The Bells

THE BELLS (Chadwick Studios, 1926), Adapted and Directed by James Young, is not credited as a story taken from an Edgar Allan Poe poem but from a play "The Polish Jew" by Erckmann-Chatrain. Starring Lionel Barrymore, THE BELLS is most notable for an early silent film appearance of Boris Karloff, years before his great popularity in the horror genre. Interestingly, his performance here might have set the pattern to his future film roles of that time, but it would be years before achieving his triumph starting playing the Monster in FRANKENSTEIN (Universal, 1931).

Opening title: "The scene of 'The Bells' is laid in Alsatia, in a Hamlet at the foot of Mount Snowtop, during the great snow storm of Christmas 1868. Several versions of that classic of the theater has been presented during the last half century, the most notable performance of the play was that of the late Sir Henry Irving." Mathias (Lionel Barrymore) is the owner of the inn and village mill. His ambition is to be a burgomaster. Mathias has a wife, Catherine (Caroline Francis Cooke) and a beautiful young daughter, Annette (Lola Todd). Because Mathias has a habit of giving credit to his friends and patrons is the reason why he hasn't any money. He is in debt with Jerome Franz (Gustav Von Seyffertitz), who intends on taking over his inn if he is not paid. Franz is willing to overlook his debt if Mathias offers his daughter for his hand in marriage, but refuses. Annette is in love with Christian (Edward Phillips), an appointed handsome gendarme. During a carnival, Mathias witnesses a Mesmerist (Boris Karloff) raising a young girl into the air, followed by making a man's hat float above his head. The Mesmerist senses Mathias a skeptic and asks to hypnotize him, but declines. Mathias goes to a fortune teller (Laura Lavarnie) instead, who sees something into Mathias' future that she refuses to reveal. During a Christmas party, Baruch Koweski (E. Alyn Warren), a traveling merchant and Polish Jew on his way to Warsaw, stops in from the heavy snowstorm for the night. When Mathias sees he has gold in his money belt, the desperate Mathias follows him outside in the snow to kill him with the ax and steal his gold. Some time later, after Mathias is named Burgomaster, Jethro (E. Alyn Warren), the victim's brother, arrives asking the new Burgomaster to assist him in finding his brother's killer, but Mathias has problems of his own, including those sinister eyes of the Mesmerist watching him fight with his very own conscience having sounds of sleigh bells constantly ringing inside his head. How much more torment will Mathias have to endure?

Except for the title, this edition of THE BELLS is a sort of story that could or might have been adapted by Edgar Allan Poe. It has the ingredients of Poe such as the ghost of the murder victim appearing to his killer, and the evil looking Karloff (18 minutes into the start of the movie) to add to the chills. However, this is very much Lionel Barrymore's film as a tortured soul fighting his own conscience. Yet the sinister looking Karloff, in wavy hair, dark glasses, top hat and cloak, nearly steals the show.

Another interesting aspect to THE BELLS is seeing the same supporting players of Gustav Von Seyffertitz, Lorimer Johnston and Caroline Francis Cooke all later listed in the cast in minor roles of Boris Karloff's third installment of SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (Universal, 1939). The lesser known actress of Lola Todd in THE BELLS somewhat resembles that of Mary Philbin's character in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (Universal, 1925) starring Lon Chaney, while Edward Phillips assumes his role well as the typical handsome love interest.

Though there have been no known television broadcasts of THE BELLS (at least to the best of my knowledge), this very rare silent film indeed has fortunately survived after all these years, especially for being an independent feature film. It has become released on DVD in 1998, accompanied by some Gothic sounding musical score conducted by Eric Belheim and the William Platt Players, that could either please or be dissatisfying to the ears. Either way, no harm done for 69 minutes. Basically a curiosity for Karloff fans, if nothing else. (*** Bells)

I'm taking an interest in silent horror films at the moment, so far I have seen this film and Nosferatu. Nosferatu is of cause much better, with a real style and sense of horror. This movie is rather dull and boring in places although it does have points of note. The starting of the film is good introducing all the characters and the setting, but then it takes a little while to get into the plot. The murder and the lead up to it is another high point, with a good use of tinting to show where things are turning bad. The use of the sleigh bells is important to outline the bells the innkeeper is haunted by. The ending is rather short and rather unsatisfying with not enough explanation of what happens at the end. Overall not bad but not really more than average.

