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The intertitles in our silent picture show
I want to go back in time and steal this man's waistcoat. Or at least ask what he was reading:
(Francis George Packer, an actor I'd never heard of even under his stage name, Nigel De Brulier. He played the prophet Jokanaan in the 1923 avant-garde film of Oscar Wilde's Salomé, however, so I expect to see more of him soon. Discovered while looking for Conrad Veidt.)
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nineweaving worries it would wear me, but I think the wolf hat could take it.
(Francis George Packer, an actor I'd never heard of even under his stage name, Nigel De Brulier. He played the prophet Jokanaan in the 1923 avant-garde film of Oscar Wilde's Salomé, however, so I expect to see more of him soon. Discovered while looking for Conrad Veidt.)
nineweaving worries it would wear me, but I think the wolf hat could take it.
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I had no idea that there was a film of Salome. I only know it from the R. Strauss opera.
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I don't think that ever quite registered before. It's not that color film is lesser—no one's hair was ever redder than Moira Shearer's in The Red Shoes (1948). But black-and-white is like offscreen horror: what you cannot see is stronger than whatever you can be shown. The actor's hair is the color you'd like best, their clothes are the most complementary shades. If the sky is a summer idyll, it's Platonic blue. I wonder if that's why it's so strange still to see photographs from the '30's and '40's in color: we are accustomed to filling in the fantasy.
Thank you!
I had no idea that there was a film of Salome. I only know it from the R. Strauss opera.
I think I was vaguely aware of its existence, but not that the sets and costumes were designed after Beardsley's illustrations or that it's considered one of the first American art films. The internet indicates it may not be to everyone's tastes, but either way it's amazing.
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* This remained a problem in the early days of cinema - anyone with blue eyes looked all creepy. Hence no blonde movie stars until much later.
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It's probably not green, then, but I'll imagine it was.
This remained a problem in the early days of cinema - anyone with blue eyes looked all creepy. Hence no blonde movie stars until much later.
I didn't know that. Fascinating.
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I've seen a still from a really early appearance by Stan Laurel where the director attempted to compensate by having Stan wear extra mascara. It just makes him look like a skinny raccoon.
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I'm pretty sure I saw that version of Salome many years ago, though the version I'm more familiar with is the Ken Russell film (over-the-top but worth seeing).
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It distracted me from Conrad Veidt. That takes some doing.
I'm pretty sure I saw that version of Salome many years ago, though the version I'm more familiar with is the Ken Russell film (over-the-top but worth seeing).
What's it like?
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Have you found the wolf hat trailing shreds of brocade? Have you named it yet? I'd be inclined to call it Throgmorton.
Nine
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It's not a Throgmorton. I think it may need no more name than itself.
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That's serious Hat.
Nine
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You've seen the photographic evidence.
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Nine
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I thought it looked like a figure on the lantern, too!
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Wolf hat
Leather jacket
Francis George Packer's waistcoat
Fighting Trousers
But what would you wear on your feet? We need to sort this out before the Vanity Fair photoshoot.
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"I don't like your tweed, sir!"
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I've got boots; they're good boots. I haven't got any other interesting shoes unless you want to count the high heels I had to buy to play a nun in Yale Opera's Suor Angelica (which I still consider the funniest reason for buying shoes ever) and I don't like high heels.
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the high heels I had to buy to play a nun
That's... *wipes away a tear*... wonderful.
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Unfortunately, they're L.L. Bean.
That's... *wipes away a tear*... wonderful.
I never had any problems with them, either. I'd expected all my life I would. I'm just not interested.
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Odearlord, now I'm imagining "Sartorial Smackdown: Wednesdays, 9/8c
This week: Sovay's boots take on de Brulier's Cravat!"
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This week: Sovay's boots take on de Brulier's Cravat!"
I want to see Sydney Padua illustrate that!
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I think the real danger of adding to this outfit is that I might spontaneously start wearing goggles or summon a dirigible.
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He played the prophet Jokanaan in the 1923 avant-garde film of Oscar Wilde's Salomé ...
Like the others, I had no idea such a thing existed. Because Salomé is my favorite play, I shall seek to purchase a copy and add it to my library of silent Chaplin shorts.
My final year teaching, I attempted to stage a version of Salomé in which the role of the Young Syrian was played by a female - gay, as it happened, who had a history with the principal actress. (I had no idea at the time.) But our Method focus, combined with the interpersonal dynamic, made for some breath-taking rehearsals.
The play, like so much else of value I attempted my final year in the classroom, was undermined and eventually derailed by the administration.
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And whoa! Look ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-poWwCWnl3s
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It seems to be out of print, but it does exist on DVD.
But our Method focus, combined with the interpersonal dynamic, made for some breath-taking rehearsals.
Have you read Kelley Eskridge's "And Salome Danced?"
And whoa! Look ...
I shall kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan!
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Alas, I know but one dance, princess:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JFyVPxel5_w&feature=endscreen
I shall kiss thy mouth, Jokanaan!
They say that love hath a bitter taste!
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"I don't see why she couldn't run off with the head and live happily ever after." --small girl, having just watched Salome for the first time. (and I know it's true, because I heard it from a friend of a friend of mine.)
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Why do all your happy endings have severed heads?
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It's very nice, even at a hundred pixels. I like the tie, too.
I'm certain you could carry it off.
Thank you! I'll report back with photographs if I do—I'd still need a waistcoat in the first place.
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I'd love to know what he was reading as well. It's a wonderful image, this, and I thank you for sharing it.
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The vote of confidence is noted and appreciated.
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I like the ... embroidered pumpkin? behind him on the left. (I mean, okay, I guess it's a lantern, but it looks like it could be a pumpkin.)
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Nice!
(I mean, okay, I guess it's a lantern, but it looks like it could be a pumpkin.)
I think it is a paper lantern. It looks like there's a thin human figure atop it, though, which there probably isn't.
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I figure I can't steal that; I can just appreciate it.
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