Souls for Sale

The title SOULS FOR SALE (Goldwyn Studios, 1923), directed by Rupert Hughes, might give some indication to anyone not familiar with this particular silent movie to be a horror tale about Satan worshipers at an auction block. It is, in fact, a Hollywood story. Not quite what is expected from the legendary "A Star is Born," yet something more to a "What Price Hollywood" theme centering upon actors who, figuratively speaking, selling their souls for the price of fame, and showing the frightening risk they make for the sake of their art. An interesting screenplay starring Eleanor Boardman (best known today for her performance in director King Vidor's contemporary drama, "The Crowd" (1928)), in her first leading role, director Hughes places the top-named celebrities of the day to cameo appearances, providing viewers an inside look of actual movies currently in production.

The story revolves around a small town girl named Remember (Eleanor Boardman), (a name not to forget), whose leaves her minister father (Forrest Robinson) and mother (Edith Yorke) to marry Owen Studder (Lew Cody), who, unknown to her, is a confidence man who marries, has his wife insured and murders them. While on a honeymoon train heading for Los Angeles to go on a boat to China, Remember suddenly finds herself fearing this man, and after the train makes a water stop, she climbs down from the observation platform, only to have the train take off, leaving her alone in the middle of nowhere. Fainting due to excessive desert heat, "Mem" awakens to find herself comforted by a sheik (no, it's not Rudolph Valentino), who happens to be Tom Holby (Frank Mayo), an actor from a motion picture company on location. After she regains her strength to go on, director Frank Claymore (Richard Dix) offers her extra work in the movies. After the company departs, "Mem," in need of work, comes to Hollywood where she makes her rounds to the casting offices at various studios, and in doing so, she gets to witness famous celebrities and directors at work. Meeting up with Claymore again, he offers her screen tests and bit parts until Robina Teele (Mae Busch), the leading lady in his upcoming circus movie, meets with an accident, having Claymore cast Mem in the lead instead. Claymore has fallen in love with Mem and wants to marry her, but can't because of her marriage to a man whose reputation might cause a scandal. More problems arise when Studder, now broke, who had seen Mem in a movie, decides to cash in on her success by wanting to come back into her life, much against her better judgment.

The supporting players consists of William Haines as Pinkey, the assistant director; Barbara LaMarr as Love LaMaire, "the screen's best hated vamp"; Dale Fuller, Aileen Pringle, Snitz Edwards, as well as 35 guest stars ranging from notable, forgotten and legendary performers of the day. Film enthusiasts will endure watching Erich Von Stroheim directing Jean Hersholt in "Greed"; Charlie Chaplin directing "A Woman of Paris"; along with the lesser known Fred Niblo directing "The Famous Mrs. Fair." Key scenes include the filming of a circus story realistically destroyed by a blaze of fire.

SOULS FOR SALE was one of many silent movies of the period to have become missing links over the years, with no known prints to survive. As luck would have it, a copy was discovered sometime in the 1970s in Czechoslovakia Eileen Bowser, film historian from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. While SOULS FOR SALE premiered on Turner Classic Movies on January 24, 2006, newly scored by Marcus Sjowall, its television broadcast history actually didn't begin there, but 27 years prior on a public television station in New York City, WNET, Channel 13, July 15, 1978, on a scarcely noticed series dedicated to the discovery of lost and found movies appropriately titled "Lost and Found" hosted by Richard Schickel, with Bowser as consultant, airing on eight consecutive Saturday evenings from June to August 1978. Following its 80 minute and music-scored presentation, an after film discussion took place with Schickel giving a profile on other movies with Hollywood related themes, including "Hollywood" (1923), "Merton of the Movies" (1924), both lost films; "The Extra Girl" (1923), "Show People" among many others, along with the discovery of SOULS FOR SALE. Aside from limited rebroadcasts and theatrical screenings at the Museum of Modern Art, SOULS FOR SALE remains a forgotten item from cinema history. Yet, some questions remain, "What becomes of movies, particularly silent ones, after it ends its run on television?" Some have been distributed to video cassette the way it was formerly shown, others with using different underscoring, some with no scores at all. "If these movies have already been scored, why go through the trouble of re-scoring them?" It's obvious that the staff of TCM had no indication that SOULS FOR SALE ever played on television before, since "Lost and Found" was not nationally syndicated nor did it ever go through the rerun process afterwards. As mentioned by TCM host Robert Osborne, TCM acquired a print but minus music score. "Couldn't a print be leased from the already scored copy from MOMA?" Quite possible, however, the 1978 TV presentation happened to be ten minutes shorter than the TCM showing, indicating missing footage now restored. One thing to be thankful for, that TCM appears to be the only cable channel to go through the bother of dedicating and bringing obscure silents such as this back from the dead, plus a chance to give young composers, such as Sjowall, a chance to display his God-given talent. His newly composed score fits every mood of the story to perfection.

A find blend of humor, drama and suspense, SOULS FOR SALE, for what it is, succeeds to be a watchable little item. One can only hope for further rebroadcasts (DVD distribution 2009 from TCM Archive) for SOULS FOR SALE to become better known today. (***)

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

For a modern audience, Souls for Sale (1923) is nothing we have not seen before. It's the small-town girl becomes big star overnight story, with healthy helpings of romantic melodrama thrown in. It's a story that can be done well, but here it's done with little to distinguish it from other movies of its kind.

Eleanor Boardman, a truly underrated talent, does well in the lead, with all the other actors giving solid performances. Silent film mavens will enjoy the topical humor and cameos of famous directors and stars of the early 1920s. (My favorite inter-title takes a jab at The Sheik (1921), a masterpiece of old time kitsch.) In the end, silent film geeks will get more out of this than casual viewers will.

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.

So reads a title card in this not brilliant but enormously entertaining comedy-drama from 1923. Rupert Hughes did the screenplay and the direction from his own novel and he has a great main cast, including Eleanor Boardman, Richard Dix, Mae Busch, William Haines, Lew Cody.... well, the list goes on and on, because there are dozens of cameos here, including shots of Chaplin directing A WOMAN OF Paris and von Stroheim directing GREED, in this kindhearted look at Hollywood. It is a feast for lovers of old movies who love to play spot the stars, and everyone seems to be having a fine old time.

True, the print is a bit battered, but in compensation TCM has just had a new score commissioned for it, part of their Young Composers series. I must say it is the best score they have had done since they started this, and it does what a score should do: underline and intensify the mood of the movie and, in the sentiments of Charlie Chaplin, give the audience something nice to listen to if the movie is a stinker.

It's not a must see movie if you're looking for great film making, but if you're looking for a great popcorn movie, this is one from 1923. It's well worth the time of any film buff.