Sally of the Sawdust (1925)

D.W. Griffith's "Sally of the Sawdust"


In 1925, D.W. Griffith adapted the 1923 stage musical "Poppy" into a feature length film. 

The film centers on an orphan girl, Sally, who is raised in a circus with her parental guardian that she calls 'poppy.' The girl is the daughter of a woman who was kicked out of her father's home for marrying a circus performer. One day, while visiting a wealthy town, Judge Foster (the girl's grandfather) arranges to have her and 'poppy' arrested for gambling. In discovering that she is actually his granddaughter, he sets them free. 

What is important to note about this film is the comedic stylings Griffith has arranged. In the vien of Charlie Chaplin, Griffith constructs a circus-like tone to match the circus-like environment. 'Poppy,' who is played by W.C. Fields exhibits all of the physical comedy of the piece. The lighter tone creates a far different atmosphere than Griffith's other works.

Overall, the film is a decent enough film. However, Griffith's classic tricks don't pull the same amount of weight he is used to. For example, in the final scene, Poppy is pursued by police as he rushes to the courthouse to save Sally's life. In the meantime, Griffith cuts to the scenes of her being judged before the court. Like with the attempted rescue of Gish's execution in "Orphans of the Storm," Griffith attempts to draw out the tension by intercutting between the pursuit of rescue and the imminent doom of the protagonist. However, the stakes are incredibly low for Sally, who will only be sent away to an all-girls boarding school. Once Poppy arrives and informs the judge of her lineage, he drops all charges. The result appears anti-climactic. Despite the film's light demeanor, it presents as only an echo of what Griffith used to be. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rio Bravo (1959)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" To conclude the filmography of Howard Hawks, I watched his 1959 western film " Rio Bravo ." I've got to say that I was expecting a lot more out of this picture based on all the praise for the film. That is not to say that I didn't like it, it was a fine time at the cinema (I was not at the cinema, I was at home). I can't say that I should have expected more, as I'm not entirely that big of a fan of Howard Hawks. Even his best film (to me), " The Big Sleep " is arguably one of the weaker film noirs that I've seen. " Rio Bravo " is a film that apparently is a response to 1952's " High Noon ," which was an allegory about Hollywood's blacklisting and McCarthyism. Howard Hawks and John Wayne felt the film was anti-American and instead made " Rio Bravo " to broadcast an alternative perspective in which the hero of the story doesn't shy away from justice. I personally ha
Read more

That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

Image
  Luis Bunuel's "That Obscure Object of Desire" Luis Bunuel's final film before his death, " That Obscure Object of Desire " does not feel like a thematic summation of his filmography. That regard would go to his prior film, " The Phantom of Liberty ." Rather, " That Obscure Object of Desire " feels more like a strange after-the-fact memo. It does not display the typical levels of surrealism that most Bunuel films are known for. However, it still manages to  Bunuel based his script on the 1898 Pierre Louys novel " The Woman and the Puppet ." His film tells the story of a wealthy Frenchman named Mathieu who becomes obsessed with a young, impoverished Spanish flamenco dancer named Conchita. As the two become intertwined in a romance, it becomes clear that Conchita will not let Mathieu have sexual relations with her. She continues to tease and sexually frustrate him, as he continues to give her money and other various things to win
Read more

King Kong (1933)

Image
  Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's "King Kong" There are many post-Depression American 'box office' films that I have seen in my film studies journey. Most of these post-Depression box office films don't typically sit right with me. The films I have in mind are the gangster and monster films that swept the nation in the early 1930s. These films typically were meant to placate an anxious American audience. However, the depth to their thematic intricacies leave something to be desired. Even without this depth, the 'entertainment' aspect of these films were not very entertaining to me. However, there is one film that utterly surprised me, 1933's adventure epic " King Kong ."   The story is well-known. A group of filmmakers travel to a remote island to take advantage of strange and interesting natural wildlife unknown to the outside world. There they meet an indigenous people, all terrified of a large, monstrous primate living on
Read more