dynamite ( 1929 film )
1929 movie ad dynamite cecil b. demille rare mgm film - original print ad
urltoken 1929 movie ad dynamite cecil b. demille rare mgm film - original print ad: entertainment collectibles
charles bickford, cecil b. demille, and kay johnson during production of dynamite, 1929
charles bickford, cecil b. demille, and kay johnson during production of dynamite, 1929
joel mccrea & julia faye 1929 cecil b. demille film
dynamite
- original photo | films, originals and entertainment
lina basquette, cecil b. demille, tom keene (actor), dynamite (1929 film), beulah marie dix
film title is shown as the word dynamite written on a box of... .. dynamite, after being set down by a worker .
film double dynamite released. it had been held back by producer howard hughes for three years .
home cecil b. demille photographs charles bickford, cecil b. demille, and kay johnson during production of dynamite, 1929
film title is shown as the word dynamite written on a box of... .. dynamite, after being set down by a worker. see more »
charles bickford, cecil b. demille, and kay johnson during production of dynamite, 1929: : cecil b. demille photographs
charles bickford, director cecil b. demille, and kay johnson during production of dynamite, 1929. 8x10 b & w photographic print .
studio: cecil b. demille productions a metro - goldwyn - mayer picture premiered: july 25, 1929, carthay circle theater in los angeles released: december 13, 1929
“demille defends hokum. ” los angeles times, november 24, 1929, p. 32 .
crew: (b & w) extract of a review from 1929. running time: 128 min .
on dynamite (1929), his first sound film, demille freed the camera from a soundproof booth, hastening the construction of the first camera “blimp, ” as well as implementing a makeshift microphone boom. sound could not yet be mixed, so demille put two microphones on a set .
preserved from a 35mm nitrate print. laboratory services by film technology company, inc. , the stanford theatre film laboratory .
film the story of mankind released. chico, harpo and groucho appear in this film, but not together in one scene
we don' t have enough data to suggest any movies based on dynamite. you can help by rating movies you' ve seen .
since, at that time, no talking picture was complete without a song. her first effort ,
dynamite man, i love you ,
was rejected as was, according to legend, one called ,
dynamite, dynamite, blow my sweet one back to me .
finally parker concocted
how am i to know ?
which, set to music by jack king, is sung during a prison house scene .
there are no featured audience reviews yet. click the link below to see what others say about the hollywood revue of 1929 !
the new entertainment vitamin, 1928–1929 .
history of the american cinema. . retrieved july 09, 2018 from urltoken urltoken
the godless girl (1928) is a drama film directed by cecil b. demille, shown for years as his last completely silent film .
last month, it also collected the richest film prize in australia, the $ 100, 000 cinefest oz film prize, awarded in busselton in wa .
it won the audience award at the adelaide film festival last october, the youth jury prize and grand jury prize at the seattle film festival in september 2015, and the age critics prize at the melbourne international film festival in august 2016 .
film yours for the asking released. groucho is an uncredited extra in this .
“cecil demille will rehearse the cast of dynamite until it is letter perfect. this is the first time he has directed dialogue rehearsals since he left broadway sixteen years ago. ”
please note: purchase of a ticket to either the 4: 00 p. m. or 7: 00 p. m. screening of dynamite allows admission to both .
the new entertainment vitamin, 1928–1929 .
history of the american cinema. . encyclopedia. com. (july 9, 2018). urltoken
– edwin schallert, “spectacle and thrill effects lend vivid interest to demille feature, ” los angeles times, p. h2 (july 21, 1929 )
mgm' s 1929 breakthrough was the broadway melody. speaking from the stage of the chinese theater in hollywood, the director harry beaumont told his audience ,
film la fiesta de santa barbara released. harpo' s wig can be seen in technicolor
restored by ucla film & television archive, with funding from the cecil b. demille foundation .
founded in 1999, senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional, high quality film - related content on the internet .
it was fun ,
says rosemary myers, a first - time film director but respected veteran of the theatre .
it was a cross between a film set and a party .
the first feature to be completed at the upgraded long island facility was the letter (1929), adapted from a somerset maugham play. it was to be the new look of paramount pictures: a prestigious stage property, a leading lady of broadway (jeanne eagels had defined sadie thompson in maugham' s rain), and a cosmopolitan new york director (jean de limur). it was mostly talking but had music - only scenes. but neither this film nor its follow - up, jealousy (dir. de limur, 1929), did good business. eagels' s career ended tragically after a heroin overdose later in 1929. 42
“deadline for film dirt. ” variety, june 13, 1933, i, p. 6 .
