La mégère apprivoisée

Just as an additional; comment to one of the earlier reviews - Channel 4 in England did show the original 1929 version of this film in the late 1980's. The print was in excellent shape and the lack of music did not greatly harm the film. Unfortunately although I taped it at the time I've since erased it and the public domain copy I bought later is the 1966 re-dubbed and cut version - which is not as good.

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks star in this bowdlerized version the the Shakespeare play. This was Fairbanks' full talkie debit and Pickford's followup to her talkie debut in Coquette, which won her an Oscar. Hollywood legend has it that this film was a huge flop--not true. While not a resounding success, it did make money. It was the marriage between the 2 superstars that was flopping. Their careers were also nearing their end as well: Pickford was to make only 3 more films; Fairbanks made 4. What hurts The Taming of the Shrew most is that there are long silent sequences, sequences where director Sam Taylor allows the stars to mug at each other rather than talk. But when the stars talk, the film is fine. Both are good actors (stage trained), but I guess they just didn't trust the new medium of sound. Geoffrey Wardwell is a handsome Hortensio, and Edwin Maxwell is good the the father. But Dorothy Jordan as Bianca has like 2 words to say and is in hardly any scenes. Jordan is best remembered as Marie Dressler's "daughter" in Min and Bill. I'm sure the DVD version I saw is the re-release from 1966 that had new music added and some judicious cutting. There are several instances when actors are mouthing words, but nothing is heard. Nevertheless this is a charming film with 2 of the biggest stars of the era and wonderful sets. The opening scene of the city street is excellent. This is the second film I'm seen where Mary Pickford wields a whip. The other was The Pride of the Clan (1917).

While it's far from perfect either as a movie or as an adaptation of Shakespeare, this version of "The Taming of the Shrew" is enjoyable as light entertainment. It also offers a rare chance for silent film fans to see Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks together, in a sound feature no less. Fairbanks has a role much more suited to him than does Pickford, but it's still good to see them together.

Petruchio really is quite a suitable role for Fairbanks, and his buoyant confidence works well. His portrayal seems to be pretty close to the kind of character that Shakespeare intended. The role of Katherine doesn't give Pickford a chance to use her greatest strengths. She does project good energy, and has plenty of charm when it is called for, but at times her portrayal doesn't seem to fit the original conception of the character, and the role definitely did not give Mary the chance to display her wide range of talents with more subtle material.

The story is a rather loose, jaunty adaptation of the original, and there would be little point in making detailed comparisons. As a movie, most of it works all right aside from the occasional instances of awkwardly-paced dialogue and the like that are characteristic of so many films of the early sound era. Fairbanks does help make some of these moments less noticeable with his obvious good humor. There are certainly a number of obvious ways in which it could have been better, and it's fair to point them out. Yet it still has enough of the classic story, plus enough of its own energy, to make it worth seeing as long as you know what to expect.

Early Hollywood's most famous couple, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, decided to collaborate on a film in an attempt to patch up their growing distant marriage. The play they chose to adapt to the screen, a Shakespearean one, wasn't probably the best choice in healing their tumultuous alliance. The loosely-adapted work, October 1929's "The Taming of the Shrew," focused on a fiery, mean-spirited woman wooed by a nobleman who attempts to calm her down. The movie was Fairbanks' first talking picture while it was Pickford's second. The critics were split as to how each passed the test making the transition to spoken dialogue films.

Variety was upbeat on "The Taming of the Shrew," commenting "While there is plenty of romance and dialog, slapstick and mud, there's no dirt, so that part of Pickford's career remains as clean as ever. Splendid settings in the Fairbanks massive production manner." Modern assessments of the film are less than praiseworthy, especially knowing in hindsight that both careers took a deep dive after the "Shrew." Says Leonard Maltin, the movie "was defeated by its lack of pacing and downright embarrassing performances, though it's undeniably fascinating to see Doug and Mary together in their only co-starring appearance." Years later, Pickford said it was her worst performance of her life. She did admit, however, that Fairbanks excelled as his portrayal of Petruchio.

"The Taming of the Shrew" was the first Shakespearian play brought to the screen as a talkie. The feature film was based more on the Richard Garrick's version of the farce, his 'Katherine and Petruchio.' The 1929 film incorporates about 20 percent of Shakespeare's written dialogue, and the movie's English, still Elizabethan, is updated somewhat to make it more understandable for the modern audiences.

Today's viewers to "The Taming of the Shrew" will take notice that Fairbanks' harsh treatment of Katherine is so over-the-top many felt back then the actor was taking out all his frustrations of the couple's personal relationship out on her. And Pickford's punchy attitude was equally demonstrative by her excessive yelling and physicality towards him, portions that were not written in the script. Pickford claims all the fault laid at the director, Sam Taylor's feet, a surprising allegation since both he and the actress got along swimmingly during their last collaboration, 1927's "My Best Girl."

As one reviewer noted, "The acting that had made Pickford and Fairbanks the 'King and Queen of Hollywood' rendered their performing style obsolete overnight. It's important to remember, of course, that the change brought about by sound had absolutely nothing to do with their deficiencies as performers, but only emphasizes the differences between silent and sound film. Watching a film like 'The Taming of the Shrew,' and comparing it to what they were both doing just months earlier, makes a strong case that the silent and sound film are really two entirely different things."

Douglas Fairbanks is Petruchio and Mary Pickford is Catherine, with bad direction by Sam Taylor. Plus I'm sure that The Bard was not amused that Sam Taylor thought he could improve his original dialogue. But I digress.

The big problem is that Pickford is so small; when I got my first look at her, she looked like a little girl playing at fancy dress. Taylor stages things so she is equal in height or taller than Fairbanks when they are side by side, but when standing apart she is obviously much shorter. Maybe a match in bad manners, but she is obviously not his physical equal. For example, she is blown about by a high wind in one scene, while Fairbanks is unaffected.

Fairbanks as Petruchio is actually playing one of his swashbucklers, and Pickford as Kate is one of her many spunky waif characters. She does not inspire fear, just a "isn't that precious!" reaction given her size. Notice that when Pickford is supposedly beating up servants and smashing furniture, she does so out of view of the camera, because someone her size would not be capable of doing all of that damage.

The odd thing is that the film looks like great care went into the art direction and photography, and the supporting players are pretty good. Neither Fairbanks nor Pickford have that stiff early talkie way about them, but they are given to wild gestures as though they are still in a silent film. So it is the little things that are done well and with care, while it is the big things that sink the film. I'd give it 5/10 with four of those five going to the physical production design.