Fifty Years of Film in 50 weeks, #4: He Who Gets Slapped, 1924

From a classic western last week to a circus thriller/romance/tragedy, a bit of whiplash. But this film represents several film history milestones and I was thrilled to watch it for the first time.

He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

Director: Victor Sjöström (as Victor Seastrom)
Writer: Victor Sjöström & Carey Wilson (based on the play He, the One Who Gets Slapped by Leonid Andreyev)
Cinematographer: Milton Moore
Producer: Louis B. Mayer for MGM
Starring: Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Marc McDermott, Ruth King, Tully Marshall 

Why I chose it
Because of the name? I had heard of this film; it hadn't registered strongly for me as a 'must-see' film yet I remembered the name. When it appeared, during my research, on a list of acclaimed 1924 films, I added it to my shortlist; my Twitter followers voted it to the top.

'No-spoiler' plot overview

Poor Parisian scientist Paul Beaumont (Chaney) lives on the generosity of his patron, Baron Regnard (Marc McDermott), unaware Regnard has designs on both Beaumont's scientific breakthrough and his wife Marie (Ruth King). He loses both to this embodiment of evil, and is further disgraced when both, separately, slap him across the face to put him in his place. When done in front of an audience of academics, they break into hysterical laughter. Fast forward a few years, and Paul has become the star clown of a circus act in which a posse of identically-dressed clowns slap him repeatedly until he tumbles around the circus ring to the delight of audiences. His circus moniker? You guessed it: 'He Who Gets Slapped', 'HE' for short. HE meets young circus horse-acrobat Consuelo (Norma Shearer) and becomes infatuated with her. She, however, has fallen in love with her handsome partner Bezano (John Gilbert). The Baron reappears when Consuelo's opportunist father bribes him into proposing marriage to Consuelo. These developments are discovered by HE, who is determined to have his revenge on his old enemy, and save Consuelo in the process.

Production Background and 1924 in Film History

This film emerged as the first production of newly formed MGM, with Louis B. Mayer at the helm. Mayer had concluded his deal with Samuel Goldwyn earlier in the year, and hired Swedish director Victor Sjöström to direct. Already an acclaimed director in Sweden, Sjöström used expressionistic visuals to illustrate his cinematic morality tales such as his wonderful The Phantom Carriage (1921), which I saw for the first time a few months ago. Norma Shearer and John Gilbert were not the 'stars above the title' yet in 1924. Lon Chaney was the star, and already had over 100 film credits to his name. Also appearing in the film was a live lion! The lion was not credited, but his appearance coincided with the first appearance of "Leo" the MGM Lion in the opening credits. I noticed that in those credits, this version of Leo did not open his mouth once.

Some other notable film-related events in 1924*:

• Theaters started screening double features for the first time.
• Prolific silent-era producer/director Thomas Ince died in what was rumored to be murder or accidental homicide aboard the pleasure boat of William Randolph Hearst, by Hearst, or Charlie Chaplin, or ??. It seems that the modern view is that despite some melodramatic antics on the boat, Ince likely succumbed to long-standing coronary disease.
• Erich von Stroheim (featured in the first of my blog series, here) released his epic masterpiece Greed based on the novel McTeague.
• C.B.C. Film Sales Company changed its name to Columbia Pictures Corporation.

*Thanks to filmsite.org

My Random Observations 

• Ah, silent film - how I'd missed you before I started this blog project! 
• Like last week, the visuals in this film are breathtaking, but for different reasons. Instead of panoramic vistas, we have expressionistic lighting, symbolic flourishes, and creative dissolves.
• Lon Chaney. There aren't enough superlatives to describe his talent and performance here. While I loved him in Phantom of the Opera (1925), I didn't really appreciate the range of his pantomime abilities, including his mastery of his body as well as his face. I especially loved seeing him as rather normal-looking scientist Paul Beaumont before his transformation to "HE" the clown. He believably embodied the love and passion for discovery that the best scientists have. (He also looked a bit like Paul Muni as Louis Pasteur!)
• Along those lines, I struggle to accept that Marie, Paul's wife, throws him over for the clearly slimy Baron. I mean, money is great and all, but for me having a nerdy scientist husband on the cusp of fame is the far better choice.
• I find the fact that Paul/HE falls for Consuelo to be a sign of how much he's damaged psychologically. While she is lovely and kind, obviously NOT right for him even if she weren't in love with Benzano. The pity and sorrow we feel for him are more intense than if he saw himself as a big-brother or father-figure to Consuelo.

