Flesh and the Devil

The works of Hermann Suderman have proved immensely popular with film-makers, the most notable adaptation being 'Sunrise. The Story of two Humans.' Although Clarence Brown's film cannot begin to match Murnau's sublime masterpiece it is eminently watchable.

We are treated not only to the biological chemistry between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert but also to the photochemistry of director Brown and his cinematographer William Daniels which was to work so well for Miss Garbo through the years.

Although Louis B. Mayer frowned upon the well publicised affair between his two stars he tolerated it as he recognised the box office potential and indeed cinemagoers queued around the block to experience the vicarious thrill of seeing not two actors pretending but two lovers living it.

By the standards of the time this is a torrid tale and concerns two men Leo and Ulrich, played by Gilbert and Lars Hanson whose intense friendship which could be said to contain a hint of the homoerotic, is shattered by the femme fatale of Garbo's Felicitas.

Garbo exudes sensuality here and already shows her uncanny ability to register thought. Victor Sjostrom called it 'thinking above the eyes' when directing her later in 'Divine Woman' which also starred fellow Swede Hanson. It is to be regretted that only one reel of nine minutes survives of that film following a vault fire at MGM in 1965.

The cigarette-lighting scene and that involving the communion cup are unforgettable and one is astonished that the scene in the hunting lodge managed to escape the unwelcome attentions of the Production Code. As it happens Felicitas pays the ultimate price for her sins which presumably made it acceptable. There is also a priceless scene where the Pastor of George Fawcett fulminates in the pulpit against the sin of adultery whilst Felicitas applies her lipstick.

The film is enhanced immeasurably by the beautifully created Austrian setting courtesy of the art department under the supervision of Cedric Gibbons.

The romance between Garbo and Gilbert was not fated to last and as her star rose, his fell. Although their love scenes now seem tame, not far short of a century on this film remains, in the words of film historian Mark Vieira, 'a landmark in cinematic sexuality'.

Famed silent is for the time period a well made melodrama. The story is of no real consequence and now seems very familiar as it probably was at the time of it's release. The communion scene is provocative, very erotic even today and must have been a sensation in '26. The real interest is of course the cast, Garbo especially. Of all the players she is the acting standout, with the exception of a few scenes her performance feels very naturalistic. The same goes for her appearance, whereas everybody else looks like they belong in the 1920's her unadorned hairdos and streamlined clothes convey a contemporary feeling, a flesh impact. Gilbert, who was then wildly popular, is a relic from a bygone era. He looks like he could be attractive but his ridiculous mustache and the heavy makeup required at the time sabotage his handsomeness. His acting is quite mannered and uneven, he was much better in The Big Parade, but he and Garbo share an undeniable chemistry. The real offender in overacting is Lars Hanson his eye-popping and herky jerky movements are a textbook example of the worst kind of silent screen performance, the impression that keeps a lot of people from giving silents a try. The other major person in this passion play is Barbara Kent as the angelic young thing in contrast to Garbo's rapacious strumpet. Kent passed away at 103 in 2011 one of the last remaining silent screen stars although she turned her back on public life and had been a recluse since the 50's.

"Garbo multiplied the cinema's power of suggestion to infinity,

and the gaze so deep that every spectator there found what he sought

she spoke a different language to every man" Ado Kyrou, 1957

FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926), the first film that the director Clarence Brown made with "an immigrant actress" who Greta Garbo had been before its premiere occurred to be one of the very best films for its time. People flocked to see it, Garbo became so eminent that she could almost dictate the terms in film industry, her relationship with John Gilbert turned out to be no baseless gossip. However, since then, 80 years have passed, not many people know how important the premiere of the film was, how historic it turned out to be in Garbo's career. Yet, it seems never to be fading since there are STILL many people who watch this film in its recent DVD release. Let us look at some aspects that make it a real classic, not only for its time, but for the general history of cinema.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHY by William H. Daniels is magnificent. Probably, anyone who has seen the film will never forget its most famous lighting effect when Gilbert lightens Garbo's cigarette in the shadowy garden. Another stunning moment is the scene of Leo Von Harden and Count Von Rhaden's duel. It is played in silhouette against the vast sky and, as a result, we can see not so much people but rather their shadows. An excellent moment that remains in memory is the waltz of Felicitas and Leo on the ball at Stoltenhof. The scene is filmed so memorably that it is hard to be skipped. Yet, the image of the "Isle of Friendship" where two best friends swore eternal loyalty as children and then went to fight in a duel is presented in an unforgettable way. Such pictures never fade in memory.

