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"O Hollywood! Hollywood! Thou movie-mammon that leadest our children astray, and teachest them wickedness! O Los Angeles, thy name should be Los Diaboles!"

What a crazy, improbable, entertaining hot mess this was. It all starts with a young woman named Remember "Mem" Steddon (Eleanor Boardman) on a train with a man (Lew Cody) she's just married but has a bad feeling about, and so jumps off when it's briefly stopped. She winds up wandering until she happens across a movie shooting in the desert, which leads to her seeking work as an actor. He continues on seeking out his next victim, you see, because he's a serial killer, who marries and then kills his wives for their insurance. The film follows the two stories lines as they diverge; despite a rough start she eventually becomes a star, while he ends up in Egypt, where he runs into a surprise of his own. Somehow we know their paths are going to cross again, and while what happens isn't the most satisfying of plot resolutions, the ending sequence is a wild spectacle.

This was Boardman's first big role, and she's wonderful. Look for her character's wonderfully awful screen tests as she tries to break in the business. Even better is the host of Hollywood actors and directors we see on various film sets, in what are meaty cameos, e.g. Charlie Chaplin making 'A Woman of Paris,' Erich von Stroheim making 'Greed,' and Fred Niblo making 'The Famous Mrs. Fair,' There are many other shots behind the scenes, things like a stuntman dressed as a woman to double for Boardman, elaborate sets, and a giant propeller used to create wind.

We also see a casting director besieged by young women all looking to be a star, with one willing to "pay the price" as she puts it as she comes on to him, a clear reference for sex being the price a woman had to pay to get into the business, even by 1923. The film portrays the casting director as being virtuous and turning her away with the line "Say, are you trying to vamp me?" when of course the reality was probably almost always the opposite. In general the film is a little too rah-rah on Hollywood, putting it in the most positive light of people who worked extremely hard and put their heart and soul into their work, not knowing if censors or the public would approve of the end product, when a more honest portrayal would have been better. On the other hand, as the industry was often under attack for its morals and the lifestyles of its stars in this timeframe, and this was when a scandal really meant box office death, so I can forgive it for that.

The plot is wacky but I liked it for its creativity and was willing to suspend disbelief to go along for the ride. It has great pace, there are nice visuals, and production value is pretty high for the period; even its overly verbose intertitles seem to add to its appeal. This is a silent film that grabs you from the start, and is easy to enjoy.

Souls for Sale (1923)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A young woman, Remember Steddon (Eleanor Boardman) is on a train, hours after her wedding to an evil man (Lew Cody) when she decides to jump overboard. She walks through the desert only to be rescued by a movie actor and his director (Richard Dix) who eventually falls for the woman and swears to make her a star. This Goldwyn Pictures release has become quite famous over the years due to several famous cameos that pop up throughout the running time. The most famous is a scene with Erich von Stroheim directing a scene from GREED and one of Chaplin directing A WOMAN IN Paris. We also gets scenes from THE ETERNAL THREE and THE FAMOUS MRS. FAIR, which is important as both of these films are now lost so seeing the footage here is the only thing we have left. We also get cameos from various other famous faces but in the end, all this sidetrack really takes away from the actual story trying to be told. That story itself really isn't all that interesting or entertaining as it's quite bland and straight-forward even for 1923 standards. The entire subplot with the husband being a serial killer really seems out of place and leads to some rather silly drama. What does work are the performances with Boardman coming off extremely good here. She's very believable in the "ordinary" role and the young Dix is also quite good as the leading man. Mae Busch, Barbara La Marr and Frank Mayo are also nice in their roles. Cody is good as the serial killer even though his character wasn't needed. Back in the 20's and 30's Hollywood was great at making movies about itself. This one here isn't one of the best but there are enough curious aspect for film buffs to give it a shot.

Movie buffs and anyone interested in Hollywood history will find much to enjoy in the silent comedy/drama Souls for Sale, that is, if they can find it at all. Last time I checked, this film is not available on video or in any other format for home viewing, and may never be unless some serious restoration work takes place: the print I saw at the Museum of Modern Art last year was badly tattered in places, with a confusing turn in the plot at one point which suggested that a chunk of footage must be missing. But even allowing for its battered condition, this is an enjoyable, unusual and engaging movie which offers modern viewers a priceless time trip back to 1920s Hollywood. It was directed by the multi-talented Rupert Hughes, who adapted the scenario from his own novel. The story concerns a young woman named Remember Steddon (known as "Mem"), who runs away from an impulsive marriage, finds herself in the movie capital, and eventually becomes a star almost by accident. Leading lady Eleanor Boardman, perhaps best remembered for her later work in King Vidor's The Crowd, makes a charming and attractive -- if oddly named -- heroine, giving a performance that is nicely understated for the era. Her character's failed screen test is a highlight, and also demonstrates genuine skill on Boardman's part: it isn't easy to simulate "bad" acting so convincingly.

The tone is melodramatic one moment and comic the next, yet somehow the shifts in mood feel natural and never jarring; author Hughes' witty title cards help keep the transitions smooth. Viewers familiar with Colleen Moore's 1926 comedy Ella Cinders may notice some similarities between the two films, each of which is a rags-to-riches tale with lots of backstage atmosphere and inside jokes. However, Souls for Sale distinguishes itself with an amazing parade of star cameos featuring some of the era's top personalities. Charlie Chaplin, without his familiar make-up, can be briefly glimpsed staging a scene from his landmark feature A Woman of Paris, and Erich Von Stroheim, looking suitably grim, is seen on the set of the wedding feast from his legendary drama Greed. Meanwhile, the featured performers constitute a veritable Who's Who of prominent screen personalities of the time, including Richard Dix, Mae Busch, Barbara La Marr, and a very young William Haines, in an early role as an assistant director. Lew Cody is especially memorable as a sleazy con man who turns out to be even worse than he appears. Also noteworthy for history-minded viewers are the satirical digs at the contemporary craze for 'Sheik' movies (poor Rudolph Valentino was much parodied during his lifetime), and several oblique but unmistakable references to the sex scandals then rocking Hollywood. The story builds to an exciting finale on the set of a circus picture, but unfortunately the print I saw was especially choppy during this climactic sequence, and the action was difficult to follow at times.

