Trafalgar

I finally was able to see this early Oscar silent winner: Frank Lloyd was the 1928-29 Best Director Oscar winner. The occasion for showing film was that TCM is honoring Marie Dressler in a series of her movies, and she had a small humorous role in this film.

This movie is based on the semi-true story by E. Barrington. It centers on the affair between Emma, Lady Hamilton and the British naval hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson, during the Napoleonic Wars. Both were married to other spouses at the time of their affair.

The same general story was later made into the 1941 Kora-directed movie, That Hamilton Woman (1941) with Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier as the two main characters.

Briefly, as explained in an introductory title card, "This is the historic tale of two people whose lives are an immortal romance; the story of the love and destiny of England's greatest beauty, and England's greatest sailor." The film focuses on the greatest beauty of Corinne Griffith (as Emma Hart). Her main lover is the greatest sailor, Victor Varconi (as Horatio Nelson). Ms. Griffith dominates the drama, which begins in late 18th century England. Introduced as a servant girl, Griffith becomes enamored with noble boss Ian Keith (as Charles Greville). After gaining a reputation as a "vulgar hussy", Griffith is sent to Italy; there, she becomes more ladylike, and marries Mr. Keith's uncle, H.B. Warner (as William Hamilton). Then, as "Lady Hamilton", she meets, and has an historically influential affair with Mr. Varconi, her "true love".

"The Divine Lady" is a showy, costly production. It was noticed during the second "Academy Awards" ceremony for the direction of Frank Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd's direction is, indeed, a strength; in one scene, he makes you feel you are on a Ferris Wheel. Lloyd was also noted for directing Richard Barthelmess in "Weary River" and "Drag", films which sandwiched "Divine Lady". John Seitz' photography is another strength; he is responsible for many beautiful scenes; and, of course, shows superstar Griffith in her best light. Comic relief Marie Dressler (as Mrs. Hart) appears too briefly.

In 1994, Corinne Griffith received a belated "Academy Award" nomination as "Best Actress" for "The Divine Lady"; the revelation appeared in Robert Osborne's "65 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards".

There were no actual "nominations" announced that year (actually, the 1928-29 season); after the awards gained stature, there were attempts to bring the earlier ceremonies in line with what was becoming the industry standard. The inclusion of Griffith's name among the nominees may have been due to a suggestion Jeanne Eagels' performance in "The Letter" be dropped, since she died in October 1929.

A look at the other nominations would support Griffith's inclusion; however, the second ceremony was not one of the Academy's best efforts. Griffith's starry, self-conscious performance was better than "Best Actress" winner Mary Pickford's, in "Coquette"; but, so were most. Lillian Gish and Greta Garbo essayed far superior characterizations during the eligibility period, but were not nominated. However, dog star Rin Tin Tin was considered for a "Best Actor" nomination.

****** The Divine Lady (4/14/29) Frank Lloyd ~ Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, H.B. Warner, Ian Keith

Scottish film-maker Frank Lloyd (a would-have-been birthday celebrant on the day I watched the film under review) was one of the founding members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences – best-known for holding the annual Oscar ceremony. He was also the second Academy Award winner for Best Direction for this rarely seen historical epic which, as it turned out, was the only film in Oscar history to win that category without an accompanying nod for Best Picture (a feat which, given the current rules, is practically impossible to repeat itself). However, Lloyd was even nominated for directing two more movies that same year – WEARY RIVER (which I own a copy of but did not manage to locate in time for inclusion in this ongoing Oscar marathon!) and the unavailable DRAG. He would later emerge victorious again for CAVALCADE (1933) and received his last nomination for MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) which, like the latter, was also named Best Picture. For the record, his other films that have had notable brushes with Oscar were EAST LYNNE (1931), BERKELEY SQUARE (1933) and IF I WERE KING (1938) – and, although I have all three in my collection, they will have to wait a similarly-themed marathon for their first viewing. After such a distinguished career, Lloyd semi-retired in the mid-1940s and only made the occasional movie in the following decade before dying in 1960.

THE DIVINE LADY – not to be confused with the contemporaneous Greta Garbo vehicle THE DIVINE WOMAN (1928) only a fragment of which exists today – tells the oft-told tale of the controversial affair between Lady Emma Hamilton and Lord Horatio Nelson; I am already familiar with the Alexander Korda version of events entitled THAT HAMILTON WOMAN (1941; the only on screen pairing of then husband-and-wife team of Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier) and also have the Glenda Jackson/Peter Finch- starring A BEQUEST TO THE NATION aka THE NELSON AFFAIR (1973) in my unwatched pile; for the record, I would love to catch Richard Oswald's even earlier LADY HAMILTON (1921), in which the ubiquitous pair of Conrad Veidt and Werner Krauss played Nelson and Sir William Hamilton respectively, and Christian-Jaque's international version EMMA HAMILTON (1968) – with Michele Mercier, Richard Johnson and John Mills.

