Live action Tintin film reportedly on the way

via GIPHY

Live action Tintin film reportedly on the way

Just when I was recently lamenting the lack of a sequel to 2011's The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn from either Peter Jackson or Steven Spielberg along comes the news of a new Tintin film in the works - but not from the source, nor in the format, that one might expect.  

Tintin Live-Action Film Is in the Works, Won't Be Connected to Spielberg's Movie

source - IMDb

No, with the promise of a follow-up to Secret of the Unicorn still not forthcoming from either Mr Jackson or Mr Spielberg the door has potentially been left open for a new production (or a "reboot", to use the modern parlance).  Through that door, according to the accompanying articles, may come the little-known (outside of France) director Patrice Leconte and his plans for a live-action Tintin film - the first time such an undertaking has been mooted since Tintin and the Blue Oranges was released nearly 60 years ago in 1964.

source - IMDb

That film was in fact the second of a planned trilogy of live-action Tintin stories, beginning with 1961's Tintin and the Golden Fleece.  Both films had original storylines not featured in any of the books but featured all the main characters including Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Thomson & Thompson and of course Snowy(!).  The title character was played by a young (then aged only seventeen) unknown Belgian Jean-Pierre Talbot who, while working as a sports instructor on an Ostend beach, had been spotted by a talent scout who noticed the useful resemblance to the boy reporter.  Introduced to the great Hergé himself the two quickly became firm friends and Talbot's role was assured (although this was to be his only foray into acting; after The Blue Oranges he returned to relative obscurity and later became a teacher.  Now aged 77 and retired, he still lives in his home town of Spa).  He was the only actor to play the same character across both films, with Captain Haddock being portrayed by Georges Wilson in The Golden Fleece and Jean Bouise in The Blue Oranges.  Professor Calculus likewise was played by Georges Loriot in the first film and by Félix Fernández in the second.  Some confusion still surrounds the actor(s) who played Thomson & Thompson in the first film as they were only listed in the credits as "Incognito", while IMDb would have us believe they were both played by the same man - the mysteriously-named "Gamonal" (although there is some suggestion that they may have been Les Frères Gamonal (i.e. the brothers Gamonal).  Certainly they appear to be two separate actors in the film.)  In the case of each movie all the supporting actors were made-up to some extent so as to better approximate the look of their characters while still retaining the live-action æsthetic - the success (or otherwise) of which I will leave for you to decide, both films being currently available on YouTube here and here.

source - IMDb

The Golden Fleece sees Captain Haddock inherit a ship (the Golden Fleece of the title) from a recently deceased friend, which soon leads to all sorts of adventure in the search for lost treasure (so although ostensibly a stand-alone plot it does seem have been inspired by the two-parter stories The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure).  Following that movie's success the second film, The Blue Oranges, was released three years later and - in an adventure that definitely owes nothing to the books - sees our heroes come to the aid of Professor Calculus and his friend who have hit upon an invention to cure world hunger, which needless to say soon attracts the attention of some villainous types!  A third film was to have been made for release in 1967 but due to the less than positive reviews of The Blue Oranges it was cancelled and so these two cinematic oddities remain for now the only attempts at a live-action Tintin movie.

source - IMDb

Live-action Tintin movie in development

source - Wikipædia

Until now, that is, with the exciting news that veteran French director Patrice Leconte has expressed an interest in producing just such a film - this time to be based on one of the actual books, namely The Castafiore Emerald.  Intriguingly this particular story would be very much a set-bound piece, taking place exclusively at Marlinspike Hall - the home of Captain Haddock - and is essentially more of a "who-dunnit" rather than an out-and-out adventure.  How successful that will prove to be remains to be seen (the book itself, a later release published in 1963, was not well-received on account of Hergé breaking with the traditional adventure-style storyline for the first time), especially as M. Leconte is still in early negotiations with Paramount Pictures for the copyright which still lies with Spielberg (look man, if you're not going to do anything with it after nearly ten years at least give somebody else a chance!).  For this reason alone, thrilled though I am at the prospect of a new Tintin film and buoyed by M. Leconte's arthouse credentials (which includes stints as a comic strip writer), I don't hold out much hope for one seeing the light of day any time in the next few years.  I know from previous experience how long it takes for a film that has only just been tentatively announced and may not even be in pre-production to finally make it to our cinema screens and I expect that - if it hasn't died a death in the meantime - I'll still be blogging about its progress well into this decade.  Still, hope springs eternal and despite all this negativity it seems M. Leconte is confident enough to announce some degree of progress - having claimed production has started - although to what level is not clear - and the parts of Captain Haddock and Bianca Castafiore have already been cast.  I wish M. Leconte every success and will be keeping a close eye on this production in the profound hope that we Tintin fans will not be disappointed by a third director!

Leconte To Helm Live-Action “Tintin” Film?

As this looks likely to be a French-led production (although Paramount may well demand some input in return for the copyright and distribution rights) one imagines that the cast will probably be a largely European one, unknown outside the Continent - although perhaps with one or two big names to aid its popularity.  With that being the case and with M. Leconte allegedly having found his Captain Haddock and Bianca Castafiore, my own ideas on casting for a live-action Tintin film seem even more redundant than they did previously.  However I'm not a man to let that stop me so I will plough ahead and finish this post with my casting director's hat on and my thoughts and suggestions for actors and actresses to play the major roles in any forthcoming live-action production.

