La carte fatale

Although I've seen the standard Lon Chaney horror classics in the past--such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925)--I haven't seen them for a while. This is the first of Chaney's less currently popular films that I've seen. I was very impressed. Although it wasn't just Chaney, but everything about The Ace of Hearts that "clicked" for me on this viewing.

Despite the conventional wisdom, I think The Ace of Hearts works marvelously if you don't have the background information on the story. I think that was part of my attraction to it--it's presented as something of a mystery. As shown on screen, the film concerns some kind of very solemn secret society who have decided that a particular individual is a "Man Who Has Lived Too Long".

We learn that some members of the secret society have been interacting with him--one, Mr. Forrest (John Bowers), has regularly served as his waiter for breakfast for a number of years. "The Man Who Has Lived Too Long" has been going to the same restaurant at 9:00 a.m. every day. Another, Mr. Farallone (Chaney), has been painting "The Man Who Has Lived Too Long's" portrait. We learn the procedure for the secret society's carrying out of their death sentences, which involves the executioner being "randomly" chosen by receiving the Ace of Hearts. The executioner is chosen, and he's given the tools he needs for the job as a plan is settled on. All that's left is to carry out the sentence. However, there's a snag when the executioner has second thoughts, and The Ace of Hearts becomes something of a twisted parable about morality.

As presented in the film, we never learn very much about who the main characters are, who their villain is, and so on. The story stays extremely focused on the plot, which is deceptively simple. There are only two aspects--the machinations of the secret society planning and attempting to carry out the death sentence and a love triangle between Mr. Forrest, Mr. Farallone and Lilith (Leatrice Joy), the only female member of the secret society.

Without knowing the background information that fueled the film, The Ace of Hearts is a taut, metaphorical work about "the power of love". Early in the film, one member of the secret society expresses relief that he wasn't chosen as the executioner because he has a wife and kids at home--there is a chance that the executioner may come to harm while carrying out the sentence. The eventual kink in the plan arises because of love, through an ironic plot development that was initially to give the executioner strength, or added resolve, but that ended up undermining the operation. And the final resolution of the film arises through love and a realization that the final course of action is the right one ethically.

Chaney is amazing in his ability to convey complex emotions and thought without the aid of sound. Apparently, his abilities developed partially out of the fact that his parents were deaf, and he learned how to communicate with and even entertain his ailing mother through gestures.

Wallace Worsley's direction is inventive. Goldwyn films were relatively low budget at the time, so costs were cut by keeping sets to a minimum, for instance. Worsley gets maximum mileage out of the few sets in the film. He uses a well-planned mix of economic shots to easily convey the plot. The few shots set "outside" are extremely effective, with the torrential rain and hurricane-force winds (both caused by technical limitations of the effects at the time) lending an appropriately gloomy atmosphere in crucial scenes. It's just too bad that there aren't very clean prints of the film floating around, or that spending time and money to clean them up wouldn't be justified financially.

Another big factor that helped me love this film is the DVD version I watched--Turner Classic Movies' "Archives" Lon Chaney Collection release. This features a new score by Vivek Maddala that is simply fantastic. It's even more incredible when we consider that this was Maddala's first score--he obtained the gig by winning a contest that TCM hosted. The score is beautiful and modern, with inventive harmonies. It always meshes exquisitely with the action, and goes far in helping to tell the story.

But what about that background information? Well, even though I don't think it's necessary to enjoy the film, it's interesting in its own right. The story, by Gouverneur Morris, was a response to the first "Red Scare" in the U.S., from 1917 to 1920. Although the roots were complex and associated with World War I, all one needs to know is that the Red Scare involved anti-communist ideology, connected to communist paranoia among the public.

Thus, the "secret society" in the film is supposed to be a Russian communist group (although they're often said to be intended as anarchists, but that's complicated, as well, as "anarchist" can mean very different political ideologies). Lon Chaney's character was originally named Rattavich, but the script was eventually generalized to avoid the more overt politicizations. Under this interpretation of the film, the "Man Who Has Lived Too Long" is a capitalist whom the communist secret society feels the need to assassinate--sometimes this is seen as something of a parallel to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, which is said to be one of the causes of the first World War. This interpretation helps explain how a film that is mostly on the "wrong" side of the moral compass, or even nihilistic (until the ending), made it past the censors. Whatever the reasons, though, it's a refreshing, unusual and well-made film that gains bizarre, eerie universality through its ambiguity.

In October 2000 Turner Classic Movies aired for the first time on television The Ace of Hearts. Although this may not be Lon's most famous movie it is still a good one. The movie is about a secret society who seek to rid the world of wealthy capitalist. The member who draws the ace of hearts gets to kill the capitalist. This is also a love story. Lon loves this girl who loves someone else. The girl loves the man who is going to kill the capitalist but love changes their attitude about the whole thing. The society kills it's members who betray them. Will Lon save the girl he loves? Will the capitalist be murdered? This movie now has a new music score! My hat off to TCM for airing the movie and for making the music score possible. The print is in very good shape. It's very scratchy in places but all in all very clear. What do we expect for a movie 80 years old. TCM probably used the best, if not the only, print in existance. TCM should be showing the movie soon and often from now on. The Ace of Hearts is a must for Chaney fans.

