Fox's Fantastic Forays into the Far Flung Future (part 2)

IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933)

Between the nine years of The Last Man on Earth's two film adaptations, the image of what the future would look like took shape within the minds of the people of the 20th Century.  After the first few awkward years, technical advances and editing concepts of how best to utilize synchronized sound were finally coming into their own.  The timing was perfect for the retitled remake, IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933), as it benefited from being a product of its cinematic environment.

Assisted by art designer, Erich Kettelhut, Fritz Lang's film METROPOLIS (1927), defined the aesthetics of the imagined world future generations would inhabit.  While some of the design concepts may have existed in Russian and German avante garde and expressionist theatre and film, the collective envisioned future was forever changed by Lang's masterpiece.

Also, between the two futuristic female-only Fox Films, William Fox decided to focus some of his attention on the films being produced in Germany.  While Paramount Studios acquired the American distribution rights to METROPOLIS (1927), Fox acquired the distribution rights to BERLIN: THE SYMPHONY OF A GREAT CITY (1927) and imported German star director, FW Murnau to direct SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (1927).  The  change in Fox's business practice was noticed, as the Murnau film went on to win awards the first year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held their first Academy Awards ceremony.  Fox continued productions on a similar scale with the films of Frank Borzage and a series of spectacle films.

Predating the concept of a film soundtrack, early talking pictures required actors to strike up the band and break into song themselves.  Often, this resulted in films that are mainly historical documents of the era's vaudeville acts.  Predating the runaway successful films of Busby Berkeley, Fox Films produced an all talking, all singing, all dancing film, SUNNYSIDE UP (1929).  DeSylva, Brown and Henderson were the group of writers, and they attempted to continue their success by breaking new ground with the first sci-fi musical comedy: JUST IMAGINE (1930).

JUST IMAGINE (1930)

Taking their lead from METROPOLIS (1927), there were only a few other motion pictures set in the world of tomorrow, including HIGH TREASON (1929) and JUST IMAGINE (1930).  The latter was a Fox production, and the first film on record as being a futuristic musical comedy!  Audiences were presented with the world of 1980, complete with song and dance numbers, high technology, rocket trips to Mars, warring doppelganger Martian races, and the comedic styling of El Brendel.  It was from this formula, successful or otherwise, that the Fox Film studio heads decided to continue by delving into their back catalog of acquired properties, resulting in IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933).

Nine years may not appear like a long enough span of time to validate a remake.  But it is important to remember not only had the incorporation of sound technology made silent films archaic to audiences of the day, the length of time a film played in a theatre was generally only a couple of weeks at most, with little to no expectation of a revival run in subsequent years.  Apart from reading the occasional photoplay novelization of the story, there was no way for an audience member to relive their film-going experience.  With these two factors in mind, a reworking of The Last Man on Earth was going to appear fresh and exciting to Depression-era audiences.

The all talking, all singing, all dancing remake appears to follow relatively closely to the silent film's narrative, there were certain elements added and edited out.  One of the most surprising story lines added to the sound remake, is just prior to the discovery of an actual healthy adult male, Dr. Prodwell is experimenting with the creation of a synthetic man to make up for the lack of healthy, natural alternatives!  Judging from production stills, the scene appears entirely inspired by the classic cinematic creation scenes from METROPOLIS (1927), FRANKENSTEIN (1931), and DOCTOR X (1932)!  One wonders what would have happened to this story if the scientist was successful with her plans?  Would the character of Carlos have been in such high demand with alternatives available?  Or would this have created a situation reminiscent of METROPOLIS (1927) where the human character of Maria has to compete against the Robotrix, an automaton made in the likeness of herself?  Would the women of the world have to choose between the made-man, and the real thing?

Lost film's Frankenstein-esque would-be creation scene

 

The boxing match was another aspect of the original silent film that was edited out and replaced with an epic song and dance competition, the contestants representing their own respective nations - the winner snagging rights for their country to begin the repopulating process first!

There are clear lines between the 1923 short story, the 1924 film, and the 1933 film, but the core of the story appears to have its roots in Mary Shelley novel, The Last Man.   It is doubtful that the Shelley connection was known at the time to the Fox execs -- her novel was not widely rediscovered until the 1960's -- so it is oddly poetic that IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933) borrowed elements from Shelley's most well known creation: FRANKENSTEIN (1931).