the library of congress / fiaf american silent feature film survival catalog: .. the warrens of virginia
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. see what’s now showing
named after cecil b. demille, these annual awards honours student achievement in film production, television & broadcast journalism, and public relations & advertising at the dodge college of film and media arts, chapman university
kennedy arrived in los angeles to confer with swanson during february 1929. they decided to shelve the project and write off the $ 750, 000 that kennedy had invested. evidently someone forgot to tell united artists. an advertisement in film daily on 28 february 1929 featured joseph schenck boldly pitching sound in the doomed film :
gloria swanson, talking and singing in queen kelly, vitalizes the drama .
swanson and goulding convinced kennedy to finance a new all - talkie to be called the love years. it was written and directed quickly by goulding and released as the trespasser in october 1929. it became one of swanson' s biggest hits. the fan magazines adored her spunkiness and the fact that she took numerous voice lessons in order to sing the theme song
love .
a growing source of silent era film information. this listing is from the progressive silent film list by carl bennett. copyright © 1999 - 2018 by carl bennett and the silent era company. all rights reserved .
anton karl kozlovic is a graduate of the australian film, television & radio school (aftrs) and has a phd about celluloid religion and the biblical cinema of cecil b. demille from flinders university, australia. he publishes predominantly in the religion - and - film field and has guest edited the “exploring religion and popular film” special issue of the australian religion studies review (2008, vol. 21, no. 3) and has multiple film entries within the encyclopedia of religion and film and the encyclopedia of the bible and its reception .
boorman, john, tom luddy, david thomson, and walter donohue, eds. projections 4: film - makers on film - making. london: faber and faber, 1995, pp. 23 - 24 .
film daily made one of its keenest critical assessments about two young stage players with distinctive speaking styles who were featured in the hole in the wall (dir. robert florey, 1929) .
claudette colbert … and edward g. robinson … are immense, their voices register beautifully ,
wrote harrower. 49
in
dynamite ,
cecil b. de mille' s first entry in the talking picture field, this producer evidently is undaunted by the vocal angle of his film, for he pursues much the same tactics he did in his silent contributions. as in the past, he proves himself to be a master of technical view full article in timesmachine »
wall, james m. “interview with geoffrey shurlock. ” louis b. mayer library, american film institute .
it is a talking and singing film free from irritating outpourings of coarse slang or a tedious, sobbing romance .
the film was very popular in the u. s. s. r. and in germany, though it was a box office disaster in the us. when released in august 1928 in its silent film version, it was not a success. demille attributed the film’s failure to its already outmoded position in the transition from silent to sound cinema. nor did it recover more than two - third of its production costs when released in a so - called
goat gland
version with the addition of a final talkie reel in 1929 .
baxter, peter. just watch: sternberg, paramount, and america. london: british film institute, 1993 .
another success story was alibi (1929), directed by roland west, an independent releasing through ua. west also cowrote the screenplay with the veteran writer c. gardner sullivan. the surprisingly violent story was regarded as harsh but realistic by critics, and chester morris was nominated for an oscar for his performance as a tough ex - convict. in 1929 west returned with the bat whispers, another low - budget mystery thriller .
cecilia de mille presley, vice - chairman for the national film preservation foundation, has been a leading activist for the preservation of our cinematic history for many years. she produces documentaries, is a long - time benefactor to the academy of motion picture arts and sciences; currently serves on the boards of the american film institute, the chapman university school of film and cinema, ucla’s school of film and television; and works with the world society for the protection of animals .
the wickedest movie in the world: how cecil b. demille made the sign of the cross - bright lights film journal
merrick, mollie. “film official tells outlook. ” los angeles times, september 30, 1932, p. 12 .
“musical duel to be seen in demille film. ” los angeles times, september 11, 1932, p. b11 .
d’arc, james v. “cecil b. demille goes to hollywood, ” in projections 8: film - makers on film - making, edited by john boorman and walter donohue, 384 - 396. london: faber and faber, 1998 .
blaetz, robin. strategies of containment: joan of arc in film. new york university, phd thesis, 1989 .
noah, sara. historical figures in film: the celluloid christ. san jose state university, ma thesis, 1993 .
pomeroy' s downfall seems attributable partly to his own hubris, but it seems that he was also emulating the
erpi - men
in their quest for secrecy and self - aggrandizement. he resigned from paramount in january 1929 .
his desire to direct is said to be the cause of controversy ,
reported the laconic film daily. 41
d. w. griffith' s waning career waned a little more when lady of the pavements (1929) came out. it was a part - talkie, with some singing scenes. critics liked the energetic star, lupe velez, but were indifferent to griffith' s direction. joseph schenck previewed the film extensively around the country before its new york premiere in order to forestall the inevitable effects of the bad reviews. part of the problem was technical. ua' s disc pressing was botched, resulting in unintelligible voices. writing in january 1929, griffith expressed optimism :
cecil b. demille thought silent movies were here to stay but by 1929, there was no doubt he would have to adjust. later he looked back on the changes it wrought :
to leaf through my shooting script for
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
i don' t know how many times i' ve watched it but napoleon dynamite still gets me ,
says whittet, name - checking the film that has most often been name - checked by people who seek a point of reference for girl asleep .