A Tintin Live-Action Movie is in Development

source - Wikimedia Commons / 
Gage Skidmore

The difficulty in finding an actor to portray Tintin is that they must by necessity be quite young - our hero is a "boy reporter" of only fifteen, don't forget - or still be possessed of petite, boyish looks despite being well into their twenties or older.  Think Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, for instance - although I wouldn't necessarily choose him as I don't think he would have quite the right appearance even with make-up/ prosthetics.  In the case of a series of films this in turn leads to the problem of needing to anchor the character's age over the course of a short period of time in the story arc against the actor's natural aging process during the years of each film's production.  A classic example of this can be seen in the Spider-Man films, beginning with Sam Raimi's trilogy of 2002-07 starring Tobey Maguire, through Andrew Garfield's tenure in The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, to the current incumbent Tom Holland (above).  The character of Peter Parker is in many ways similar to that of Tintin (barring the superhuman strength, ability to stick to walls and web-slinging skills, of course) - a teenage reporter/ photographer getting into all sorts of scrapes and adventures - and so requires the same sort of actor to pull the role off, hence the reason why there have been so many reboots of that particular franchise in little under twenty years.  I happen to rate Tom Holland very highly and for that reason, as well as his matching the criteria I mentioned above, I certainly think he could be an excellent Tintin.

Give him a quiff and you're all set.
source - Wikimedia Commons / 
Greg2600

My first choice for the part of Belgian's famous fictional son, though, would be one of Mr Holland's fellow young British actors - Asa Butterfield (left).  Perhaps best known for his breakthrough role in 2008's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and as the eponymous Hugo in that excellent Thirties-set, Steampunkesque film, young Butterfield has for me just the right look about him for the character and has impressed me in everything I have seen him in.  Like Tom Holland I can see him keeping his fresh-faced appearance well into his thirties (both actors being in their mid-twenties now) which would hold him in good stead for any sequels.

sources - Wikipædia/
Gage Skidmore/
Eva Rinaldi

Having ummed and aahhed a bit my pick for Captain Haddock would come down to two established actors who I feel could really relish in the part.  The first is Kiefer Sutherland, who I feel is now of an age at and stage in his career where he could channel some of his father Donald's eccentricities into a challenging character like the good captain.  Just try and imagine him with a bushy black beard and see if you don't get what I mean.  The second - and again my top choice - would be Russell Crowe.  The gravelly voice, the stocky build, the intensity of his acting ability could all be brought to bear with great success in a more light-hearted role that would still test him.  (Honourable mention should also go to Andy Serkis, I feel, who voiced Captain Haddock in the 2011 Spielberg film.  He's very good at playing a broad range of characters and again with a full beard I could easily see him in the role.)

sources - IMDb/ Wikipædia/ Gage Skidmore

For Professor Calculus only one actor comes to mind - Sir Ben Kingsley.  Frankly, to use a modern expression, I think he would smash it out of the park and after Tintin his is probably the one part I would most like to see essayed.  Calculus is arguably the most difficult character to approximate, having such a unique look about him (he was modelled on the eccentric Swiss scientist and aeronaut Auguste Piccard - another subject for a standalone post, methinks!) so as well as being close in terms of looks and stature, requiring less make-up, I reckon Sir Ben's superb acting skills should be more than up to doing justice to the part. 

sources - Wikipædia/ Gage Skidmore/ iDominick

The characters of Thomson & Thompson are equally difficult to cast, I feel, not only for their distinctive appearance but also for the fact that they look identical despite not being twins (that being the joke).  So does one go with a pair of brother actors like the Wilsons (Owen, Luke and Andrew), the Hemsworths (Chris, Liam and Luke) or the McGanns (Stephen, Joe, Paul and Mark) or two unrelated chaps who resemble one another (and more so with the aid of make-up/ prosthetics)?  On balance I favour the latter option and in this instance I would stick with Simon Pegg, who played one half of the "Twins" with long-standing comedy partner Nick Frost in the 2011 film, but this time pair him with noted Welsh actor Michael Sheen.  Both actors have the comedy credentials to really bring the characters to life and I have a suspicion the two would really spark off each other in the roles.

sources - Wikipædia/ Garry Knight/ Diggies99

Two actresses again spring to mind as "The Milanese Nightingale", aka Bianca Castafiore and Captain Haddock's constant nuisance.  Top of the list would be Emma Thompson, whose great range includes a healthy dose of comedy and whimsy which could be brought to bear perfectly in the role.  Her ability to play character parts (e.g. Nanny McPhee) also makes her a shoo-in for this kind of portrayal I fancy.  Second choice would be Jennifer Saunders, who likewise has many of the same qualities and would be equally adept at applying them to the character of Señora Castafiore.

source - Pinterest

Alas I am not up to speed on my canine actors so dear old Snowy (or Milou in the original French), important though he may be, will regrettably have to be side-lined at least until a specialist doggy talent scout can come up with the goods, which it has to be admitted will be more difficult for a live-action production than a CGI or cartoon one.  Needless to say terriers, as with any other dog, can be trained to appear on TV and in film (I'm thinking in particular of "Eddie" in Frasier and "Jack" in The Artist) and I've no doubt a suitable contender could easily be found.  In the meantime, here's a picture of Tintin's faithful companion and the sort of dog (a wire-haired fox terrier) that could portray him.

Those, then, would be my choices for the main cast of a live-action Tintin flick (and if you're reading this, M. Leconte - no charge).  Regardless of who does play the roles of Tintin & Company I sincerely hope that this latest production has legs and makes a successful transition to the big screen sooner rather than later, bringing everyone's favourite boy reporter back into the limelight - maybe in time for his 100th birthday in 2029.  Bon chance, M. Leconte - I shall be watching the progress of this one with a great deal of interest.

***Would you look forward to a new live-action Tintin film?  What do you think of my Tintin & Co casting choices?  Who would you like to see have a go at essaying Hergé's colourful characters?  Let me know in the comments below!*** 

For he's still a brolly good fellow

For part two of my umbrella-themed post we pick up from where we left off in part one with a further fictional proponent of umbrella self-defence, something of a 21st century John Steed in many respects and another welcome practitioner of Bartitsu-inspired moves in film.

This is the character of Harry Hart (Codename: Galahad) from the Kingsman series of films.  A slightly more updated take on the gentleman spy genre it nevertheless successfully (in my view) mixes the traditional and modern elements and nowhere is that better illustrated than in the Kingsmen's (and Harry Hart's in particular) dapper style, tailor's shop base of operations and - yes, you've guessed it - wielding of a tightly-furled umbrella.  Although quite adept at belabouring gobby villains and megalomaniacs' henchmen with his trusty gamp Galahad's example also has a few more novel tricks up its shaft compared to Steed's hidden rapier, including an electric-shock chain built into the ferrule, the ability to fire both live or rubber bullets and - the pièce de résistance - a bullet-proof canopy. 



