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9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
The boy who refused to grow up, 17 December 2006

Author: JohnHowardReid

When Sir James M. Barrie agreed to allow Famous Players—Lasky to make a movie version of his 1904 Christmas pantomime Peter Pan, he laid down some pretty stiff terms. Not only was he to have casting approval, but the title cards were to use as far as possible the dialogue of the stage play; the plot line was to keep to the original Three-Act structure; the characters were to be those of the play—none were to be eliminated and additional characters were not to be introduced; and above all, the characters were to fly realistically. Sir James also insisted on writing a long Preface to the movie in which he made the point that Peter Pan was a pantomime and needed to be accepted as such.

Unfortunately, he was unaware of the fact that Americans do not know what a panto is, let alone what are its traditions. Luckily, this didn't really matter. The picture was a huge success anyway and catapulted eighteen-year-old Betty Bronson (whom Barrie himself had chosen for the lead) into celebrity status overnight.

So to really appreciate the picture we need first to understand what a panto is and what Barrie did to change or modify its structure and traditions.

By the turn of the century, the annual Christmas pantomime had become a very elaborate affair. In fact, every year theatre managements vied with each other to offer presentations even more spectacular than they had staged in the past. (A successful panto didn't just fill the theatre at Yuletide but would run right through Easter). Although largely (and very loosely) based on nursery rhymes and fairy tales, pantomimes had a rigid cast system. The lead role was always the Dame—a middle-aged woman, enacted by a leading funnyman, the more raucous, the better. Next in line, was the Principal Boy, always played by a very sexy young lady who wore abbreviated costumes to show off her legs. The Villain was usually billed next, and then came the specialty acts. These were vaudeville turns by jugglers, singers, magicians, etc., often used to entertain the audience while stagehands readied the spectacular main set for the next Act, but just as often actually interpolated into the panto itself. Of course, pantos always had plenty of real children milling around the stage, but the leader (who had practically all the lines) was a young adult (even though he or she might be a impersonating a character supposedly ten or twelve years younger).

Doubling was quite common in the panto. Often it was a matter of necessity, but just as often it was done deliberately. Barrie intended that Mr Darling and Captain Hook always be played by the same actor. Unfortunately, both Brenon and Paramount jibed at this idea and finally convinced Barrie that on a motion picture set, it was impractical.

The principal change (and it was a brilliant one) that Barrie made to the traditional structure was not to turn the Dame into a dog (Dames had often played comic animals in the past) or even to restrict the Dame's frolics to Two Acts (although top-billed, the Dame's role was often not all that large. In some pantos, he/she didn't even make her entrance until the Second Act). What Barrie did was absolutely startling. He made the Dame silent. He/she doesn't utter a word. The role is all pantomime, you see. Pantomime yet—in a pantomime! Brilliant!

Now we can appreciate the movie for what it is: not just a filmed pantomime but one that goes beyond the restrictions of the stage to make the spectacle more spectacular, and the special effects even more wonderful and startling.

Also we can now enjoy the way the movie is cast and played. It's a pity Hook and Darling are no longer played by the same man (though admittedly it is just as hard to imagine dull Chadwick, perfect as stuffy Darling, brandishing a villainous hook, as it is to see Ernest Torrence toning down the foam as Wendy's dad). However, super-sexy Betty Bronson makes an ideal Peter Pan (it's important that the character be lasciviously attractive yet act as if she is totally unaware of this fact—and this Miss Bronson accomplishes remarkably well, no doubt due to Brenon's meticulous direction).

Eighteen-year-old Mary Brian is also superbly cast as Wendy. Even though her stage age is around twelve or thirteen, she is not only the leader of the children, but a genuine mother figure and is supposed to look just a few years younger than the actress playing her mother, in this case twenty-two year old Esther Ralston. (You're not supposed to be mathematically minded and try to work out how a twenty-two year old can have a twelve year old daughter. Pantomimes are inevitably fanciful). The father figure is usually much older. Forty-five year old Cyril Chadwick fits the bill nicely.

It's a tribute to Brenon's skillful yet sensitive direction, James Wong Howe's beautiful photography, Pomeroy's fascinating special effects and the enduring charm and cleverness of Barrie's fairy tale that the movie is just as enchanting in 2007 as it seemed to appreciative worldwide audiences in 1925.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Peter Pan---An Enchanting Silent Film For All Ages, 19 December 1999
Author: Jay Fenton (jjfenton@nb.net) from Pittsburgh, PA

After watching the Kino DVD of PETER PAN, I was delighted to have this most charming of silent films finally available in a quality video release.