The members of a secret society vote on condemning a man to death. Two members of the society, Farralone and Forrest, are in love with the only female member, Lilith. Lilith deals cards to the members, and Forrest gets the ace of hearts, which means he has the "honor" to kill the victim the next day. Lilith agrees to marry Forrest that night, and then tries to convince him not to go through with the murder. But Forrest feels duty bound to carry out the deed. Lilith tries to get Farralone to intercede, but he offers her a bargain instead. Circumstances prevent Forrest from committing the murder, which causes the other members to condemn him to death. Farralone gets the ace of hearts. But he has another plan in mind. He begins to laugh ...

I've seen this twice, and upon further review, I can say it's an interesting story, but it's almost done in by some overacting by the three leads.

There are also plenty of holes in the film. I wanted to know how this society was formed, why it only has one female member, why Chaney has a George Washington haircut, why everyone except Bowers and Joy looks to be in their 50s or 60s, why they chose their victim (referring to him as "the man who lived too long"), etc. If you can ignore all this, you'll probably like the film.

... and yet he still commands your attention. Here, Chaney is part of some secret society that apparently summarily executes people whom they think have "lived too long". And I'm not talking about nonagenarians in poor health. They have made that decision against some industrialist who they say "failed to make the world better". They get a close-up view of him by posing as waiters even a portrait painter, and report on his perceived state of mind. So these people are essentially terrorists and anarchists without ever using those words. What a bold theme about which to make a movie in 1921, with the very recent Red Scares.

So the group always decides who carries out these executions by drawing cards until the Ace of Hearts is drawn. The group is very egalitarian in that even the one female member could be chosen. You see, all of the members of the society are men except Lilith (Leatrice Joy) and she does NOT look like Emma Goldman. Farallone (Chaney) and Forrest (John Bowers) are in love with her, and thus want to compete for her affection by drawing the card. Anybody who draws the card could be killed in the assassination attempt, since the device to be used is a disguised explosive device with a supposed time delay, but would it work or just instantaneously ignite?

You'll have to watch and find out if the morality of all of this deciding life and death extra-judicially is ever discussed. I will say that the film creeps along at a snail's pace and the acting technique is rather broad and antiquated for one from the 1920s, even the beginning of the twenties. It is worthwhile to see Chaney effectively use his acting chops in a film that isn't quite up to his talents. For Chaney fans, probably the best scene in the film is Chaney, spending the night on a park bench in a blinding storm, soaked to the bone, diligently keeping a vigil of sorts from a distance.

"The Ace of Hearts" is essentially another variation of the eternal triangle. As was usually the case Lon Chaney doesn't get the girl.

The plot involves a secret society referred to as "The Cause", a vigilante group of seven men and one woman who decide to rid the world of people who were in a position to do some good in the world but did not for their own selfish reasons. The group led by Mr. Morgridge (Hardee Kirkland) has chosen its next victim. The group is then dealt cards until one of them is dealt the ace of hearts. The holder of the ace of hearts is then given "the honor" of carrying out the execution.

Within the group are Mr. Farallone (Lon Chaney), Lilith (Leatrice Joy) and Mr. Forrest (John Bowers). Forrest draws the fateful ace of hearts and eagerly looks forward to the task at hand. Lilith was absent from the meeting so Farallone and Forrest, who are both in love with her, go to see her and tell her the news. She rejects Farallone's advances, but agrees to marry Forrest if as she says, that will provide him with the courage he needs.

The couple marry and return to Lilith's apartment for their wedding night. Broken hearted lover Farallone greets them to ensure that they did in fact get married. Later as the couple retires and turn out the lights, we see the pathetic Farallone standing in a driving rain lamenting his lost love. This scene alone makes the movie worthwhile. Chaney could show such emotion facially that one cannot help but feel pity for the distraught lover. This was a method Chaney would repeat in many of his other films as well.

When it comes time to murder "The man who has lived too long" (Raymond Hatton), Forrest, having succumbed to the tender love of Lilith, sees the error of the plot and backs down. Later, the committee condemns Forrest to death for his failure to carry out his assignment. But Farallone sees a way to give the couple their freedom.

Chaney plays what amounts to a supporting role here as the story centers more on the Forrest and Lilith characters, but as I pointed out, Chaney steals the film with that aforementioned scene in the rain. Raymond Hatton by the way, went on to a lengthy career in "B" westerns in the 30s and 40s usually playing the crusty old sidekick.

Vintage Chaney.