While the cartoon violence and strong language of the Kingsman films may not appeal to everyone's taste I think it is more than offset by the style and panache displayed in both films (although I do prefer the first one over The Golden Circle) and the successfull homage to the '60s spy films and TV series (including The Avengers) that director Matthew Vaughn has gone on record as having been his intention.  Fellow fans of the films - and especially of the well-dressed "gentleman spy" æsthetic and "manners maketh man" ethos - will be pleased to know that a third and final sequel featuring Colin Firth's and Taron Egerton's characters is in the works.  Even more exciting, though, is the forthcoming prequel The King's Man, set around the First World War and showing the origins of the Kingsman Secret Service.  Originally due for release back in February, covid-19 put the kybosh on that and it is now scheduled to be in cinemas early next year (provided things improve, of course).  You'll remember when I apologised for raking up the 1998 Avengers film in my previous post by saying that if you still liked the idea of Ralph Fiennes in three-piece suit, bowler hat and topped off with an umbrella then to hold that thought?  Well here he is again, nearly 25 years later (and looking quite at home in a variety of dashing ensembles) taking over the Colin Firth role as one of the founding Kingsmen in what is a very exciting-looking trailer (complete with a couple of umbrella action sequences).  Personally this is one I can hardly wait for and if it makes it to the cinema (it's already been postponed twice, so I'm not holding my breath) I'll be going, coronavirus or not.



Quite obviously an electrocuting, bullet-proof ballistic brolly would be even more frowned upon by the authorities than a swordstick one (even if it would be equally desirable); of course in this day and age of tie -in movie merchandise it is possible to get an "official" Kingsman umbrella from the likes of Mr Porter and even Briggs themselves, although for the price one would expect them to have all of the aforementioned functionality (sadly they don't).  Stick to your standard gamp and keep practising your Bartitsu, is all I can suggest.

Major Digby Tatham-Warter (left) and his umbrella-based exploits immortalised
(as Major Harry Carlyle) in A Bridge Too Far.

One extraordinary chap who clearly thought he had a bullet-proof umbrella was the distinguished Second World War British Army officer Major Digby Tatham-Warter, whose wartime service saw him first taking part in the Western Desert campaign before volunteering for the Parachute Regiment, a decision that would lead him to take part in one of the most famous engagements of the war - Operation Market Garden, or the Battle of Arnhem.  Clearly a top fellow and splendidly eccentric, Tatham-Warter would brandish a hunting bugle during the battle and trained his troops to recognise its various calls (as had been common military practice during the Napoleonic Wars) since he was - rightly as it turned out - worried about the unreliability of the battalion's field radios.  More pertinently to this article, however, he also carried an umbrella with him as he frequently had difficulty remembering the various passwords he was supposed to use and reasoned that any Allied unit would recognise that "only a bloody fool of an Englishman" would bring a brolly into an active war zone.  In the event it did also turn out to have a practical military application - during one engagement Tatham-Warter was able to take out a German armoured car with his parapluie by the simple expedient of shoving it through the vehicle's viewing slit and incapacitating the driver!

As the Battle of Arnhem raged on, Tatham-Warter could continually be seen moving nonchalantly among his men - sometimes in the face of fierce mortar and sniper fire - while still holding his trusty umbrella.  At one point he led his men in a bayonet charge across Arnhem Bridge against advancing German infantry - brolly in one hand, pistol in the other and wearing a bowler hat that he had contrived to obtain from somewhere.  Steed in battle, more or less!   Still later, he observed the company chaplain trapped by enemy mortar fire while trying to get to some injured soldiers.  Managing to make it to the chaplain's position, Tatham-Warter uttered the immortal line "Don't worry, I've got an umbrella" and proceeded to successfully escort the chaplain back across the street under the protection of its canopy.  Upon returning to the front line while holding the still open gamp, the remark from fellow officer Lieutenant Pat Barnett that "that thing won't do you much good" drew from Tatham-Warter the equally brilliant response - "Oh my goodness Pat, but what if it rains?".



Tatham-Warter's exploits served as the inspiration for the fictional character of Major Harry Carlyle in A Bridge Too Far, Richard Attenborough's famous 1977 retelling of the Battle of Arnhem.  In the film Carlyle dies but, perhaps [un]surprisingly, Tatham-Warter survived to be taken prisoner.  He promptly escaped (naturally!) and for a time worked with the Dutch Resistance before eventually returning to England.  He is certainly fully deserving of - and will one day get - a blog post in his own right but for now we can simply marvel at his brolly-based shenanigans in the face of incredible odds.

Another great bumbershoot-brandishing military eccentric who will also one day get the full Eclectic Ephemera treatment is Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Daniel Wintle MC (left), whose service covered both world wars (and the period in between - which, to give you some idea of the man, he described as "intensely boring") with some quite amazing - and amusing - incidents occurring throughout his life.  A staunch believer in "England and the English way of life" Wintle felt that the umbrella was one of the cornerstones of an English gentleman, a conviction that was established at the tender age of seven when an aunt bought him his first brolly - as he relates in his autobiography The Last Englishman:

"my Aunt Carrie... gave me my first umbrella, purchased at the Army and Navy Stores.  This was to be, for many years, the apple of my eye.  It made me feel I was well on my way to becoming a complete English gentleman.

I could hardly bear to be parted from my umbrella.  I would go off at odd intervals of the day to admire it in the hall-stand and I used to take it to bed with me every night for years.  The feel of the leather handle beside me as I fell asleep gave me the comforting sensation that I was already one of the... breed of Englishmen"

If you can find a copy, GET IT - it is one of the best
autobiographies I have ever read but sadly also one
of the rarest, only published once in 1968.

