It was
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | It was |
| Original title | Flesh and the Devil |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1927 |
| length | 112 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Clarence Brown |
| script | Benjamin Glazer |
| production | Irving Thalberg for MGM |
| music | Carl Davis (dubbing 1988) |
| camera | William Daniels |
| cut | Lloyd Nosler |
| occupation | |
| |
It was (OT: Flesh and the Devil ) is an American film directed by Clarence Brown . The film was the first joint work of the screen couple Greta Garbo and John Gilbert and was premiered on January 9, 1927 in the USA. In 2006 she was accepted into the National Film Registry .
action
Leo von Harden has been friends with Ulrich and Hertha von Eltz since childhood. Hertha has been in love with Leo since that time, but Leo does not take it seriously.
Leo and Ulrich later serve in the same imperial guard regiment. Leo is a daredevil and womanizer, whose antics are always covered by Ulrich. One day Leo happens to meet Felicitas, a wealthy and seductive woman, and falls in love with her. Felicitas does not tell Leo that she is married. Her husband challenges Leo to a duel when he surprises her at one of their meetings. Leo shoots the husband and therefore has to flee to Africa for three years. He cannot forget Felicitas.
In the meantime, Felicitas begins a relationship with Ulrich and marries him. That doesn't prevent her from secretly reestablishing the relationship with him after Leo's return. Leo demands a decision from Felicitas and they agree to flee together. But Felicitas cannot bring herself to give up the luxurious life that Ulrich offers her and gives up her project at the last moment. When Ulrich suddenly arrives, Felicitas pretends that Leo wanted to force her to flee. They want to duel on an island they call “Friendship Island” and where Leo and Ulrich became blood brothers as children. When Hertha, who Leo still loves, kneels, Felicitas realizes their nefarious behavior and tries to get to them across the frozen lake to tell Ulrich the truth. However, she collapses in the ice and drowns. At that moment, Leo and Ulrich remember that they were forever friends as children and are reconciled.
background
The film was based on Hermann Sudermann's novel Es war . The shooting of It Was marked a turning point in Greta Garbo's career. After two relatively successful appearances as a vamp , the studio decided to use the actress alongside the then biggest male star, John Gilbert. The story itself was old-fashioned even then and the script failed to dust off the antiquated morality of the original. Much more important to the success was the chemistry between the main cast, who fell in love during the filming. It was thanks to the director Clarence Brown and cameraman William H. Daniels that this sexual tension was captured and implemented on screen. It was Brown's first film for MGM and he was intrigued by Greta Garbo's talent:
“There was something in Garbo's eyes that you couldn't see unless you shot them in close-up. You could see the thoughts. If she was to look jealously at one person and fall in love with another, she needn't change her expression. You could see it in her eyes as she looked from one to the other. And nobody else has ever done that on screen. "
It was a love scene in which Garbo and Gilbert hug and kiss lying down, which was relatively seldom shown in the film and caused a sensation.
An alternative ending was filmed, in which a relationship between Hertha and Leo develops after Felicitas' death.
Immediately after filming was over, Greta Garbo went on strike for seven months to get more money and better roles. She lived with Gilbert during the time and also hired his agent Harry Edington, who made a decisive contribution to creating the mysterious star from Garbo.
Theatrical release
Production costs of $ 373,000 were roughly the average for an MGM production. The box office profits of 603,000 US dollars in the US and another 658,000 US dollars in foreign markets meant a cumulative total result of 1,261,000 US dollars, which was an above-average sum for a silent film. The end result was a profit of $ 466,000. The studio established Garbo-Gilbert as a screen couple and competitor to Ronald Colman and Vilma Bánky .
criticism
- No outstanding work in film history, but a telling insight into early Hollywood production and its depiction of eroticism, which is impressively shown to advantage through a visually intoxicating style.
Web links
- extensive background information, links to numerous screenshots
- Flesh and the Devil at Turner Classic Movies (English)
- It was in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Footnotes
- ↑ Kevin Brownlow , Pioneers of Film , pp. 185 ff
- ↑ http://www.garboforever.com/Film-11.htm
- ↑ It was. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed September 1, 2017 .