Classic movie site with rare images, original ads, and behind-the-scenes photos, with informative and insightful commentary. We like to have fun with movies!
Archive and Links
grbrpix@aol.com
Search Index Here




Friday, June 22, 2018

Could This One Have Brought Jack Back?


Gilbert Evokes Chaney in The Phantom Of Paris (1931)

Plenty of star dust clung to John Gilbert as he ventured into talkies, evidenced by dual-role-ing here, Jack as escape artist who beats a murder sentence to pose as the killed man and place guilt where it belongs. The opener reel grabs: Gilbert wriggling way from a water trap like one that had doomed real-life Houdini, then besting gendarme Lewis Stone at handcuffs. You'd like to think The Phantom Of Paris would bring Jack back, hopeful trade ads having pointed to each of his and said this one's the charm, but no, all of Gilberts after His Glorious Night lost money except Queen Christina, which was, of course, more a "Garbo" than a "Gilbert." JG does tricks with his voice to effect assumed identity, a conceit admittedly hard to accept as the face is identical but for raffish goatee. Anyway, it scuttled (or should have) doubts of Jack's ability to talk with variety and conviction. If Chaney could make sound success of The Unholy Three, why not The Phantom Of Paris for Gilbert?


Oh well, I'd have suspended disbelief in 1931 just as I did in 2016. There's still no talking me into notion that MGM was sabotaging Gilbert with pictures deliberately bad. If you look at what Leo handed Ramon Novarro, William Haines, and Buster Keaton in a same year, The Phantom Of Paris looks Citizen Kane-ish. No use trying to figure why Gilbert sunk so utterly; we'd have to know a public's mood circa early-30's better than is possible at 85 year distance. A question occurs to me, then: How many John Gilbert fans stayed loyal after slippage began? Has anyone seen vintage scrapbooks representing his talkie period? There were/are always ones to champion an underdog. I'd like knowing how much fan mail Jack received around Phantom's time. Did he ever read letters for reassurance, or present them to execs as evidence that some still cared? Whatever --- the numbers spoke loudest, and they were writ in red. No matter how much we enjoy The Phantom Of Paris, Downstairs, and even saucy pre-code Fast Workers, there was just no surviving such relentless rentals loss.

3 Comments:

Blogger DBenson said...

In "Silent Clowns", Walter Kerr posited that the type of films were a factor: Silence not only concealed voices, but made possible a kind of fantasy world that collapsed with sound. It was an acute problem for silent comedians, but even a straight actor with an excellent voice might not survive if the movie around him was suddenly rendered stiff and hollow by sound.

He cites Ronald Colman as a successful transition, making his sound debut not as the dashing dream lover but as the modern and witty Bulldog Drummond. In time, the technology and experience would be there for assured, old-style fantasy in talkie mode. There'd be a market for Flynn's Fairbanksian swashbuckers, but it coexisted with depression grit and snappy penthouse banter.

It sounds like "Phantom of Paris" was intelligently conceived to transition Gilbert, but it's possible his real baggage was that world of glamorous silent fantasy. Despite voice and acting chops, maybe audiences simply had trouble accepting him in a new universe -- the old problem of typecasting. Chaney had the advantage of being a famous chameleon whose films were all over the map. Audiences expected to be surprised.

It's worth noting that when Chaplin confronted sound, he didn't take the obvious course of making the Tramp a mute in a talking world. EVERYBODY continued to speak via intertitles, and there was no ambient real sound -- just music and specific effects. He kept the Tramp's world intact. In "The Great Dictator" his character resembles the Tramp, but clearly is not. He's a Jewish barber in Europe, with a life and history; not the magical cypher the Tramp was.

6:17 PM  
Blogger radiotelefonia said...

Based on the information and production dates supplied by Juan B. Heinink and Robert G. Dickson, PHANTOM OF PARIS was first filmed by MGM in its Spanish language version. The English version with John Gilbert was filmed later.

4:52 PM  
Blogger Reg Hartt said...

I remember reading a biography of John Gilbert that stated Marcus Loew signed him to a contract to keep him at MGM that pretty much doomed his pictures to not being able to show a profit.

When it comes down to it who understands the pulse of the public? Those MGM talkies with Buster Keaton made more money than did Buster's silent features. That, more than anything else, was the nail in Buster's coffin.

The thing was his MGM talkies had better distribution. It was not about the quality of the movies themselves. Had Keaton followed Chaplin's advice and gone independent he still needed his films to be distributed.

I have done many programs I was certain would hit big that did not and many that were designed as throwaways that hit huge. That's show business.

7:57 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

grbrpix@aol.com
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • May 2008
  • June 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • December 2008
  • January 2009
  • February 2009
  • March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009
  • January 2010
  • February 2010
  • March 2010
  • April 2010
  • May 2010
  • June 2010
  • July 2010
  • August 2010
  • September 2010
  • October 2010
  • November 2010
  • December 2010
  • January 2011
  • February 2011
  • March 2011
  • April 2011
  • May 2011
  • June 2011
  • July 2011
  • August 2011
  • September 2011
  • October 2011
  • November 2011
  • December 2011
  • January 2012
  • February 2012
  • March 2012
  • April 2012
  • May 2012
  • June 2012
  • July 2012
  • August 2012
  • September 2012
  • October 2012
  • November 2012
  • December 2012
  • January 2013
  • February 2013
  • March 2013
  • April 2013
  • May 2013
  • June 2013
  • July 2013
  • August 2013
  • September 2013
  • October 2013
  • November 2013
  • December 2013
  • January 2014
  • February 2014
  • March 2014
  • April 2014
  • May 2014
  • June 2014
  • July 2014
  • August 2014
  • September 2014
  • October 2014
  • November 2014
  • December 2014
  • January 2015
  • February 2015
  • March 2015
  • April 2015
  • May 2015
  • June 2015
  • July 2015
  • August 2015
  • September 2015
  • October 2015
  • November 2015
  • December 2015
  • January 2016
  • February 2016
  • March 2016
  • April 2016
  • May 2016
  • June 2016
  • July 2016
  • August 2016
  • September 2016
  • October 2016
  • November 2016
  • December 2016
  • January 2017
  • February 2017
  • March 2017
  • April 2017
  • May 2017
  • June 2017
  • July 2017
  • August 2017
  • September 2017
  • October 2017
  • November 2017
  • December 2017
  • January 2018
  • February 2018
  • March 2018
  • April 2018
  • May 2018
  • June 2018
  • July 2018
  • August 2018
  • September 2018
  • October 2018
  • November 2018
  • December 2018
  • January 2019
  • February 2019
  • March 2019
  • April 2019
  • May 2019
  • June 2019
  • July 2019
  • August 2019
  • September 2019
  • October 2019
  • November 2019
  • December 2019
  • January 2020
  • February 2020
  • March 2020
  • April 2020
  • May 2020
  • June 2020
  • July 2020
  • August 2020
  • September 2020
  • October 2020
  • November 2020
  • December 2020
  • January 2021
  • February 2021
  • March 2021
  • April 2021
  • May 2021
  • June 2021
  • July 2021
  • August 2021
  • September 2021
  • October 2021
  • November 2021
  • December 2021
  • January 2022
  • February 2022
  • March 2022
  • April 2022
  • May 2022
  • June 2022
  • July 2022
  • August 2022
  • September 2022
  • October 2022
  • November 2022
  • December 2022
  • January 2023
  • February 2023
  • March 2023
  • April 2023
  • May 2023
  • June 2023
  • July 2023
  • August 2023
  • September 2023
  • October 2023
  • November 2023
  • December 2023
  • January 2024
  • February 2024
  • March 2024