Screenshots 

Poor Paul Beaumont (Chaney, center) doesn't know
that he's about to be betrayed by these two.

That look! Beaumont listens to the Baron 
taking credit for his invention - the start of his
humiliation.

Academics laughing at the first 'slap'

Symbolic scene of a clown spinning a globe

More clowns enter the earths' orbit

And then the earth dissolves into a circus ring

Romance at the circus: Bezano (Gilbert)
and Consuelo (Shearer)

Kind Consuelo pins a fabric heart on HE's 
Clown costume, much to his delight.

Fabulous shot of clowns laughing at HE's antics

Two slimy opportunists (Marshall & McDermott)
plan their next scheme.

Some small questions the film asks us.

This lion is ready for his close-up.

Lighting on a hand (the Baron's) reaching to unlock an 
off-limits cabinet enhances the treachery of the moment.

Where to Watch
Check it out on YouTube here.

A musician's perspective on recording and performing film scores: from City Lights to Star Wars

David Creswell, professional violist

As part of my self-education about classic film, I've decided to do explore film music in some depth. For my first blog post on this subject I was delighted to speak to a seasoned musician about his extensive experience in recording and performing film scores.

David Creswell is a violist in New York City, has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Broadway shows, is principal violist of the Greenwich (CT) Symphony, and has recorded >100 film scores* since moving to NYC in 1997. He also happens to be my brother-in-law. 

JD: As a musician, what is the process to get a gig to record a film score? 

DC:  Composers typically have control over who they hire to record scores, although sometimes studios have a say also. Composers have relationships with various musicians and groups in town (NYC) whose sound and aesthetic they like. Composers have a distinctive voice, and producers and directors use different composers to fit their own voice. Some composers are really dramatic, others are more subtle and cerebral. Composers work with contractors who actually do the hiring – I have several contractors that I work for. Contractors also have different vibes and working styles and the music you get out of that is very different. Specific composers like specific vibes that work for their music and their process of recording the score.  

JD: Who are your film composer idols?
DC:  Erich Wolfgang Korngold, to name one, but really all from Korngold’s era, including Copland and Shostakovich. They were great because they were first and foremost serious concert composers. They had learned from earlier musical masters such as Mahler, Strauss, and Nadia Boulanger. Their goal was to be the next Beethoven, Strauss, etc, and their music is complex and rich. Korngold left Europe because of WWII, but he and many of his fellow emigres found a place in Hollywood where they poured their dense creative musical energy into film scoring. It’s a shame that we’ve lost that today to a degree.  I understand directors not wanting the music to distract from their story, but I really love when the music is more of a forward character in the film experience like it was then.

JD: What trends have you observed in film scoring during the 20+ years of your experience? 

DC: First, the economics of recording film scores have changed a lot in the past 20 years. One of the biggest changes is that many scores are now recorded in Eastern Europe as opposed to NY and LA because orchestras there are less expensive and residuals aren't paid. (In NYC and LA musicians get residuals--shares from how much the movie sells afterwards). And today, there is only one big space left in NY for large orchestras to score: the Manhattan Center ballroom. When working with composers in Europe, producers and composers can fly over with equipment to record with less expensive orchestras. They can even work remotely with an orchestra in Europe, for example, live using web sharing technology!  

Another trend relates to the aesthetics of the music itself--what sound the filmmakers want. Tastes have changed since 1997. Today, scores have a less symphonic identity and are charged to create color and mood that is generated by symphonic instruments but with less motivic influences. It's less melodic, and the overall structures of the music are smaller. These sounds are mixed in with newer genres (e.g. hip hop). Sometimes the playing for these types of less melodic scores requires no vibrato, or is consistently mezzo-piano, and can be sleep-inducing for the musicians because of the often very slow, unexpressive takes. 

