"The Home Maker" and "Seven Chances"--the Stanford's remarkable silent double bill
Reel Drew
This Wednesday evening, I had the good fortune of attending the Stanford
Theatre's presentation of Buster Keaton's legendary laugh riot, "Seven Chances"
(1925), and the newly-restored drama, "The Home Maker," also produced in 1925.
"Seven Chances," of course, I have seen many times before on video and 8mm.
But this was my first opportunity to see it on the big screen and since there
is such an array of incredible, non-stop gags, each screening is almost like
seeing it for the first time.
I'd like to comment at some length on the rarely seen "The Home Maker," a very
unusual film that deserves to become more widely available. Based on a novel
by Dorothy Canfield and directed by King Baggott for Universal, "The Home
Maker," like Lois Weber's "The Blot," William de Mille's "Miss Lulu Bett" and
King Vidor's "The Crowd," is a triumph of a realistic style in the 1920s that
avoided melodrama to concentrate on the problems millions of Americans faced in
their daily lives. Even today, the story remains revolutionary in its
redefinition of gender roles. Eva Knapp, a housewife (played by Alice Joyce)
finds herself trapped in the drudgery of housework while her husband Lester
(portrayed by Clive Brook) is so ineffectual in his unrewarding office job that
he is deliberately passed over for the promotion due him because of seniority.
The family's fortunes sink even lower when he is fired. With the idea of
leaving his wife and three children money from his insurance, he attempts
suicide by deliberately falling off the roof of a neighbor's house after
attempting to extinguish a blaze. But he is such a bungler that he fails at
that, too, surviving but without the use of his legs. In order to make both
ends meet, Eva takes a job with her husband's old firm, working in the women's
wear department. Lester, now confined to a wheelchair, stays home to supervise
the care and upbringing of the couple's three children (one of them played by
Jacqueline Wells who later became the lovely Julie Bishop). With thesechanged
roles, the couple now finds a happiness and fulfillment they had not known
before. Eva becomes very successful in her work, making far more money than
her husband had (one of the characters remarks that she was always "the better
man" of the couple), while Lester experiences the joys of bonding with his
children. Ironically, their new-found bliss is threatened when Lester
discovers he has regained the use of his legs. But he persuades his doctor to
withhold the truth from his family indefinitely so that they can maintain their
happy existence.
The narrative, with its radically egalitarian implications, is brought to life
vividly through the brilliant performances of its stars, Clive Brook and Alice
Joyce. Without a display of melodramatics or exaggeration, these two players
are beautifully restrained in their roles. Alice Joyce demonstrates anew why
she became one of the biggest female stars of the silent era. She convincingly
conveys her frustration with the domestic hell in which she finds herself
trapped at the beginning. She displays powerful emotion towards the end when,
unbeknownst to him, she discovers that her husband is no longer paralyzed and
she may have to abandon the job that means so much to her. Clive Brook is
equally sensitive in his part. There is nothing "whiny" in his moving
characterization of a man who had been forced by tradition into a role for
which he was unsuited but who later finds liberation as a "househusband."
Although Brook gave many fine performances in talkies, it's often seemed to me
that his "stiff-upper-lip" manner of speech somewhat reduced his range in sound
films. In the silent era, however, he was, I think, one of the finest, most
emotionally expressive actors on the screen as he proved again and again in
such films as "Barbed Wire," "Underworld" and "The Home Maker."
People often flail away at silent films for sometimes being "politically
incorrect" on racial issues. But one of the great glories of the silent screen
is how often it was on the progressive cutting edge of women's emancipation in
the 1910s and 1920s. In film after film, audiences were constantly seeing
women in strong, intelligent roles that broke sharply with traditional gender
stereotypes and were often years ahead of prevailing attitudes of their own era
and even those of later decades. For example, in the 1950s, in striking
contrast to the philosophy of "The Home Maker," American women were being told
to stay at home and leave the outside work to their husbands. Indeed, the
issues arising from more and more married women entering the labor force are
still very much with us. "The Home Maker" powerfully reconsiders how we should
envision gender. There is irony (but a realistic one in view of how entrenched
traditional attitudes have been) in Clive Brook ultimately having to feign
paralysis in order to avoid the inevitable social pressures which might have
adversely affected the role reversal that proves natural to the couple. (His
little son even rejoices when he learns from the doctor that his father won't
get well and so will be able to continue staying at home to nurture his
children!) But it was just that apparent helplessness which enabled Lester
Knapp to finally become a strong individual as he assumed his new role. I hope
"The Home Maker" will be more widely seen. It deserves recognition as one of
the most memorable achievements in the series of realistic films that
distinguish the American silent cinema of the '20s.
William M. Drew
Greta de Groat
I had long wanted to see the film (if anybody was irritated by the fool in the back
with a penlight trying to take notes, that was me) and i was not disappointed. I
was especially happy with the lovely understated performances by Joyce and Brook.
Their body language was just perfect as they transformed from tense, unhappy people
in their conventional gender roles to relaxed and confident in their new life. Its
sensitive observation of details of domestic life reminded me of some aspects of
Lois Weber, and made me curious to know more about King Baggot's work (other than
the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that arrived in the mail this week). Though i did grow
a bit irritated with the little kid and his intertitles, i thought overall it was
an outstanding effort. Bravo to Packard for bringing this one out!
This was my first Seven Chances complete on the big screen, and though i was really
coming for the second feature, this was a delight to see. Gee, and Alice Joyce
again next week, PFA next month, i'm floating on air ...
greta
Reel Drew wrote:
>
>
> I'd like to comment at some length on the rarely seen "The Home Maker," a very
> unusual film that deserves to become more widely available. ...
Jeremy Bond Shepherd
<gdeg...@sulmail.stanford.edu> wrote:
> Though i did grow
> a bit irritated with the little kid and his intertitles, i thought overall it
> was
> an outstanding effort. Bravo to Packard for bringing this one out!
What, 'ou dint like my ti'les?
;-)
mindspring.com
>
>
>This Wednesday evening, I had the good fortune of attending the Stanford
>Theatre's presentation of Buster Keaton's legendary laugh riot, "Seven Chances"
>(1925), and the newly-restored drama, "The Home Maker," also produced in 1925.
> I hope
>"The Home Maker" will be more widely seen. It deserves recognition as one of
>the most memorable achievements in the series of realistic films that
>distinguish the American silent cinema of the '20s.
>
>William M. Drew
DAMN !! The ONE TIME this summer I iss going to the Stanford, Palo
Alto, CA -- and look what happens -- !
Well, I'm gonna be there for the Green Goddess next Wednesday, (as
Justin Wilson sez, I gar-on-tee !!)
Thanx William .. I'll see ya there
Zeppo