The picture quality, which was subtly tinted amber and blue, will disappoint no one, although it looked more like a really good 16mm print than a 35mm to me. Perhaps I'm spoiled because I've never seen the film in any gauge but 35mm. A great deal of the magic in PETER PAN was supplied by cinematographer James Wong Howe. Scenes that could have been foolish in other hands became enchantment in his.

The actors are magically believable in their parts. Betty Bronson, who convincingly plays a child although we never forget that she's really a grownup woman, gives a performance that is unusually `fey' and she seems to have fully developed every muscle in her face that can cause an adorable look to radiate to the viewer. Ernest Torrence as Captain Hook will remind everyone of their grandfather while he comically menaces Peter and the Lost Boys, but remains the perfect gentleman with Wendy------complete with courtly bowing and a flourish of his handkerchief .

The animals in Never-Never Land are children in marvelously expressive fur costumes who look like stuffed animals come to life. But the largest and most expressive of all is Nana, the canine nurse maid for the Darling Children who will amaze everyone with her anthropomorphic gestures. She (played by George Ali) is the delight of the film.

PETER PAN is filled with magical touches that never seem to go too far or become foolish. Peter's heart to heart talk with the crocodile when they conspire to "get" Captain Hook was one of my favorites, as were the mermaids on the beach. The only point that has ever bothered me is at the end when Peter actually stabs and kills two of the pirates. Somehow I thought this was out of place and brought too much realism to a light hearted fairy tale. But this is very minor nit-picking of an otherwise flawless silent film.

Phil Carli's score works perfectly and has a "turn of the century, concert in the park on a Sunday afternoon" feel to it. It wouldn't have worked with many silent films, but for PETER PAN it was marvelous------a tribute to Carli's ability to match a narrative theme with it's programmatic musical compliment.

The "value ads" are production stills from the film along with a poster and lobby card. There are also interviews with Esther Ralston (one video and three audio), who plays Mrs. Darling. The things she has to say about Louis B. Mayer are more than just interesting.

A title card at the very beginning tells the audience that the acting may seem whimsical to an adult but that "all the characters are seen with a child's outlook on life.....even to the adults in the story. Pull the beard on a pirate and you would find the face of a child." So for 102 minutes, clap your hands and pretend you believe in fairies.

Jay F.

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6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Very little to complain about ..., 25 December 2004

Author: DOUG DEUSS (SHADO57) from Phoenix, Arizona USA

Having just watched PETER PAN I must say I was very impressed: The quality of this print was just gorgeous!! The idea of giving it a sepia tone was inspired, since it "antiqued" the film just right.

My only complaint with this film (as it is with so many other silents): please run the film at the correct speed. It is running about 20% faster than it should. The labs that convert these films to video have the equipment to do this properly. Running the film too fast spoils the rhythm of the action, and can ruin scenes because of the increase in speed of the action. Apparently not too many people care about this fast action, or the labs would correct this. Well, one can only hope.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Notes from my introduction to a recent PETER PAN (1924) screening..., 29 September 2009

