Snow White

"Snow White", directed in the far away year 1916 by Herr J. Searle Dawley, is a beautiful film adaptation of the classic Grimm fairy tale.This film was considered long lost but fortunately a copy was found in the"Filmmuseum", a kind of Dutch film archives where the nitrates are not very well arranged, certainly nothing like this German aristocrat's film archives where the films are perfectly organized and classified in a German way, so in this way no film is lost, including Herr Stroheim's "Greed" (in its 9 hours complete version… ). Anyway, thanks to the good luck of finding this lost silent film, every silent film fan can now appreciate Herr Searle's talent.

"Snow White" ( this German count doesn't think it necessary to relate this well-know story about beauty competitions in the Middle Ages ), as this aristocrat said before, is a visually lovely film in which the art direction and the sets are absolutely outstanding, not to mention the make-up, some charming special effects and even a little animated sequence. As it happens with some remarkable early silent film versions of fairy tales, there is a remarkable concern to depict and recreate in detail the magical atmosphere of those original stories on the screen and this one is a perfect recreation of the tale. It must said though that in those classic film productions, there is not usually a trace of transgression or boldness ( which is scarcely necessary most of the time since the original stories are full of cruelty ),and they are conservative and polite adaptations intended to be harmless and wholesome entertainment for families around the world. "Snow White" starred Dame Marguerite Clark, an important film star in the teens, and she plays her pure and chaste role very well, and the rest of the cast is equally good, all perfect for an early film that doesn't suffer with the passage of time.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count has an appointment with the evil Queen.

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

Supposedly this what got Disney's mind oriented toward cartoon versions of well known "fairy tales."

But we can hardly blame it for the patronizing travesty he has performed on children's literature. The story here is a bit Bolwderized (some sex, and much cruelty have been removed from the traditional version). But it is still complex and has lots of side stories, like how she disguises herself as one of her maids in waiting. And how the stepmother tried a comb first, before the apple.

The structure of the play on which this is based is supposedly influenced by the revival of Macbeth then current in London, where the Shakespeare story is explained as controlled by the three witches. Here it is almost as if the witch were responsible for the Faustian deal the ugly stepmother makes.

This film was conceived as a direct result of the amazing popularity of "Birth of a Nation," perhaps the most influential film in history. That's because Birth cemented the notion that movies are like plays — not an entirely predetermined outcome. This was the first big budget play to be movie-ized afterward.

The film is in bad condition, so you have to imagine which cuts were original and which are because of missing segments. I prefer to imagine most of the jumps as missing material because the thing moves so languorously in what we see. For instance, there's a clearly drawn Queen's Toady who we spend many minutes watching in pompous walk.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

The 1916 SNOW WHITE is undoubtedly one of the most important movies in the history of fantasy pictures. Without it, we would have no Disney SNOW WHITE, and without a Disney SNOW WHITE, the 1939 WIZARD OF OZ would have never been greenlit, along with many other great fantasy films we have enjoyed in the subsequent years. Regardless of this significance, the 1916 SNOW WHITE is not necessarily a classic in its own right,

The positives first though: Marguerite Clark is an exuberant lead, channeling both the princess's innocence and her burgeoning romantic yearning for the prince. The aesthetics of the film are charming in a classic storybook mode, filled with the usual anachronisms you'll find in the world of fairy tales. I also thought the other actors were game with their performances, especially Dorothy Cummings as the vain, scheming queen.

My main issue with this version is the storytelling. So much time is wasted on uninteresting court politics or the Huntsman's cuddly little kids. The dramatic moments lack urgency: when Snow White learns the Huntsman plans to kill her, she basically laughs it off. There is nothing like suspense at all, even as the story builds to its climax. It makes a striking contrast with the Disney adaptation, which, despite its sentimental nature and cheerful songs, undoubtedly had narrative urgency and moments of pure terror that made the happy ending feel earned.

Another problem is the direction, which is flat and static even by 1910s standards. You never really feel transported into another world like you do with, say, Douglas Fairbanks' THE THIEF OF BAGDAD from a few years later. The few moments of interesting staging, such as a close-up of Snow White peeking into the dwarves' cottage through the window (later aped for the Disney movie), throw the overall flatness into even greater relief.

Still, regardless of how this movie plays today, it inspired young Walt Disney to the point where he still treasured the memory of it into his thirties. And for silent film enthusiasts, the survival of this movie is still a great blessing, not just because of the film's historical significance, but because it gives us a glimpse of the otherwise elusive Marguerite Clark, who has so little work surviving.

Adapted by Winthrop Ames from his own 1912 Broadway adaptation of the tale published exactly a hundred years earlier by the Brothers Grimm, 'Snow White' was one of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players productions, the Famous Player on this occasion being Marguerite Clark in the role she had created on stage. Aged 33 when the film version was made but easily passing for a girl half her real age, Miss Clark is surrounded by a handsome if stagy production, lushly photographed by H. Lyman Broening, who when called upon also conjures up more spooky visuals for scenes such as down in the dwarfs' mine and - most vividly - the witch's lair; both of which can be recognised in the 1937 version produced by Walt Disney, who saw this as a 15 year-old. In this version, the witch and the wicked stepmother are separate characters; the former played for laughs by Alice Washburn, with Dorothy Cumming as the latter resembling Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth in John Singer Sargent's famous 1889 portrait.

The highlight of this version of "Snow White" is the lively performance by Marguerite Clark, who fits into the role very well and shows why she was so popular in her time. Overall, the movie is a pleasant, old-fashioned telling of the story, with a stage-like technique but some pretty good production values for the mid-1910s.

At one time, Clark was as popular as any other actress of her day, but almost all of her movies have since been lost. Even this movie is still missing some material at various points, although the reconstruction in the Treasures From American Film Archives collection is very nicely done, and makes it fit together as well as it possibly could have.

Even when compared with the other great actresses of her day, Clark works very well in the role of a young girl. Her small stature certainly helps, but her actions and mannerisms are also very believable. For the story to work, "Snow White" has to be extremely sympathetic and engaging, and Clark is able to do that quite well.

The story stays fairly close to the Grimm Brothers' original, though downplaying or eliminating some of its more violent aspects. Most of the supporting characters are one- dimensional, but the cast members do a solid job with them. Without Clark, it would have been a decent movie anyway, though probably of interest only to those who are devoted fans of silent movies. Clark's performance makes it pretty good, and well worth seeing.