THE CAST are very talented, real elite of the time.

GRETA GARBO and JOHN GILBERT: Gilbert, who was Hollywood's leading man after the death of Rudolph Valentino, does a great job here as Leo Von Harden. His love to Felicitas (and to Garbo in real life) is so natural that everybody will get an impression that it is real what they can find on the screen. The love scenes between the two are particularly natural, hardly to be found elsewhere in films! If there is chemistry between the stars in a film, it is, without any doubt, in FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Greta Garbo performs so well that no wonder people saw her (many for the first time) and very soon started to admire her as an actress. She is excellent in the role and her acting still does not appear to be dated whatsoever! The whole of Garbo's sequence is marvelous but if I were to choose which scenes are particularly memorable, I would pay attention to two brilliant moments: first, the one at the train station when Leo and Felicitas meet for the first time and Leo picks the flowers that fell onto the ground and gives them to her, and, second, the moment when Leo and Ulrich, two lifelong friends, go to fight in a duel. Viewer's attention is directed towards Hertha, Ulrich's virtuous sister. She does her best to persuade Felicitas to take steps to stop this madness that a duel between two best friends appeared to be. How beautifully Garbo shows a change of heart... I admit that I have never seen such a performance before! Therefore, the words by Kyrou about Garbo, entailed at the beginning of my review, appear to accurately fit here.

OTHER CAST: Besides Garbo and Gilbert, there is a great Swedish actor, Lars Hanson, with whom Garbo played in one film before FLESH AND THE DEVIL (this was Mauritz Stiller's THE SAGA OF GOSTA BERLING). He is memorable as Ulrich, particularly in the final sequence when friendship occurs to be, indeed, sacred. The fabulous acting of the three (Garbo, Gilbert and Hanson) is expressed in a brilliant scene of the three meeting after Leo's return from Africa and drinking a toast. Other cast give very good performances, too, including Barbara Kent as Hertha and Marc Mc Dermott as Count Von Rhaden.

OTHER MEMORABLE MOMENTS include a number of humorous scenes that are, in no way, dated. It is important to state that many silent films may seem "silly" because today's viewers laugh at the scenes that were not supposed to be funny. It is caused by the challenge in people's sense of humor. However, it does not appear to be in FLESH AND THE DEVIL. Humor is retained and still serves its purpose. Consider the pastor seeing twins and believing to be drunk (he sees one girl in double). Or the final shot ... "You won't bid me goodbye?"

FLESH AND THE DEVIL is a film that I would recommend to anyone to see. It is a real classic and, in this regard, it may be considered similar to other classics of the time, like SUNRISE (1927), BEN HUR (1925) and THE LAST LAUGH (1924). But there are three more aspects about it that make the movie a must see - William H. Daniels' cinematography, Clarence Brown's direction and Greta Garbo's magnificent silent performance together with her alluring beauty. See it so that the film can last forever in your most beautiful memories. 9/10!

Young actress Greta Garbo was tired and homesick for her native Sweden after she had journeyed to America to appear in two MGM movies. While filming her previous movie, 1926's "The Temptress," she was told her sister had died. When she asked studio executives if they could allow her some time to attend the funeral, they refused her request. Then Garbo's director Swedish friend Mauritz Stiller was removed from "The Temptress." With a paltry weekly salary in comparison to other actresses at her level, Garbo was financially struggling and gave serious thought of backing out of her next film. When she revealed her sentiments to a studio executive, she received a strongly-worded letter from MGM threatening to end her career as an actress if she didn't cooperate.