Author: Larry41OnEbay-2 from Culpeper, VA USA

PETER PAN was directed by Herbert Brenon with a screenplay written by Willis Goldbeck, based on the story by J.M. Barrie. In fact nearly all of the intertitles (the words on the cards that we read to ourselves) are taken directly from J. M. Barrie's dialogue from the original play around 105 years ago! James Barrie was born in 1860, the ninth child of ten. He was a small child (he only grew to 5 feet 3 inches as an adult) and he drew attention to himself with storytelling. He is best remembered for creating Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up, whom he based on his friends, the Llewelyn Davies boys. He is also credited with popularizing the name Wendy, which was very uncommon before he gave it to the heroine of Peter Pan. When he died he left the rights to this story and all it's future profits to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children. This filmed version of Peter Pan, the very first (of eleven so far) opened Christmas week, 1924. Then, like one of the Lost Boys, it vanished into a Never Land of its own. Paramount, like every other studio, looked on its films as disposable product. Films were as ephemeral as the daily newspaper. Why bother to keep a print? No studio, museum or archive could find it, nor any of the private collectors, who could sometimes materialize copies that more legitimate sources could not. It was one of the most important of missing American films. For the children who saw it, nothing else ever compared. William K. Everson, one of the great silent film historians, never tired of rhapsodizing Peter Pan or its glowing star, Betty Bronson. James Card, curator at George Eastman House and one of the great heroes of film preservation, longed to see this childhood favorite with a desperate nostalgia. It was he who, as a young man working for Kodak in Rochester, discovered a fume-filled vault of decomposing nitrate films. Nitrate films are highly flammable, can spontaneously combust and even burn under water because they supply their own oxygen. Card convinced Kodak to call Iris Barry, the visionary film preservationist at the Museum of Modern Art to help save this title. This beautiful tinted print was restored from that one of a kind, surviving nitrate print. It stars beautiful blonde Esther Ralston as the mother Mrs. Darling. One of the best-liked silent movie stars both on and off the screen, Mary Brian plays Wendy. Philippe De Lacy, arguably the silent era's cutest child actors plays Michael. The exotic oriental actress Anna May Wong has a small role as Tiger Lily. And giant Ernest Torrence is evil and menacing as Captain Hook. Tinker Bell is played by an actress named, of all things, Virginia Faire. And the family's pet dog Nana was such a good actor that in real life he was called George Ali. As for the lead role of Peter Pan, it was the author James Barrie who selected Betty Bronson, then an unknown to play the coveted role after he turned down silent superstars Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson & Lillian Gish. Barrie selected Betty Bronson because she had trained for the Ballet Russe with famed choreographer Michel Fokine and her grace and innocence were unmatched. (And she could fly!) It is surprising when you see how lavish the sets, costumes and special effects are that the budget for this film was only $40,000 and I think this is much better than the 1991 version which cost $70 million dollars to make. I would like to read a quote from the New York Times, from MORDAUNT HALL, one of their toughest critics written Christmas week of 1924 – "That wonderful ecstatic laughter, tinkling and beautiful, just the laughter that Barrie loves to hear, greeted Herbert Brenon's picturized version of "Peter Pan" yesterday afternoon in the Rivoli. Again and again the silence of the audience was snapped by the ringing laugh of a single boy which was quickly followed by an outburst from dozens of others, some of whom shook in their seats in sheer Joy at what they saw upon the screen. It was laughter that reminded one of the days of long ago when one believed in a sort of Never Never Land, when the smiling sun on an early morning made one dance with joy over the dew-covered grass, when the fragrant Spring flowers sent a thrill through one's youthful soul, when one gazed at a real fish in a shallow rippling stream and expected to hook it with a bent pin, when one thought that after all it might be possible to fly. These jubilant outbursts from youthful throats even brought to mind some beautiful anthem one had heard the choir singing in a lofty cathedral. It was laughter that brought a tear of exuberant gladness to our eyes—laughter that makes grown-ups delighted to be alive." - Unquote. PETER PAN like the WIZARD OF OZ has helped remind adults of what innocence we all shared back when we were children. So when you are asked during the film to clap if you believe in fairies, you better clap or you may never feel young again!

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com, 5 February 2007
Author: rdjeffers from Seattle

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A Thing of Beauty and A Boy Forever

Sunday January 28, 12:30 & 4:00pm, The Rose Theater, Port Townsend

Paramount chose A Kiss for Cinderella (1925) as their second production with playwright Sir James M. Barrie, director Herbert Brenon and young star Betty Bronson. William K. Everson considered the film a masterpiece. "Few films, perhaps only Jean Cocteau's 1947 La Belle et la Bete, have caught the genuine flavor of fairytale magic as beautifully as this one." Sadly, the only surviving print, which Everson described as " … richly toned, crystal-clear…" and " … a thing of beauty itself…" was allowed to deteriorate badly before it was preserved. Only a splotchy, hypo-stained, black and white print survives today, and much of the film is obscured, leaving only a hint of its original beauty.

The first Barrie, Brenon and Bronson project, Peter Pan (1924) was nearly lost altogether. In his book, Seductive Cinema: The Art of Silent Film, James Card recounts a tale of clandestine, late night meetings in the bowels of Rochester's Eastman Theater, " … three long black cars", and a burglary attempt to rescue one hundred reels of irreplaceable nitrate film.