it' s that mix of a visual world alongside a character who is just so vivid and a really simple story .
show boat received bad notices when it opened in new york in april 1929. kann assailed the director, harry pollard, in a front - page editorial for letting the film grow to its 12, 400 - foot length .
practically every major sequence is drawn out and made unnecessarily repetitious to the point of fatigue .
other reviews described it as a long and
draggy
melodrama. like all universal productions, the film was also released in a silent version. 93
paramount rushed its maurice chevalier vehicle, innocents of paris (dir. richard wallace, 1929) into production. the film was one of the studio' s top grossers for the year. chevalier' s assertive personality, his endearing gallicisms, his almost too - french accent, and his signature tune
louise
made the otherwise ordinary film a one - man tour de force. chevalier had been making films in france since 1908, so he was totally at ease before the camera. 47
the ucla film and television archive later restored the film' s sound version, in which dialogue scenes were added to the final reel, a film that was one of demille' s first part - sound efforts. actor fritz feld filmed the sound sequences without demille' s supervision since demille had already broken his contract with pathé, and signed with metro - goldwyn - mayer. [ 1 ]
anonymous. the de mille dynasty exhibition: a century of theatre, film and dance. los angeles: the americana museum, 1985 .
steidel, debra eve. that her soul may remain pure: women in american silent film. american university, ma thesis, 1989 .
lucky star (dir. frank borzage, 1929) was released in its part - talking version. it is a melodrama about two war veterans (charles farrell and guinn
big boy
williams) competing for the heart of janet gaynor .
last two reels [ of ] dialogue, with farrell and gaynor voices [ were ] just fair ,
said jack harrower, film daily' s regular reviewer. 35
“cecil b. demille has emerged as a pioneer in effects. he has an amazing grasp of the medium. you may rave at certain phases of the hokum plot that he presents, but the audible screen gives him the opportunity to disclose an entirely new bag of tricks. in unexpectedness and interest, dynamite is a peak. ”
scorsese, martin. “martin scorsese’s guilty pleasures. ” film comment 34, no. 3 (1998): 46 - 48, p. 46 .
his first talkie, dynamite, was advertised in
motion picture herald
as
a drama that digs through the veneer of sex and silks to reach the heart !
dynamite was demille' s first project while under contract at mgm. in 1929, mgm was still releasing most of its talkies with silent versions in order to satisfy those markets that were not yet wired for sound. lt is the silent version that has been preserved for this festival. though one reel shorter, the silent version departs little from its sound counterpart. a
variety
review from the time sums up the complicated plot :
a miner, condemned to death, whom the spoiled society bud has wed in prison on the eve of execution... all to comply with a will, leaving her millions, in order that she may buy another woman' s husband. that the laborer is saved from the gallows at the 11th hour forms the knot which the scenario must untie .
preserved from cecil b. demille' s personal 35mm nitrate print. laboratory services by the stanford theatre film laboratory. special thanks to: cecilia demille presley .
– cecil b. demille to george c. pratt, “interview with cecil b. demille, ” courtesy of george eastman house international museum of photography and film
there' s a wonderful visual inventiveness to the film, too, typified by the scene - setting titles that crop up unexpectedly on objects in the frame .
rivers, jennifer ann. cecil b. demille’s vision of the west: a comparison of history and film. brigham young university, ma thesis, 1996 .
the sign of the cross concludes in tragedy, a downbeat ending for a film released in the worst months of the depression, yet it was a huge hit .
demille had taken a chance in making the film. would the censor boards slash it to ribbons? after a few anxious weeks, reports came in to the src. not one board had cut the so - called “lesbian dance. ” the few who did cut the film concentrated on alligators, apes, and asses’ milk .
pratt, george c. “interview with cecil b. demille. ” hollywood, 1958. unpublished audio tape, george eastman house international museum of photography and film .
the official website dedicated to demille’s work, life and legacy. it contains an extensive biography, filmography, list of awards, photo - gallery and various film links
apostolos - cappadona, diane. “iconography, ” in the routledge companion to religion and film, edited by john lyden, 440 - 464. london: routledge, 2010 .
the canary murder case (dir. malcolm st. clair, 1929) was that rarity, a film with
effective talking sequences .
william powell' s voice and acting were singled out .
as an all - talker, it is far more effective than the silent version .
as a result of his success, powell was officially
elevated to stardom
by paramount. 48 the dour voice and deadpan delivery of the character actor ned sparks added more vocal interest to the casting .
dynamite is a sprawling tale which begins by telling two completely separate stories. we' re first introduced to hagon derk (charles bickford), who has been unjustly convicted of murder and sentenced to die. his little sister katie (muriel mccormac) sobs as they are parted, and the viewer rightly guesses that a man with such feelings for a child is unlikely to be a murderer .
karl has been a journalist at fairfax media since 1999, in a variety of writing and editing roles. karl writes about popular culture with a particular focus on film and television .
palmer, allen w. “cecil b. demille writes america’s history for the 1939 world’s fair. ” film history 5, no. 1 (1993): 36 - 48 .
in this musical revue, mgm introduced its silent - film stars. conrad nagel and jack benny host the event. stars include: buster keaton, joan crawford, and lionel barrymore .