Apparently, IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933), like DRACULA (1931), was shot simultaneously as a Spanish version with the title El Varon Last Sobre La Tierra, directed by James Tinling and starring Rositer Moreno, Mimi Aguglia, Romneldo Tirado and Carmen Rodriguez.  While neither version is known to survive today, some of the musical arrangements remain, as can be found here, and here.

The following comes from an original 1933 New York Times review:

"It's Great to Be Alive (1933)

Farewell to Man.

F.S.N.

Published: July 8, 1933

Masculitis, a dread disease fatal only to men, is sweeping over the Seventh Avenue Roxy screen in "It's Great To Be Alive." One man alone is spared to a feminine world. That is the essence of a familiar plot around which Fox has attempted to weave—without much success—a novel musical comedy.
Raul Roulien of Brazil has the rôle of the last man, in itself a serious challenge to the theory of the survival of the fittest. If memory serves, Reginald Denny was once a robust survivor of a similar epidemic and, without doubt, there must have been equally burly "last men" before him. But Senhor Roulien is a tenor and, in this film, an annoyingly popular ladies' man. One cannot help sympathizing with matronly Emma Dunn when she complains:
"Of all the men in the world, he would be the only one left."
Carlos (Senhor Roulien) owes his life to being jilted. To punish the girl, he takes off on a transpacific flight and is forced down on an otherwise uninhabited island in mid-ocean. There he lingers for six years while the rest of the male population succumbs to masculitis. His eventual discovery leads—-as may be surmised—to a mad scramble. First female racketeers place him on an auction block; then he becomes federal property and finally is the subject of a world congress, presided over by that great scientist, Edna May Oliver.
Some of the episodes are highly amusing, generally because of Miss Oliver's presence. Among them are a "stop-masculitis" symposium attended by screen duplicates of Professors Einstein and Piccard; the attempted creation of a synthetic man; the Czechoslovak scene in the world congress, and the newspaper headlines and radio announcements concerning the last man.
The comic interludes are, alas, too rare to justify the length of the picture. With judicious cutting it might have been an admirable tworeeler. Senhor Roulien sings pleasantly, but his eye-rolling and shoulder-shrugging become annoying. Dorothy Burgess is amusing as the racketeer.


IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE, based on a story by John D. Swain; music and lyrics by William Kernell; directed by Alfred Werker; a Fox production. At the Seventh Avenue Roxy and Brooklyn Fox Theatres.
Carlos Martin . . . . . Raul Roulien
Dorothy Wilton . . . . . Gloria Stuart
Dr. Prodwell . . . . . Edna May Oliver
Brooks . . . . . Herbert Mundin
Toots . . . . . Joan Marsh
Al Moran . . . . . Dorothy Burgess
Mrs. Wilton . . . . . Emma Dunn
Dr. Wilton . . . . . Edward Van Sloan
Perkins . . . . . Robert Greig"

Original NY Times page

Fox Films extrapolated what the future would hold over and over again, but seemingly never foresaw William Fox being ousted from his own company and his namesake company merging with Daryl Zanuck's 20th Century Films in 1935.

Possibly one of the last vestiges of William Fox's legacy was when 20th Century Fox reused the name they continued to own, adapting Richard Matheson's classic horror novel I Am Legend.  Titling the project after the forgotten futuristic musical comedy, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964), proved even posthumously, William Fox's business model was correct.

Fox's Fantastic Forays into the Far-Flung Future (part 1)

WF with FW (Murnau, that is)

There wasn't a single studio in the 1920's that cornered the market on the just-emerging horror genre, and science fiction couldn't even really be called a genre yet.  But beginning in the 1920's, Fox Films had an interesting string of forward-thinking productions that are worth revisiting.

William Fox ran his studio with his own distinct business model; Rather than paying high salaries to lure successful actors to the Fox Films lot, he opted to create stars from scratch.  W.F., as he was called by friends and business associates, also thought that if he continued to own the rights to a story, it made good business sense to regularly remake those films.  Fox Films were more than able to successfully hold their own against competing studios, often producing quantity over quality, but at times creating highly artistic, imaginative productions.

While an overwhelming number of films from the first few decades of Hollywood are lost today, Fox's money saving device of revisiting their properties allows occasional glimpses today into what might have been. 

A still from THE WIZARD (1927)

Fox Films produced THE WIZARD (1927), starring Gustav Von Seyffertitz and George Kotsonaros, who was made up as an almost Chaney-esque gorilla/monster!  Sadly, all that remains of this film are striking stills.  But due to the business model put in place by William Fox, and continued after the merger with 20th Century Films, the movie can still -arguably- be experienced via 20th Century Fox's remake of the same story, retitled DR. RENAULT'S SECRET (1942).