A refreshing contrast comes to mind--I performed on the recording of Rachel Portman's score for the 2004 version of The Manchurian Candidate (with Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Liev Schreiber, directed by Jonathan Demme). The score was a mix of genres, but I recall when we recorded the beginning of the nominating convention; this scene had two minutes of incredibly loud, patriotic music--a great contrast to typical moody delicate music. We were told to blast the hell out of it – that was fun. 

And technology has advanced so much – now you can mix things together using computers, after recording groups of instruments in a more piecemeal manner. Leeway still exists in remixing and changing – that is why scores are often recorded with less vibrato playing--phrase shapes can be manipulated more easily in post-production. Today there are even people out there trying to invent ways of synthesizing an entire score without benefit of musicians!  But thankfully nothing matches the human feeling of live musicians playing.

JD: One of my favorite scores is that of Miklós Rózsa for The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946). It came to mind when you mentioned rich and complex film music. (proceeds to play a clip from the film's opening credits; the film music suite is linked in the YouTube clip below).

DC: Hmm... Rózsa was really great. Listening, I hear influences of Richard Strauss and Wagner. Rózsa and his contemporaries imitated music that they loved from their childhood. These composers often used motifs representing characters or themes throughout their movies, a technique that was developed and used extensively by Richard Wagner.

JD: It seems that there is an increasing trend to play scores live with film screenings for an audience, in a concert venue.

DC: Yes. About 15-20 years ago we did some concerts that presented parts or scenes of a film, but not the entire film. I remember doing a concert showcasing the great age of Korngold, which included scenes from The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). This format worked because composers then tended to write “a piece” for a scene – one segment that could stand on its own. 

David Creswell's viola, in close-up

It's gotten very popular over the last 10 years to screen entire films with live orchestra. This is sort of a cottage industry now and these concerts sell very well. I've done several with the NY Philharmonic and some with other local orchestras. One year with the Philharmonic we played all of the Star Wars movies in a two-week period. That was really fun. Once I played for screenings of Manhattan—that one was kind of boring for the orchestra because there wasn’t a lot of music in it. The trick was to stay awake and not fall over asleep on stage and miss a musical cue! Babe was a complicated score (by Nigel Westlake) because it was based on an organ symphony by Edward Elgar – real music!  Another very fun one was playing for a program of Warner Brothers cartoons!

One of the most significant experiences I had doing this was when the NY Philharmonic played live to West Side Story. In fact, it was the NY Phil that had recorded the film score in 1961, with composer Leonard Bernstein at the helm; there were friends of mine playing with me for this recent performance who were there in the orchestra when the score was recorded originally!

JD: What do you think makes these screenings with live music so popular?
DC: First, I think the sound is better with live instruments--the richness and complexity of the sound come out more when you’re in the room with the performer – and also, art is being created in the moment. Your experience of the movie is richer due to your emotions being heightened with the experience of live music. And, the audience loves it.  People showed up in costume to the NY Philharmonic's performance of the Star Wars films. When they did Babe, people brought their kids.

JD: What are some challenges for a musician performing a score live to film?

DC: It's a challenge to get the sound balance right--you're in a concert hall but you're playing with a film that already has certain sound balances, and the sound and actors' voices reflect the rooms that the actors are in. In movie theaters, the acoustic space is usually dead. They compensate by playing it really loud through speakers in the theatre to create the needed ambiance. But you can’t do that in the concert hall.

JD: I especially love attending screenings of silent films with newly-composed scores performed live. Have you had experience playing for any silent films?

The Outlaw and His Wife - Victor Sjöström & Edith Erastoff

DC: I once had a project with composer Stephen Endelman -- he wrote a new score for a Swedish silent film from 1918: The Outlaw and His Wife (directed by and starring legendary Victor Sjöström; Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru in the original Swedish). Endelman wrote a chamber ensemble score, and we performed it in small, intimate venues in NYC like The Knitting Factory, with small groups of about 50 people attending screenings. I also got to perform Chaplin's City Lights in concert with the NY Philharmonic in Shanghai as well as New York City--it was very interesting to perform it for a Chinese audience, because different parts of the film, as well as the music, resonate with audiences from different cultures.