( 1939). like most of the director' s best work, this film possesses an undercurrent of cynicism and bitterness overlaid with sentimentality. written by charles brackett and billy wilder ,
howard hughes' s caddo productions announced in may 1928 that hell' s angels would be finished in time for a september release by united artists. indeed, the film had been nearly completed as a silent with synchronized effects, but hughes realized that it would be old hat next to the new all - talkers appearing from every studio. he hired the stage director james whale to film dialogue scenes at christie' s metropolitan sound studios. he scrapped most of the silent footage except for the outstanding flying stunts. new scenes were recorded by deploying
both microphones and cameras in the air by other planes and balloons .
the release was put off until november, then until 1929. even that proved optimistic. 71
dynamite (1929) also producer madam satan (1930) also producer the squaw man (1931) also producer the sign of the cross (1932) also producer this day and age (1933) also producer four frightened people (1934) also producer cleopatra (1934) also producer the crusades (1935) also producer the plainsman (1937) also producer the buccaneer (1938) also producer union pacific (1939) also producer north west mounted police (1940) also producer reap the wild wind (1942) also producer the story of dr. wassell (1944) also producer unconquered (1947) also producer samson and delilah (1949) also producer the greatest show on earth (1952) also producer the ten commandments (1956) also producer
mark a. vieira is a photographer, film historian, and author of numerous books. see his home page here and his amazon page here for details. he lives in los angeles .
goldburg, peta. “selling jesus: judas the betrayer in film. ” religious education journal of australia 20, no. 2 (2004): 12 - 16, p. 13 .
—–. “ the plainsman (1937): cecil b. demille’s greatest authenticity lapse? ” kinema: a journal for film and audiovisual media 19 (2003): 73 - 86 .
apostolos - cappadona, diane. “iconography, ” in the routledge companion to religion and film, edited by john lyden, 440 - 464. london: routledge, 2010, p. 450 .
pratt, george c. “forty - five years of picture making: an interview with cecil b. demille. ” film history 3, no. 2 (1989): 134 - 145 .
film too many kisses is released with harpo in a supporting role. details are lacking of how he came to be in this, which even seems to pre - date their first real broadway play
dynamite packs a lot of story into its 126 minutes, yet it left me wanting even more; i would have enjoyed seeing more of the gradual development of cynthia and hagon' s feelings, especially as their communication was hampered by his brusque nature. like many good films, it leaves you mulling over the characters; could two people from such disparate backgrounds really make a go of a marriage, and which lifestyle would they choose ?
is it a teen movie? not really, but yes. a family movie? well, kind of, but no. a film for grown - ups? well, maybe, a little .
those who attacked the film bore witness to an artistic feat. demille had told so transporting a story that even isolated elements could be affecting. in 1932, hollywood mastered the art of the sound film. even so, shanghai express, scarface, grand hotel, love me tonight, a farewell to arms, trouble in paradise, and the sign of the cross could not be fully appreciated for the achievements they were. the vocabulary of the critical fraternity was insufficient. no critic could speak with authority on a film’s groundbreaking visual and aural effects. only in retrospect could these works of art be properly appraised .
this was the third in a trilogy of coming - of - age stories ,
explains whittet, who plays greta' s father and a tree - man in the fantasy section of the film .
william fox movietone follies of 1929 also used the two - director method. directed by david butler and william k. wells, the film is a collection of musical acts strung together by a gossamer narrative about a plantation heir (john breeden) who backs a vaudeville revue starring his belle (lola lane). many critics thought stepin fetchit' s dance number stole the show. although the afi catalog cites a technicolor sequence, the trades announced that it was to be shot in multicolor, another two - color process, underwritten by howard hughes, that was supposed to compete with technicolor .
when ua mistakenly charged swanson' s company for erpi fees, her representative wrote back in march 1929 ,
we cannot recognize any indebtedness to the electrical research products company because it is our intention to use the photophone system in connection with the pictures which we shall make in which miss swanson appears .
thus, swanson was the first big star to announce a talking project. 73
kozlovic, anton karl. ‘behold his mighty hand! ’ a critical examination of the biblical cinema of cecil b. demille: a film studies offering to religious education. flinders university, phd thesis, 2009 .
beaumont' s casual mention of the hybrid nature of his film zeroed in on a crucial aspect of sound that would influence dozens of subsequent musicals. integrating the musical setting
naturally
into the story produced the
coherent
musical form which would eventually replace the revue format. (though some of the musical numbers, including
wedding of the painted doll
and
the boy friend ,
are encapsulated sound shorts, introduced by close - up inserts of the turning pages of the playbill .) beaumont carefully pointed out that the labor - intensive talking pictures demanded extra rehearsals. bessie love' s ukulele - playing scene alone took more than three hours to film. the film was a smash and
earned the best gross since the big parade [ 1925 ], and twice as much as any other film of its season .
