Moulin Rouge (1928)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Moulin Rouge |
| Original title | Moulin Rouge |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1928 |
| length | 130 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | EA Dupont |
| script | EA Dupont |
| production | EA Dupont for GDP |
| music | Joseph Littau |
| camera | Werner Brandes |
| cut | Harry Chandlee |
| occupation | |
| |
Moulin Rouge is a 1928 British silent film directed by EA Dupont with Olga Chekhova in the lead role.
action
The lascivious and sophisticated dancer Parysia is the star of a revue that is currently being performed with great success at the Moulin Rouge in Paris . She shows no real interest in her daughter Margaret, who has just returned from several years of schooling. Margaret sits in the audience with her fiancé André to show her mother at work. When Parysia reads the note Margaret has left in her dressing room regarding her return and presence, she reacts very unsettled. The daughter's homecoming is celebrated at a festival. André has his eye on the much older Parysia, who is so very different from his good fiancée, and his request seems to be answered by the vaudeville artist. At home, Margaret tells her mother that Andrés' conservative father does not want to agree to a wedding with the daughter of a dancer. For this reason, the young happiness of both wants to keep their engagement a secret.
The next day, Parysia tries to talk to Andrés father. But he is adamant and does not want his son to marry into such circles. Parysia intends to tell Margaret and André that their endeavors have gone bankrupt when suddenly the fatherly news flutters in that the old man will give his consent to the wedding after all. Margaret is overjoyed. Andrés reaction remains strangely subdued, secretly hoping to get the "more exciting" Parysia instead of the boring Margaret. Now he fears that he will no longer be able to get out of this marriage, which he has now unwanted. When his bride-to-be leaves the room, he kneels in front of Parysia and begs her to finally hear him. The mature artist feels flattered on the one hand, but on the other hand does not want to do anything that could hurt her daughter. In order not to get into a conflict, she urges her prospective son-in-law to pull off the wedding with Margaret as quickly as possible. When Margaret enters the room again, they both look like caught sinners. In order not to be tempted after all, Parysia sounds that André wishes to get married in two weeks.
Margaret tried on wedding dresses in the following days, while André desperately looked for a way out. Over dinner with Margaret, he begins to daydream and kisses his fiancée so passionately that at that moment he thinks he is kissing Parysia. Then André brings Margaret home and drives to the Moulin Rouge. In Parysia's cloakroom he puts a suicide note in which he announces that he wants to take his own life. The following day Margaret wants to pick up her future father-in-law. André tries to change her mind because the road through the mountains is too dangerous. He does not want to make his vehicle available to her for this tour either. He suddenly faints. When André regains his senses, Margaret is already up and away with his car. Parysia learns from André what he was planning to do before he lost consciousness: André has loosened the brakes on his vehicle in order to crash his car into the ravine. Parysia then panics. She tells the young man to do everything possible to save Margaret. Because of you, he might as well kill himself afterwards. André grabs Parysia's car and rushes after Margaret. She has now pulled up to Andrés father's house. However, the servant explains that Monsieur has gone away. Margaret then gets back behind the wheel and drives the long way back. It is now night. André approaches Margaret on the mountain road just as her brakes fail. A daring maneuver ensues. André loses control of Parysia's car and causes an accident.
Margaret is injured in the process. She has to undergo emergency surgery. Parysia learns of the highly dramatic events over the phone. Although she is no longer able to organize her thoughts, she is disciplined and knows as an old show hand that she has to pull herself together now, because she now has her nightly performance ahead of her. As if in a trance, she rewinds her number in the Moulin Rouge. But then, when the curtain has fallen and she goes backstage, Parysia collapses. Her daughter Margaret will soon recover. André sits at the bedside and holds her hand tenderly and full of reawakened love. Parysia tells André that he has been given the chance to rehabilitate himself. Later, the young happiness goes on their honeymoon. Parysia, on the other hand, is excused for not being able to come to the platform to say goodbye: her next appearance is waiting.
Production notes and trivia
Moulin Rouge was originally (1926) a Hollywood film project that was to be shot with Gloria Swanson in the Czechova role. To this end, the Swanson had founded a film company that should be headed by Dupont. This project was to be financed by the heir of the Doheny petroleum dynasty, who was also Swanson's manager at the time.
After this film project collapsed, British International Pictures in London stepped on the scene in 1927 . Dupont, who had previously produced the film about the life of Madame Pompadour, The King's Maitresse , directed by Herbert Wilcox for the British National, was hired to direct its Moulin Rouge project. Dupont thus returned to his favorite topic about life in the demimonde, the nightclubs and among circus people, with which he had an internationally outstanding success with vaudeville in 1925 . Was filmed Moulin Rouge predominantly late 1927, early 1928, the film was completed. The world premiere took place on March 22, 1928, the German premiere was in Berlin on August 21, 1928. Shortly after the premiere, Dupont was confronted with a plagiarism allegation : he is said to have taken the material from a novel. A legal dispute ensued, which resulted in a settlement that was costly for Dupont.
For some technical issues, Dupont brought top German silent film experts to the islands: Werner Brandes took over the management of photography and Alfred Junge , who was to move to England in 1932, designed the film structures. Ludwig Kainer was responsible for the equipment and the props, Robert Wuellner took over the production management. The engagement of non-British workers was made easier by the British government's Cinematograph Films Act at the end of 1927. As a result, a large number of German artists were able to work in London in the following years and give British cinema new impetus. Until Hitler came to power in 1933, they included Henrik Galeen , Arthur Robison , Paul Czinner (all directors), Theodor Sparkuhl , Adolf Schlasy , Günther Krampf (all cinematographers) and OF Werndorff (film structures) in addition to those already mentioned .
The actress who played Margaret (Eve Gray) was actually only three years younger than her film mother Olga Chekhova. The only 20-year-old, later film star Ray Milland ( The Lost Weekend , Murder On Call ) made his debut in front of the camera in Moulin Rouge with an unnamed minor role.
In the opening credits of the surviving film, which is available on VHS, it can be seen that Dupont used original show interludes from the Casino de Paris for the revue scenes. In order to convey further authenticity, he also copied photos of Paris at night: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, illuminated street facades and bars.
Reviews
“In this production, Mr. Dupont's scenic composition is invariably imperative and his connections are pretty good. Acting, on the other hand, is far too artificial, and at times the poses and gestures of the actors are quite absurd. Her makeup is amateur too. It may be excusable for an actress to cry tears that are soaked in mascara. But appearing with mouse-colored eyelids on a humble, off-stage young woman is a little too extravagant. [...] The highlight of this melodrama is the point in time when André manages to switch from one car to the other at full speed at top speed. As for the outcome of the story, it's pretty clear that André is going through a change of heart while Parysia continues to fascinate other people from the stage. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: “The subject is original, strong in its conflicts and consistently interested. With the exception of small lengths created by repetitions of revue pictures, which are also excellently placed, it is excitingly staged and very well represented in all roles. Apart from a few hard scenes, the photography is very good, the presentation is generous. - Overall qualification: a hit . "
Web links
- Moulin Rouge in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Moulin Rouge at filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ See London Calling. Germans in British film of the thirties. A CineGraph book. Edited by Hans-Michael Bock, Wolfgang Jacobsen and Jörg Schöning, Munich 1993, p. 38.
- ↑ ibid., P. 38 f.
- ↑ Complete original review of Moulin Rouge in The New York Times
- ↑ Moulin Rouge in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
