Gold-digger Phyllis Haver embraces her “jazz hound” lover Don Alvarado in D.W. Griffith’s atypical BATTLE OF THE SEXES, which Fiona and I enjoyed in Kirkcaldy on Sunday as part of the Fife Jazz Festival with a live score by Jane Gardner. Enjoyed it so much it becomes the basis for this week’s edition of The Forgotten, over at The Notebook.
A break from our Mary Shelley explorations!
Off to Kirkcaldy, in the Kingdom of Fife, today, to see D.W. Griffith’s 1928 BATTLE OF THE SEXES, with Phyllis Haver as Marie, introduced laughing hysterically while reading Little Women at the beauty salon. This jazz age comedy is something of a departure for Griffith, who had rather steered clear of comedy since THOSE AWFUL HATS in 1909. Apparently it’s rather good, and the buzz of a live audience and live score make it irresistible.
Accompaniment by Jane Gardner, Hazel Morrison and John Burgess. I shall report back!
I’m still thinking back with pleasure upon CHICAGO. One of the movie’s cheekier ideas is to present the womens’ prison as a kind of Turkish harem of sexy flappers and weird grotesques. Here’s the lady mentioned above ~
Within frames of her introduction, she’ll be in a knock-down fight with Roxie, after spitting the word “Peroxide!” at her. Roxie then tears out her “False hair” and throws it to the lesbians.
There’s also the tragic baby-killer, trapped in a mental loop of re-enacting her woeful trauma with a doll on a string. Her story is grim enough to make even Roxie Hart falter ~
But my favourite is this delicious, evil-looking creature, in jail for knifing the old man ~
Later, we sneak a peak at the book she’s reading, an etiquette guide for ladies. Chapter heading: “When is it correct to use a knife?”
Here’s another intertitle of sorts, the foreword Nunnally Johnson places before the action of William Wellman’s remake, ROXIE HART ~
By the way, you can buy your choice of Roxies here ~
CHICAGO The Original 1927 Film Restored
Roxie Hart
Shadowplay