The colorful veil (1934)

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Movie
German title The colorful veil
Original title The Painted Veil
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1934
length 83 minutes
Rod
Director Richard Boleslawski
script John Meehan
Salka Quarter
Edith Fitzgerald
production Hunt Stromberg for MGM
music Herbert Stothart
camera William H. Daniels
cut Hugh Wynn
occupation

The colorful veil (OT: The Painted Veil ) is an American feature film with Greta Garbo directed by Richard Boleslawski from 1934. The plot is roughly based on the novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham .

action

The young Austrian Katrin Körber lives an unconventional life and does not want to get married. In the end, however, she agrees to the English doctor Dr. To marry Walter Fane. Her husband has dedicated himself to the fight against cholera and moves to China with his wife. On board the ship that brings her to Asia, Katrin, who is already getting bored with her husband, meets the diplomat Jack Townsend, who is courting her. In Hong Kong, Katrin finally begins an affair with Jack, which creates tension in their marriage. However, Katrin's romantic ideas about marriage to Jack are quickly shattered. Deeply disappointed, the young woman follows her husband into the interior of the country. Katrin finally begins to help the nuns there in a monastery with the care of sick children. When Walter orders that the houses of the population be burned in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, riots arise in which Walter is injured. Finally, Katrin recognizes her husband's human size in her husband's bed.

background

After Queen Christine's artistic and financial triumph last year, The Colorful Veil was a return to the formula that had characterized most of Garbo's silent film : the long-suffering wife, who sandwiched between the loyal but boring husband and the exciting, passionate lover - and is torn. The script was based on a less than successful story by Maughan and removed from the script every approach of social criticism that the author had openly practiced on the appearance of Europeans in China in the novel. The studio also had major problems with the final version. First previews were disappointing and resulted in an extensive re-editing of the material.

The director Richard Boleslawski , who had shot the lavish production Rasputin: The Demon of Russia with all three Barrymore siblings in 1932, was known for a rather sedate and slow narrative structure. He therefore found it difficult to come up with a subject that would have needed more narrative speed and panache in the adaptation. At the end there was a very detailed description of a triangle, which, in front of an opulent studio chinoiserie, mainly served to allow the actress to change her costume as many times as possible. In the course of the plot, Garbo wears many different hat models, including a turban, a beret, which became very popular, but at no point did the eponymous veil.

One line of text became particularly well known. At the beginning, Katrin is asked by her mother to get married. She elects Dr. Fane and says with a deep sigh about her decision, which comes as a bit of a surprise for the family:

"Better to have something that occupies you than [- long pause--] you have nothing of the kind."

The position of Greta Garbo as the most famous film star in the world at the time is shown by the opening title, which begins with her last name GARBO in huge block letters on the screen.

Theatrical release

With a production cost of a good $ 947,000, the film was above the MGM average. It was a box office failure, grossing just $ 538,000 in the US, almost half less than previous earnings. Outside of the United States, the film grossed $ 1,120,000 for a cumulative grossing of $ 1,658,000. In the end, the film had a meager profit of $ 138,000.

criticism

Most of the critics were taken with Greta Garbo's portrayal, although the accusation was occasionally heard that Garbo was too glamorous to portray an old-school woman.

Andre Sennwald was impressed by his December 7, 1934 review in the New York Times :

"(The colorful veil) allows Greta Garbo to triumph over the emotional depressions that the studio repeatedly creates for her."

Louella Parsons expressed herself somewhat more critically when she addressed the fundamental problems of the film:

“Greta Garbo, only announced as Garbo, returns to the screen with 'The Colorful Veil'. A Garbo film, good or bad, is always celebrated as a big event by its enthusiastic followers. Yesterday's premiere was no exception to this rule. 'The colorful veil' is much better than the original version after a successful re-editing and a new cut. While the viewers of the previews weren't very impressed by the film at first, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised, as I had expected a boring film. Admittedly, the material is not really a Garbo topic. The film also does not meet the usual standard that one can expect from MGM, but is still not a full-blown flop. Without the great actors, however, it would be just second-rate entertainment. Garbo looks amazing as always, despite having to wear impossible costumes and ridiculous hats. Your portrayal of a repentant wife is interesting without being directly convincing. Some of the scenes that are set in China are well done, but most of them look artificial and static, making the entire flick seem less than authentic. Richard Boleslawski, the director, is inhibited by the exaggerated melodrama of the material and the complete lack of humor. "

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ (The Painted Veil) allows Miss Garbo to triumph once more over the emotional rubber stamps that the studios arrange for her.
  2. ↑ Greta Garbo, booked merely as Garbo, makes her screen appearance in The Painted Veil […]. A Garbo picture, good or bad, is usually hailed by the Garbo maniacs with great excitement. Yesterday was no exception. The Painted Veil […] is much better than it was before it was edited and recut. Heralded as a headache by those who saw it in its original state, it was a pleasant surprise to this reviewer, who expected to be bored. True, The Painted Veil is not Garbo material. Nor is it produced with the artistry of most of the MGM productions, but it is, by no means, a total flop. [...] If it were not for the splendid cast it would be listed as inferior entertainment. But the cast redeems it. Garbo looks lovely even in her ridiculous clothes and trick hats, and is interesting if not entirely convincing in her role of reformed wife. [...] Some of the Chinese scenes are well done but many of them seem unreal and staged to make a movie holiday. Richard Boleslawski, the director, is handicapped with the heavy melodramatic tone of the screen play, lacking, as it is, in all humor.