57
at the present time i believe we have reached a point where an entirely new creation is being perfected—a form of entertainment combining some of the best elements of stage and screen, but distinct from either. i look upon real human interest stories with a natural musical setting as the most fertile field for progress here. … the direction of talking pictures demands much closer attention to detail than the silent film. a sound picture is virtually
made
before its scenes are photographed, for every sequence must be rehearsed until it is perfect before the filming begins. (the broadway melody souvenir program, 1929, yranski collection )
i saw this a couple of times when i was a kid. i remember i enjoyed it, but don' t recall much more than that. it' s hard to believe, but there actually was a time when a movie from 1929 would run on a late night movie. not a special event, not an
oldies
night, just a regularly scheduled, if antique, movie .
conceiving their films as silents with sound tacked on was an increasingly old - fashioned approach which undoubtedly hurt the talking versions of universal' s pictures. moreover, universal' s facilities still lagged behind the competition' s. it was not until february 1929 that the studio built its first fully equipped sound screening room at universal city so that sound tracks
might be heard as they would be played .
85
“demille visualized nero as the menace in the film, ” said elsa lanchester, laughton’s wife. “charles thought him merely funny. demille was shocked by the idea. he had old - fashioned ideas of villains and heroes. ”
kemp, philip. “cecil b (lount) demille, ” in world film directors. volume i: 1890 - 1945, edited by john wakeman, 207 - 222. new york: h. w. wilson, 1987 .
universal' s other films were not impressing the critics. the new york sun called paul leni' s the last warning (1929 )
a curious and rather dull hodgepodge of bad talking sequences and unrelated silent ones .
too many outbursts of shrieking, merely to prove the effects of the audible screen, to cause any spine chilling ,
said the times. and there seemed to be mechanical difficulties :
the sound effects were way off when caught at the colony on broadway, and the dialogue sequences were far from impressive .
95 this would be leni' s only sound film. he died of an infection shortly after its release .
( 1929) is to see at a glance what sound had done to films. the dialogue, typed in red, is the outstanding feature on each page; and some of the dialogue in the first reels seems... painfully bright and brittle, as if we were dinning into the audience what good playwrights we were, now that they could hear as well as see .
despite demille' s low opinion ,
in fact, girl asleep is very un - australian in some respects. it was developed via the hive, a program run by the adelaide film festival with the express intention of fostering filmmaking by people in other areas of the arts .
though the original version disappeared soon after its release, it has been recently restored and re - released on laser disc. the 1929 product contained only traces of the original score and would not be considered a musical by most modern viewers. most of the silent footage was retained, and two talking and singing sequences were added. only two kern songs were included in the film. to preserve some contact with the original production, a two - reel (eighteen - minute) prologue was filmed. in it, carl laemmle and flo ziegfeld make brief remarks. otis harlan, who starred in the film, introduces the stage cast members tess gardella, jules bledsoe, and helen morgan singing five numbers from the show. according to the new york evening journal ,
bledsoe' s rendition of the [
old man river
] number is about the most effective yet recorded on the singing screen .
92
“that was my first contribution of any value to sound pictures, retaining the silent techniques, and combining those techniques with sound. such great, great value, that the moment you put the sound with it, you were back in the stage and all that the stage could give you, and the whole technique of the stage was at your disposal, plus being able to paint on the broad canvas of the silent screen. i brought those two together, and that perhaps is what dynamite did for the world. ”
nagel has the chance to play a complex character who is a bit deeper than your average playboy. his final line ,
that' s that ,
packed a wallop (pun intended, for those who have seen the film) .
the advertising campaign for the sign of the cross gave the impression that paramount pictures was having a gay old time. this film was the first in hollywood history to feature homosexual characters in its ads; they were painted by dan sayre groesbeck .
grace, pamela. “gospel truth? : from cecil b. demille to nicholas ray, ” in a companion to literature and film, edited by robert stam and alessandra raengo, 46 - 57. malden, ma: blackwell, 2004 .
after the fire destroyed paramount' s hollywood soundstages in january 1928, roy pomeroy and the engineers relocated to the paramount eastern studios in astoria to battle numerous technical problems with sound. burlesque, a drama which was to have been paramount' s first talkie, was postponed repeatedly. edmund goulding began shooting it at astoria, but eventually the project was transferred to hollywood. at the time, pomeroy said he was experimenting with recording the sound on a separate film - strip, then transferring it to disc. 36 burlesque was eventually released in 1929 as the dance of life, codirected by john cromwell and edward sutherland (although victor fleming, uncredited, had a hand in it as well) .
