May 4th
Salome
Odeon Leicester Square
US 1923. Nazimova Productions. 71m. bw. silent
King Herod's stepdaughter Salome, obsessed with John the Baptist, demands to have his head on a platter when he refuses her affections.
An infamous and rarely seen piece of salacious cinema, Nazimova's most famous film, in which she had slightly too much creative control; very opulent to look at (based on the Aubrey Beardsley illustrations for Oscar Wilde's play), successfully bringing out some of Wilde's themes of inverted love (Nazimova was lesbian), but also very static and uncinematic. Its sheer po-faced campness ensured that it was not a financial success.
d: Charles Bryant
s: Alla Nazimova, Mitchell Lewis, Nigel De Brulier, Rose Dione, Earl Schenck
Music Accompaniment: Donald Mackenzie (on organ).
John Coulthart on Salome
Salome
Odeon Leicester Square
US 1923. Nazimova Productions. 71m. bw. silent
King Herod's stepdaughter Salome, obsessed with John the Baptist, demands to have his head on a platter when he refuses her affections.
An infamous and rarely seen piece of salacious cinema, Nazimova's most famous film, in which she had slightly too much creative control; very opulent to look at (based on the Aubrey Beardsley illustrations for Oscar Wilde's play), successfully bringing out some of Wilde's themes of inverted love (Nazimova was lesbian), but also very static and uncinematic. Its sheer po-faced campness ensured that it was not a financial success.
d: Charles Bryant
s: Alla Nazimova, Mitchell Lewis, Nigel De Brulier, Rose Dione, Earl Schenck
Music Accompaniment: Donald Mackenzie (on organ).
John Coulthart on Salome
Labels: silent films
posted by Joe at 5:55 PM
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