wife and mother, which had apparently destroyed his marriage. It was the beginning of the end of Gallardo’s peace even within his own household.

Gallardo got more and more depressed and it reflected on his performance in the arena. He was no longer as careful with his well being as before and he became “the gossip of Spain”. A good bullfighter needed to be concentrated all the time due to the danger of his profession and this was definitely a bad sign. One day Gallardo received a letter from Carmen asking him to give up the arena, but it was his profession, he had no savings and if he quit bullfighting at that point he would certainly return to poverty. Carmen sensed that Gallardo was in danger and it would turn out to be a prophecy. This only showed that the connection between Gallardo and Carmen was so pure, so deep that they could communicate with each other even without words. Something so different from his connection with Doña Sol, which have never been beyond physical attraction deprived of further feelings.

Another bullfighting, Doña Sol was in the audience, Gallardo was distressed and quiet, there was tension in the air. Other bullfighters and even audience members noticed that Gallardo was more reckless than ever. And right in the middle of the audience the village’s bandit was shot, he mentioned Gallardo and passed away immediately. At the same time, Gallardo had a feeling of terror, did not know what to do and lost confidence. He was hit by a bull, fell down and was removed from the arena. Doña Sol did not even notice what was going on amid her own selfishness and superficiality. She was directly told that Gallardo was dying but did not care and did not even care to leave the audience and see Gallardo or comfort his relatives. On the other hand, Carmen was by his side all the time until the end with the devotion that only a virtuous woman could have for her husband. 

A priest was called. In Gallardo’s last moments, he ask for Carmen’s forgiveness and they reconciled.  Gallardo passed away in a very sad circumstance but at least in peace with his sweet wife Carmen, the only woman he has truly ever loved.

The plot has the expected melodrama with occasional overacting (especially by Valentino and Nita Naldi in their most torrid scenes) and some stereotyped representations of other peoples. However, it remains interesting in the sense that it was critical of bullfighting and the rise and downfall of the main character (Gallardo, played by Valentino) gives him a degree of humanity that does not really age easily.  We still can see so often that a poor man’s way up to climb the social ladder is choosing a profession where he will face death and this can have some sad consequences sometimes.

The Conquering Power (USA, 1921)

This film was made a short time after huge Rudolph Valentino’s hit, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (USA, 1921) and it was the second and last collaboration of Valentino and Rex Ingram, the latter would subsequently direct Ramon Novarro’s films.  The Conquering Power (USA, 1921) was based on the novel Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac. The plot is about the conquering power of love, and all barriers it is capable to overcome, plus the maturity of a man from boyhood to adulthood due to adversities of life. It is also portrayed how the effects of greed can be harmful to a person.

Valentino plays the role of Charles Grandet, a French playboy who lived a careless life and all worldly pleasures to the full, as it can be seen by his lavish birthday party in the beginning of the film, which was interrupted by the earlier return of Victor Grandet, his father, from a trip. Upon his return, Victor had a serious conversation with Charles about his brother, Père Grandet, who he had not seen for around twenty five years and recommended Charles to be on friendly terms with him. Victor seemed to be rather distressed and it is hinted that he had serious financial problems.

Victor had committed suicide a short time afterwards and after his death, Charles ended up living with his uncle. Père Grandet, despite of being rich himself, he was a miserly, who treated both the poorer people from his province and his own family with an iron fist. At the house of his uncle Charles met and fell in love with his cousin, Eugenie Grandet. Eugenie was a virtuous, beautiful and sweet girl, quite in demand by the suitors of her village. 

Charles brought to his uncle’s house a letter by Victor, who claimed that he had lost his fortune due to stock market speculation and he hoped that Père would be a father for his son. The tone if this letter suggested that Victor would die soon, which actually happened and this tragic event left Charles penniless. 

While love flourished between both cousins, Père received a letter stating that Victor’s debts had been reduced and it meant that Charles has not lost all his money, after all. To avoid that Charles recovered his money and that his love for Eugenie took root, Père decided to send Charles away for the Martinique. However, before Charles’ departure, Père made him sign a document renouncing to all his inheritance, something that Charles found strange as his father had left no estate. Despite that suspicious signal, Charles did not realize that Père could have been behind any scam to take advantage of him.

While Charles was away he wrote to Eugenie regularly, telling her about his life in Martinique, that he was prospering there, etc. Nevertheless, his letters never came to her because Père  was hiding everything and it made Eugenie think that Charles had forgotten about her. On the other hand, Père had written Charles claiming that he had arranged a marriage for Eugenie and therefore it would be advisable he did not keep any further correspondence with her. The claim was a lie and there was no marriage, but Charles could not possibly know. But both Charles and Eugenie never forgot each other.

One day Père asked Eugenie to see her gold because he wanted to invest it, but she could not give it to him because Eugenie had lent it to Charles previously, so he could have some money to restart his life. When Père realized Eugenie had given her gold to Charles, he locked her in her bedroom and it was when the worst ordeal of Eugenie began. However, the news of Eugenie’s imprisonment in her room became the topic of the village and the villagers have also noticed how maddened Père was. 

Some scenes later it is revealed to the audience that Eugenie was not actually Père’s daughter and that  Eugenie actually had the right of demanding a division of his fortune if only she knew the truth. 

Speaking of the truth, Eugenie eventually found out Charles’ letters to her hidden in her own house, none of them had ever been given to her. She also found the letter that stated that Victor’s debts were reduced and that Charles was not penniless, after all. The same letter that had never been disclosed to Charles, who left to Martinica thinking his father had not left any estate. 

Père found out that Eugenie found the letters. She runs away and he gets locked in his cellar, totally maddened by his own greed and evilness. This is one of the most famous scenes of the film, beautifully played and acted by actor Ralph Lewis (who played the role of Père in a convincing and skillful way) and the favorite scene of many people. Right afterwards Père passed away, leaving Eugenie a very rich woman and it was suggested to her to look for a husband. She announces her engagement, but shortly after is reunited with Charles.

My personal favorite part of the film is the end, when after some years Charles returned from France, now a very rich man and they both met each other again in the same place where they used to gather together in the past, this time older and with different appearances. However, the love and joy in seeing each other was still the same. Their facial expressions of happiness were something very touching to see, as they show that love was the real conquering power, even beyond the action of gold and time. Charles did not come to the village before thinking that Eugenie was married, but she was actually still single and it was when they were finally reunited.