Lo scoiattolo

In the snowy Bavarian Alps, the arrival of preening soldier Paul Heidemann (as Alexis) causes pandemonium in a military town. Thousands of women surround him, foreshadowing the attention given Rudolph Valentino and The Beatles. Not participating in the initial adulation is spirited mountain girl Pola Negri (as Rischka). A regular wildcat, Ms. Negri is introduced in a scene which shows her driving men crazy by whipping their buttocks. The men rub their rumps and complain, but return for more attention. After some kissing, Negri sees Mr. Heidemann's coach and throws a snowball at him. When he gets out and she sees his plump heinie, they get romantic...

Released when Negri and director Ernst Lubitsch were international favorites, "Die Bergkatze" was not a favorite with audiences. It's a farcical comedy inhibited by Mr. Lubitsch's relentless parody of an old film staple known as the "iris shot". This is when the screen, usually to close a scene, will turn black for a diminishing circle. In the theater, the look was achieved with lightning. Filmmakers were experimenting with the visual and Lubitsch employs it all over this film, and in a variety of shapes...

A decade earlier, there was a debate about whether motion pictures should use the "close-up shot" because some felt the audience would feel like they were denied a full look at the performer (as on the stage). With a "close-up" you still get the full look; with the "iris shot", you do not. In this film, the visual is excessive and distracting. We're denied full-screen looks at the film's chief strength, its beautiful set decoration. Another feature, the "double exposure", nicely introduces Act IV "Rischka's Dream". Usually cast as a seductress, Negri is most engaging as a comedienne. The available print looks great and is accompanied by a new, oppressive soundtrack.

***** Die Bergkatze (4/14/21) Ernst Lubitsch ~ Pola Negri, Paul Heidemann, Victor Janson, Wilhelm Diegelmann

A military fort is waiting for the arrival of their new lieutenant, but he is captured on his way by a gang of outlaws. To make matters worse for everyone involved, the outlaw leader's daughter has taken a shine to the man.

The Kino DVD calls this film a "playfully subversive satire of military life" and claims that it not only foreshadows the later Lubitsch films (which is obvious), but could be called an "ancestor" to Monty Python and Woody Allen. That may or may not be a fair assessment. This is, in my estimation, not the best Lubitsch comedy, even amongst his early work. I much preferred "The Oyster Princess".

Either way, 1920s silent comedy is usually seen as dominated by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, with Harold Lloyd sometimes getting an honorable mention. We need to mention Lubitsch more. He may not have had the physical comedy in his films that these other three did, but he was no less of a genius.

Viewing "The Wildcat," is like watching a live action Max Fleischer cartoon. Like those early animated wonders, this comedy is full of goofy characters and creative direction. The cast, especially Pola Negri and Paul Heidemann show no fear in bringing Lubitsch's wild vision to life, which include some truly laugh out loud moments. While the Fleischer cartoons are only around seven minutes long, "The Wildcat," struggles at times to maintain its energy for a feature length film. The pros of this movie far out weigh the cons, though, and if you're looking for a non-traditional silent film that will put a smile upon your face, then you need to search no further.

One of the better of Lubitsch's rough mountain comedies, with Pola Negri as the wild daughter of the bandit chief (all of the the bandits' possessions are festooned with skulls, to show how dangerous they are) who falls in love with the handsome lieutenant brought in to marry the daughter of the corpulent and ineffectual colonel of the fort. Like his other mountain comedies -- MEYER FROM BERLIN, ROMEO AND JULIET IN THE SNOW and KOHLHEISEL'S DAUGHTER -- it is a very broad comedy, with much falling down in the snow.

In those days, Lubitsch would shoot half a dozen films a year for UFA, and one would always be a mountain comedy shot on site in Bavaria, where he liked to take a working vacation every winter. They were not polished and witty pieces like The Oyster Princess and The Doll, but they were very popular.

While there are not many personal favourites from Ernst Lubitsch early German silent films, done before he had found his signature style, there were certainly gems. 'The Doll' and 'The Oyster Princess' being two examples. The late 1910s-early 20s was a very interesting and worthwhile period in Lubitsch's career, especially to see how he fared early on in his career before properly finding his style with 'The Love Parade' and got even stronger from there.

'The Wild Cat' is another film from the German silent film period and lives up to its wild name all right. Is it one of Lubitsch's very best? No, nowhere close and it is a long way from being a classic. But it is one of the better and more entertaining films of his from his German silent film period in my view, and if asked whether it is recommended my answer would be yes as long as you know what to expect. Which is an entertaining and inoffensive ride but not yet the witty and sophisticated Lubitsch that he became very well known justifiably for.

Admittedly, 'The Wild Cat's' story is very thin, and it is also one that doesn't have a lot of substance and can be a little too controlled in spots.

Maybe it could have done with a little more variety in places.

However, 'The Wild Cat' is well made visually. Really loved the mountain scenery and exteriors and the photography is not claustrophobic or gimmicky, some of it came over as quite elegant to me. Lubitsch's direction is not refined yet, but he clearly seemed to know what he was doing and didn't seem uncomfortable with it. The music is unobtrusive and is not large in scoring or over-complicated rhythmically, allowing the comedy to speak.

Something that does very much happen here. The humour is plenty and it is never less than amusing and actually even very funny at its best (if one disagrees that's fine). It is of the broad kind, not the sophisticated and witty kind that Lubitsch later would be famous for, but not in a way that gets overly silly or vulgar. The situations do suspend a bit of disbelief but have a wild energy about them and don't resort heavily in repetition, while the energy is always there and the characters didn't come over as dull or annoying here. The cast do very well, with Pola Negri handling her very physical comedy with ease and her comic timing is far from flabby.

All in all, very enjoyable if not a Lubitsch essential. 8/10