The narrative here starts out with an 'impoverished' aristocrat (Ian Keith) dismissing a newly-engaged cook (Marie Dressler) because of the "vulgar" antics of her daughter Emma Hart (an Oscar-nominated Corinne Griffith, though her name is bafflingly omitted in Roy Pickard's "The Oscar Movies From A-Z" and seems to be disputed elsewhere too!); her entreaties to rethink his harsh decision win him over and impress his artist friend who wants to paint a portrait of her. Before long, she is accompanying her employer on social occasions, until she embarrasses him by bursting into song at a fair thereby attracting the attentions of every male within hearing distance. He is convinced to dispose of her by thrusting her into the arms of his aging womanizing uncle Sir William Hamilton (H.B. Warner!) even though she had fallen for Keith himself in the meantime. He soon gets to regret his actions when the wealthy relative (whom he had hoped to inherit) marries the wench and turns her into Lady Emma Hamilton, Ambassadress to Sicily! Although that island is ostensibly neutral to the ongoing conflict between England and France, the king sides with France while the queen (sister to the deposed Marie Antoinette) secretly sides with Britain. When Lady Hamilton decides to intervene, the latter's allegiance is instrumental in overturning a Royal decree not to help the ailing British fleet headed by Admiral Horatio Nelson (Victor Varconi – who is not shown wearing a black patch over his blind eye but does get to lose a hand!). Apart from helping the British repel the enemy, this fateful event brings Emma and Horatio together for the first time and, as they say, the rest is history...

The understandably battered print – culled from the "Warner Archives" DVD-R – does not really do the film much justice but remains reasonably watchable throughout. Indeed THE DIVINE LADY is a handsomely mounted and well-crafted production (cinematographer John F. Seitz also received an Oscar nomination for his work here), with Lloyd's solid direction smoothing over the crude sound sequences interspersed throughout where we hear Emma Hamilton sing, and only calling attention to itself intermittently, as in the aforementioned fairground sequence.

and the very strange Oscar win for director, Frank Lloyd, are the only reasons this film is remembered at all. Long, dull, and obvious, The Divine Lady tells the story of Emma Hamilton and Admiral Nelson and his victory at Trafalgar. Because nominations were not announced in the early years of Oscars, it has allowed revisionists to suddenly, in the last few years, proclaim that Corinne Griffith was a nominee for best actress. This makes no sense as Griffith would have been the SIXTH nominee on the list. The academy might have played around in the first several years, but they never had SIX acting nominees. Mary Pickford won for Coquette. The other nominees have always been Bessie Love for The Broadway Melody, Betty Compson for The Barker, Ruth Chatterton for Madame X, and Jeanne Eagels for The Letter. Now out of nowhere, Griffith as been added as the stealth nominee. No way. If there WERE no official nominees announced, how did Griffith suddenly appear as a nominee 70 years after the fact? Nothing against Miss Griffith, whom I liked very much in The Garden of Allah, but she was NOT nominated for an Oscar, despite the trumpetings of TCM and the revisionism of the official Oscar web pages. Check any Oscar book printed before 1995. NO GRIFFITH! Oh and I would have voted for Bessie Love.

The Divine Lady is a fantastic silent film, a gem of early American cinema that we are lucky to have discovered. Once thought to be lost, The Divine Lady was found along with its original vitaphone score. Since its rediscovery, the movie hasn't raised much commotion in the film community. It has aired on Turner Classic Movies only a handful of times, and it has not been offered for sale on home video. Despite all of this neglection, The Divine Lady is as important and significant as it is entertaining. Garnering an Oscar nomination for its lovely star Corinne Griffith (who, after seeing all the nominees from that year, I have decided should have won) and an Oscar win for Best Direction (for Frank Lloyd). The opening scene is upbeat and humorous. The deliciously hammy Marie Dressler is a delight as the English cook, Mrs. Hart. When her and her hussy of a daughter Emma (Griffith) arrive at the home of the Honorable Charles Greville (Ian Kieth) to work, Sir Charles is skeptical and doubts allowing a vulgar young gamine to enter his home. After her persuasions, however, the man changes his mind and begins to romance Emma. Anxious to inherit the fortune of a rich uncle Sir William Hamilton, Greville sends Emma to live with him in Naples. His motivation is that Sir William could never bring himself to marry such a woman, and that she will exist as his mistress; thus, he himself will inherit the fortune of his uncle when he dies unmarried. When Emma learns that her love will not be joining her, however, she foils the plans of her suitor and marries Sir William. One day, a young naval officer, Horatio Nelson (Victor Varconi), comes to ask a favor of Sir William. Instead, he meets his lovely wife and the two are attracted to one another. When, after a great deal of success, Nelson returns, the two carry out a much-gossipped-about affair. Struggling for the peace and tranquility they desire, the two settle down to live a quiet life. But when Napoleon becomes a threat to England again, the lovers must separate and Nelson must go fight another naval battle. Dripping with beautiful production values, the Divine Lady is a wonderful film, even today. The characters are portrayed vividly and realistically. The photography is some of the best ever, at times similar to the much-touted 'Sunrise.' Over all, the film is a massive experience. It is truly one of the best silents of American film!