The Green Goddess

In my earlier review of this film I only knew of three of Artliss' six silent films that had survived. In the three years since, it has come to light that all six survive, complete, in various archives the world over. These are documented on the Wikipedia pages for the five that are not as yet on dvd. As of this writing only THE DEVIL has been released to public on dvd.

This must have been a spectacular stage show. I can see how it would work there: the shooting, the strangling, the processional before the murder; these would really have worked under the proscenium arch, and there is a good attempt to open it out in the added scenes, but the whole thing comes to a crashing halt for me at the thought that anyone would look at Alice Joyce when he's got Jetta Goudal on his second string.

Also, Mr. Arliss -- who once in court described himself as the world's greatest actor and explained later than he had been under oath to the tell the truth -- is, alas, voiceless, and so largely wasted in a silent movie, although his witty stage ad libs are preserved in the titles. Even so, he acts everyone else off the screen, even as they chew the scenery in order to be noticed -- except Jetta Goudal, who is simply luscious. Harry Morey, as Miss Joyce's two-bottle-a-day husband is a caricature and you know at the halfway mark how it is all going to turn out.

Still, there is Mr. Arliss to look at, before he turned so old and arthritic-looking in the 1930s -- perhaps because he was trained in the more posing-and-exposition style of acting fashionable in the 19th century. If this comes your way, give it a look, but ask them to crank it a trifle faster than they did tonight at the Museum of Modern Art. The IMDb lists it at 80 minutes. It was originally announced at 90 minutes, but the print from UCLA ran 110 minutes. Either the opening needs to be cut or it needs to be projected a couple of feet per minute faster. Maybe both.

Pretty primitive silent film. One of three silent Arliss silent films that have survived.

Arliss has learned to be subtle since his first silent performance in THE DEVIL.

DVD print available is awful - out of focus, shimmering light, quite the pits, but if you are into silent films and/or Arliss, you should at least see this one,

Timing is 115 minutes, not 80 minutes, but web site is screwed up and won't allow corrections.

Acting is very primitive, and very stagey. A very poor film in my estimation and I am surprised audiences liked it or that it survived this long.

George Arliss, Alice Joyce and Ivan F. Simpson reprised their roles in this colonialist clunker, "The Green Goddess," whereby a white woman's purity is threatened by a lascivious racial other who reigns over a fictional kingdom near the Himalayas, from the stage in this silent adaptation and in the 1930 talkie. This must be a rare instance where the early-talkie remake is better than a 1920s silent version. The appeal of the synchronized-sound film is thin as it is--entirely relying upon Arliss seemingly getting in on the joke of what rubbish the entire production is. This almost entirely comes from his line readings and the close-ups of his facial expressions. Both are absent in this 1923 film, though, as it's a silent film comprised mostly of distant long shots. Consequently, director Sidney Olcott and company reduce the picture to its basest colonialism and stage melodrama. It doesn't help, either, that the print of this film floating around is in poor shape, with those distant faces tending to be washed out.

Additionally, the screenplay wastes time on the backstory leading up to the colonialists traveling by biplane, which I couldn't care less about and the more time spent away from Arliss is the more time wasted. Some of the production values are superior, which isn't surprising given that mid-20s silents tend to look better than early talkies, including, unlike the talkie, a semblance of an actual kingdom beyond a villa, army and priests. The fondness for faraway framing here, however, doesn't help alleviate the appearance of this being a filmed play. Regardless, absent Arliss having a voice and his having hardly even a face, "The Green Goddess" is a miserable picture.

The Green Goddess is the third Sidney Olcott directed feature I've viewed, the other two being "Little Old New York"(1923) and "Monsieur Beaucaire"(1924). Kevin Brownlow, in his book Hollywood The Pioneers(1980), stated that Olcott as being 'pedestrian'. Well, YES! Much of my opinion of Olcott is in the Monsieur Beaucaire review so it need not be repeated here. As an Arliss silent, we're lucky to have The Green Goddess at all. The Green Goddess is a pseudo-adventure contrivance that was a stage success for George Arliss after years of playing Disraeli on Broadway. I saw a screening of TGG recently and it was provided with live music. My review is based on this screening. Arliss made this picture in 1923, two years after making a silent adaptation of "Disraeli". "Disraeli"(1921) is sadly a lost film. Arliss would later remake The Green Goddess as his debut sound film in 1929. The music for the screening of TGG is obliging but not scored music to the image and story. Olcott's direction needs everything it can get. A live orchestra or small ensemble of winds & brass with a score would've helped this movie, indeed help all silent movies. The movie is nicely tinted and toned throughout and lives up to it's title when the cast enters the temple scene which is bathed in a deep green tint. Sam Goldwyn distributed this picture but it was produced by Arliss's Distinctive Pictures. Distinctive had also made "Disraeli"(1921) released by United Artists and "The Devil"(1921) released by Pathe. This production of TGG is a lot more lavish than the quick Warner Brothers produced remake made in 1929 which was rushed through to take advantage of sound. This movie is also one of the few movies that is available to view a David Powell performance. Powell, a handsome Scottish actor(no relation to The Thin Man's William Powell), had been a stage actor before entering movies in the years before WW1. His movie career comprised of supporting many star actresses of the period. Powell died in 1925 two years after The Green Goddess was released. As trite as this subject matter is, it could've been livened up with a better director, maybe Lubitsch, Vidor, DeMille or Murnau. Also, Arliss, a unique kind of actor is hardly believable as an 'Indian' ruler. But he and the cast give us the best they got, all in front of lavish sets. Alice Joyce, who plays the female lead here, would be the only cast member to return with Arliss in the sound remake. Powell would be dead, his part played by Ralph Forbes and Harry Morey's part would be played by veteran stage actor H.B. Warner.