P.S. January 2006: Good news for silent film fans! A beautifully restored, newly scored print of Souls for Sale has been broadcast on TCM, giving this undeservedly forgotten movie a new lease on life. The restoration gives us an opportunity to savor the exceptional cinematography of John J. Mescall, complete with period color tinting effects, while Marcus Sjöwall's score complements and supports the action admirably. Unfortunately, there is still a portion of lost footage at a key juncture in the story (we lack the moment when Mem learns about her husband's criminal past), but the wild and woolly circus finale has been properly reconstructed, and concludes the movie on a rousing note. The newly restored version of this film is a delight, and an absolute must for viewers interested in the silent era.

A truly enjoyable romp down Hollywood's memory lane comes to us courtesy, really, of Turner Classic Movies' "Young Film Composers Competition." The latest winner, Marcus Sjowall, was given the opportunity to provide a score to a silent film that had lost its own, and a very fine job Mr Sjowall did, too.

In 1923, Rupert Hughes directed this production of his eponymous novel. The scandals of the very early 1920s had evidently been on his mind, and Hughes wanted to counteract all that bad publicity. He acknowledges the scandals, then sets out to surmount them with title-card after title-card describing the long hours and hard work of Hollywood's employees, going so far at one point as to describe the work as "factory-hard," which must have been startling to young girls slaving away in sweatshops for pennies a day.

The story that conveys this message of virtuousness in Babylon concerns one Remember "Mem" Stodden, the daughter of a reverend who denounces Hollywood from his pulpit. Mem has married Owen Scudder in haste, but does not plan to repent at leisure--she hops from their train on the honeymoon trip. Stumbling through the desert, Mem collapses on the location set of a sheikh film (just as Eddie Cantor would do 14 years later, in "Ali Baba Goes to Town"), where she attracts the attention of the leading man. She shuns the film folk, though, and goes to work at a small hotel, but is laid off at the end of the season.

She decides to try her hand at the movies after all, and this begins perhaps the oddest part of the film. Successive scenes show movie people at work--directors, actors, cameramen, extras--and clearly this is Hughes at work, rehabilitating his coworkers. This is neither about the Glamour Factory nor an industry expose; it's more of a big infomercial for the movie business. It's fascinating to note which real-life stars are still recognizable today, and which prompt a confused, "Who??" Which isn't to say that Hughes doesn't get his digs in here and there. The vamp, the sheikh, the publicity shots that create a myth, the national screen sweetheart who's maybe just a little bit catty in real life--Hughes captures it all. My favorite set piece of this kind is Mem's screen test: she watches in the screening room in horror as she mugs and prances about on-screen, just as many silent actors of her era did: "Has anyone ever been so terrible on film"? Another nice one is Reverend Steddon's stunned reaction when he runs up to Mem on a circus picture set only to find a stunt man dressed in aerialist drag.

These scenes of Hollywood life are intercut with the travels of Owen Scudder, who is, it turns out, a wanted man, a Bluebeard who marries then kills. We see him court another victim, and later get very satisfactorily hoist with his own petard. Eventually, he reads about his wife's success, and comes to Hollywood to cash in.

This creates a kind of love rectangle, made up of Mem, her director, her leading man, and her no-good husband, all of which is satisfactorily settled in the dramatic closing scenes.

The film has had a lot of work done--many of its title cards seem to have gone missing, and the ones that are substituted often have modern-sounding phrasing, which led me to wonder if we were getting the same story as was originally told. The score is superb: evocative and subtle. The print is choppy; at one point a brief scene is inserted of one of Scudder's victims without context or explanation, and that can get a little disconcerting.

But it's an interesting film, funny and touching in many places, and a wonderful evocation of time and place.

Beautiful Eleanor Boardman (as Remember "Mem" Steddon) has just married amorous Lew Cody (as Owen Scudder). But, contemplating her coming honeymoon nights makes Ms. Boardman recoil from Mr. Cody. Suddenly, Boardman jumps off the train carrying the unhappily married couple through the desert of early Los Angeles, California. Almost dead from struggling through the Hollywood sand, Boardman collapses on the location setting for a movie directed by Richard Dix (as Frank Claymore). Boardman reluctantly decides to bloom where she is planted; and, she becomes a movie star. Boardman is romanced by "director" Dix and matinée idol Frank Mayo (as Tom Holby). Meanwhile, estranged husband Cody plans his "comeback"…

The melodramatic "Souls for Sale" moves way too quickly, and is not structured for easy viewing. For example, details about the characters played by Boardman and Cody are revealed too late for full dramatic impact. The story is more interesting during a second viewing. Writer Rupert Holmes (uncle of eccentric Howard Hughes) didn't direct many movies, but he does exceptionally well, helming his own "Souls for Sale". The direction of the "circus" scenes is filled with exciting, memorable moments. And, the calmer scenes aren't bad either, like the scene wherein Cody holds framed photographs of his handsome rivals (Dix and Mayo) up to Boardman's mirror. Big names in 1923 filmdom appear in supporting and cameo roles.

******* Souls for Sale (3/27/23) Rupert Holmes ~ Eleanor Boardman, Lew Cody, Richard Dix, Frank Mayo