Although Wintle never went so far as to take an umbrella into battle his firm attachment and strong opinion never left him.  He would go on to say:

"The Englishman... always takes his umbrella with him, anyway, for the good and simple reason that no gentleman ever leaves the house without it."

Mind you, he was also resolute on another point - "no true gentleman ever unfurls his umbrella".  To Wintle, the brolly was a status symbol - the mark of a real English gent - and if it meant getting thoroughly soaked to prove it then so be it.  So convinced was he of this theory that, in later years, before tightly furling it up he would insert a note into the canopy of his gamp that read "This umbrella was stolen from Colonel A. D. Wintle" presumably on the basis that any un-English malefactor who dared to pinch his brolly would be instantly undone upon opening it and so promptly nabbed by the constabulary.

While I wouldn't go so far as to never unfurl my umbrella (and therefore, sadly, in the eyes of Colonel Wintle am not a true Englishman) I would at least extol his instruction to take one with you wherever you go, the weather in this country being so unpredictable (especially at this time of year) and the forecasts generally useless (I find looking out of the window of a morn far more instructive).  Nor would I recommend it as your sole form of armament should you ever find yourself facing off against a hostile tank, although as Major Tatham-Warter proved it couldn't hurt.  If you can take anything away from these posts, be inspired by these chaps both fictional and - however unbelievably - genuine and carry your umbrella with pride whatever the weather.

Finally, to finish on a still lighter note - at the end of the previous post I described Steed's actions with the brolly as "umbrella jousting".  I knew I had heard the term somewhere before and it afterwards came back to me.  It is of course the sport invented by those sterling coves over at The Chap magazine as part of their annual Chap Olympiad and the perfect way to end this post.  Surely it will only be a matter of time before the International Olympic Committee see sense and include umbrella jousting in future Games.  Could we see well-dressed participants with tightly-furled brollies and reinforced newspapers charging each other on bicycles in time for Tokyo, perhaps?  The Japanese would love it!  I leave you with footage of last year's event and let you make up your own mind...

Sherlock Holmes silent classic uncovered in Paris vault

Sherlock Holmes silent classic uncovered in Paris vault

source

A couple of months ago the British Film Institute issued one of its occasional calls for us all to be on the look-out for its top 75 "Most Wanted" lost films - titles from the dawn of moving pictures right up to the 1970s that have seemingly vanished from archives, film libraries and national collections around the world.  In this particular instance it was a request for everyone to turn "Great Detective" and keep their eyes peeled for a copy - or a clue to a copy - of the first ever film adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes story.

A Study in Scarlet, the initial Holmes story that introduces us to "the world's only consulting detective" and his trusty friend Dr Watson, was adapted into a film in 1914 by a British concern called the Samuelson Film Manufacturing Company - a name long since forgotten among the many businesses that attempted to get involved in the new and lucrative moving picture business at the turn of the last century.  James Bragington, who worked at Samuelson's (but not actually as an actor!), was chosen for his resemblance to Holmes (as described in the books) and by all accounts made a remarkably good fist of it - aided by some on-the-job training and the slightly florid acting style demanded by silent movies of that era.  Filming took place at locations including Cheddar Gorge.  The director, George Pearson, would go on to make 1923's Love, Life and Laughter, another previously lost film whose rediscovery earlier this year was also featured on this blog.

source
James Bragington as Sherlock Holmes

Despite positive reviews and showings at picture houses around the country, the first film version of A Study in Scarlet has since slipped into obscurity and been considered lost for decades.  Sadly a separate American production of the same story made and released almost concurrently with the British version, plus Samuelson's own 1916 follow-up The Valley of Fear, are also considered lost.  A fourth 1910s Sherlock Holmes film, simply called Sherlock Holmes, also made in 1916 by the American Essanay Film Manufacturing Company (best known for producing Charlie Chaplin films during 1915) and starring William Gillette - who had become the quintessential stage Holmes following the successful tours of his theatrical amalgamation of various stories and upon which the film was based - similarly was long thought lost by film and Holmes experts.

source
A Study in Scarlet (1914)

Cinémathèque Française discovers 1916 Sherlock Holmes film

Until now, that is, with the wonderful news of the discovery of a French-subtitled copy of the Gillette film in the archives of the Cinémathèque Française in Paris.  Once more giving hope in the search for the other 75 most wanted lost films, Sherlock Holmes had been mislabelled before it was consigned to Cinémathèque Française's shelves decades ago - a mistake that has only now come to light.  With luck many more previously lost films may be rediscovered in like manner - incorrect labelling and private collections still being the most promising sources.

This find is doubly important not only for adding to and increasing our knowledge of the early years of Sherlock Holmes on film (prior to the great Basil Rathbone) but also because it is the only moving picture William Gillette ever did.  We will now, therefore, be able to see for the first time in one hundred years his performance - widely lauded at the time, even by Conan Doyle himself - as the Great Detective and one generally considered to be generation-defining.  It will be interesting to finally be able to compare him to Rathbone, Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett.

Cinémathèque Française, in collaboration with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, are currently undertaking what sounds like a thorough restoration of the fragile negatives - hopefully in time for a premiere at the former's own film festival in Paris during January 2015.  Then, who knows, perhaps the BFI will get involved and oblige us with a limited release in the UK - perhaps even a DVD.  I'm really hoping we get to see it somehow!

Silent Betty Balfour film 'masterpiece' found in Holland

Silent Betty Balfour film 'masterpiece' found in Holland

As something of a silent film aficionado it is always a great delight for me to see the recognition that these products of the early years of cinema deserve and the general renaissance they have undergone in recent years (precipitated, it could be argued, by 2011's Oscar-winning The Artist).  This is only tempered by the sad knowledge that time is not kind to old 35mm film stock, which was invariably nitrate and not only flammable but also subject to decay over time, leading to many a silent film being missing presumed lost.

