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The Man Who Laughs (Paul Leni, 1928)
Jan
29
1690
A hand-painted carnival banner reading “URSUS ye Philosopher presents THE LAUGHING MAN. Don't fail to see GWYNPLAINE who was deserted at ye age of ten on ye night of ye 29th of January 1690 by ye Villainous Comprachicos on ye coast of Cornwall. This little boy has grown up and is now known as THE LAUGHING MAN”. DP: Gilbert Warrenton.
“What a lucky clown you are! You don't have to wipe off your laugh.”
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Lonesome (Pál Fejős, 1928)
Nov
20
A Beautiful Day
Two hopelessly lonely hearts meet each other at Coney Island, spending the most wonderful day in each other's company. Pál Fejős' joyful Lonesome was made just when motion pictures became talkies, and new and more modern novelties were expected by the audience. Fejős delivers, with sound and musical inserts, and the occasional – almost shocking – burst of colour.
– Nice day, isn't it?
– Yes, isn't it!
– It's swell. It's perfect.
With light touches of Murnau's groundbreaking Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) and Jean Vigo's more experimental À propos de Nice (1930), Lonesome depicts the exuberance of youth with an optimism soon to be lost to the vices of history.
