Lady of the Night

TCM is showing a very crisp print of LADY OF THE NIGHT, tinted throughout in shades of blue, yellow, orange, sepia, etc. and giving it a more interesting look than most of the B&W films of that era. It's accompanied by a very perky score by Jon Mirsalis that captures the feel of the story with style.

NORMA SHEARER has the chance to play two roles, a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks and a rich society girl--with both of them in love with leading man MALCOM McGREGOR. The stories are blended because the poor girl is the daughter of a criminal sentenced to life in prison and the rich girl is the daughter of the judge who sentenced him.

Camera work is marvelous in scenes where Shearer acts with herself, technically excellent in the manner the actress is photographed for the dual scenes. Particularly clever is the use of tinted photography to make the story more vivid.

For Shearer fans, this is a must see since this is really a minor gem in her career. She's equally convincing as Molly, the gum-chewing gal who knows she's not respectable enough to win the love of the inventor she has helped, and the quiet and thoughtful rich girl who realizes that poor Molly really has first claim on McGregor's heart.

The ending manages to be a mixture of sadness and brightness, a satisfying conclusion to an interesting and poignant tale about the whims of true love when it comes to wealth and poverty.

Monta Bell and Norma Shearer had an actress-director collaboration as important as that of Von Sternberg and Dietrich. And deeper. For while Sternberg never tired of exploring the planes of Dietrich's face, Bell explored Shearer's soul -- and through her, explored the moral nature of American women in the pivotal decade of the 1920s. All three of their extant films are to be cherished, but this is their absolute masterpiece.

This is a pretty straightforward silent romantic melodrama, and it's unclear why Norma Shearer was cast in a dual role when the two characters are not related and there's nothing in the plot that requires them to look at all alike, but it's made interesting by the excellent performance Shearer turns in as Molly. Florence is a typical goody-good Shearer characterization but Molly is a much more fascinating character, not really a "bad" girl but a young woman who's living by her wits, close enough to the underworld to be involved with a shady character like "Chunky" Dunn but decent enough to steer the hero away from criminal temptations. Beautifully made up and costumed (those feathers in her hat seem to have a life of their own!), Shearer as Molly turns in a sensitive performance, alive to the pathos of the character: it's a real pity she didn't make more films playing roles like this instead of the impossibly good heroines (like Florence in this film) for which she became known. (Incidentally the print I saw on Turner Classic Movies ran only 64 minutes and did not contain a two-strip Technicolor sequence — a real pity since I like the look of two-strip and am always glad when I can see a well-preserved example of it.)

A new print of this film was screened in San Francisco at the July 2004 Silent Film Festival, with live original piano accompaniment. For Shearer fans, an unbelievable treat. She plays two roles, displaying a unique sensitivity to each character's situation. Even though the script is sparse, Monta Bell's direction and usage of prolonged portrait shots pulls the viewer into a deep understanding of the parallel stories. For trivia fans: Norma really had her eyes under control for this one! There are more 3/4 and full-faced shots than I have ever seen or could hope for. She more than deserves the on-going introduction of, "The lovely Norma Shearer." We must have a DVD of this one!

Norma Shearer is terrific playing a dual role in this well-done silent film about two women - Molly, the daughter of a convict and Florence, the daughter of the judge who sentenced him. Molly of the heavily painted face, huge feather hat, and big beaded necklace, lives in a flat on the wrong side of the tracks and goes out with a little local named Chunky. But while out at the nearby dance hall she meets a handsome, crooked grinned lug named Dave Page, who she instantly falls in love with. Dave has invented, of all things, a device that can open any safe in the world - encouraged by Molly to "not go crooked", he sells the invention to the judge and a group of bank directors, and soon literally bumps into Florence - and into a love of his own! Poor, poor Molly.

Norma Shearer is so good in this, the characters of Molly and Florence completely seem like two different women, and excellent split screen photography is used here when they are both on screen at the same time. I thought there would be something in this about the fact that the two are lookalikes, perhaps switching places or something - never happens. The fact they look alike is just not part of the plot here. The lighting is done in an interesting way in this - Norma as Florence seems to be shot in more filtered, subtle lighting and she looks very lovely - Norma as Molly is severely lit to make her look more sharp and, boy oh boy, does the thick makeup she wears as this character look really harsh - she looks almost like a prostitute here. The print of this film looked gorgeous, full of sharp contrast, and brightly tinted in sepia/orange, pink, and blue shades. The piano score for this, done by Jon Mirsalis, is wonderful and matches the story well.