By 1930, film was already a living, breathing organism that was manipulating artists and audiences in its quest to survive and grow. From 1932 to 1938, that organism tried a number of potential branches of evolution before settling on one main one. But during that period, many experiments can be viewed, experiments that did not blossom and quickly became extinct.
Sadly, this exemplifies one of them and it is such a perfect example, such a pure specimen, it really must be seen if only for history. I'm increasingly convinced that we cannot be fully in the film experience until we have shared in some of its failed attempts.
What characterizes this is extreme abstraction. The basis is the detective story, a basis that is so strong in narrative appeal it survives today as the root of most film. But this experiment abstracts it extremely.
The bad guys are not just bad, but have a club. The good guys are not just good and smart, but they have a club too. The two clubs are at war, mostly it seems because that's what two groups do: define the other as the enemy and adopt roles accordingly.
The setting is abstract too: a "haunted" mansion with trap doors, secret passages, resident hunchback, disembodied music, skeletons (that predictably catch on the girl's dress) and blackouts. There's a very, very clever twist in the story too, one you know is there but you just can't pin down until it happens.
Zazu Pitts does a spooked housekeeper whose voice would be appropriated for Olive Oyl who would make her first appearance the following year.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
Sadly, this exemplifies one of them and it is such a perfect example, such a pure specimen, it really must be seen if only for history. I'm increasingly convinced that we cannot be fully in the film experience until we have shared in some of its failed attempts.
What characterizes this is extreme abstraction. The basis is the detective story, a basis that is so strong in narrative appeal it survives today as the root of most film. But this experiment abstracts it extremely.
The bad guys are not just bad, but have a club. The good guys are not just good and smart, but they have a club too. The two clubs are at war, mostly it seems because that's what two groups do: define the other as the enemy and adopt roles accordingly.
The setting is abstract too: a "haunted" mansion with trap doors, secret passages, resident hunchback, disembodied music, skeletons (that predictably catch on the girl's dress) and blackouts. There's a very, very clever twist in the story too, one you know is there but you just can't pin down until it happens.
Zazu Pitts does a spooked housekeeper whose voice would be appropriated for Olive Oyl who would make her first appearance the following year.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.