The Bells

This is quite a decent silent horror film. The print I watched was quite rich. It is a story, not unlike "Crime and Punishment," where a man beset by debt through his own shortsightedness, kills a kind old Jew and lives it up on his money. He spends on his daughter's wedding, buying clothes for his wife, and playing the part of the Burgomaster. Unfortunately, the bells in the title are the sleigh bells of the shay that the old man was driving when he was murdered. One of the strangest things is the appearance of Boris Karloff as a mesmerist. This was years before his appearance in "Frankenstein." He has thick glasses and this hideous grin. He has the power to get people to talk about their worst actions. Everything plays out, but I'm still not sure about the conclusion. It is a very interesting film and it has Lionel Barrymore playing something other than a bent over old curmudgeon.

Although more than one promoter has been quick to exploit the idea that THE BELLS was inspired by the 1848 Edgar Allen Poe poem of the same name, nothing could be further from the truth. Originally created in 1867 as LE JUIF POLONAIS by the incredibly prolific French dramatists Emile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrain, it was translated, adapted, and re-titled THE BELLS by English playwright Leopold Lewis. Actor Henry Irving's 1871 performance as Mathais was a sensation on the English stage, and in consequence the play was widely performed in the Victorian era.

As the 20th Century began, the stage version of THE BELLS was still so well-remembered that it was adapted to the silent screen at least six times. Little, if any, information is available about these adaptations--with a single exception: the 1926 film starring Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954), brother of stars John and Ethel Barrymore and a noted artist in his own right.

Modern audiences will likely find the story clunky and obvious, but in 1926 it, like the original stage version, was considered a great shocker. Mathais (Barrymore) is an inn-keeper who is in debt to the sinister Gustav von Seyffertitz (Jerome Frantz), who seeks to leverage Mathais' inability to pay into a marriage with Mathais' daughter Annette (Lola Todd.) In order to pay off the debt and secure his bid for the position of burgomeister, Maithas kills and robs a wealthy merchant who stops at the inn on Christmas--and is thereafter tormented by his own guilt and most particularly by the sound of bells, which recall the sleigh bells his victim held when killed.

Today the film is best known for Boris Karloff, who appears in the small but distinctly creepy role of "The Mesmerist;" even so, it is really Lionel Barrymore who endows the thing with interest. Acting styles of the early silent era tended to be very broad, and THE BELLS OFFERS scope for a great deal of scenery chewing, but Barrymore is comparatively restrained in his approach and the entire cast follows suit. In this sense, the film is quite watchable. At the same time, however, the story has been reworked so many times that even here it feels excessively old fashioned and slightly tired.

The print offered here is hardly pristine, but it is very good, and the score is also very well done. The DVD presents a short 1922 French film fantasy, THE CRAZY RAY, which is mildly entertaining as well. But for all the history and celebrated names involved, THE BELLS is a competent film rather than a good or great one, and its appeal will be largely confined to hardcore silent movie fans. Recommended to them.

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Fits more properly into the category of gothic melodrama than of horror, but lately it has been distributed as horror (perhaps owing to the presence in the supporting cast of the great horror actor Boris Karloff, and to the film's gothic style). It claims to be from an Edgar Allen Poe story, but this concoction of suspicious wives and somnambulists is really little more than a rip-off of Germany's "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (which was perhaps itself a take-off on the venerable, much-abused Poe). Barrymore serves admirably as the film's central character, though he hasn't really learned good film technique yet, making his performance one in the "high theatrical" mode.

After reading the Edgar Allen Poe poem, this film seems like an adequate representation of its original moods and feelings. Plus, you've got great talents like Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff (even though he has a small role) moving this picture down its macarbe path. So, if you enjoy silent films, this one will probably float your boat. The only complaint I have is in the the 1998 release's choice of music. It seems overly cheesy to be associated with Edgar Allen Poe. Although, the use of silence and sleigh bells adds a lot to the impact of the film. Intriguing with a good pace (plus, it's only 67 minutes, so if you can't sit through long silent films like "Birth of a Nation," then this one is for you.).

Contrary to the title and to popular belief, this 1926 feature is not based on or inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Bells," which, truth be told doesn't offer much literal plot material for a film adaptation. Instead it is based on a stage melodrama very popular in the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth. From what we can tell here, despite its fall from popularity, it was so popular because it is damn good as a melodrama -- a disturbing and tense psychological tale of the motives for a murder and the consequences of that same murder.

It is most famous now as an early appearance of Boris Karloff in a significant macabre role, but it is really a vehicle for the talents of Lionel Barrymore, who gives as extraordinary performance as Mathias, the innkeeper who wants to be generous with credit despite the wishes of his wife and father-in-law so he can win enough goodwill to become Burgomaster, but who is driven to murder to pay his debt and then tormented with guilt. He gives a very subtle and multidimensional performance as Mathias, constantly (and increasingly) worried, but still charming. He's perfectly underplayed by still expressive early, so it is so much more effective later when he plays up.

It's essential that he manages to convey the innkeeper's tortured thoughts about his debt before the murder itself, because no time is devoted to the decision itself, and Barrymore's acting makes it unnecessary.

Karloff, in a smaller but important role as the mesmerist who haunts Mathias with his supposed ability to cause criminals to confess. He's very powerful, magnetic, and harrowingly weird. As a mysterious man who may or may not have dangerous powers of the mind, you can't get much more effective.

The direction sometimes seems a little plain in a few of the scenes, but this is more than made up for in a good number of symbolic shots (plain objects coming to resemble nooses) and trick scenes that memorably show what is inside Mathias' mind (blood appearing on his hands as he retrieves some of his money, a argument with a spectral appearance of his dead victim).

As this is a silent film adaptation of a stage play, however, some of the talkiness inherent in the stage medium and impossible in the silent film medium has to come through some outlet. This leads to some unnecessarily wordy title cards that tend to distract. In addition, much of the acting, apart from that of Barrymore and Karloff, is overplayed to an unnecessary degree that begins to detract. The ending, while goodhearted, is indeed quite rushed, and leaves several plot threads hanging. It would have been much more satisfying if the film had been extended past this point for a little while.

This is a flawed but still very memorable film with elements that make it highly compelling, and one that will hold up very well for most viewers.