Employed by Eastman Kodak after World War II, Card discovered existing prints of several features previously considered lost, among them Paramount's Peter Pan, stored across the hall from " … the old screening room for student organists." A chubby, perpetually smiling sound technician named 'Chum', who preferred the abandoned screening room to his digs at the YMCA, had been showing the films at parties. Card was certain word of these gatherings would get out, and the instant it became known that a large quantity of volatile nitrate film stock was stored in the building, it would be removed and destroyed. Despite the failed burglary, after desperate pleas and some mild coercion, the bulk of the films held in long forgotten storage were sent to The Museum of Modern Art for eventual preservation.

Throughout Hollywood's early years, competition for talent was fierce. Paramount sought the bigger, more exotic stars, of literature and the stage. When they signed opera legend Geraldine Farrar, her contract included a private rail car for the long trips between New York and California, and a fully staffed private villa for her stays on the coast. Farrar, and others, brought the prestige of legitimate theater to films. Scottish playwright Sir James Barrie was the biggest feather in Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky's cap. Once the studio and Barrie came to terms, work began on Honorable Crichton, re-titled Male and Female (1918), and Cecil B. DeMille directed no less than Gloria Swanson.

Paramount began its search for the lead in Barrie's Peter Pan (1924), with a casting call of epic proportions. The prize of young actresses since its 1904 premiere (due largely to the technical demands of stage flight), everyone wanted the part. Swanson was interested. She traveled to England and met with Barrie. Mary Pickford made her own tests, in costume. Barrie's contract gave him final cast approval, so audition films were shipped to England where surprisingly, his choice was not a star at all. Betty Bronson was a gangly young dancer who, as James Card observed, had a " … seventeen-year-old, unactressy face."

An author's participation in performing arts brings with it a sense of authenticity. Happenstance may also draw elements together with unpredictably wonderful results. In 1924, Peter Pan had both these factors working in its favor. Paramount employed the best technicians and performers available and consistently produced films of the highest quality. The casting, in addition to Bronson, was brilliant. Ernest Torrence (Streamboat Bill Jr, 1928) was chosen to play Captain Hook, fresh from his performance as the tough but likable scout in The Covered Wagon (1923). His imposing, yet buffoonish performance made Hook a likable villain. Anna May Wong (The Thief of Bagdad 1924, Piccadilly 1929), played the mischievous wild little Indian, Tiger Lily, while twenty-three-year-old Esther Ralston, was an image of serene motherhood as Mrs. Darling. Broadway veteran George Ali, who specialized in animal parts, played Nana, family dog and nurse to the Darling children. Though uncredited, Ali almost certainly played the lion and crocodile also. Mary Brian in her first screen role as Wendy, was smitten with Peter, the object of Tinker Belle's ire, and mother to the Lost Boys. Philippe De Lacey (Rosita 1923, Don Juan 1926), played the littlest Darling, Michael, " I flewed! I flewed!"

The production design was charmingly whimsical, owing, as Card observed, to the legacy of Georges Méliès. The cinematography of James Wong Howe, at the start of his long career, captured beautiful and inventive images of tiny fairies and flying pirate ships that entice the eye with exquisite detail. Audiences still gasp at Virginia Brown Faire, as Tinker Belle, tugging at the enormous dresser drawer where Peter's shadow is kept, while her delicate costume and long hair fly in the breeze.

So many images from this film have appeared in later versions of Barrie's play. None have surpassed the magic and artistry of the original. While the Darlings dine, Nana escapes the banishment of her doghouse to warn them, just in time to see the children and Peter fly in circles, and out the nursery window. Beneath the Forest of Make-Believe, safe from the animals, pirates and indians, the Lost Boys live in a cave, with jack-o-lantern lights and a Murphy bed made of leaves. Mermaids lie sunning on the beach (Catalina Island), while Hook feeds a clock to the crocodile, and the indians hunt a lion.

Although a more complex treatment was developed, Paramount wisely remained close to the play, using Barrie's original text for the inter-titles, with only minor changes made to 'Americanize' the characters. Bronson's boyish posturing and subtle, reactive performance personifies Barrie's joyful celebration of eternal youth.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Very Entertaining Adaptation, & A Rather Impressive Production For Its Time, 14 March 2006
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This is a very entertaining adaptation of the story of "Peter Pan", and the production, particularly in the visual effects, is rather impressive for its time. The cast is a good one, with a lot of enthusiasm for their roles, and the whole movie has a lively pace to go along with the interesting story and plenty of good visuals.