So it is an even greater joy when a previously "lost" silent film is discovered, usually after languishing for years in a private collection (and/or a mislabelled tin).  Such has been the case with Love, Life and Laughter, a British comedy-drama film from 1923 that starred silent actress Betty Balfour.  (I must admit despite being a fan of the silents that I was ignorant of Betty Balfour, who was a huge star of British cinema in the Twenties - "the British Mary Pickford", as she was known at the time.  I had vaguely heard of her most famous film series, Squibs - from 1921, its sequel the following year and the 1935 remake, from which the accompanying song is taken.  Sadly the advent of talkies marked a downturn in her career; she made sporadic appearances throughout the 1930s and her last performance was in 1945.  She passed away in Weybridge, Surrey, in 1977 aged 74.)



For decades no extant copy was known of Love, Life and Laughter, with only half-a-dozen stills and a couple of publicity documents surviving to attest to its existence.  That is until two weeks ago, when a complete copy was identified in The Netherlands by the Dutch film museum EYE.  Apparently it had lain undisturbed in a small, old cinema in the Dutch town of Hattem until 2012.  When the building underwent redevelopment its contents were sent to EYE for cataloguing, with the identity of this film having only just been established earlier this month.

source

Despite lacking its original English inter-titles it sounds as though this copy is in good condition, with its new custodians the British Film Institute - whose list of "75 Most Wanted Films" included Love, Life and Laughter - promising a public screening later this year.  Something to look forward to!

Something also to give us hope that more "missing" films from the silent era of cinema may still be in existence, just waiting to be found.  Although the march of time makes such discoveries increasingly unlikely, this most recent and classic example reminds us that it is still eminently possible.  Unlabelled cannisters, private copies on hardier 16mm or 75mm film - they may well still be out there waiting to be found.  It's interesting to note that this discovery was made in the Netherlands, for it seems that that country is an inordinate source of lost film footage.  As a Laurel & Hardy fan I know that I great deal of previously-lost film related to their work has come via Holland and its seems that Betty Balfour's popularity there has also played no small part in this film's survival - dank u, Nederland!

Chaps, choo-choos and Charlestons

With the Twelfth Day of Christmas nearly upon us and the New Year now 4 days old this will be my last Christmas post as I take the opportunity to showcase some of my more vintage-y presents.  I expect you want to see what I got, so here we go:

Christmases have been fairly lean for us the last few years and tend to be celebrated quietly but so long as the family is together at some point that's all that truly matters.  My sisters have both come up trumps again this year, though, with a calendar from each of them - one scenic, one Steampunk!  I shall have to alternate between them, I think(!).



Another sororal present, the silent 1928 film The Wrecker has featured on this blog before and now (finally) makes it into my DVD collection.  I've watched it already and it's a cracking bit of 1920s fun & action.  The villain can be spotted from a mile off, the plot is both quaint yet serious, there are many long smouldering looks to camera and just in case there was any doubt about the hero's bona fides he turns out to be an ex-Lancashire cricket captain and therefore beyond reproach.  Plus, of course, plenty of trains (including that crash!) and buses too.  The feature, as previously mentioned, has been lovingly restored and given a new accompaniment by noted silent film music writer/composer Neil Brand.  He's even done the same for the abridged 14-minute home movie version (above) and there are plenty of other extras on the DVD to do with the film as well as other staged locomotive crashes and the old railway line on which parts of The Wrecker were filmed.

source

Am I A Chap? was given to my by nan and a jolly interesting and amusing little tome it is, just as I had hoped.  A welcome addition to my bookshelf, where it will join other books from the same stable - The Chap Manifesto and The Best of The Chap.

I've occasionally considered submitting myself to the critical eye of The Chap magazine's editor Mr Gustav Temple in the Am I Chap? feature but always fear what would surely be his withering opprobrium at my effort.  It's the tweed within rather than without that really counts as the Chaps also say and I am in agreement with that.  Still, maybe one day...

source

There were also other gifts not featured in the lead photograph for certain reasons.  Some are still en route from the supplier.  Others have no physical form.  I refer to the noted South American river and online retailer, who offer a splendid service whereby you can download music direct to your iPod.  As much as I enjoy having a CD in my hand (and a couple of new acquisitions included both) there's definitely something to be said for the space-saving qualities of direct mp3 downloads.  They also tend to be cheaper and in the case of music from the 1920s and '30s Amazon are to be commended for offering it in that format and thereby giving a new lease of life to these old songs.

I was thus able to obtain four new albums this way - Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer's latest, Can't Stop, Shan't Stop; Caro Emerald's new The Shocking Miss Emerald and two splendid compilations - Hits of 1930 and Vintage Charleston.  There's nothing like starting the New Year with some new music and these tunes will certainly keep me entertained for a long while.



I'm sure you all received some perfectly wonderful gifts too and I look forward to hearing about them as well.  In the meantime I'm off to do a bit of Charlestoning.  Toodle-pip!

Squads & Shirts

Hello-ello, remember me?!  I wouldn't blame you if you don't!

Once again I feel I must apologise for the lack of activity hereabouts; certain factors have meant this poor little blog has been awfully neglected recently.  Until things pick up, here's the first of two or three posts related to my 30th birthday a couple of weeks ago on the 19th August - a short presentation(!) of some of the things I got that are of a vintage bent.

Beige wide herringbone classic fit from Charles Tyrwhitt

Although not properly vintage as in "old", men's shirts can have a timeless quality to them particularly if one is discerning with the cut, style and colour (no bright colours or cutaway collars here!) and as my wardrobe needed refreshing some brand spanking new ones made their way to me in the week following the 19th.  A chap doesn't turn 30 every day so I decided to treat myself with some birthday money to four shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt, one of the newer (but no less worthy for that) names on London's famous Jermyn Street.

Light yellow wide herringbone classic fit from Charles Tyrwhitt

The herringbone shirts are easily equal to the two from Ede & Ravenscroft and Hawes & Curtis (both bargainous £3.95 charity shop finds from last couple of years!) that already grace my wardrobe and the poplins aren't far behind either.