another immigrant from the east coast also played a small role in the making of the film. algonquin table wit dorothy parker was at mgm working on a script that was never made. at loose ends, she was recruited to write a song for
as was typical with hollywood casting at that time, demille turned to broadway for some of his actors. the hot - tempered star charles bickford began his decades - long film career playing the condemned man while kay johnson, star of the stage version of
d’arc, james vincent. 1986. two articles: “darryl f. zanuck’s brigham young: a film in context and “ ‘so let it be written…’ — the creation of cecil b. demille’s autobiography ”. brigham young university, phd thesis, 1986 .
once the los angeles plant was restored, the bulk of paramount' s production was based there in the capable hands of reliable directors like dorothy arzner. she was responsible for easing clara row into the talkies with the wild party (1929). bow played a coed who spars with, but ends up engaged to, her professor, fredric march. the sound quality was uneven, but row' s voice was intelligible, and her brooklyn accent only occasionally detectable .
fox film corp. presenter: william fox scenarists: marion orth, randall h. faye titles: malcolm stuart boylan cinematographer: charles g. clarke cast: george o' brien. lois moran, noah young, tom dugan, william demarest, gwen lee
there were angry comments from other protestant writers, but most of the condemnation was catholic. “this film, with its sadistic cruelty, its playing up of roman lust and debauchery and crime, is intolerable, ” wrote demille’s adviser, father lord. cleveland bishop joseph schrembs called the film a “damnable hypocrisy. ” jesuit america magazine called joyzelle’s dance “the most un­pleasant bit of footage ever passed by the hollywood censors. ” catholic publisher martin quigley wrote: “this scene be­comes an incident liable to an evil audience effect. ”
kozlovic, anton k. “the construction of a christ - figure within the 1956 and 1923 versions of cecil b. demille’s the ten commandments. ” the journal of religion and film 10, no. 1 (2006): urltoken accessed 20 november 2010 .
higashi, sumiko. “ethnicity, class and gender in film: demille’s the cheat, ” in unspeakable images: ethnicity and the american cinema, edited bylester d. friedman, 112 - 139. urbana, il: the university of illinois press, 1991 .
—–. “the art of creative scriptural extrapolation: bithiah, mered and 1 chronicles 4: 18 within cecil b. demille’s the ten commandments (1956). ” kinema: a journal for film and audiovisual media 33 (2010): 4 - 30 .
wagner, phil. “passing through nightmares: cecil b. demille’s the plainsman and epic discourse in new deal america. ” in the epic film in world culture, edited by robert burgoyne, 207 - 234. new york, ny: routledge, 2011 .
d’arc, james v. “ two articles: “darryl f. zanuck’s brigham young: a film in context and “‘so let it be written…’ — the creation of cecil b. demille’s autobiography. ” phd dissertation, brigham young university, 1986, p. 74 .
grace, pamela. “gospel truth? : from cecil b. demille to nicholas ray, ” in a companion to literature and film, edited by robert stam and alessandra raengo, 46 - 57. malden, ma: blackwell, 2004, p. 48 .
hi, laura - i' m so glad you enjoyed both movies on sunday night, just wish i could have seen them with you! reading your great reviews is the next best thing to being there side by side. having seen dynamite, i agree it was a treat to see charles bickford in a leading role and kay johnson was quite wonderful, too. and wasn' t it fun to see young joel and the big hoops race? i' ll have to catch madam satan another time - your comments were hilarious - sounds like a hoot! best, jane
show boat (dir. harry pollard) was shot, abandoned, and reshot so many times that the production record is like a jigsaw puzzle. universal, early in 1929, announced a plan to shoot silent and sound footage on alternating days. this press release conflicts with another issued just five days later :
the film, just completed, is to have the dialogue and music portions inserted. these remakes will be taken at the ziegfeld [ theater ] .
but the universal executive r. h. cochrane implied there were already two separate films :
our leading picture show boat was not only bought as a silent one but the silent version was made complete from start to finish. afterward a sound version was made, including the ziegfeld hits from his stage show of the same story .
90 the film had a dual premiere in miami and palm beach. miami' s opening was disrupted
by [ the ] disappearance of the operators, with the sound reproducing equipment out of order .
union agitators were blamed. 91
mgm' s second sound film was also a goat gland. alias jimmy valentine (dir. jack conway, 1928) was made into a sound film after the fact at the paramount sound laboratory (another good example of how sound encouraged the studios to cooperate). in the last two reels, lionel barrymore and william haines dubbed dialogue over footage shot silent. hall advised the studio
that they must learn, with regard to sound, that enough is as good as a feast .
he thought that the sound effects and dialogue were excessive. 55
myers admits the response was not something she had anticipated .
when we made it we didn' t really think beyond making it. it has been quite amazing to see how people connect with it. it speaks broadly, but it is a very australian kind of film .
