The man who got the slaps
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The man who got the slaps |
| Original title | He Who Gets Slapped |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1924 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Victor Sjöström |
| script | Victor Sjöström, Carey Wilson |
| production | Victor Sjöström Irving Thalberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| music | William ax |
| camera | Milton Moore |
| cut | Hugh Wynn |
| occupation | |
| |
The man who got the slaps (original title: He Who Gets Slapped ) is an American silent film drama by the Swedish director Victor Sjöström from 1924. The leading roles are played by Lon Chaney Sr. , Norma Shearer and John Gilbert . Leonid Nikolajewitsch Andreyev's Russian play Tot, kto poluchayet poshchechini from 1914, which was also performed in English-speaking countries in the early 1920s, served as a template . He Who Gets Slapped was the first film that was made entirely by the newly founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . In 2017 he was inducted into the National Film Registry .
action
Scientist Paul Beaumont has been working on radical theories about the origin of mankind for many years. His wealthy patron is Baron Regnard, in whose laboratories he is allowed to work. Paul and his beloved wife Maria even live in the baron's castle. One day Paul announced that he had finally proven his theory. However, Maria steals her husband's documents and passes them on to her secret lover, the Baron Regnard. When Paul Beaumont, accompanied by the baron, wanted to present his results to the Academy of Science, he was shocked to find that his documents were missing. Instead, the villainous baron introduces himself to the scientists as the originator of Paul's theories. Paul accuses the baron of fraud in front of all scientists, but nobody believes him and everyone just makes fun of him. The baron claims that Paul was at most his assistant and gives him a scornful slap in the face. Paul falls into a depression and seeks help from his wife Maria, but she only mocks him and tells him about her affair with the baron. Then Paul leaves the castle.
Five years later: Paul left the field of science and now works as a clown with the title He Who Gets Slapped . This makes Paul the main attraction of a small circus near Paris. His number consists of the other clowns slapping him on the face, as Baron Regnard once did to him. The head of the circus is Count Mancini. He and his beautiful daughter Consuelo plan to marry a rich man so that the run-down circus can then rise to its former glory. The planned husband is Count Mancini's friend Baron Regnard, who one day sits in the audience and then makes advances to Consuelo backstage. But Consuelo is disgusted by the baron, and she even refuses his gift - a jewel. Instead, Consuelo feels more and more drawn to Benzano, who, like her, works as an art rider in the circus. In the absence of their father, Consuelo and Benzano go on a trip and admit their love for each other.
Meanwhile, Count Mancini makes it clear to the baron that he can only have Consuelo if he also marries her. The baron agrees to the marriage. Later the baron leaves his lover Maria, Paul's ex-wife. He leaves the broken Mary only a sum of money.
Paul also confesses his love to Consuelo, but she thinks it's a joke and laughs and slaps him on the face. They are interrupted by Count Mancini, who wants Consuelo to marry the baron who is also present tonight. Paul tries to prevent his beloved Consuelo from marrying his archenemy, but is locked away in a room with a lion in a cage. Now Paul is preparing an act of revenge in which the lion plays the most important role. First, Paul drops his true identity to the baron and threatens him. But the baron can stab Paul with his sword. The Baron and Count Mancini want to leave, but fall into the trap made by Paul: When they open a door, the door to the lion's cage is opened. The lion kills Count Mancini and the baron, only the injured Paul can be saved by the lion tamers at the last moment. Paul goes on stage, where he collapses from his wounds. He assures Consuelo that he is happy and that she would be happy (with Benzano), then he dies in her arms.
background
The man who got the slap in the face was the first film produced entirely by the newly founded film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Although MGM had distributed a few films before, He Who Gets Slapped was the first film for which the studio was fully responsible. It also presented the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion as the first film. The producer of The Man Who Got the Slap was Irving Thalberg , who starred Lon Chaney at Universal Studios with films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame . Chaney and Thalberg moved from Universal to MGM, where Chaney stayed until his death in 1930. The success of He Who Gets Slapped confirmed Chaney's reputation as a leading character actor in Hollywood, and its director Victor Sjöström named him the greatest actor ever in the press. Chaney later played the role of the clown again in The Unknown (1927) and Lach, Clown, lach (1928).
At Chaney's side in this film, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert play , who later belonged to the big Hollywood stars, but were still relatively unknown here. The success of The Man Who Got the Slap meant a career boost for Gilbert and Shearer. Norma Shearer later married the producer Thalberg, who intensively promoted her career with this and other films.
He Who Gets Slapped is based on the Russian piece Тот, кто получает пощёчины (Tot, kto poluchayet poshchechini) by the Russian author Leonid Nikolajewitsch Andrejew . Andreev's play was published in 1914 and two years later it was first filmed in Russia. In 1922 the play was translated into English, where it was performed with theater star Richard Bennett in Chaney's role on Broadway. He Who Gets Slapped sticks closely to the original up to the end, where Consuelo also dies in the piece.
reception
He Who Gets Slapped was a box office hit, with grossing around $ 881,000. Most of the critics were also very positive. Mordaunt Hall , chief critic of the New York Times , took a great liking to the film in his November 10, 1924 review. The cast was excellent, especially Lon Chaney: “Never in his endeavors in front of the camera did Mr. Chaney deliver such a brilliant performance like he's doing here in this figure. He is cautious in his acting, never exaggerates sentimental situations and is guided by his make-up. "Hall compared Sjöström's work with those of Charlie Chaplin and Ernst Lubitsch :" Mr. Sjöström directed this dramatic story with all the genius of a Chaplin or a Lubitsch and he did more than these in her previous works The Nights of a Beautiful Woman and The Marriage in a Circle because, unlike them, he had a poignant, dramatic story. " The New York Times also named He Who Gets Slapped on the list of the ten best films of the year.
The lexicon of international films judged: “Very theatrical, yet expressive silent film”. The television magazine Prisma was also impressed: “The great Lon Chaney - he was famous during the silent film era primarily for his versatility in the horror genre - in the role of disappointed scientist who slips into the costume of a clown. The Swedish director Victor Sjöström, who followed Hollywood's call in 1923, shows a work that is astonishing in every respect. Because it not only comes up with a lot of technical finesse, but also runs through the story of the humiliation and the resulting revenge of a man with bitter irony. "
Web links
- The man who got the slaps in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eames, John Douglas .: The MGM Story. Octopus Books, London 1975.
- ↑ He Who Gets Slapped (1924) - Victor Sjöström | Review | AllMovie. Retrieved October 14, 2017 .
- ^ "He Who Gets Slapped" in the New York Times
- ↑ Roger Fristoe: He Who Gets Slapped (1924) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved June 22, 2019 .
- ↑ The man who got the slaps. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 29, 2017 .
- ↑ The man who got the slaps. In: prisma.de . Retrieved June 22, 2019 .