The Bells (1926)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Neat little silent movie starring Lionel Barrymore as an innkeeper with debts that endanger his political aspirations. So he murders a wealthy traveler to get the money to pay off the debts. At first things are fine but soon his victim's brother shows up and guilt begins to overtake him. Tell-tale heart (or rather, bells), here we come. Barrymore, as always, is great. Any hamminess can be forgiven due to the style of the silent era. Boris Karloff plays a creepy-looking mesmerist (hypnotist) who plays a part in Barrymore's ultimate fate. A good picture that should please most Barrymore fans and give Karloff fans a little something interesting, too. The hallucination sequence is the highlight. My only complaint is that the boisterous music score that accompanies the version I watched doesn't fit the action on screen half the time. But I won't hold that against the film as I'm not sure if this was the original music meant to accompany the film or if it's just one of many and possibly a modern add-on. It might give you a headache, though, so watch out.

It's obvious the filmmakers had seen and loved the expressionist masterpiece The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). The influence of the German movie can be seen all over The Bells (1926) with its oppressive ambiance and the way the feelings of the central character are projected into the environment. There's even a pre-stardom Boris Karloff running around in what is essentially a Dr. Caligari cosplay, playing a hypnotist who can see into people's hearts.For all the style the film has, the substance is lacking. The script is based off a Victorian stage melodrama about an innkeeper in debt whose conscience torments him after he murders and robs a wealthy merchant. Lionel Barrymore does great in the lead, making the innkeeper believable in his ambitions and desperation. The build-up of his growing insanity is amazing, but then the rushed ending kills it all. I didn't buy the innkeeper's "redemption" for one moment. This cop-out devolves the picture into mediocrity, worth viewing once or twice only.

Monday January 19, 7:00pm The Paramount, SeattleDesperate to save his livelihood and public standing, a congenial businessman, Mathais (Lionel Barrymore), murders a wealthy stranger for his gold to pay an insurmountable debt. As a mountain blizzard rages, an axe is swung, blood stains the snow and sleigh bells ring from the hand of the dying man. Tormented by his guilt and visions of his victim, Mathais is ultimately caught and stands trial for his crime, or does he?Based on the play Le Juif Polonais written by Emile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrain in 1867 and adapted for Sir Henry Irving who starred in a much heralded British stage production, The Bells was brought to the big screen noless than seven times. In addition to Barrymore, the 1926 Chadwick Pictures release stars Gustav von Seyffertitz in a typically sinister role, as the holder of Mathais' debt and Boris Karloff as a creepy sideshow performer, 'The Mesmerist'.

"The Bells" is a very fine silent movie from 1926 that is not at all creaky and should manage to impress modern-day viewers. As revealed in my beloved "Psychotronic Video Guide," this story was, remarkably, filmed no less than four times prior to this 1926 version, and three times subsequently in 1930s Europe! It made a huge star of British actor Henry Irving in 1872, when performed on stage. Anyway, the plot is a simple one, and concerns family man Mathias (here played by the great Lionel Barrymore, looking younger than you've probably ever seen him), who, in order to pay off his mortgage debt, kills a wealthy Polish Jew merchant for the gold in his money belt. He soon goes insane with guilt, and begins to hallucinate the ghost of the Polish Jew, hear the bells of his victim's sleigh, dream of himself on trial in court and, in one impressive scene, play cards with the murdered man. It is an excellent performance from Barrymore. The FX in this film are pretty fine, too, and director James Young makes the film visually striking by filling his frame with great detail and constant movement. And Boris Karloff, six years before his Frankenstein breakthrough, is memorable in his small role as a freaky-looking mesmerist. To add to the viewer's pleasure (at least on the disc that I just watched), the fine folks at Image Entertainment have given us a very crisp- and clean-looking DVD, with beautiful color tinting. (I'm still not sure why I despise colorization for old talkies but don't seem to mind it for silents!) Two problems, though: The film ends kind of abruptly, and although the picture is widely quoted as being 92 minutes long, the film I saw last night was just a shade over 70 minutes in length. What's up with that?