Midnight Faces

Some think that silent films are by nature, inferior. I would not buy that in a million years. Some of my favorite films have been done by great directors of the silent era. That said, like with modern films, there are clinkers along the way. I consider this to be one of them. It is out of the Old Dark House tradition. Unfortunately, it's plot is silly, the characters are cardboard cutouts of real people, and it is filled with racism. Once again, the black servant is beyond ridiculous, probably because it was the only part available to him. There is a ridiculous fight that last about ten minutes, killing time so we can't mercifully get to the end. Don't bother yourself with this one.

Midnight Faces (1926)

** (out of 4)

Lynn Claymore (Francis X. Bushman, Jr.) inherits an old house out in the swamp in the middle of nowhere. Once there he sees a mysterious figure and lady a woman comes running in the house saying a madman with a knife is stalking her. This is an early "old dark house"/horror film that really doesn't know what it's trying to be. There's some minor comedy from the typical stereotyped black man, the horror elements aren't really creepy and the old dark house isn't all that creepy either. Even at 56-minutes this here seems a bit too long.

As of now, this film is only available through the public domain company Alpha, so don't expect perfect quality.

In the 1920s through the 1930s, Hollywood made quite a few old dark house movies--ones which have very, very similar plots involving a group of people stuck in a place with some maniacs. In light of this, "Midnight Faces" already has a major strike against against it. Just a few similar films would include "The Old Dark House", "The Cat and The Canary". "The Bat", "The Black Cat", "The Bat Whispers" and even comedies such as Harry Langdon in "The First Hundred Years", Buster Keaton in "The Haunted House" and Bob Hope in "Ghost Breakers"--and I'm sure I could come up with quite a few others if I tried!

This film finds out hero inheriting an old estate in Florida. However, when he, his friend and his black man-servant (thrown in for comic relief) near the home, they think they see something moving inside. Once they take possession, some of the dead uncle's old servants arrive and they are a bizarre assortment of stereotypes--including a supposed Chinese man who look like he's just walked off a Fu Manchu film set! At night, trouble erupts and it's up to the leading man and his friends to get to the bottom of it. Much of it didn't make much sense until the very end--when the long and complicated plot is explained--including what REALLY happened to the uncle. There were a few surprises but all in all, the movie seemed terribly derivative--just like the many other similar films I've seen. It's pleasant enough but nothing special.

By the way, one sour note in the film is the black servant. While he didn't over-react as badly as some black men in these films did, all too often they were included as a cheap laugh. Back then, white folks though it was hilarious to see a black man act cowardly and scared in these films. This role, like most of the films listed above, was present in this film but fortunately his performance wasn't as over the top or offensive as most--but it still wasn't necessary.

I'd like to give this film a higher rating but the poor editing and lack of continuity hurt the film. While it seems to a rip-off of the Cat and the Canary and The Bat, Midnight Faces does offer an enjoyable almost hour of viewing (the film clocks in at 53 minutes. While the acting is static (it is apparent that this is a poverty row production) the plot is good but the directing is another story (message to directors: either be a writer or a director, don't try to impress moviegoers by being a triple threat! It rarely works.) Bushman is tall, handsome, and virile. Kathryn McGuire is an attractive flapper type, and the rest of the rest is adequate. The biggest problem with this film is that the end comes so quickly. Other issues I noticed, why do the other cast members stand and watch Bushman beating the pulp out of the villain instead of rushing to his aid? Also, why is Bushman's valet seen crawling on the ground at the end of the film attempting to sprinkle salt on a pigeon or it is a pathetically small chicken? Lastly, why is the action in the film taking place at midnight when it is obviously daytime? This could have been an impressive late silent era film but the crude presentation of it makes it a film few will want to see. Still, give it a look if for just curiosity sake.

A quickie of some interest, despite (or maybe because) of its similarity to both The Bat (a sensational success on the Broadway stage when it debuted in 1920 and ran for a colossal 878 performances at the Morosco) and The Cat and the Canary, an obvious imitator which opened on Broadway in 1922 and ran for 349 performances at the National. Perhaps even more to the point, the much publicized film version of The Bat had its New York premiere on 14 March 1926. And just eleven days later, Midnight Faces made its appearance. Co-incidence? Hardly.

Midnight Faces has all the standard ingredients of the creepy old house horror mystery, including clutching hands from a shadowy cloaked assassin who uses secret passages to make his escapes, a frightened heroine, stalwart hero, personable friend and comic butler. The house is sufficiently large and cavernously gloomy to lend color to the proceedings, and the pace is nothing if not brisk. It's good to see a young Jack Perrin in civvies as the ingratiating friend, while an equally youthful Bushman alertly holds down the role of the hero. Cohn (or Cohen, he was never quite sure how to spell his name) has directed with reasonable flair, though film editor Fred Bain has obviously had his work cut out to paper over some slips in continuity.