A similar situation occurred for another story acquired by Fox Films, John D. Swain's novelette, The Last Man on Earth, which appeared in Munsey's Magazine in 1923.  Fox began production on THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1924) almost immediately.   The source material involves the 1920's projecting what the far-flung future of the 1960's would resemble, but of particular note was that the future lacked any adult males!

Follow this link for a PDF of the original short story, as it appeared in 1923's Munsey's Magazine.

The following comes from an original 1924 New York Times review:

"The Last Man on Earth (1924)

THE SCREEN; A Boisterous Fantasy.

By MORDAUNT HALL.

Published: December 13, 1924

A boisterous and frivolous fantasy, concerned with a world of women and the sudden discovery of a solitary man is the present film attraction at the Central Theatre. It bears the title of "The Last Man on Earth" and is pictured rather in the Mack Sennett vein, ladened with the pulchritude of the Hollywood studio variety.
It is in the year 1960, when, through some curious plague, all males over 14 become victims and die. The women do not seem grief-stricken as they go about their respective duties with bright faces and weird costumes. The fashions are given to transparent hoopskirts and pantaloons or the simpler mode of the one-piece bathing suit. The Presidentess of the United States has permitted the White House to become a ruin, with towering weeds and high grass on the hitherto beautiful lawns. She is very fond of black cats, but does become unusually interested in the finding of a male of the species who is 34 years old. Being the first lady of the land, she insists that the last man on earth be sent to the White House. The discoverer, however, has an eye for money and holds that the man is worth at least $10,000,000.
The Senatoress from Massachusetts and the Senatoress from California agree that there shall be a prizefight between two women to see who wins the lone man.
The boys under 14 are pampered like weak girls, especially after the discovery of a serum which readers them immune from the plague. When Greenwich Gertie, a clever crook and leader of the much-feared Tea House Gang, comes across Elmer (Earl Foxe) hiding in the backwoods she believes that she has done more than the discoverer of the serum. Here you see Elmer being lugged into a hospital and examined by the physicians, while scores of women throng the passages outside. He is deprived of his beard and long hair and made to appear respectable, with trousers that flare and silk insertions in the bell-shaped extremities. He has to go to Washington to see the two political leaders, in bathing suits, fighting to win him. The Presidentess even permits him to sit in her chair. Elmer is the most petted man that has ever stepped on earth, and yet he does not appear to enjoy all the attention he receives.
Merchants announce their appointment to dress, manicure and barber The Man and newspapers follow his every move. As an entertainment for the brain-weary this may achieve its purpose.

A Boisterous Fantasy.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, with Earle Foxe, Derelys Perdue, Grace Cunard, Gladys Tennyson, Maryon Aye, Clarissa Selwynne, Pauline French, Marie Astair, Jean Johnson, Buck Black, Maurice Murphy, William Steele, Jean Dumas, Harry Dunkinson and Fay Holderness. Directed by J. G. Blystone, Special music score by Erno Rapee. "Nlp o' Scotch," an Imperial comedy. At the Central."

Original NY Times page

Earle Foxe, the last man on earth, in the flesh.

Some of the original 1924 taglines advertising the film:

• There were women to the right of him, women to the left of him, women everywhere, that wanted to beg, borrow or steal him---
• You've Heard About the Battle of the Century -- and the Great World War -- But Wait Until You See the Battle of All Time That the Girls Put Up for THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
• A fantastic novelty with 1000 beautiful girls assembled from all parts of the world.
• THE UNITED STATES MALE GOES ON THE AUCTION BLOCK (original ad all caps)
• He's all there is -- there isn't any more!
• Laugh? Mah-mah! You'll hold your sides and shriek until the heavens ring! You'll howl with joy until you choke. WOW! Oh, sweet, singing elephants. Oh, dancing, prancing nightingales, wait till you see the greatest comedy sensation of the season, but don't -- for the love of pink-toed sea-serpents -- miss "THE LAST MAN ON EARTH."
• A fantastic novelty with one thousand beautiful girls assembled from all parts of the world. It's different. See it.