JD: What is different when playing for silent films vs. sound films?

DC: Playing live to silent films is freeing because you don't worry about drowning out dialogue or sound effects. Playing for a silent film you're free to use the entire range of your creativity with the sound that you’re making. 

JC: Thank you, I learned so much!

DC: You're very welcome!

*An abbreviated list of film scores David has recorded: Across the Universe 2007, The Alamo 2003, The Brave One 2007, The Departed 2006, Failure to Launch 2006, The Good Shepherd 2006, The Heffalump Movie 2005, Hitch 2005, Intolerable Cruelty 2003, Julie & Julia 2009, Keeping up with the Jonses 2016, The Ladykillers 2004, The Last Mimzy 2007, Maggie’s Plan 2015, Manchurian Candidate 2004, Meet the Robinsons 2007, Noah 2014, Perfect Stranger 2007, The Rookie 2001, Striptease 1996, A Time to Kill 1996, Tower Heist 2011, True Grit 2010, The Truth About Charlie 2002, Two Weeks Notice 2002, You Don’t Know Jack 2010.

My Picks for April Boston-area Classic Film Screenings

So glad to be seeing some signs of spring around here in Massachusetts, despite the nor'easter that tried mightily to return us to winter.  On the other hand I can't say I'm not excited to be heading to LA and 80-degree sunny days.  As I prepare to jet off to classic movie paradise, I'm highlighting here my picks of classic film screenings around Greater Boston during April.

Harvard Film Archive
April 3, 7:00 PM.  This is so exciting -- the HFA is hosting a special presentation on studio-era stars and their night life escapades in Hollywood, by author and film historian Jim Heimann.  

Titled "Out With the Stars", the presentation includes Heimann's 'unrivalled collection of photos, postcards and menus...".   As the executive editor of TASCHEN America, a publisher of photo and memorabilia books, no doubt he'll have a treasure trove of stories and little seen items.  This seems like the perfect way to get in the mood for my trip to LA -- and I'm going to do my best to get my packing done early to make it there.

Jean Gabin & Marlene Dietrich -- photo from HFA

Brattle Theatre

Sunday April 9th, PM Double Feature.  If you're around next weekend, consider spending some time exploring the darker side in this double feature of famous dystopian tales:  Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the 1966 film version directed by Truffaut, and George Orwell's 1984, the 1984 version starring the late, great, John Hurt.  Both films portray the fight against totalitarian regimes.  I've seen the latter, although many years ago, when I discovered John Hurt and wanted to see everything he made.  I've not seen Fahrenheit 451, but with Trauffaut at the helm and Julie Christie playing dual roles, I'm sure it's fascinating. 

7:00 PM

4:30 & 9:30

Somerville Theatre
Also, Sunday April 9th at 2:00, I'd recommend checking out The Wind from 1928.  It's a silent film and will be screened using a 35mm print, with live piano accompaniment from Somerville regular Jeff Rapsis.  Lillian Gish, one of the top female actresses of the silent era, is the star, playing a young woman relocated to live in unfamiliar territory, both figuratively and literally.  Swede Victor Sjöström directed.  I recently discovered a fantastic film by Ingmar Bergman that starred Sjöström, Wild Strawberries; I've not seen any of the films he directed, and I'm sorry I will miss this screening.

Lillian Gish in The Wind

Coolidge Corner Theatre
May 1, 7:00.  Ok, I'm cheating a little bit with the dates, but for advance planning this has to be included.  It's the next installment of the world premiere performance of a newly composed film score by select students of Berklee College of Music, known collectively as the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra (BSFO).  This time, they return to comedy with Harold Lloyd's The Freshman.  This is a romp with boy-next-door Lloyd entering college and having some fun on the football team, all while attemping to shed his awkward persona to become a big man on campus and win his girl, played by lovely Jobyna Ralston.

Harold Lloyd bones up on how to succeed at college (IMDb)

If you haven't attended one of these BSFO premieres at the Coolidge, make sure you prioritize this screening -- it's truly a live performance with terrific artists, both timeless screen legends and budding music stars.