The Spanish Dancer

"The Spanish Dancer" has the script of an utterly commonplace, even hackneyed, melodramatic movie. In the hands of director Herbert Brenon, it turns into a work of visual fantasy that is impossible to resist.

Mind you, it needs to be seen in the right conditions. Looking at it by yourself on a television screen, it doesn't look like much. Happily, I was able to see it under the right conditions: at the Museum of Modern Art with Donald Sosin at the piano and his wife at the tambourine, during the week of a storm that had shut down half the city and left people shivering in the cold and dark, needing to be taken out of themselves.

The casting is well nigh perfect. The cinematography by James Wong Howe is perfect, not just the story telling aspect of it, but the set-piece at the center of the movie shot during Carnival in Barcelona. The shots are framed by medieval architecture and filled with light, thanks to the confetti that fills the screen.

My movie reviews usually talk about the story and there is one, but that's not the reason to see this movie. This is one of those movies that you must seem even though you may find it tough going until its beauty kicks in. I only hope that when you see it, it's in a comfortable theater with a great score. I also hope you don't have a disaster going on outside the theater.

"The Spanish Dancer" is a big-budget production, one of those which Herr Herbert Brenon, the film director, was so fond of; a strange epic costume film starring Damen Pola Negri that depicts the story of Maritana, a gypsy girl who dances in selected courtyards and even tells people's fortunes; but those are trifles, small business for the gypsy and fortuneteller girl; she deeply in her heart wants to be a…. Countess!!! ( How dare you, dear Pola?!... ).

So this gypsy social climber finally gets what she wants because the handsome Count Don Cesar de Bazán ( Herr Antonio Moreno ) falls in love and marries her ( that's how she gets her title of nobility ), but that's not enough for her, and she even gets involved in some strange plot with the -- King of Spain!.... ( Herr Wallace Beery wearing an impossible wig ), putting on the verge the stability and the Foreign Ministries of Spain and France ( this country represented in the film by the King's wife, Queen Isabel Of Bourbon -- don't mistake that rigid Queen with an ordinary American liquor ) …. MEIN GOTT!!!.... that girl doesn't know or care about any limits to her gypsy ambition!.

In spite of this film being full of stereotypes about Spanish types and bizarre customs of that country ( thank Gott there is not a bullfight and even better, no matador can be seen in this film! ), it's an entertaining film; and although "The Spanish Dancer" is a film that didn't survive till today in its entirety, thanks to the sceneries and the funny plot full of aristocratic jealousies and intrigues at Philip IV of Spain's court, the audience will enjoy this kind of Spanish-adventure silent film.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must keep order over this chaotic Spanish court.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/

Since several reviews here extensively recapped the plot, I will not reiterate. Instead, I will share my thoughts on several aspects of the film as I watched it.

Pola Negri is absolutely magnificent in the title role as a passionate gypsy desired by several of the men. TSD was her third American-made film and the first of her American films available for viewing (Bella Donna & The Cheat are presumed lost). She gives a terrific performance and is ravishingly beautiful in all her close-ups. She particularly looks amazing in a black, ruffled dress she does a dance in.

Pola is ably supported by a strong cast, including Antonio Moreno (you probably remember him as Clara Bow's leading man in 1927's It), who is appropriately dashing as a Spanish count, Wallace Beery (whose career lasted well into the talking era, particularly Dinner at Eight opposite Jean Harlow) as the Spanish king and Kathlyn Williams making a strong impression as the queen.

TSD is certainly a lavish epic of that era, with expansive sets and fabulous set designs. One interesting piece of trivia is that Mary Pickford (basically the queen of the movies) released her film Rosita shortly before TSD hit theaters. Both films were based on the same source material and newspapers and magazines of the time had a field day comparing the films and intimating that Pickford and Negri were engaged in a feud because of it. Not so, according to Pola in her autobiography, but it raised the profile of both films and both were financially successful. I haven't seen the Pickford version, but Pola seems much more suited to the fiery role of a Spanish street singer than the more demure Pickford. TSD probably would have been even better had it been directed by Ernst Lubitsch (who made Negri a star in Germany and directed the Pickford version), but Herbert Brenon (director of Peter Pan) did well enough in the director's chair that he was entrusted with Pola's next film, Shadows of Paris.

