Autocrats
- Folge lief am 19. Feb. 1980
IMDb-BEWERTUNG
8,3/10
70
IHRE BEWERTUNG
Füge eine Handlung in deiner Sprache hinzuAutocratic directors like the martinet Cecil B. DeMille and the idiosyncratic Eric Von Stroheim are highlighted in this episode.Autocratic directors like the martinet Cecil B. DeMille and the idiosyncratic Eric Von Stroheim are highlighted in this episode.Autocratic directors like the martinet Cecil B. DeMille and the idiosyncratic Eric Von Stroheim are highlighted in this episode.
Fotos
James Mason
- Self - Narrator
- (Synchronisation)
Valerie Germonprez
- Self
- (as Mrs. Valerie von Stroheim)
Albert S. Rogell
- Self
- (as Al Rogell)
Monta Bell
- Self
- (Archivfilmmaterial)
- (Nicht genannt)
Dimitri Buchowetzki
- Self
- (Archivfilmmaterial)
- (Nicht genannt)
Handlung
WUSSTEST DU SCHON:
- Zitate
James Mason: If one producer ever symbolized Hollywood, it was Cecil B. DeMille.
- VerbindungenEdited from Souls for Sale (1923)
- SoundtracksThe Merry Widow Waltz
(uncredited)
Composed by Franz Lehár (1905)
Played during clips from Von Stroheim's "The Merry Widow" film.
Ausgewählte Rezension
DeMille and von Stroheim, One Inside the System, One Outside
After a passable episode that glossily profiled two stars of the silent screen, the 13-part series returned to form; "The Autocrats," the seventh episode in the Kevin Brownlow-David Gill documentary, "Hollywood," compares the careers of two leading directors of the era. Cecil B. DeMille and Erich von Stroheim had similar autocratic natures, paid great attention to detail, and were blessed with directorial genius; both began their careers as actors, but, later as directors, one worked with the Hollywood system and one worked against it.
The son of playwrights, Cecil B. DeMille started out as a stage actor, although he was overshadowed by his playwright brother, William. In 1913, he struck out on his own, and, with Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn, he founded the Lasky Film Company, which later became Paramount Pictures. DeMille headed west to California the following year, and, in 1914, he produced "The Squaw Man," which was the first feature-length film produced in Hollywood. Always the perfectionist, DeMille emphasized production values in his films and developed his own stars, notably Gloria Swanson.
Initially, romantic sexual films interested DeMille, and among his early works were "The Cheat" in 1915 with Sessue Hayakawa and "Male and Female" in 1919 with Gloria Swanson. Many of his films, like "Male and Female," influenced fashion and interior design, and his star Gloria Swanson became the most imitated woman in America. Among the interviewees who discuss DeMille and his work, his niece, Agnes DeMille, and his most famous star, Gloria Swanson, stand out. Once Swanson left his employ, DeMille replaced her with Leatrice Joy, who starred in "Manslaughter" in 1922 and is also featured in a fine interview. Later, DeMille found great success with a mix of religion and sexuality with films like "The Ten Commandments" in 1923 and "King of Kings" in 1927. Director Henry Hathaway, who was a prop man on "The Ten Commandments," provides insight into the production of that epic. Although he enjoyed continued success until his death in the late 1950's, Cecil B. DeMille's best work was behind him in the silent era.
Unlike DeMille, Erich von Stroheim's directorial career did not survive into the sound era. But, like DeMille, von Stroheim began as an actor in the D.W. Griffith studio and was among the few directors who acted in his own films. Typecast as a sadistic German, von Stroheim seemed to relish his nickname "The Man You Love to Hate." Uncompromising and self destructive, von Stroheim made his first film for Universal in 1919; "Blind Husbands" was successful, but, although he wrote, directed, and starred, he was paid only for acting. The film's success led to backing for his next movie, "Foolish Wives" in 1922; he famously recreated the Monte Carlo Casino, and, a stickler for detail, von Stroheim shot enough footage for three films, until the studio called a halt, because of his extravagance and waste. Despite problems with the studio, von Stroheim was allowed to film the novel McTeague by Frank Norris in 1925. He retitled the film "Greed" and practically filmed the book cover to cover. Starring Jean Hersholt and Zazu Pitts, "Greed" was filmed on actual locations, including Death Valley, where the temperatures soared to 125 degrees. Von Stroheim shot 42 reels, an unmanageable length for a theatrical film, and producer Irving Thalberg took the film and ordered it cut to 10 reels for release. Reduced to a contract director at MGM, von Stroheim had a success with "The Merry Widow," which starred the temperamental Mae Murray, but was taken off production of the extravagant and overlong "The Wedding March" in 1928. Gloria Swanson then hired von Stroheim to direct "Queen Kelly" in 1928, which was financed by Joseph Kennedy. However, von Stroheim spent lavishly on the film and shot questionable scenes that sent Swanson walking off the set; the actress called Kennedy, who fired von Stroheim; Swanson talks at length in an interview about the experience. "Queen Kelly" was never shown in the United States and ended von Stroheim's career as a director. Besides Swanson, the director's wife, Valerie von Stroheim, is interviewed, and she fondly recalls her husband and dispels some misconceptions.