Although more than one promoter has been quick to exploit the idea that THE BELLS was inspired by the 1848 Edgar Allen Poe poem of the same name, nothing could be further from the truth. Originally created in 1867 as LE JUIF POLONAIS by the incredibly prolific French dramatists Emile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrain, it was translated, adapted, and re-titled THE BELLS by English playwright Leopold Lewis. Actor Henry Irving's 1871 performance as Mathais was a sensation on the English stage, and in consequence the play was widely performed in the Victorian era.

As the 20th Century began, the stage version of THE BELLS was still so well-remembered that it was adapted to the silent screen at least six times. Little, if any, information is available about these adaptations--with a single exception: the 1926 film starring Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954), brother of stars John and Ethel Barrymore and a noted artist in his own right.

Modern audiences will likely find the story clunky and obvious, but in 1926 it, like the original stage version, was considered a great shocker. Mathais (Barrymore) is an inn-keeper who is in debt to the sinister Gustav von Seyffertitz (Jerome Frantz), who seeks to leverage Mathais' inability to pay into a marriage with Mathais' daughter Annette (Lola Todd.) In order to pay off the debt and secure his bid for the position of burgomeister, Maithas kills and robs a wealthy merchant who stops at the inn on Christmas--and is thereafter tormented by his own guilt and most particularly by the sound of bells, which recall the sleigh bells his victim held when killed.

Today the film is best known for Boris Karloff, who appears in the small but distinctly creepy role of "The Mesmerist;" even so, it is really Lionel Barrymore who endows the thing with interest. Acting styles of the early silent era tended to be very broad, and THE BELLS OFFERS scope for a great deal of scenery chewing, but Barrymore is comparatively restrained in his approach and the entire cast follows suit. In this sense, the film is quite watchable. At the same time, however, the story has been reworked so many times that even here it feels excessively old fashioned and slightly tired.

The print offered here is hardly pristine, but it is very good, and the score is also very well done. The DVD presents a short 1922 French film fantasy, THE CRAZY RAY, which is mildly entertaining as well. But for all the history and celebrated names involved, THE BELLS is a competent film rather than a good or great one, and its appeal will be largely confined to hardcore silent movie fans. Recommended to them.

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This is quite a decent silent horror film. The print I watched was quite rich. It is a story, not unlike "Crime and Punishment," where a man beset by debt through his own shortsightedness, kills a kind old Jew and lives it up on his money. He spends on his daughter's wedding, buying clothes for his wife, and playing the part of the Burgomaster. Unfortunately, the bells in the title are the sleigh bells of the shay that the old man was driving when he was murdered. One of the strangest things is the appearance of Boris Karloff as a mesmerist. This was years before his appearance in "Frankenstein." He has thick glasses and this hideous grin. He has the power to get people to talk about their worst actions. Everything plays out, but I'm still not sure about the conclusion. It is a very interesting film and it has Lionel Barrymore playing something other than a bent over old curmudgeon.

...which had already been filmed numerous times. Lionel Barrymore stars as an innkeeper and mill owner in a small Austrian town. He owes a lot of money to the detestable Frantz (Gustav von Seyffertitz), and his desperation leads him to make a terrible mistake, the consequences of which haunt him. Things aren't helped when a creepy sideshow mesmerist (Boris Karloff) comes to town, threatening to reveal the residents' darkest secrets. Also featuring Lola Todd, Eddie Phillips, Caroline Francis Cooke, Lorimer Johnston, and E. Alyn Warren in a dual role.

Barrymore gets to ham it up in a role made famous on stage by Henry Irving. Karloff has one of his first important parts here, made up to look like Dr. Caligari. I liked the ghostly effects used to highlight Barrymore's guilty conscience. The young couple's romance between Phillips and Todd feels tacked on to broaden the appeal.