00:00musica
00:04musica
00:06musica
00:07musica
00:13it's the final Saturday of the
00:1545th edition of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto
00:18the Pordenone Silent Film Festival
00:19it's always a fraught
00:22moment because we're all exhausted
00:23we are also inspired
00:25and we don't want to say
00:28goodbye but we need to
00:29but we will be doing it here in the Teatro Verdi
00:32one of the great theaters of northern
00:34Italy where concerts
00:36theater all sorts of performances
00:38are held it's definitely worth checking
00:40out their programming because it's at a far
00:42higher level than you probably imagine
00:43it is throughout the year we're going
00:46to start with a comedy a
00:471914 film directed
00:50and starring Marshall Nealon
00:51called Don't Monkey with a Buzzsaw
00:54a fantastic title and
00:56and it's a film that he made in Kalem
00:58he was in Kalem for just over a year
01:00and it gives the best sense
01:02of all of the surviving which aren't many
01:04comedies that include
01:06Nealon as an actor
01:07it gives a sense of his performing style
01:10a sense of the man
01:11as well as the performer
01:13that comes through very nicely
01:15in these films he was pairing with Ruth Roland
01:17who became quite a well known serial queen
01:19and they have a very nice
01:22domestic
01:23arrangement together you can think
01:25of it also connecting it a little bit
01:27with the Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew films
01:29that we saw earlier but this is more
01:31on a almost in a slapstick
01:33vein I need to tell you that the
01:35condition of the film is really quite poor
01:37UCLA did it a
01:39remarkable job in making it as
01:41good as possible for us to be streaming
01:43for you in fact the quality
01:45is so bad that we don't want it or so
01:47compromised is a better way of putting it
01:49that we're not going to be screening it here in the theatre
01:51it's only on streaming but as I said
01:53it gives a really wonderful taste and
01:55understanding of Nealon's performing
01:57style also towards the end he gets
01:59up to a bit of mischief
02:01in bars which it was very typical
02:03of Nealon himself Nealon was quite
02:05the drinker and
02:07with Jack Pickford as well one of the great
02:09drinkers of Hollywood of all
02:11time in fact during the festival
02:13we also screened a film that they made together
02:16The Girl at Home which
02:17we were not able to stream but hopefully you'll be able
02:20to have a chance at another time to see that
02:22lovely film. After Dump Monkey with a Buzzsaw
02:24we have another Marshall Nealon film
02:26Her Wild Oat
02:28starring Colleen Moore. Now the relationship
02:30between Moore and Nealon was very
02:32very strong. Moore never
02:33forgot that it was Nealon who gave her
02:35her first important role in
02:371921's Dinty which we screened
02:40earlier, not this year
02:41in past edition and also
02:43very nicely it's thanks to Nealon
02:45that Colleen Moore and her husband John
02:47McCormick met. Now
02:49at this point we're talking 1927
02:51Nealon, he's been too much of a bad boy
02:53he has burnt
02:55his bridges with various studio executives
02:57it's thanks to Moore that
02:59he was able to direct this film
03:01they paid him more than they normally
03:03would for this kind of film
03:05it's a delight
03:07it shows Nealon at his best, Moore
03:09at her best, her flapper best
03:11she plays a kind of
03:14luncheon diner
03:15hash slinger waitress
03:17who dreams of being in high
03:19society. It has fantastic
03:21intertitles, very slangy
03:231920's, late 1920's intertitles
03:25and it's just a tremendous amount of fun
03:27Gwen Lee is also in co-star
03:29or rather supporting role
03:31and it's always lovely to see Gwen Lee
03:33very sassy. Now
03:36when Colleen Moore was writing her
03:37autobiography and I do need to read this to you
03:39she described Nealon as a
03:41charming, crazy, obstinate
03:43Irishman who lived a
03:45full and exciting life
03:47perfectly sums it up. I hope you
03:49check out J.B. Kaufman's catalog notes
03:51which will really give an understanding
03:53of his career, of the man
03:55J.B. interviewed Blanche Sweet
03:57Marshall Nealon's second wife quite a lot
03:59Sweet was not really
04:01up to talking about her marriage which was
04:03not a success but she recognized
04:06Nealon's brilliance
04:07as a director and you will
04:09see that here in her Wild Oat
04:11it's a delight, it's thanks to the
04:13Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles that we're
04:15able to bring this to you. It is as I say
04:17a charmer and a perfect
04:19way of saying goodbye to
04:212026 with the music of Donald
04:23Sozin. I very much hope
04:25that you've enjoyed this week
04:27we've been delighted to have you join us
04:30send us your comments
04:31send us feedback and I very much
04:33hope to see you either here
04:35in the Teatro Verdi next year or again
04:37in streaming. Thank you very much.
