Last night, the invaluable cable TV station Turner Classic Movies premiered an early silent film in the career of director Frank Borzage: "The Circle" (1925) that TCM host Robert Osborne felt might have been its world television debut. In other words, it has largely remained unseen by the general public for more than 80 years and that's a pity because it offers much to admire in its direction and lead performance.
The plot, based on a play by W. Somerset Maugham, hinges on a fateful decision made by young Lady Catherine Cheney in the 1890s: whether or not to leave her husband for a lover, Hugh Porteous, who arouses in her a passion that has apparently eluded her in marriage to a titled fellow, Lord Clive Cheney whose country estate has been home to twelve generations. All this transpires in the first few minutes of the movie so it should be no spoiler to say that young Catherine steals off in the night with Hugh leaving her husband a note pinned to her young son, Arnold. The abandoned lad is another casualty of her decision.
Following this prologue, the scene shifts ahead 30 years to find Arnold (Creighton Hale) now wed to Elizabeth (beautiful Eleanor Boardman). She, too, has a weighty decision to make: should she also run off with a lover? To help her decide, she has invited Catherine and Hugo, now Lady and Lord Porteous, to visit after 30 years to see if their decision was the right one. Miss Boardman, whose subtle acting style offers modern-day viewers a wonderfully engaging performance, one that completely shatters the cliché that all silent acting is hopelessly overblown, even laughable for today's audiences. Best-known for such silent films as, "The Crowd," (1928) and "Souls for Sale" (1923), Miss Boardman made only a few films in the early sound era before retiring. Her speaking voice likely wasn't the problem. At M-G-M where she was under contract for much of her movie career, she had to compete for plum parts with Norma Shearer (wife of studio producer Irving Thalberg) and rising star Joan Crawford whose flapper image was more in sync with modern audiences. She also was divorced in 1931 from her first husband, M-G-M director King Vidor, which perhaps undercut her, professionally and/or personally.
Miss Crawford, by the way, appears in "The Circle" in the prologue as young lady Catherine. Clad in a period dress, she is initially barely recognizable in the part. Still, fans who watch only for Joan's bit and then tune out will cheat themselves of a mostly enjoyable comedy-drama as well as a great chuckle that director Frank Borzage could hardly have envisioned. You simply must see actress Eugenie Besserer who plays Joan Crawford's role when her character is thirty years older. We all know, after all, what Joan Crawford looked like in 1955, thirty years after this silent film was made (see, "Queen Bee" or "Female on the Beach").
Director Frank Borzage is the film's other "star." Once past the dramatic opening, we're hardly ready for his little bits of staging (pay attention to Lord Cheney's shotgun, for example) that reveal the inherent comedy which could have easily been missed in other hands. Some may find Maugham's plotting in screenwriter Kenneth B. Clarke's hands a distant cousin of a later film, Ingmar Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night," (made 30 years later, in 1955, by the way) which was pleasingly transformed into the marvelous Stephen Sondheim musical, "A Little Night Music." I suspect the Sondheim connection was recognized by Garth Neustadter who composed the film's appealing score for this TCM print, a swirling symphony of waltzes with sudden bouts of dramatic tension that perfectly captures the heightened emotions of the characters.
Although the film is brief, at about 66 minutes, the story seems fully realized, with the exception of the Alice Shenstone character whose functional presence eludes meaning. Perhaps she had more to do in the play. Of the film's ending, surely it is best to say that it may not be for all tastes. If it disappoints you, as it did me just a little, at least the ride there (with director Borzage driving an exhilarating Boardman performance) may still make you very glad you tagged along.
The plot, based on a play by W. Somerset Maugham, hinges on a fateful decision made by young Lady Catherine Cheney in the 1890s: whether or not to leave her husband for a lover, Hugh Porteous, who arouses in her a passion that has apparently eluded her in marriage to a titled fellow, Lord Clive Cheney whose country estate has been home to twelve generations. All this transpires in the first few minutes of the movie so it should be no spoiler to say that young Catherine steals off in the night with Hugh leaving her husband a note pinned to her young son, Arnold. The abandoned lad is another casualty of her decision.
Following this prologue, the scene shifts ahead 30 years to find Arnold (Creighton Hale) now wed to Elizabeth (beautiful Eleanor Boardman). She, too, has a weighty decision to make: should she also run off with a lover? To help her decide, she has invited Catherine and Hugo, now Lady and Lord Porteous, to visit after 30 years to see if their decision was the right one. Miss Boardman, whose subtle acting style offers modern-day viewers a wonderfully engaging performance, one that completely shatters the cliché that all silent acting is hopelessly overblown, even laughable for today's audiences. Best-known for such silent films as, "The Crowd," (1928) and "Souls for Sale" (1923), Miss Boardman made only a few films in the early sound era before retiring. Her speaking voice likely wasn't the problem. At M-G-M where she was under contract for much of her movie career, she had to compete for plum parts with Norma Shearer (wife of studio producer Irving Thalberg) and rising star Joan Crawford whose flapper image was more in sync with modern audiences. She also was divorced in 1931 from her first husband, M-G-M director King Vidor, which perhaps undercut her, professionally and/or personally.
Miss Crawford, by the way, appears in "The Circle" in the prologue as young lady Catherine. Clad in a period dress, she is initially barely recognizable in the part. Still, fans who watch only for Joan's bit and then tune out will cheat themselves of a mostly enjoyable comedy-drama as well as a great chuckle that director Frank Borzage could hardly have envisioned. You simply must see actress Eugenie Besserer who plays Joan Crawford's role when her character is thirty years older. We all know, after all, what Joan Crawford looked like in 1955, thirty years after this silent film was made (see, "Queen Bee" or "Female on the Beach").
Director Frank Borzage is the film's other "star." Once past the dramatic opening, we're hardly ready for his little bits of staging (pay attention to Lord Cheney's shotgun, for example) that reveal the inherent comedy which could have easily been missed in other hands. Some may find Maugham's plotting in screenwriter Kenneth B. Clarke's hands a distant cousin of a later film, Ingmar Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night," (made 30 years later, in 1955, by the way) which was pleasingly transformed into the marvelous Stephen Sondheim musical, "A Little Night Music." I suspect the Sondheim connection was recognized by Garth Neustadter who composed the film's appealing score for this TCM print, a swirling symphony of waltzes with sudden bouts of dramatic tension that perfectly captures the heightened emotions of the characters.
Although the film is brief, at about 66 minutes, the story seems fully realized, with the exception of the Alice Shenstone character whose functional presence eludes meaning. Perhaps she had more to do in the play. Of the film's ending, surely it is best to say that it may not be for all tastes. If it disappoints you, as it did me just a little, at least the ride there (with director Borzage driving an exhilarating Boardman performance) may still make you very glad you tagged along.