Cream poplin classic fit shirt from Charles Tyrwhitt

I kept largely to plain, simple shades to maximise their use (and, of course, because they suited my taste!).  I fancied a bit of a pattern for at least one, though, and the red and blue check caught my eye.  The beige shirt has also has hints of pink to it in some lights, which is a bonus.  I'd love to have been able to show you some pictures of them as worn, or at least at chez Partington-Plans, but my ancient digital camera chooses not to show them in all their glory regardless of the ambient lighting so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with these borrowed images.

Red & blue grid check classic fit shirt from Charles Tyrwhitt

Likewise with the two new cravats I got from Tom Sawyer Waistcoats - two new colours/designs to add to my growing collection. 

Aubergine & mauve circles day Cravat, Tom Sawyer Waistcoats

Both should go well with most of those shirts, don't you think?  I hope to be able to bring you a proper outfit post or two (with my own, better pictures!) featuring combinations of them all, plus an extra-special surprise clothing present that is still in the final stages of completion.  You'll just have to wait and see what it is!

Richmond check day cravat, Tom Sawyer Waistcoats

Finally for this post, a new DVD (one of four but the only one set in the 1940s) - Gangster Squad!

I had really wanted to see this at the cinema back in January but alas it coincided with a hospital stay so it had to end up on the DVD list.  I had seen nothing of it beyond the trailers and of the four films I got this was the one I had the least expectations of, so I was more than delighted to discover that it really is a very good film that could easily stand comparison with the likes of The Untouchables and L.A. Confidential.  I would certainly recommend it and, if I get my act together, it may one day feature on the currently dormant Film Friday gangster series of blog posts.  Maybe.



That's it for now, though, but I hope to be back before too long with the aforementioned extra birthday posts plus more usual fare.

Pip-pip!

Films to look forward to - '30s action & '20s thriller

Over the course of the last week various news sources have reported on two films in the early stages of development that I know will be of interest to this blog's readers.

Shane Black Talks Doc Savage

source

First to be on the receiving end of the Hollywood treatment is a man widely regarded as one of the triumvirate of 1930s pulp fiction characters (and proto-superheroes) along with The Shadow and The Phantom - Clark Savage Jr, otherwise known as Doc Savage.  First appearing in pulp magazines from 1933 onwards, Doc Savage was perhaps one of the first typical "human" superheroes having been "trained from birth to the peak of physical ability".  Adept at martial arts, knowledgeable about earth sciences and a master of disguise with a strong desire to do good and help others, you can see why this would appeal to one of the major film studios - particularly with superhero movies like The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel doing such brisk business at the box office.  Why not get in on the action (literally!) with the granddaddy of them all?

Attached to the project as director is Shane Black, who has recently had incredible success with Iron Man 3 (which I have to sadly admit I've yet to see) and whose screenwriting credits include Lethal Weapon, Predator and The Long Kiss Goodnight.  He certainly sounds like the kind of chap who could take Doc Savage places!

More From Director Shane Black On Doc Savage

We don't want this again, Mr Black.
source - Wikipedia

This won't be the first time Doc Savage has made it to the big screen, however.  Those of you with long (and some might say masochistic!) memories may recall the 1975 film Doc Savage: Man of Bronze, starring Ron Ely in the title role.  Foreshadowing somewhat the similar reception of pulp hero films The Shadow and The Phantom twenty years later, Doc Savage: Man of Bronze is generally regarded as excruciatingly awful.  I won't even bother to dignify it with a link - I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to find out about/be reminded of it (although here's a picture)!  However with Mr Black at the helm I feel sure the new Doc Savage film will be a far, far better affair.  Already I'm liking the sound of the 1930s period setting and the "Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart action hero" slant.

Although rumours of this new film have been circulating since 2010 it is only recently that Shane Black has begun talking about it to the entertainment press, so I would not expect to see it in cinemas until well into 2014 at the earliest.  Still, something to look forward to!  Who do we think should take the role (I've already seen Daniel Craig's name mentioned)?

Keira Knightley to star in The Other Typist

source

The other film to look forward to is an adaptation of a recently-written novel entitled The Other Typist, the debut book of author Suzanne Rindell.  The story is set in 1920s New York, with two contrasting young women on a police precinct's typing pool befriending each other and by the sound of things getting up to all sorts of mischief in the Prohibition-era Big Apple.

Confirmed to play one of the two lead roles is Keira Knightley, but no other cast or crew details have been confirmed at this time so once again we're probably looking at a 2014 release date.  I get the impression that Miss Knightley has a polarising effect on people (particularly women - "flat/square/horse face" and "too thin" being among the comments I have heard some ladies mutter!) but I've always found her to be a decent enough actress.  I'll be interested to see who will be joining her on this project.

Quite apart from the fashion aspect of the film, for me and my fellow Typosphereans it will hopefully be an excellent chance to sate our passion for vintage typewriters with several 1920s types surely to be in evidence!  What do we think, chaps & ladies - Remingtons, Underwoods, Royals?  What would the NYPD be using in the Twenties?

The book on which this film will be based was published in Britain last month and should be, as the saying goes, available in all good bookshops.  Reviews have been positive, so we can only hope that the film will achieve as much.  Furthermore, for those of you living in the British Isles B.B.C. Radio 4 Extra has just this week started broadcasting The Other Typist as an audiobook and the first part can be heard here.  Hopefully it will give us a small idea of what to expect from the film.

What films are you looking forward to in the next 12 months - anything else interesting I've missed?

Phantom comics reissue keeps early masked hero alive

Phantom comics reissue keeps early masked hero alive

Some welcome recognition now for one of the earliest comic-book superheroes, as discussed in this short B.B.C. interview from a few weeks ago.