Derelys Perdue, starred as "Hattie"

• He Had So Many Sweethearts He Did Not Know What to Do

Comparing the novelette to the NY Times review of the film, it is interesting how much comedic, and exploitative, artistic license was taken by Fox Films!  It is also worth noting how the early 1920's envisioned the future.  A relatively quick internet search was unable to find any online examples, but a full set of still photography from the film exists today in the 20th Century Fox Photo Archives.  From memory, the images display a meager production, but not unlike many of the films of its day.  It is possible that limited directorial vision hindered the scale of the production.  The only particularly noteworthy visual aspects were that the 1920's wardrobe department guessed correctly by costuming the women of the 1960's in miniskirts!

Gladys Tennyson, starred as the gangster, "Frisco Kate"

It is not entirely fair to judge the shortcomings of a futuristic film that preceded METROPOLIS (1927).  The German Expressionist masterpiece is easily the most influential science fiction film ever, defining through to the present day, what the future would look like.  Also, William Fox, ever the businessman, must have known that there was no clear example that scientifiction, as it would have been called in the 1920's, would create a stir at the box office.  Investing a large amount of money in unproven thematic territory was not the Fox Films way of doing business.  Even METROPOLIS (1927) was a box office bomb, and science fiction films didn't have their heyday for decades to come.

THE WIZARD (1927) lives on today in a remade, and easily available film, as DR. RENAULT'S SECRET (1942).  THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1924) was given the same chance for survival when William Fox decided to revisit the source material for an all talking, all singing, all dancing, sci-fi, musical comedy extravaganza: IT'S GREAT TO BE ALIVE (1933)!  Sadly, this film shares the same fate as its earlier silent version, but there are even more tantalizing pieces of that production still available today!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Treasure Island - "X" marked the spot?!

The history books have not been kind to Maurice Tourneur.  It is not the fault of the authors or cinema researchers; a large amount of Tourneur's films are lost today.  The only hints available for the films that have slipped through the cracks are from original reviews and original promotional items.  The world will probably never see THE LUNATICS (1913), his rendition of Edgar Allan Poe's The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether, where inmates violently take over an insane asylum.  The world has also been robbed of his film, WHILE PARIS SLEEPS (1923), starring Lon Chaney, Sr. in the lead role as cinema's first ever mad wax figure sculptor.  In fact, Tourneur displayed an affinity for working with a wide range of genres, a gift for technical ingenuity and cinematic vision, but one of the running elements throughout his career were the sadistic, twisted themes he was inspired by on Paris' Grand Guignol stage.  So there is an implication that his lost films often revisit these concepts, even if the facts often remain frustratingly illusive.

After several years working extra roles in Hollywood, Lon Chaney, Sr. truly gained the film world's attention with his role in the film, THE MIRACLE MAN (1919).  As what would be known as a terrific working relationship between Chaney and director Tod Browning began, Chaney and Maurice Tourneur concurrently began to work together for a series of films, too.  In hindsight looking at these two artists' careers, they must have agreed on much in their world, from how they viewed worthwhile storytelling, to feeling that the studio system, and the Hollywood social circles, were not within their comfort zones.

Tourneur and Chaney worked together on VICTORY (1919), based on Joseph Conrad's novel of the same name.   This film is available on DVD and is an absolute must-see!  Chaney played a brutal and lusting pirate, and Tourneur created such dramatic tension and implied horror amongst beautifully lit and framed scenes.  If there is a single example of why it is a crime that any of the film collaborations between these two artists are lost, this film explains it all!   Directly following up this production, the two shot WHILE PARIS SLEEPS (1923), but the film was oddly shelved for several years until Chaney was established as box office gold.  Completing their working relationship together, Maurice Tourneur produced his own version of  TREASURE ISLAND (1920).  It is said, and photographs from the film prove, that Chaney appeared in heavy makeup, allowing him to be cast as multiple roles unrelated to each other.  This film hasn't been seen by human eyeballs in multiple generations.

A still from VICTORY (1919)

It is strictly conjecture to imagine if the two actually talked about Tourneur's personal experiences attending the Grand Guignol in his formative years in France.  While Chaney would forever be synonymous with the twisted faces and bodies he created for THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925/29) and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923), the majority of his roles would often be more complex than the gruesome, tongue in cheek gore being displayed in the Paris theatre.  Tourneur anticipated the horror genre, and the horror director, by decades, but was in no way limited to the subject.  He is also credited as filming one of the first gangster movies ever, and imaginatively exploring film language as D.W. Griffith's peer, if not technical superior.