Ironically, von Stroheim appeared as a failed silent-film director opposite Gloria Swanson in 1950's "Sunset Blvd," in which Cecil B. DeMille played himself; Billy Wilder added further irony by using clips from "Queen Kelly" to show Swanson's character, Norma Desmond, at the height of her fame. Although the entire series is priceless film history, the seventh episode of "Hollywood" boasts a more informative profile of two contemporaneous silent-film careers than does the previous episode on "Swanson and Valentino." However, like all the episodes, the film clips, while generous, are not pristine, and the interview sequences are faded and low resolution.
The son of playwrights, Cecil B. DeMille started out as a stage actor, although he was overshadowed by his playwright brother, William. In 1913, he struck out on his own, and, with Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldwyn, he founded the Lasky Film Company, which later became Paramount Pictures. DeMille headed west to California the following year, and, in 1914, he produced "The Squaw Man," which was the first feature-length film produced in Hollywood. Always the perfectionist, DeMille emphasized production values in his films and developed his own stars, notably Gloria Swanson.
Initially, romantic sexual films interested DeMille, and among his early works were "The Cheat" in 1915 with Sessue Hayakawa and "Male and Female" in 1919 with Gloria Swanson. Many of his films, like "Male and Female," influenced fashion and interior design, and his star Gloria Swanson became the most imitated woman in America. Among the interviewees who discuss DeMille and his work, his niece, Agnes DeMille, and his most famous star, Gloria Swanson, stand out. Once Swanson left his employ, DeMille replaced her with Leatrice Joy, who starred in "Manslaughter" in 1922 and is also featured in a fine interview. Later, DeMille found great success with a mix of religion and sexuality with films like "The Ten Commandments" in 1923 and "King of Kings" in 1927. Director Henry Hathaway, who was a prop man on "The Ten Commandments," provides insight into the production of that epic. Although he enjoyed continued success until his death in the late 1950's, Cecil B. DeMille's best work was behind him in the silent era.
Unlike DeMille, Erich von Stroheim's directorial career did not survive into the sound era. But, like DeMille, von Stroheim began as an actor in the D.W. Griffith studio and was among the few directors who acted in his own films. Typecast as a sadistic German, von Stroheim seemed to relish his nickname "The Man You Love to Hate." Uncompromising and self destructive, von Stroheim made his first film for Universal in 1919; "Blind Husbands" was successful, but, although he wrote, directed, and starred, he was paid only for acting. The film's success led to backing for his next movie, "Foolish Wives" in 1922; he famously recreated the Monte Carlo Casino, and, a stickler for detail, von Stroheim shot enough footage for three films, until the studio called a halt, because of his extravagance and waste. Despite problems with the studio, von Stroheim was allowed to film the novel McTeague by Frank Norris in 1925. He retitled the film "Greed" and practically filmed the book cover to cover. Starring Jean Hersholt and Zazu Pitts, "Greed" was filmed on actual locations, including Death Valley, where the temperatures soared to 125 degrees. Von Stroheim shot 42 reels, an unmanageable length for a theatrical film, and producer Irving Thalberg took the film and ordered it cut to 10 reels for release. Reduced to a contract director at MGM, von Stroheim had a success with "The Merry Widow," which starred the temperamental Mae Murray, but was taken off production of the extravagant and overlong "The Wedding March" in 1928. Gloria Swanson then hired von Stroheim to direct "Queen Kelly" in 1928, which was financed by Joseph Kennedy. However, von Stroheim spent lavishly on the film and shot questionable scenes that sent Swanson walking off the set; the actress called Kennedy, who fired von Stroheim; Swanson talks at length in an interview about the experience. "Queen Kelly" was never shown in the United States and ended von Stroheim's career as a director. Besides Swanson, the director's wife, Valerie von Stroheim, is interviewed, and she fondly recalls her husband and dispels some misconceptions.
Ironically, von Stroheim appeared as a failed silent-film director opposite Gloria Swanson in 1950's "Sunset Blvd," in which Cecil B. DeMille played himself; Billy Wilder added further irony by using clips from "Queen Kelly" to show Swanson's character, Norma Desmond, at the height of her fame. Although the entire series is priceless film history, the seventh episode of "Hollywood" boasts a more informative profile of two contemporaneous silent-film careers than does the previous episode on "Swanson and Valentino." However, like all the episodes, the film clips, while generous, are not pristine, and the interview sequences are faded and low resolution.
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- dglink
- 5. Apr. 2019
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