Der Sohn der Taiga

Not to go into Tim Robbins mode from The Player, but think of this film as Downstairs (1932) meets He Who Gets Slapped (1924) meets The Last Command (1928). It blends class differences, the pain of humiliation, and the Russian Revolution into a bit of a mess, but it's a mess with Lon Chaney, who I always find mesmerizing. Here he plays a Russian peasant, and opposite him is beautiful Barbara Bedford, who more than keeps up with him as an aristocrat. During the civil war he protects her out in the country (how she ever managed to get in this position isn't explained), taking a whipping to conceal her identify which even he doesn't fully know. She's rescued and they're brought to her manor, where he expects her to live up to her promise to be his friend forever, but she simply offers him a servant's job and makes it clear that he's of a different class. In addition to being disillusioned, he endures the pain of being yelled at and called an idiot by the older lady of the house.

I wish I could say this film is some grand metaphor for the Revolution, with the peasant becoming woke to the hypocrisy of the ruling class and turning on them. It briefly has those overtones, when another servant tells him "You fool! You take a beating because an aristocrat promises you something? Do you think those upstairs pigs ever keep their promises to us downstairs?" The servants in the house look forward to the fall of the aristocracy, and have a little revolution of their own in the kitchen, ignoring the bell ringing for service and getting drunk. It's a situation where everyone seems repelling - the aristocracy for living off the vast wealth inequality (with the couple in this house also being war profiteers), as well as the marauding revolutionaries and peasants, who on three different occasions in the film look to rape Bedford's character. In one of the better scenes, one with real menace, it's Chaney's character who does this, and she repels him with the heel of her hand pushed up under his chin with all of her strength (which looked rather painful to Chaney).

The film could have gone to some pretty dark places or made an actual statement, but unfortunately it cops out on all fronts. There is a romantic angle (with Ricardo Cortez) which might have worked had the guy come back and killed the peasant, or vice versa, but the film instead wants both of them to be heroes, opting for a contrived and unsatisfactory ending. Despite that, I liked Chaney and Bedford enough to enjoy seeing this film, especially since it moved along pretty well over its 70-minute runtime.

During his career, Lon Chaney played a lot of odd roles and a wide variety of nationalities. So, his playing a Russian peasant in "Mockery" isn't all that surprising.

The film is set during the Russian Revolution and it begins with Sergei (Chaney) looking among the dead after battle in order to find some food. While doing this, he meets up with a woman who offers to give him food and pay him if he can slip her into Novokursk--a nearby city besieged by Communist forces. He agrees and this peasant is now devoted to the woman. His devotion is proved when they are captured and he is beaten. Even then, he won't betray her.

When they are rescued, the woman turns out to be a countess and her gratitude towards Sergei seems shallow and fleeting. When he confronts her about this, she begrudgingly gives him a job working as one of her servants. Not surprisingly, when another servant, Ivan, begins lecturing Sergei about the evils of the rich, Sergei is more than willing to listen. After all, he'd taken a beating to save this woman yet seemed to have little regard for him. And all the servants seem ready to join the rebellion. What's next? See the film.

This is a decent but not exactly sparkling film. Chaney is fine but the plot is confusing as to its message. Is it a rousing endorsement of the destruction of a decadent system? You get inklings of this...but the ending also seems to strongly endorse the system. Or, is it a film that extols the virtue of the nobility? Well, not really as several of the rich folks in this film are real jerk-faces! So what's it all mean? I dunno...

If you do watch this one, look for Mack Swain as a corpulent rich jerk. He is normally known for comedies--particularly films with Chaplin. So, seeing him in a serious and thankless role like this is an interesting change of pace. Also, look for a very young and very handsome Ricardo Cortez as the Captain...he sure looks different than he did in his heyday in the 1930s.

It's the chaos of the Russian revolution. Countess Tatiana Alexandrova (Barbara Bedford) is alone and on foot, desperate to get to Novokursk. She encounters peasant Sergei (Lon Chaney) who is picking over the corpses of dead soldiers. She hires him as her guide and promises to be his friend upon arrival. They pretend to be a married couple when they run into revolutionaries.

This is a fascinating exposition of the Russian revolution. Neither side is right. In a way, I am a little disappointed with some of Alexandrova's actions, but it is very much indicative of the society in general. At last, there is no satisfying ending and there isn't one in the real world. I probably would have ended the movie before the final fight.

This little known title still manages to draw audiences thanks to Lon Chaney, although it is a bit hard to find. However, when found, it is a crowd pleaser thanks to a decent story, great acting, and nice production elements.

Chaney stars as Sergei, an unintelligent peasant who happens upon a woman (Barbara Bedford) while lurking in the forest in search of food. She requests that he accompany her to the city and to comply with whatever she says. His agreement of these terms becomes useful when revolutionists try to attack her. Sergei's actions in the situation make it possible for the two of them to reach the city, where he discovers that the woman is Countess Tatiana. In gratitude, she offers Sergei a job in the kitchen where she is staying under the direction of burly Ivan (Charles Puffy). He agrees and grows more and more fond of Tatiana and jealous of her relationship with soldier Dimitri (Ricardo Cortez) until he is driven to action by revolutionist Ivan.

As always, Chaney gives a stirring performance through a transforming makeup job. His character is rude and dirty, but we somehow sympathize with him even though we are brought to like both sides of the spectrum. Sometimes Lon is supposed to be sweet but sometimes he is supposed to be evil, but his character is realistic enough to be forgiven. Bedford is stunning as his love interest, first appearing dressed down in a Madonna-like fashion and then cleaning up to look Garbo-esquire.

The mechanics of the film are great too. It opens with an extreme close-up on Chaney's hungry hands searching through a dead soldier's effects. It follows him as he roams around. Lighting is used to highlight the scenes, especially toward the end of the film when lights flicker on and off constantly. These provide an added touch to make the film even better than it already would have been.

I'm a fan but have never seen this Lon Chaney film before. The intensity he brings to his slow-minded character is magnificent.

The title cards keep you on pace with the imagery very well. I didn't especially dislike the ones 'upstairs' but did feel empathy for the peasants 'downstairs.'

Nicely paced and always interesting throughout the story. It was a pleasure to see.

It's easy to spot Károly Huszár (Ivan the Gatekeeper), a familiar face in some great films like. The Blue Angel and The Man Who Laughs. Information about when and where he died at the age of 58 is sketchy, would be nice to know his complete story. IMDB: "His death place and date is still unconfirmed. He and his wife left Hungary in 1941 because of the Holocaust and tried to get into the United States. Some sources say that he died in Tokyo, Japan in 1942. Others that his train was stopped by the Soviet army and he was imprisoned in a Gulag labor camp in Karaganda, Kazahstan where he performed in the camp theatre company. He died there from diphtheria in June, 1943."

Spend a little time with this film, I find it rewarding.