After some considerable thinking and advice from friends, she did report to the movie set for her next film, January 1927's "Flesh and the Devil." She began the filming in a deep funk until the day where she was appearing in a train station scene with lead actor John Gilbert, whom she never met. Once they were introduced and shot that station scene as well as the day's scheduled intimate kissing sequences, Garbo suddenly forgot most of her troubles.

"I don't know how I should have managed if I had not been cast opposite John Gilbert," recalled Garbo three years later. "If he had not come into my life at this time, I should probably have gone home to Sweden at once, my American career over." As one account goes, the veteran actor was bowled over by her vulnerability and took a personal interest in coaching her as filming progressed. It help that the "Flesh and the Devil" was loaded with intimate love scenes between the two of them. During one particularly passionate shot, director Clarence Brown witnessed the pair's budding relationship right before his eyes. He decided that instead of yelling cut to wrap up the scene, he motioned to his lighting and camera crew members to quietly leave the set as the two were still kissing. A few hours later, as Gilbert and Garbo continued their snuggling on the set, studio personnel brought in their dinner. By the conclusion of the movie's shoot, the two had moved in together.

Garbo's radiance shines through on screen as director Brown called for a number of close-ups, taking advantage of the actress's stunning looks. One reviewer described, "she gave a more erotic performance than Hollywood had ever seen."

"Flesh and the Devil," based on the 1894 Hermann Sudermann novel, 'The Undying Past,' was a perfect vehicle for the two new lovers. Garbo plays the wife, Felicitas, of an aging count who catches Leo (Gilbert), a German soldier, making kissy with his wife. Variety called that love-making scene and two others contained in the film hair raising. "There are three loves scenes in this picture that will make anyone fidget in their seat and their hair rise on end," said the trade magazine. The count loses a duel to Leo, who's sent to Africa for a few years as punishment. Meantime, his best friend, Ulrich (Lars Hanson) is asked by Leo to take care of Felicitas. He not only does that-he does more: the two fall in love and get married. When Leo returns and discovers what took place, well things get a little sticky.

The key line in the movie is when a church pastor, during a sermon, says 'When the devil cannot reach us through the spirit, he creates a woman beautiful enough to reach us through the flesh." The portrait of Felicitas fits the pastor's description of her to a tee. "Flesh and the Devil" was a pivotal movie in Garbo's career. Her performance was nearly universally praised, with one critic writing, "Audiences were mesmerized by her beauty and titillated by her love scenes with Gilbert. She was a sensation." Garbo received a tremendous bump in her salary with the box office profits rolling in. Soon, the actress' movies returned 12 per cent of all MGMs annual revenues at the height of her career, a tremendous amount for one actress.

The chemistry between Greta Garbo and John Gilbert is the highlight of this film and the main reason to watch it. Their loving caresses, deep open mouthed kisses, and the eye contact they make when they're with the other guy in this love triangle (Lars Hanson, who may as well be nameless) all reflect the feelings they had off the screen as well. Garbo is a master at mesmerizing little gestures, such as the way she holds the cigarette in her mouth in the scene that includes the line "You know... when you blow out the match... that's an invitation to kiss you...?" Gilbert is strong as well, and shows more range here than usual (among other things, I loved how he acted during that duel). Lastly, while all eyes are on Garbo, I was drawn to diminutive Barbara Kent (4'11"), whose character is also certainly more endearing.

Unfortunately, the film is saddled with the whole woman as satanic temptress thing, punctuated by a fire and brimstone sermon that quotes scripture in case we don't get it. If you look closely, you'll notice that the pastor has a cigarette holder that features a figurine of reclining woman showing off her shapely legs, a small moment that shows his hypocrisy in an otherwise very moralistic tale. The film also needed editing - it spends too much time on silly scenes early on (e.g. showing long nonsensical words in "German", military formations, weak jokes with a pair of twins, etc), and overall should have been about a half hour shorter. Lastly, the story is a little hokey even for a melodrama, for example, it seemed odd that the blood brothers wouldn't communicate better while one of them went away, and the ending is silly too. All of this takes away from the magic of Garbo/Gilbert, but there's enough of that to make it worth watching nonetheless.