Almost mirroring each other, Tourneur became frustrated with the constraints of the studio system, and departed for France midway through completion of the MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1929), and Chaney would socially withdraw from Hollywood by going fishing in the wilderness with his family saying, "Between pictures, there is no Lon Chaney."

That's the back story on the cinematic relationship between Lon Chaney, Sr.  and Maurice Tourneur.  And then...  I was randomly searching on eBay and lo and behold, look at the auction I stumbled upon:

The following is the back and forth conversation I had via eBay with the auction's seller.  I've included dates and times so that you can get a sense of my anticipation:

From me on Dec-07-11 17:25:48 PST:

You don't still happen to have the film, in as bad quality as it was, in your possession, do you? There have been multiple version of the story filmed so I wonder if it was definitely this version of the version with Wallace Beery instead. Any info would be much appreciated! I'm a huge Maurice Tourneur and Lon Chaney, Sr. fan, and this film for this movie is somewhere between lost and really rare!

thanks!

From them on Dec-07-11 05:43 PM:

I gave the film to a friend of mine. I was going to pitch it but he wanted it. I tried watching it but there was no sound and the quality was really really bad. I can't believe the price this poster is going for. It's just two guys bidding. They must be nuts!!!!

From me on Dec-07-11 19:15:57 PST:

It was a video? Or a film print? I really would love to see a copy of this!!! If you can ask your friend to contact me, or give me his/her contact, I'd gladly pay them for their time and effort for a copy!

And congratulations on the winning bid price of the poster!

thanks again! :)

From them on Dec-07-11 07:35 PM:

no it was a old film. we found these posters and that film in a house that we cleaned out. the film had a old rotten smell like old vinegar. it was horrible. i played it and it had no sound and the quality was poor so i was going to throw it out but he wanted it so i gave it to him

From me on Dec-07-11 19:43:11 PST:

I really would be willing to pay your friend money for the print! I'm a huge fan of the director Maurice Tourneur and one of the main actors, Lon Chaney, Sr. I would need to find out more information regarding the print, especially if this is nitrate.. you could both be handling dangerous materials! Please ask them to contact me!

From them on Dec-07-11 07:48 PM:

alright i'll tell him. i figured it was dangerous that's why i pitched it. i've heard stories about old movie houses burning down from that stuff

From me on Dec-07-11 19:58:32 PST:

Great! Yes, the number one thing is it is a safety issue for anyone near the thing! I used to work in a film archive and basically what he's storing is equal to dynamite! And please tell him I live in NYC and have some contact with various film houses and can possibly get it transferred to a safer film stock and have the nitrate film disposed of properly. As a film fan, I am desperate to see this film!

From them on Dec-07-11 08:02 PM:

alright i'll tell him

From me on Dec-12-11 14:49:15 PST

Hello,

Just touching base. I've been in contact with a few film preservation people, but I'm hesitant to make any major actions or research before I hear from either you or your friend. There are multiple questions and possibilities, such as could this be the early 30s Treasure Island missing its accompanying sound discs (if it was even issued in that format), or definitely the Maurice Tourneur production. Also, If that's definitely what it is, is it complete or only a partial film. I've got a friend who can be easily be in contact with Lon Chaney's estate, and would like to present this to them, but as I said, I'm hesitant until I hear from you guys.

Thanks again!

From them on Dec-12-11 04:34 PM: 

I'm sorry for not getting back with you. I talked to my friend and he pitched out the film shortly after I gave it to him which was back in the summer. He heard the same thing I did about it being dangerous so he got rid of it. Thanks

From me on Dec-12-11 18:10:22 PST:

Oof! That is horrendous news! If if somehow turns out your friend thought he threw it out, but it's underneath something or, or, anything really! I know lots of people that would be extremely interested to see this film and probably pay the costly restoration fees!

From them on Dec-12-11 06:31 PM:

why would anyone want this? surely there are many other high quality copies out there. this wasn't even hardly viewable. it had no sound and you couldn't hardly make out any picture

From me on Dec-12-11 19:16:17 PST:

 Here's the official(ish) word on the matter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island_%281920_film%29

I don't even know how much a thing like this would cost honestly. I just know I am, or was, serious about it not being lost forever to film students and historians. 

From them on Dec-12-11 07:19 PM:

so you're telling me that i had the only copy of this film to exist????