As explained Lee Falk's The Phantom, along with Walter B. Gibson's The Shadow, was among the first of the masked crime fighters to appear in comics and newspaper strips of the 1930s.  Predating Batman and Superman by several years, The Phantom in particular set the superhero standard in a number of areas.  He was the first to wear a coloured, skin-tight costume and the first to be illustrated with a mask showing only white eyes, for example.  Similar to the Batman character, introduced 3 years later, The Phantom also had no special powers and relied purely on fear and physical strength.  Their back stories also shared some similarities, with the loss of parents being the common motivating factor.

source

The 1930s was in fact the decade to which the concept of the superhero as we know him today owes its genesis.  In the dark days of the Great Depression - and particularly in America where gang crime was prevalent - the idea of empowered, costumed champions of honesty and bravery easily captured the public's imagination, aided in no small part by the incredible popularity of newspapers, radio and the cinema.  On the outbreak of the Second World War these characters' stories were frequently and unsurprisingly written with an obvious propagandist bent as the likes of Batman, Superman and The Phantom fought Nazis and Japanese villains rather than criminal gangs, if anything further cementing their place in popular culture.

While Batman and Superman have endured in the public consciousness for the last 70 years, the fortunes of trailblazers like The Phantom and The Shadow have waxed and waned in that time.  Although The Phantom comic strip has the remarkable distinction of having been in print continuously since 1936 (with Lee Falk himself still wielding the pencil right up until his death in 1999), the character's transition to other media has been less successful (for a start - and I can scarcely believe this myself - it was never serialised on the radio as The Shadow was!).  Here we take a look at some of the better-known screen adaptations of The Phantom:   



The Phantom first appeared on the big screen a mere seven years after his creation in one of Columbia Pictures' popular 15-part serials.  It proved quite a success and very nearly spawned a sequel in 1955 before copyright issues scuppered any further possibility of another serial.



Perhaps the best-known recent adaptation of The Phantom is the 1996 feature film starring Billy Zane in the lead role.  One of a triumvirate of pulp hero-based films released in the early- to mid-Nineties, along with Rocketeer (1991) and Alec Baldwin's turn as The Shadow in 1994 (all of which grace my DVD collection!), The Phantom - like the others before it - did not perform satisfactorily at the box office and for a while marked the end of major studios' interest in these early pulp characters.  It did, however, help Billy Zane land his role in the following year's blockbuster, Titanic.  And if you liked him in that, ladies, let me remind you than he worked out especially for his role as The Phantom (one that he went on record later as ranking among his favourites) and for much of the film wears the aforementioned skin-tight suit(!).  Even disregarding that fact I highly recommend it as a bit of fun, period escapism.

Like me some of you may also remember from the early 1990s the popular cartoon Phantom 2040, which successfully updated The Phantom character to the 21st century.  In 2008 a 3-hour, two-part live action television series called The Phantom was shown on the Syfy Channel, again bringing the character into the modern era.  Around the same time a new film was announced and is rumoured to still be on track.  The Phantom: Legacy will once again feature a present-day iteration of the character with various updates, so it will not hold as much interest for the likes of you and me as the period-set 1996 version,  but it promises to follow the same template as the recent Batman films which will probably translate into critical and commercial success.

So although The Phantom may not be quite as well-known as Batman or Superman the fact that the comic strip featuring his adventures continues to be published after nearly 80 years, with a number of adaptations to show for it as well, proves that this enduring character still has plenty of pull.  What with that and the news last year that new stories featuring the Rocketeer and The Shadow have been penned, perhaps a renaissance for these other early pulp heroes is simply a matter of time.

Wings of an angel: Jobyna Ralston

I seem to recall saying at the beginning of the year, in a post about the reissue of the 1927 film Wings (the only silent to win Best Film at the Oscars until last year's The Artist), that I would in the future devote a whole blog post to one of the actresses to star in that picture and one of my favourite silent film ladies.  A quiet spell in the blogosphere coupled with the winding down of my Style Icons series plus some excellent posts about Lillian Gish over at Flapper Flickers and Silent Stanzas and another dip into my Harold Lloyd Collection have convinced me that now is the time to do just that.

Jack Powell (Charles Rogers) and Sylvia Lewis (Jobyna Ralston) in Wings (1927).
source

Wings starred the famous and archetypal '20s flapper girl actress Clara Bow in the lead role of Mary Preston.  Much has been written about Clara Bow, and quite rightly too, but Wings also featured the lesser-known Jobyna Ralston as rival-for-the-affections Sylvia Lewis. 

source

Unless you're familiar with the Harold Lloyd films of the 1920s you might not recognise Miss Ralston and indeed it is for the six Lloyd pictures (and Wings) she appeared in that she is arguably most well-known. 

Jobyna Lancaster Raulston was born in Tennessee  on 21st November 1899 and, in proof that it is not a modern affectation, was named after a famous actress of the time - Jobyna Howland.  (Incidentally, debate is still ongoing to this day on how to pronounce Misses Ralston's and Howland's first name.  The general consensus today seems to favour jo-bee-na, although Harold Lloyd himself was heard to use jo-bye-na - personally I prefer the former myself.  She quickly gained the nickname "Joby").

Being named for a famous stage & screen star and with a portrait photographer mother it should not come as a great surprise that Jobyna gravitated to show business.  Her very first performance was at the age of 9 in a local theatre production of Cinderella.  Her acting career was very nearly curtailed by a teenage marriage to a local farmer and childhood sweetheart but the union did not last and by 1919 she was in New York studying at the Ned Wayburn Dancing Academy.

