English character actor Miles Mander is one of the countless film figures whose careers never quite lived up to early promise. Mander is (slightly) remembered today for his long stint in small roles in Hollywood films of the 1930s and '40s. "The First Born" was Mander's shining moment as a writer/director/leading man, but his moment doesn't quite shine brightly enough. "The First Born" was originally a novel written by Mander, which he then adapted as a drawing-room drama that was staged in London, in a brief West End production directed by Mander with himself in the lead role. This film version, again directed by and starring Mander, features a screenplay co-written by Mander and Alma Reville, better known as Mrs Alfred Hitchcock and the primary influence on her husband's long successful career.
My wife and I attended the last-ever screening of the last known print of "The First Born". This was in the private collection of film historian William K. Everson. In 1988, Everson projected his print of "The First Born" for a one-off screening at the New School for Social Research in New York City. The nitrate print was seriously degraded, and the projection of this movie was interrupted several times because the film kept breaking or bubbling. I felt acutely aware that the simple act of screening this film was literally abetting its destruction, right before my eyes.
The lead role in "The First Born" is Lady Boycott, sensitively played by the spectacularly beautiful Madeleine Carroll. She's trapped in a loveless marriage to a wealthy but cruel husband (very well-played by Mander, whose sharp features typecast him in unsympathetic roles). Lady Boycott uses her husband's wealth to help other people ... such as her manicurist, who is unmarried but has suddenly found herself pregnant.
When Lady Boycott learns that her husband is a chronic philanderer who doesn't love her, she decides to adopt the manicurist's child so as to have somebody who loves her and needs her. SPOILERS: You'll probably never see this movie, so I'll tell you the ending. The climax of this film is impressively photographed and framed, and shows real talent on Mander's part as a director. Boycott (Mander) and his wife are in their penthouse flat, arguing about something just as Boycott is about to go out for the day and leave his wife home alone yet again. He strides out to the hall, presses the button for the lift, then turns back to snarl one final insult at his wife. (This is a silent film, but the dialogue is well-paced through clever editing of the intertitles.) While Boycott is facing his wife, we see the lift door opening behind him. But Boycott tarries too long, and the lift departs without him ... just as Boycott turns and steps into the empty lift shaft. Going down, sir?
During the 1988 screening of this movie at the New School, the frequent interruptions in the projection booth (every time the film broke) gave plenty of opportunities for audience members to discuss the soap-opera plot of this drama. "Wouldn't it be ironic," I said to my wife, "if Lady Boycott's manicurist was also her husband's mistress, and the child she adopted is actually her husband's love-child?" Sure enough, this is exactly what happens ... although Lady Boycott doesn't learn the truth until after her husband's death. She inherits his money, so there's a semi-happy ending.
UPDATE: After I posted the above review, I learnt that the British Film Institute possess an excellent print of 'The First Born'. This demonstrates that major archivists (William K Everson and BFI) don't always apprise each other of their holdings. Many films which are supposedly 'lost' eventually prove to have been held in an established archive without the knowledge of other archivists. Never call a film 'lost' unless you've looked in all the proper places first.
My wife and I attended the last-ever screening of the last known print of "The First Born". This was in the private collection of film historian William K. Everson. In 1988, Everson projected his print of "The First Born" for a one-off screening at the New School for Social Research in New York City. The nitrate print was seriously degraded, and the projection of this movie was interrupted several times because the film kept breaking or bubbling. I felt acutely aware that the simple act of screening this film was literally abetting its destruction, right before my eyes.
The lead role in "The First Born" is Lady Boycott, sensitively played by the spectacularly beautiful Madeleine Carroll. She's trapped in a loveless marriage to a wealthy but cruel husband (very well-played by Mander, whose sharp features typecast him in unsympathetic roles). Lady Boycott uses her husband's wealth to help other people ... such as her manicurist, who is unmarried but has suddenly found herself pregnant.
When Lady Boycott learns that her husband is a chronic philanderer who doesn't love her, she decides to adopt the manicurist's child so as to have somebody who loves her and needs her. SPOILERS: You'll probably never see this movie, so I'll tell you the ending. The climax of this film is impressively photographed and framed, and shows real talent on Mander's part as a director. Boycott (Mander) and his wife are in their penthouse flat, arguing about something just as Boycott is about to go out for the day and leave his wife home alone yet again. He strides out to the hall, presses the button for the lift, then turns back to snarl one final insult at his wife. (This is a silent film, but the dialogue is well-paced through clever editing of the intertitles.) While Boycott is facing his wife, we see the lift door opening behind him. But Boycott tarries too long, and the lift departs without him ... just as Boycott turns and steps into the empty lift shaft. Going down, sir?
During the 1988 screening of this movie at the New School, the frequent interruptions in the projection booth (every time the film broke) gave plenty of opportunities for audience members to discuss the soap-opera plot of this drama. "Wouldn't it be ironic," I said to my wife, "if Lady Boycott's manicurist was also her husband's mistress, and the child she adopted is actually her husband's love-child?" Sure enough, this is exactly what happens ... although Lady Boycott doesn't learn the truth until after her husband's death. She inherits his money, so there's a semi-happy ending.
UPDATE: After I posted the above review, I learnt that the British Film Institute possess an excellent print of 'The First Born'. This demonstrates that major archivists (William K Everson and BFI) don't always apprise each other of their holdings. Many films which are supposedly 'lost' eventually prove to have been held in an established archive without the knowledge of other archivists. Never call a film 'lost' unless you've looked in all the proper places first.