From me on Dec-12-11 18:57:45 PST:

It's not commercially available. Supposedly there are private collectors who go after things like this so they can boast to themselves that they have the only copy. So there might be a copy in the hands of someone, but these kinds of films deserve to be restored and shown to the world. Maurice Tourneur is a virtually lost filmmaker himself, he's never been given the proper credit for his innovations in the early years of film history because so much of his early catalog lost. Plus, this is a incredibly rare and interesting performance (or two) of a young Lon Chaney. Does this silent film from 1920 exist elsewhere? Maybe? But not that I, or the general public, have access to. The same is said about films like London After Midnight.

Again, I don't know to what extent of deterioration the film was in, but you'd be surprised what proper film restoration can accomplish. It would have taken major grants or investors, but not out of the question either since I've got a lot of contacts.

From them on Dec-12-11 07:25 PM:

wow that's interesting. i can't believe i had something that rare in my hands. me and a friend of mine cleaned out a house back in the summer and found these items. i figured the poster was worth something but i had no idea that film was worth anything. well i shouldn't say that i figured it might have been worth a little bit but had no idea it was that historically significant like you saying and i knew it was dangerous to be around is why i threw it away. wow that's amazing i wish i would have kept it now

From me on Dec-12-11 19:33:44 PST:

Drown our sorrows, indeed.

Same here!!! If it was truly what we think it was, (and it's possible it wasn't, or not in its entirety) I would have been proud to even just be involved with 'the find' for history's sake! I don't have a clue what the market value on such an oddity would be, but newsworthy for sure! And me, well I'm covered in tattooed portraits of Lon Chaney, Sr. from some of his many movie roles and couldn't be more honored to facilitate this film coming back into the world! Was the film multiple reels? Any idea who owned the house once upon a time? Was it an old film projectionist? I wonder what he could have in the basement or buried in the backyard?! haha

From them on Dec-13-11 06:55 AM:

it was a house in columbus ohio. my friend runs ads to do house cleanouts and we found this in the basement. it was a boxfull of film. i can't remember how many reels there were i only looked at one reel. it could have been on multiple reels or there could have been other film in there. wow im sort of bummed out now. i don't know if i want to tell my friend or not

From me on Dec-12-11 19:24:20 PST:

The only OFFICIALLY KNOWN copy, yes!!!!!

From them on Dec-13-11 06:56 AM: 

and i threw it in the trash. amazing

Thunderstruck

Lon Chaney would proclaim, "between pictures, there is no Lon Chaney", and escape Hollywood for his cabin in the woods. That may not have been entirely true, he was still aware of the goings-on in Hollywood with an eye on upcoming talent. He may have not wanted his son, Creighton, to follow in his footsteps, but that wasn't to say he couldn't pass on his legacy to a fellow actor.

Some of Chaney's best work is when he had final script approval, making his films not just Chaney vehicles but in all but name, Chaney productions. One of his biggest grievances was having to work in films with stars with inflated egos. Both these reasons contribute to why HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923) is a masterpiece, and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) is sadly flawed.

It's interesting to note that as the 1920's stretched on, you can see that the roles the Man of 1,000 Faces were cast, were aging along with him. He was able to make himself older for films like MR. WU (1927), but apparently it was significantly more of a feat to play parts of younger roles. Or at least, he wasn't given the opportunity to attempt younger roles.

In WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1928), he plays an aging beat cop in love with a young girl. It's not perverse, but it's getting there. In LAUGH CLOWN LAUGH (1928), he literally raises from childhood the girl he falls in love with. WEST OF ZANZIBAR (1928) features Chaney unaware that he is in fact torturing a girl who is his daughter! TELL IT TO THE MARINES (1926) featured Chaney as a high ranking marine in love with a girl who was too young for him and he knew it. He forfeited her to William Haines. Notice the running theme?

Age was not the alienating factor in earlier films from 1919-1925, such as THE PENALTY (1921), SHADOWS (1922), OUTSIDE THE LAW (1920), HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923) or even as late as PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) and HE WHO GETS SLAPPED (1925).

In WHERE EAST IS EAST (1929), he plays the protective father figure of Lupe Velez. Even though Chaney is the big name on the bill, he virtually plays support to showcase the incredible talent of the two younger actors. Lupe is romantically wrapped up with James Murray. Just a year or two earlier, James Murray was a background actor, picked out of obscurity by King Vidor for his masterpiece THE CROWD (1926).  Lon Chaney probably saw this film, and requested to work with the young, promising actor. THE CROWD (1926) remains one of the most emotional, powerful films ever made. It is completely character driven and at times painfully hard to watch. We can see the ageless human drive to succeed at life applies to all ages. I'm sure Lon Chaney saw this film and thought, truly, "A little laugh, a little tear."