michel gondry​, spike jonze, wes anderson – that' s the world we live in, they' re the things we are watching and loving ,
says myers .
they [ the backers ] had seen that and they felt we had a film to make .
demille’s directorial, religious and business triumph was followed by triumph (1924), another morality tale about wealth and rivalry between two sons, one good and one bad. feet of clay (1924) allowed demille to explore his penchant for reincarnation in a strange story about suicide, soul travel and romantic love triangles. the golden bed (1925) was demille’s last film for paramount and continued the themes of disastrous marriages, love triangles and death coupled with an extravagant candy ball sequence. the road to yesterday (1925) marked the first film from his new studio, cecil b. demille pictures, and deftly mixed marriage with reincarnation using a disastrous train crash to flashback to medieval england to explore the past life roots of the couple’s modern - day marital problems. next, the volga boatman (1926) was demille’s exotic russophile film about revolution, love triangles and class rivalries .
this has been described as an arthouse film for teenagers ,
adds whittet .
why shouldn' t there be stories for 14 - and 15 - year - olds that are just as visually eye - popping and full of texture as films for 30 - year - olds are ?
lardner jr. , ring. “the sign of the boss: cecil de mille, union buster, ” in celluloid power: social film criticism from the birth of a nation to judgment at nuremberg, edited by david platt, 383 - 394. metuchen, nj: the scarecrow press, 1992 .
the title character is based on queen silver, a child prodigy and socialist orator who was accused of leaving atheist pamphlets in student lockers at hollywood high school in 1927. [ 2 ] the lead actress, lina basquette, named her autobiography, lina: demille' s godless girl, after the film .
the silent movie humorisk is made with money raised by a friend. director is jo swerling. it was made in two weeks at fort lee, nj. studios and in a studio at 49th st. and 10th ave. in new york. no copy exists of this (unfinished ?) film .
the first milestone all - talking film program was presented at the roxy during the week of 15 november 1928. it comprised the newsreel and two movietone comedies, including john ford' s three - reeler napoleon' s barrer. this all - dialogue film told the story of a barber who regales a customer with stories of what he would do if he met napoleon. needless to say, the customer is napoleon. ford later claimed that, against the wishes of the sound crew, he innovated exterior dialogue scenes. film daily took note :
sound effects well handled, talking clear, especially in two outdoor sequences .
29 since the movietone trucks and the crew to operate them were readily available, and since fox managers encouraged shooting outdoors, one wonders why ford would have encountered so much resistance. hall found himself forgetting
the novelty of audible productions ,
an important new criterion for judging sound excellence. 30
first national tried to recover by casting moore in a
mature
role in the musical melodrama footlights and fools (dir. seiter, 1929). she plays a cabaret performer leading two lives as betty murphy, ordinary girl, and as fifi d' auray, star of
the sins of 1930
revue. the notices were less devastating. the evening journal said ,
colleen does better work in this one than she has ever done before .
but most found her fifi character' s accent unconvincing. an
embarrassing attempt to appear and sound gallic ,
reported the morning telegraph. film daily advised exhibitors ,
though her french accent isn' t so hot, she gets over the story to make it click as a good program offering…. it can be sold as something entirely different for colleen, but don' t promise too much .
16
the sign of the cross (1932) was the first fully integrated sound film. every shot counted. every transition was assured. demille’s use of symbolism, crowds, crane shots, dialectical montage, contrapuntal sound, music cues, sound effects, and even silence was masterly. it was truly a moving picture .
most new york critics rated the film excellent. of special interest, though, is the intensity with which jolson' s charismatic personality impressed them. mordaunt hall of the times pinpointed the appeal of the film ,
not in its transparent narrative, but in mr. jolson' s inimitable singing. one waits after hearing a selection, hoping for another .
another commentator called the story
familiar hokum
but gushed over jolson' s
sincerity and genuine feeling .
initial reviews set the tone for the general opinion concerning the movie' s significance :
the talking picture is practicable, inevitable and, in this case, at least, powerful. the singing fool justifies the vitaphone and all the experiments that have hitherto passed as talking pictures .
8 although the jazz singer (dir. alan crosland, 1927) has entered the history books as the film that started the sound revolution, it was the one - two punch of the lights of new york (dir. bryan foy) in july and the singing fool in september 1928 that proved beyond doubt to producers and exhibitors that a feature sound film with a big star had the potential to make millions. simultaneously, the popular press, which had showed little interest in talking features after the jazz singer, now passionately embraced the concept .
