Rouben Mamoulian once said that before making his first movie, APPLAUSE, he was interested in New York with all its beauty as well as its ugliness, in its variety of tastelessness, vulgarity and sorrows. Initially hired as the expert of dialogue, he broadened his Broadway experience in some most unpredictable fashion. Few members of the Astoria Studio at NYC as well as great Paramount pioneers could actually predict that he would contribute far more to the movie industry.
One of the earliest dialogue films which "at best can only be a poor substitute for the stage" (Paul Rotha) still appears to invite us to applaud APPLAUSE - a truly solid production of cinema's dawn. Much credit here to its cameraman George Folsey and the director Rouben Mamoulian, quite a newcomer at Hollywood in 1929, rightly described by Alexander Jacoby: "one of Hollywood's most fascinating marginal figures, a creative filmmaker ready to experiment with the possibilities of the new medium." The strength of his works lies primarily in visuals, moods, character development along with the insight into a person's place in society, but, foremost, a symphony of innovations, a "milestone in the development of sound film technique" (Audrey Kupferberg, Magill's Survey of Cinema, 1981).
While BECKY SHARP may boast experiment with color and DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE the use of the subjective camera in the unforgettable opening sequence, APPLAUSE offers an innovative (for the time but still attractive) use of a moving camera. George Folsey and Rouben Mamoulian's collaboration on that aspect aimed at absorbing viewers' senses and instill the understanding of the story. We cannot have such intense perceptive powers in movies nowadays. Images change with the places and the moods, the atmosphere is sometimes brought to the higher levels of perceptions and may beautifully influence a variety of feelings. There is also, or perhaps foremost, a great experiment with sound (consider the scene of a lullaby/prayer, some of the most cherished scene of the movie beautifully developed an aspect by Tom Milne). These innovations, as dated as they may seem now after almost 9 decades, hold a powerful impact due to one significant aspect. Alexander Jacoby rightly points out that "innovations are at the service of the movie's themes and feelings." Consider, for instance, the depiction of the beef trust and the performers, the moment they find out that Kitty Darling is pregnant (the camera is placed in such a way that we see Kitty actually being adored by her fellows and we see th scene from the bird's view. Mind you the sublime, almost mystical world of the convent with music, swans, silence, gestures, a depiction that inspired many movies to come, also those of religious themes. This 'collaboration' or 'combination' of technical and artistic innovations going well with the movie's feelings is also best executed in April-Tony's scenes, actually dates in New York City, the love scenes Lewis Jacobs (1939) labels as "exquisite and lyrical." But characters...let me highlight them in a separate paragraph because APPLAUSE would have been merely a display of director and cameraman's professional skills without any humanity if it were not for them.
Within the portrayal of characters, some viewers may find it truly surprising how fluid, how unclear the distinction between cinema and theater actually might be. Characters and psychology seem to correspond. Jacoby calls APPLAUSE "one of the most heartrending studies of human degradation." While many movie scholars admit Mamoulian's psychological over visual realism, the heroes of APPLAUSE really appear to applaud life with its drama, its joys, its love and aspirations. The most interesting are Kitty and her daughter April in their individualists and mutual dependence. Again, let me quote Jacoby when he mentions this "tragic exposition of mother love," something that movies exploited decades later with psychoanalytical attempts and thrill. Kitty is a declining star, panicking about oblivion, April is a young and naive girl who undergoes a shock from the blissful harmony of the convent world to the passionate carnality and temptations of the show business world. Both Helen Morgan and Joan Peers give unique performances and handle their roles with exceptional vitality, realism and conviction. Among male characters, Henry Wadsworth as flamboyant Tony, April's naive young counterpart, delivers something genuine. To the sweet question of his love "Are there many people in the world?" his seemingly silly but meaningful (when applied to the character study) answer "Only two as far as I am concerned" proves all romantic assumptions perfectly right.