My biggest problem with the film, aside from the rather old print I saw on YouTube, was the organ music accompanying the film. I'm just not a big fan of that type of score and a full orchestra adds an element to silent films that lifts them way up.

Although I've been a silent film enthusiast for over 60 years and a silent film historian for over 30, I'm consistently surprised by how many silent movies I am not familiar with. I'm also pleasantly surprised by how many of these unfamiliar titles are now being rediscovered and restored. Such is the case with THE SPANISH DANCER. By the time the film was made in 1923, Pola Negri was already an international star, imported from Germany where she'd appeared in several historical epics directed by Ernst Lubitsch who was imported along with her and who would specialize in directing sophisticated comedies like THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940). The director here was not Lubitsch but the Irish born Herbert Brenon, famous for his visual style and irascible nature. Best known for PETER PAN (1924) and LAUGH CLOWN LAUGH (1928) with Lon Chaney, Brenon's career dried up with the arrival of sound.

THE SPANISH DANCER is based on a play with a 17th century setting and originally intended as a vehicle for Rudolph Valentino in order to capitalize on his successes in THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE and THE SHIEK. When Valentino was unavailable due to a contract dispute, Paramount decided to make the female lead the star attraction and so Pola Negri was brought in. The male lead was handed to Spanish born Antonio Moreno who, although in no danger of overshadowing his leading lady, could at least claim authenticity. Three years later Moreno would star opposite a 19 year old Greta Garbo in THE TEMPTRESS (1926) and one year later would be the male lead in Clara Bow's IT!. Moreno easily made the transition to talking pictures and his career stretched into the 1950s where he appeared in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954) and John Ford's THE SEARCHERS (1956).

The story Of TSD concerns a disgraced Spanish nobleman who must recover his family's honor. Before that happens he falls in love with Maritana, head of a band of Gypsies and also a dancer and fortune teller. The part of Maritana was tailor-made for the Polish born Negri who specialized in exotic roles and really has the opportunity to shine here. Her Gypsy costumes are stunning, her dancing is decent, and she is given the chance to actually act on a number of occasions. In addition to Moreno, Negri is ably supported by character players Wallace Beery as the King of Spain and Adolphe Menjou as a conniving courtier, both of whom also desire Maritana. Berry and Menjou went on to great success in the sound era. Unfortunately Negri did not. Her thick accent prevented her from getting leading parts in Hollywood so she went back to Europe and worked until the outbreak of World War II. Negri's last appearance was in Walt Disney's THE MOON SPINNERS in 1964.

THE SPANISH DANCER was conceived on a grand scale with lavish costumes, expansive sets, and lots and lots of extras, and was stunningly photographed by a young James Wong Howe at the beginning of his legendary career. For the most part the print restored by the EYE Museum in the Netherlands looks great although there is a brief section in the middle where the nitrate decomposition was too great to overcome. This doesn't affect the picture overall and we're very lucky to have it. As part of the restoration, a new soundtrack was commissioned from jazz composer and performer Bill Ware. The score starts out well but loses authenticity as it goes along. A fine score on its own but, as with so many of these newly-commissioned accompaniments, wound up more distracting than enhancing for this viewer. A big thank you to veteran movie preservationists Milestone Films for making THE SPANISH DANCER available to those who don't stream...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

A fine romantic drama starring the tempestuous Pola Negri as the Gypsy dancer Maritana who falls in love with Don Cesar de Bazan, a penniless nobleman played by Antonio Moreno. Pola's classic beauty is evident here and she gives a worthy performance. Other noble actors who would eventually have great success in talkies are Wallace Beery as the self-centered King Philip IV of Spain and Adolphe Menjou as the conniving Don Saluste. A young Dawn O'Day can briefly be seen who would grow up to be the adult actress Anne Shirley. One of the more outstanding performances in this film was given by the great actress Kathlyn Williams. Her portrayol of the domineering Queen Isabel of Bourbon in all her regal beauty and splendor was nothing but brilliant. It is fine early cinema like this which justifies the art of film preservation.