thanks to the unique market conditions of the transition era, dynamite was both cecil b. demille’s first all - talkie sound feature as well as his last silent film. packed with class conscious, never - quite - consummated scandal in demille’s inimitable style, the overheated story centers on cynthia (johnson), a pampered society girl who will lose her trust fund if she isn’t married and living with her husband by a certain date—unless he dies before, in which case she keeps the cash. with the deadline approaching and her current beau, a polo playing playboy (nagel), tied up in a marriage to her best friend, cynthia marries a hardscrabble coal miner on death row (bickford). when bickford’s miner is freed at the last minute, the honorable tough guy arrives at cynthia’s penthouse to live up to his vows, turning her world upside down. narrative differences between the versions are minor but stylistic differences abound, particularly in the handling of the story’s recurring song
how am i to know ?
featuring lyrics by dorothy parker .
society girl cynthia crothers marries hagon derk, a miner sentenced to be executed for murder, to fulfill the terms of her grandfather' s will. the miner is found innocent at the last minute, dashing cynthia' s hope of marrying her lover, roger, a man whose wife refuses to divorce him. advised by her lawyers that she should live with her husband so as to obtain her money, cynthia goes to the mining town and lives the life of a miner' s wife. there she realizes the futility of her former life when a mine disaster threatens to take both hagon and roger away from her. after roger is killed in a dynamite explosion while helping them escape, cynthia finds happiness with the miner .
comic pair of jimmy durante & lupe velez! the snout and the spicy chihuahua! adorably zany! they are the eccentric show biz pair. fixing their material is the straight pair norman foster & marian nixon. and there' s a host of other great characters. the script wasn' t as funny as the cast, but come on! it' s durante & velez! so there are enough laughs to satisfy most. and i felt foster did a real good character here, even doing a good durante imitation at one point. and watch velez like a real vixen twist foster around her little finger. wonderful flirt while wearing ridiculous dresses! this might not be strictly dynamite, but there are plenty of firecrackers !
in fact, most warners' sound specials performed extraordinarily well at the box office (see appendix 1). the singing fool did good business, but nothing came close to lights of new york, an astounding return on investment in any epoch. yet the studio seemed slow to pick up the ball on the talking gangster film .
photoplay quipped that melody of love, with walter pidgeon, was
valuable because it shows how not to make a talkie .
83 its story was weak. jack (pidgeon) lost the use of his arm while serving in france during the war. when he encounters a girl he met over there, madelon (mildred harris), who is now a showgirl in the states, the limb comes back to life and they vow to get married. despite the film' s
lung power ,
it was not
aided by its audible accompaniment .
according to hall ,
a little of this dialogue offering goes a long way .
the daily mirror mused that it was as if a gang of children playing in the backyard had said ,
let' s make a talker .
84 indeed, that' s a fair description of the film' s production, except that it was shot by grown - ups. the reception of this film shows that the novelty of sound was no longer sufficient to save a bad movie .
as many studio executives did during 1928 - 1929, schenck regarded sound as a kind of spice to be sprinkled on judiciously, as needed. irving thalberg shared that opinion, and as a result, mgm was the most conservative studio where sound was concerned. it tested the waters in november 1928 with a short subject featuring some stars. ernest torrence is supposedly calling from london (on at & t transatlantic equipment, naturally) to announce the opening of the empire theater. george k. arthur, joan crawford, norma shearer, and john gilbert (who keeps gushing
colossal, amazing, and wonderful
) take turns at the mike. 50
critics were eager to carve out a special place for foregrounded sound. interesting effects were acceptable if
natural
( unlike the excessive shrieking in the last warning). crazy fake accents and loudmouth talking were acceptable (for some listeners) if confined to marx brothers comedies. acoustic spectacle and flashy musical numbers were appropriate in the genre of the musical. in fact, it might be speculated that the rise of the musical comedy and operetta film during this season and the next was the result of public impatience with hollywood showing off its sound - film prowess too expressively. while the consensus was that sound should be dispensed gradually in other genres, in the musical, on the contrary, the prevailing attitude was: anything goes.
dynamite is a 1929 american pre-code drama film produced and directed by cecil b. demille and starring conrad nagel , kay johnson , charles bickford , and julia faye . written by jeanie macpherson , john howard lawson , and gladys unger , the film is about a convicted murderer scheduled to be executed , whom a socialite marries simply to satisfy a condition of her grandfather 's will . mitchell leisen was nominated for the academy award for best art direction . 
dynamite is a 1929 american pre-code drama film produced and directed by cecil b. demille and starring conrad nagel, kay johnson, charles bickford, and julia faye. written by jeanie macpherson, john howard lawson, and gladys unger, the film is about a convicted murderer scheduled to be executed, whom a socialite marries simply to satisfy a condition of her grandfather's will. mitchell leisen was nominated for the academy award for best art direction.
dynamite is a 1929 american pre-code drama film produced and directed by cecil b. demille and starring conrad nagel, kay johnson, charles bickford, and julia faye. written by jeanie macpherson, john howard lawson, and gladys unger, the film is about a convicted murderer scheduled to be executed, whom a socialite marries simply to satisfy a condition of her grandfather's will. mitchell leisen was nominated for the academy award for best art direction.