Although people these days have access to many many more movies of similar content as well as possess a far richer film experience as both viewers and filmmakers, there is something powerful, even magical about this film that invites us to applaud Mamoulian's APPLAUSE with even greater enthusiasm. 9/10
One of the earliest dialogue films which "at best can only be a poor substitute for the stage" (Paul Rotha) still appears to invite us to applaud APPLAUSE - a truly solid production of cinema's dawn. Much credit here to its cameraman George Folsey and the director Rouben Mamoulian, quite a newcomer at Hollywood in 1929, rightly described by Alexander Jacoby: "one of Hollywood's most fascinating marginal figures, a creative filmmaker ready to experiment with the possibilities of the new medium." The strength of his works lies primarily in visuals, moods, character development along with the insight into a person's place in society, but, foremost, a symphony of innovations, a "milestone in the development of sound film technique" (Audrey Kupferberg, Magill's Survey of Cinema, 1981).
While BECKY SHARP may boast experiment with color and DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE the use of the subjective camera in the unforgettable opening sequence, APPLAUSE offers an innovative (for the time but still attractive) use of a moving camera. George Folsey and Rouben Mamoulian's collaboration on that aspect aimed at absorbing viewers' senses and instill the understanding of the story. We cannot have such intense perceptive powers in movies nowadays. Images change with the places and the moods, the atmosphere is sometimes brought to the higher levels of perceptions and may beautifully influence a variety of feelings. There is also, or perhaps foremost, a great experiment with sound (consider the scene of a lullaby/prayer, some of the most cherished scene of the movie beautifully developed an aspect by Tom Milne). These innovations, as dated as they may seem now after almost 9 decades, hold a powerful impact due to one significant aspect. Alexander Jacoby rightly points out that "innovations are at the service of the movie's themes and feelings." Consider, for instance, the depiction of the beef trust and the performers, the moment they find out that Kitty Darling is pregnant (the camera is placed in such a way that we see Kitty actually being adored by her fellows and we see th scene from the bird's view. Mind you the sublime, almost mystical world of the convent with music, swans, silence, gestures, a depiction that inspired many movies to come, also those of religious themes. This 'collaboration' or 'combination' of technical and artistic innovations going well with the movie's feelings is also best executed in April-Tony's scenes, actually dates in New York City, the love scenes Lewis Jacobs (1939) labels as "exquisite and lyrical." But characters...let me highlight them in a separate paragraph because APPLAUSE would have been merely a display of director and cameraman's professional skills without any humanity if it were not for them.
Within the portrayal of characters, some viewers may find it truly surprising how fluid, how unclear the distinction between cinema and theater actually might be. Characters and psychology seem to correspond. Jacoby calls APPLAUSE "one of the most heartrending studies of human degradation." While many movie scholars admit Mamoulian's psychological over visual realism, the heroes of APPLAUSE really appear to applaud life with its drama, its joys, its love and aspirations. The most interesting are Kitty and her daughter April in their individualists and mutual dependence. Again, let me quote Jacoby when he mentions this "tragic exposition of mother love," something that movies exploited decades later with psychoanalytical attempts and thrill. Kitty is a declining star, panicking about oblivion, April is a young and naive girl who undergoes a shock from the blissful harmony of the convent world to the passionate carnality and temptations of the show business world. Both Helen Morgan and Joan Peers give unique performances and handle their roles with exceptional vitality, realism and conviction. Among male characters, Henry Wadsworth as flamboyant Tony, April's naive young counterpart, delivers something genuine. To the sweet question of his love "Are there many people in the world?" his seemingly silly but meaningful (when applied to the character study) answer "Only two as far as I am concerned" proves all romantic assumptions perfectly right.
Although people these days have access to many many more movies of similar content as well as possess a far richer film experience as both viewers and filmmakers, there is something powerful, even magical about this film that invites us to applaud Mamoulian's APPLAUSE with even greater enthusiasm. 9/10