This new character set up, of Chaney as troubled, but positive father figure, was a new chapter in his career. Finding the right dynamic of actors to be paired with was the challenge. But in watching WHERE EAST IS EAST (1929), it is obvious he found it in Lupe Velez. She virtually leaps off the screen with innocent, hilarious energy. In a Chaney film, that would never have happened if he didn't agree to it. Including James Murray in not one, but two, follow up films after WHERE EAST IS EAST (1929), is even more telling into his respect for his fellow actor.

Regrettably, THUNDER (1929) is a lost film. But it featured a similar set up of Chaney as a father figure, this time to James Murray. We will probably never know if this is a classic or not. But from behind the scenes, how Chaney was attempting to steer his career is very interesting. There is always talk about how if he hadn't died, he would have played Dracula, would have been the obvious choice for Frankenstein, etc... While that may have been true, it is very interesting to consider that he may have continued to identify raw talent and shape individuals, like James Murray, to take the roles he was unable to play as an aging actor. Chaney did not believe in just making faces and pretending to be an amputee, etc., he played flesh and blood characters who were flawed and hurting. I believe James Murray possibly viewed him as guide in Hollywood. Losing Chaney so suddenly may have contributed to an already mentally troubled Murray, jumping into the Hudson River and committing suicide in 1936.

There are lots of unanswered questions. But the hunt for lost and forgotten truth is as inherent a human quality as any role played by Lon Chaney, Sr.

ULTRA MADNESS!

Eiji Tsuburaya got his start in filmmaking as the cameraman for A PAGE OF MADNESS (1926), a powerful re-imagining of one of the most important German Expressionist films ever.  Jump forward 40 years, and the same man created ULTRA Q (1966-67), a truly striking Japanese interpretation of one of the most popular television series ever.  These works display a culture that looked beyond its borders for inspiration, and was able to learn, excel, and create works of incredible art that stand firmly on their own.

The story I heard, is that the director, Teinosuke Kinugasa, read about Robert Wiene's THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1919), but was unable to see the film as it wasn't coming to Japan at that time.  So sight unseen, he attempted to make his own version, taking liberties with what he imagined German Expressionist films might look like.  If the story's true, Teinosuke may have also pieced together his own script that resembled a newspaper review of the original German film.  As opposed to Caligari, this Japanese film focuses on a mother who goes mad and drowns her baby.  She is sent to an insane asylum, and her grieving husband decides to take a job in the asylum as a janitor so he can at least be near her.  Surrounded by the mentally unstable, the janitor begins to lose his mind, too.

I don't know how true the story of the film's inspiration came about actually is, but the man I bought my vhs copy from years ago, also said that the one remaining print of the film was only available to us today because the director hid the print in a water-tight container in a rice paddy during the Allied Forces' bombardment of Japan during WW2!  Like I said, questionable story, but exciting none the less!

Jumping ahead quite a bit, Tsuburaya moved from cameraman to special effects wizard, responsible for GODZILLA (1954) and all the subsequent kaiju, or giant monster, films.   He was able to bring to fruition a vision he had: THE TWILIGHT ZONE (1959-1966)-meets-kaiju television series, called ULTRA Q (1966-1967).  ULTRA Q incorporated a mixture of children's stories, adult themes, science fiction subject matter, hepcat 1960's soundtracks, really imaginative plot lines and perhaps most importantly, monsters that etch themselves deeply into your mind once you see them in action!

At the time, the Tsuburaya's show was a massive hit in Japan, evolving into the runaway success series, ULTRAMAN (1966).  But you'd never know the scale of the ULTRA Q craze today, since it has never been fully translated into English or sold officially to the western world!  Here's a link to one episode, "The Gift from Space", that actually has been translated:  Ultra Q episode 3

There is an entire ULTRA Q series breakdown by episode in English, here, which is very helpful to explain some of the details of all the still untranslated ULTRA Q tales.

Over time many of the kaiju monsters have become larger than life.  But the full breadth of Eiji Tsuburaya's work, including A PAGE OF MADNESS and ULTRA Q, still deserves much more attention.  Inspiration is a two-way street.

Eiji Tsuburaya with some of the cast and creations from Ultra Q.