The Bells

Although more than one promoter has been quick to exploit the idea that THE BELLS was inspired by the 1848 Edgar Allen Poe poem of the same name, nothing could be further from the truth. Originally created in 1867 as LE JUIF POLONAIS by the incredibly prolific French dramatists Emile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrain, it was translated, adapted, and re-titled THE BELLS by English playwright Leopold Lewis. Actor Henry Irving's 1871 performance as Mathais was a sensation on the English stage, and in consequence the play was widely performed in the Victorian era.

As the 20th Century began, the stage version of THE BELLS was still so well-remembered that it was adapted to the silent screen at least six times. Little, if any, information is available about these adaptations--with a single exception: the 1926 film starring Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954), brother of stars John and Ethel Barrymore and a noted artist in his own right.

Modern audiences will likely find the story clunky and obvious, but in 1926 it, like the original stage version, was considered a great shocker. Mathais (Barrymore) is an inn-keeper who is in debt to the sinister Gustav von Seyffertitz (Jerome Frantz), who seeks to leverage Mathais' inability to pay into a marriage with Mathais' daughter Annette (Lola Todd.) In order to pay off the debt and secure his bid for the position of burgomeister, Maithas kills and robs a wealthy merchant who stops at the inn on Christmas--and is thereafter tormented by his own guilt and most particularly by the sound of bells, which recall the sleigh bells his victim held when killed.

Today the film is best known for Boris Karloff, who appears in the small but distinctly creepy role of "The Mesmerist;" even so, it is really Lionel Barrymore who endows the thing with interest. Acting styles of the early silent era tended to be very broad, and THE BELLS OFFERS scope for a great deal of scenery chewing, but Barrymore is comparatively restrained in his approach and the entire cast follows suit. In this sense, the film is quite watchable. At the same time, however, the story has been reworked so many times that even here it feels excessively old fashioned and slightly tired.

The print offered here is hardly pristine, but it is very good, and the score is also very well done. The DVD presents a short 1922 French film fantasy, THE CRAZY RAY, which is mildly entertaining as well. But for all the history and celebrated names involved, THE BELLS is a competent film rather than a good or great one, and its appeal will be largely confined to hardcore silent movie fans. Recommended to them.

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...which had already been filmed numerous times. Lionel Barrymore stars as an innkeeper and mill owner in a small Austrian town. He owes a lot of money to the detestable Frantz (Gustav von Seyffertitz), and his desperation leads him to make a terrible mistake, the consequences of which haunt him. Things aren't helped when a creepy sideshow mesmerist (Boris Karloff) comes to town, threatening to reveal the residents' darkest secrets. Also featuring Lola Todd, Eddie Phillips, Caroline Francis Cooke, Lorimer Johnston, and E. Alyn Warren in a dual role.

Barrymore gets to ham it up in a role made famous on stage by Henry Irving. Karloff has one of his first important parts here, made up to look like Dr. Caligari. I liked the ghostly effects used to highlight Barrymore's guilty conscience. The young couple's romance between Phillips and Todd feels tacked on to broaden the appeal.

This is quite a decent silent horror film. The print I watched was quite rich. It is a story, not unlike "Crime and Punishment," where a man beset by debt through his own shortsightedness, kills a kind old Jew and lives it up on his money. He spends on his daughter's wedding, buying clothes for his wife, and playing the part of the Burgomaster. Unfortunately, the bells in the title are the sleigh bells of the shay that the old man was driving when he was murdered. One of the strangest things is the appearance of Boris Karloff as a mesmerist. This was years before his appearance in "Frankenstein." He has thick glasses and this hideous grin. He has the power to get people to talk about their worst actions. Everything plays out, but I'm still not sure about the conclusion. It is a very interesting film and it has Lionel Barrymore playing something other than a bent over old curmudgeon.

Fits more properly into the category of gothic melodrama than of horror, but lately it has been distributed as horror (perhaps owing to the presence in the supporting cast of the great horror actor Boris Karloff, and to the film's gothic style). It claims to be from an Edgar Allen Poe story, but this concoction of suspicious wives and somnambulists is really little more than a rip-off of Germany's "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (which was perhaps itself a take-off on the venerable, much-abused Poe). Barrymore serves admirably as the film's central character, though he hasn't really learned good film technique yet, making his performance one in the "high theatrical" mode.

Neat little silent movie starring Lionel Barrymore as an innkeeper with debts that endanger his political aspirations. So he murders a wealthy traveler to get the money to pay off the debts. At first things are fine but soon his victim's brother shows up and guilt begins to overtake him. Tell-tale heart (or rather, bells), here we come. Barrymore, as always, is great. Any hamminess can be forgiven due to the style of the silent era. Boris Karloff plays a creepy-looking mesmerist (hypnotist) who plays a part in Barrymore's ultimate fate. A good picture that should please most Barrymore fans and give Karloff fans a little something interesting, too. The hallucination sequence is the highlight. My only complaint is that the boisterous music score that accompanies the version I watched doesn't fit the action on screen half the time. But I won't hold that against the film as I'm not sure if this was the original music meant to accompany the film or if it's just one of many and possibly a modern add-on. It might give you a headache, though, so watch out.