Kiki

Report from Cinesation 2006: KIKI (****) As Jeanine Basinger says in her book on Silent Stars, perhaps the biggest hole in our understanding of silent stardom is the career of Norma Talmadge-- she likens it to knowing talkies without ever seeing Bette Davis. This sparkling new Library of Congress restoration of a 1926 Parisian showbiz farce is atypical for the grande dame roles Talmadge usually played, but as with Marion Davies and Show People, it wouldn't be the worst fate for a star to be known mainly to history for a first-class comedy.

Talmadge, at thirtysomething more game than gamine, is a plucky street gal who weasels her way into producer Ronald Colman's chorus line, his home, and his heart. Because a number of folks present had seen it just a month before at Cinecon, I was prepped for the idea that it was something of a screwball comedy with neither lead behaving in any way that real humans would. (The word "stalker" was used on alt.movies.silent, and aptly so.) But taken as kind of a silent Twentieth Century or Bringing Up Baby, it had lots of laughs, and Talmadge pulls off the comedy beautifully (as does George K. Arthur, as her archrival among Colman's servants).

If anyone has a complete version of this out there, I would love to get in touch with you. My copy is missing a couple of reels. So, I don't know exactly HOW Ronald and Norma met in the movie.

Despite the missing reels, I thoroughly enjoyed this little movie. Despite the picture quality not being very good, it was fun and playful and Norma Talmadge was a hoot - especially where she is "comatose"! Ronald Colman was also young, chipper, and handsome - and of course, there's the evil "other woman" in his life.

If you can find a copy of this film, even incomplete, do see it. It's not a masterpiece, but it is fun to watch, and I think anyone would be amused.

(1926) Kiki SILENT ROMANTIC COMEDY

Kiki (Norma Talmadge) acts like a kook who is naturally clumsy, with it's goal was it to live and marry the typical wealthy owner of a stage show. It happens to be the Ronald Coleman character as he plays, Victor Renal. Which if you can get past the first 30 minutes, since the other slapstick stuff was routinely old fashioned and rather predictable, than you might be able to make it the rest of the way. As some of the comedy bits is similar to other comedy stuff of that era, even though comedic giants such as Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd and other shorts...had done some of those comedic scenes better. The only difference with this movie as opposed to the others is that there is a story to be told here, with the slapstick serving nothing more but a backdrop.

This is a real surprise - an entirely enjoyable comedy based on character, not slapstick, expertly directed by Clarence Brown and with a quartet of subtle performances, none of which is exaggerated, all perfectly natural and heart-warming.

Talmadge is very inventive and very funny as the waif, yearning for Colman, who is dapper, assured and certainly the handsomest leading man in silent films. Astor is a scream as the desperate gold-digger and Arthur almost steals the film away from Talmade as Adolphe, her valet nemesis. Facial expressions are natural, movement is as well. It is very much a photographed stage play with only ten sequences, the first running a third of the film's length. Yet, it never seems stagey or stiff.

Were there Oscars then, I'd have bet Talmadge, director Brown and supporting actor Arthur would have snagged noms, plus the ornate Art Direction.

A winner on every level and one of Talmadge's best. The Kino DVD of the LOC restoration is impeccable, clear, crisp and bright.

Norma Talmadge, an actress who usually performed in melodrama during the 1910's and 1920's, displays her gift for comedy in "Kiki" (1926), a gift usually seen more often in the performances of her kooky sister Connie Talmadge ("Intolerance", "The Primitive Lover"). But Norma was a pro and could carry comedy off just as well as her sister (for example see Norma also in "The Social Secretary" (1916) for some witty moments).

"Kiki" starts off rather slowly and at first you are not sure you are going to like her character. She's a street kid who seems incredibly dumb, who lives alone but desires to get into the chorus line of a local show. Here she falls in love with incredibly handsome Ronald Colman, a tenor, and though she loves him instantly she puts off his advances by being silly and uncooperative. Through some really funny physical comedy the two eventually come together. Best part of the film is when Kiki pretends to be in a catatonic state just to be able to stay near her love. I was howling with laughter.

Kiki is definitely a worthwhile film to see if you are intrigued with the Talmadge Sisters. Too few of their films survive, but what does showcases enormous talent that should not be forgotten.