Betty Bronson delivers everything that you could expect as Peter, and it's easy to see why J.M. Barrie himself chose her for the role. She has plenty of energy and a believably boyish appearance. The rest of the cast is also good, and in some cases (Virginia Browne Faire and Anna May Wong) you wish you could have seen more of them. It would be hard to think of a better Captain Hook than Ernest Torrance, who gives the role just the right degree of exaggerated villainy. In what seems to have been her first screen role, Mary Brian is appealing as Wendy.

It sticks mostly to the essentials of the familiar story, which is usually appealing to children while potentially quite interesting to adults, for different reasons. Peter's desire to remain a boy, and the offbeat nature of the fantasy world, make the story much more than a whimsical daydream.

The visual effects, particularly the 'flying' sequences, work very well for their time, and they must have been very exciting for the movie's original audiences. The Tinkerbell effect also works well despite its simple means. The fantasy story is combined with just enough reality (back at the Darling home) for it to fit together nicely.

"Peter Pan" is a movie and stage perennial, so there is no shortage of versions to choose from. But this one is very enjoyable, and it is certainly recommended for anyone interested in seeing a silent movie version of the story.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Traditional Story Before Disney, Better Defined Tale, 9 December 2006

Author: DKOSTY from United States

This film has a very stagy feel & it should because it was taken from the show as it was running on the stage in 1924 & filmed for the most part. There is only a sequence on the ocean which is an early example of how pirate films made much later would be like. While the sets are much the same on the ocean, the fantasy is left intact with children conquering bitter pirates.

The real fantasy of this film is how George Ali, in his only film role, makes a costumed dog seem so realistic. The special effects with the fairy, etc. are very obviously borrowed from the stage play. To me, the story here & the moral are more defined than the later Walt Disney animated version of the same story.

If you want to make a great home movie night, watch this film, then watch "Finding Neverland" starring Johnny Depp made years later. This silent is so well done, it makes the later film seem even better. The silent film actually enhances the enjoyment of Neverland as this film prefaces it very well.

All the acting in this silent is well done. This is an epic silent film.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Absolute enchantment!, 11 April 2000

Author: David Atfield (bits@alphalink.com.au) from Canberra, Australia

This is a magical must-see, with some eye-popping special effects (Tinkerbell's home is just marvellous) and brilliant cinematography. It sweeps you away with its charm and elegance. I would like to add that Esther Ralston, as Mrs Darling, is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen on film. I love this film and think it deserves a theatrical revival. And congratulations to KINO for a superb video restoration.

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Simply loved it. A treat from 88 yrs ago !!!, 21 May 2012

Author: max_in_md from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A wonderful treat from a bygone era of silent movies. 58 yrs old George Ali was amazing as Nana the dog but probably as crocodile.

Betty was good as Peter Pan but why couldn't they have got a sweet looking boy instead of a girl.

Our girls were bit ewed by girls kissing each other so much, wonder if the kids 88 yrs ago felt the same.

Perhaps those kids were lot more innocent and believed into her being a boy.

We had a lady playing harp live during the movie and had a QA session after the movie which was great for kids as they had so many questions.

All in all absolutely a delight and a MUST WATCH for ALL.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
a theatrical experience, 7 December 2008

Author: ricedanielle from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This film is unlike any peter pan film I have seen. It is like watching The very first Peter Pan theater show on the big screen. The special effects and costumes are different then other films I have seen that were made during this time period.

One of the scenes that is truly captivating is when Tinkerbell attempts to find Peters Shadow. Instead of having a small light created by a mirror as they would have used in the play sets were created to make the actress who plays the fairy to be the size of a human thumb. The sets look as though they were made for a giant. As the character leans up against the drawer her costumes flows slowly with the breeze. With these characteristics and the soft lighting a magical image is created.

The costumes in this film are also an unique part of the film especially those of the animals. the animals in this film are human beings in large animal suits crawling on all four limbs. There are lion, wolf, crocodile, bear and dog costumes; the dog costume being the most detailed. Nana ( the house nanny) is a character who helps around the home and takes care of the children. The costume used by the actor has details that allow him to use the characters description to its full potential. With a mouth that allows him to grab items of a bed and a tail that wags this costume adds the illusion of having a real dog on stage.

For those who enjoy theater this is a great film to watch. It grants you the opportunity to watch the creations of J.M Barrie through his own work.

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