A year later she had "made it" into pictures, featuring in some of the many comedy shorts that were being produced out of Jacksonville, Florida in the years before Hollywood became the centre of American film-making.  In 1921 she had the honour of appearing in the Marx Brothers' first ever picture Humor Risk - now sadly lost - and the next year appeared on Broadway in a George M. Cohan production.  Moving on to the famous Hal Roach Studios, by now in Hollywood, she was spotted by the silent film artist Max Linder and appeared in some of his later shorts for a time before returning to Roach in some of the "Paul Parrot" shorts (Paul Parrott was the stage name of James Parrott, who later went on to direct many of Laurel & Hardy's short films and who was also the brother of Charley Chase - real name Charles Parrott).  It was there that she was first noticed by Harold Lloyd (then still contracted to Hal Roach Studios).

source

While Jobyna had been busy forging a career for herself Lloyd and Roach were churning out short comedies (and later, features) many of which featured Lloyd's favourite leading lady, Mildred Davis.  He was so fond of her, in fact, that he ended up falling in love and marrying her in real life(!).  Their plan to start a family essentially put an end to Mildred's acting career and Lloyd started looking for a new ingénue.  He found Jobyna Ralston.

source

Between 1923 and 1927 Lloyd and Ralston appeared together in six films, always with Jobyna as the girl with whom Harold falls in love with and then must win in some fantastically humorous way (the exception being 1924's Hot Water in which she and Harold are already married at the beginning of the film).  Some of Harold Lloyd's best films (and my favourites) - Girl Shy, The Freshman, For Heaven's Sake, The Kid Brother - feature Jobyna who had the notable ability to successfully mix comedy and pathos, essential in those silent days.  It was undoubtedly this talent that earned her a supporting role in Wings. 

source

Following this career high Jobyna's acting roles began to decline for she had also married a co-star - Wings' Richard Arlen.  She appeared in a further fourteen features - including a 1928 Frank Capra production The Power of the Press with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. - between 1927 and 1931.  All but the last three of her films were silent and, just as fellow WAMPAS Baby Star Clara Bow with her strong Brooklyn accent had not made a successful transition to sound, so Jobyna struggled too - she had a noticeable lisp (and indeed if you watch closely during any long "speech" she has in the silents - showings of her talking films being rare - you might notice a barely-perceptible movement of the tongue which confirms this), such that The New York Times' review for her first talkie The College Coquette noted that "Miss Ralston's utterances are frequently indistinct".

Her final two films were Rough Waters, in which she starred opposite Rin Tin Tin(!) and 1931's Sheer Luck.  By that time she and Richard Arlen had had a son and Jobyna retired from acting to focus on her family.  In 1945 she and Arlen divorced and Jobyna continued to live in Los Angeles until her death (from a combination of a series of strokes and pneumonia, as well as chronic rheumatism) in 1967 at the age of 67.

source

The Kid Brother (1927) was the very first Harold Lloyd film I recall seeing, as a pre-teen lad.  It had a fairytale quality to the story which still shines through today and I remember being enthralled not just by the comedy and adventure but also the romance - and a lot of that was down to Joby.  Looking back I also get the feeling I must have marvelled at the nervous, awkward bespectacled boy on the screen actually getting the girl - and in the understated words of Variety's 1924 review of Girl Shy a "decidedly pretty" one at that! It's an empathy (and a crush!) that's never really gone away and I still look upon Girl Shy and The Kid Brother as two of my favourite Lloyd films for that reason. 

Unlike the "it-girl" sexiness of the 1920s typified by Clara Bow, Jobyna Ralston belonged to a different sort of look - tender and delicate more in the manner of late Victorian/early Edwardian women but yet with a modern Twenties "can-do" independence bubbling away underneath.  She complemented Harold Lloyd and his films' plots perfectly and will always have a special place on my list of top silent actresses.

Basil Rathbone, Style Icon

While I wait for vintage news to pick up, and plan one or two other posts for the meantime, now seems ideal for another of my Style Icons from the Golden Era of Hollywood.

source

For many, myself included, Basil Rathbone was the best actor to play the great detective Sherlock Holmes (on the big screen at least) and it is that role for which he remains most known.  Prior to the Holmes series, however, he had already appeared in dozens of silents and talkies and was frequently the go-to actor for villainous parts (most memorably Sir Guy of Gisborne to Errol Flynn's Robin Hood and Captain Esteban Pasquale to Tyrone Power's Zorro).  As he tended to appear in period films he is often pictured in costume but this post will of course feature him in contemporary clothes (helped in no small part by twelve of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films being set in the then-present 1940s).

source
That's not to say a deerstalker and an Inverness cape is
something to be sniffed at!

source
Although he carries off the heavy overcoat and trilby well too!

Along with his friends and later colleagues, including Claude Rains and Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone served first as a private in the British Army during the First World War (where his theatrical training - he had first been on stage as early as 1911 - shone through not least when he successfully camouflaged himself and scouted enemy positions in broad daylight) before rising through the ranks to Captain.  At war's end he returned the the theatre (his first love) and continued to perform on stage into the '30s and beyond in tandem with his film work.

source

Off stage (and screen) Basil Rathbone was no doubt a typical British gentleman actor of his time and if you watch interviews with him just as himself he comes across as a delightfully affable and good-humoured chap.  His on-screen personas, even the aloof Sherlock Holmes and the evil characters, are imbued with a certain charm - and that voice!  I could happily listen to Basil Rathbone reading the telephone directory.

source

Like most men of his generation Basil Rathbone of course dressed in the way that we like-minded chaps would wish to emulate, with well-cut suits and proper accessories very much in evidence.  He was after all one of Hollywood British!

source

source

In private life an inveterate party-thrower (allegedly at the request of his second wife Ouida Bergère) Basil Rathbone was also very forward-thinking in many respects.  As early as 1926 he was involved in a censorship debate about the play The Captive.  Rathbone and every other member of the cast were arrested (but later released without charge) because the production dealt with homosexuality - the wife of Rathbone's character leaves him for another woman.  Rathbone was convinced that the subject should be discussed more openly and was incensed by the whole thing.

source
"Now where's Errol Flynn?!"
Ed: I want that pullover.

Whether you want to channel a bit of the sharp mind Sherlock Holmes, the sharp wit of Basil Rathbone (or even the sharp blade of Captain Esteban!) you'll get no argument from me about your choice.  Basil Rathbone, like so many of my Icons, embodies the traditional British characteristics of intelligence, charm and gentlemanliness while looking damned stylish as well.  The traditional suits, slacks, pullovers and hats are all there to be emulated, a fairly elementary (ha! d'you see what I did there?) look to achieve but the man, Basil Rathbone, will always stand alone.



The Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce films are easily found on Youtube (as well as being readily available on DVD) and the radio series, which ran concurrently, is also available to listen to here.

source