“The Artist”: A Fun Look at Film History

It’s Oscar and awards season, so you may be hearing the buzz about silent film, The Artist. It is unusual for a number of reasons, having no sound is just one of them. To help you understand what all the buzz is about, we thought you might enjoy this review from sister site, Classic Movie Man.


The 2011 release, The Artist is one-part A Star Is Born, one part Singing in the Rain, and another part The Jazz Singer. French director Michel Hazanavicius has managed to capture the look and feel of Hollywood when the movie studios were making the transition from silent films to “talkies.” During this transition, some movie stars managed to stay on top, while others faded into obscurity.  

A Falling Idol
The Artist is the story of silent movie idol George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) who finds his career on the skids with the advent of sound. In contrast, young starlet Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) finds her career soaring as talkies gain acceptance with the movie-going public. The film spans the years 1927 (the year of The Jazz Singer) through 1932, the year Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s all-star (and all-talking) blockbuster Grand Hotel won the Academy Award for Best Picture.


A Star is Born

Jean Dujardin as matinee idol George Valentin

The movie opens at the premier of Valentin’s latest action film A Russian Affair. While posing for photographs outside the theater, Valentin bumps into a pretty fan, Miller. A photographer snaps a picture of them together, which ends up on the cover of Variety with the headline “Who’s That Girl?” Miller uses her newfound fame and auditions for Valentin’s movie studio. Over the objections of studio boss Al Zimmer (John Goodman), she is given a bit role in Valentin’s next film at the star’s insistence. Once it’s clear that talking pictures are the future, Zimmer fires all his silent film stars, including Valentin who is convinced talkies are just a fad. In the meantime, Miller has progressed from bit roles to leads and is quickly promoted by the studio as one of its brightest new stars.

Using all his own resources, Valentin produces, directs, and stars in a silent epic that has the misfortune of opening on the same night as Miller’s latest talking picture. Miller’s film is a smash and Valentin’s is a bomb. Shortly thereafter Valentin’s wife (Penelope Ann Miller) leaves him, he goes broke, and he ends up living in a small apartment with his pet dog and faithful butler (James Cromwell). Miller, who has never forgotten his kindness toward her, buys all his possessions at an auction and keeps them in her home, unbeknownst to Valentin. In a fit of depression over his fall from grace, Valentin sets his films on fire and he almost dies. If not for his faithful dog (a cross between Lassie, Rin TinTin, and Asta) alerting a police officer, Valentin would have been lost.

Bérénice Bejo as future star Peppy Miller

Dancing Into Our Hearts
Miller takes Valentin into her home to nurse him back to health and for a time it looks like things will be alright. When Valentin discovers his possessions in storage in Miller’s Hollywood mansion, he returns to his burned out apartment and attempts to commit suicide. Miller suspecting the worst goes in search of Valentin. Finding him just in time, she convinces him all is not lost and that she loves him. Since she’s a major movie star, she insists on having Valentin costar with her in her next film, threatening to quit if Zimmer doesn’t relent.

A Plan Emerges
Remembering what a good dancer Valentin is, Miller comes up with a plan. The two perform a tap dance number for Zimmer and the movie production crew. During their number, we hear the music play and the sound from their tap shoes. Their performance is a smash and they get the go-ahead to make a movie together. Zimmer asks for one more performance and Valentin says “with pleasure,” revealing a heavy French accent.

Clever Use of Sound

Valentin at his lowest

Most of the film is silent with an accompanying sound track, but there are occasions where sound is cleverly employed. When sound movies begin to gain popularity, Valentin dreams “in sound.” The score borrows from other musical pieces and soundtracks, including a large part of Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo score during the film’s climax. Hazanavicius reportedly did a lot of research for The Artist, including viewing many silent films so he could copy the best techniques. The research seems to have paid off. The Artist captures the look and feel of early Hollywood and Valentin and Bejo (Hazanavicius’s wife) are enormously appealing. Valentin is a cross between Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and John Barrymore, having a profile rivaling the latter. Bejo resembles Natalie Wood and Leslie Caron. But she seems to have Wood’s camera instincts; she’s always framed just right.

Look out Fred and Ginger!

Fictional History of the Movies
In an entertaining way, Hazanavicius has given us a fictional account of the history of the movies. There were many stars like Valentin who had foreign accents and/or a poor command of the English language whose careers ended with the advent of sound. Executives at M-G-M were extremely nervous when Greta Garbo spoke her first words in Anna Christie (1930). “Garbo Talks” they announced in pre-publicity for the film, but studio heads weren’t sure how audiences would react to her Swedish accent. They loved Garbo, of course, but not all silent film stars were so fortunate. When Valentin reveals his French accent, it’s clear he understood it could work against him in the new world of talking pictures. But just like in the movies, with the love and support of a woman like Peppy Miller, George Valentin’s career lives once again. For classic movie fans, The Artist is a rare treat in today’s motion picture landscape. Give it a try!

Around the South Loop: 2011 Volume 3

No Parking
It was an interesting week, even though the Bears didn't make it to the Super Bowl. There was lots of activity surrounding the game here in the South Loop, especially on Wabash Ave., where flatbed trucks were towing cars at a brisk pace. It begs the question, who are these people that park on Wabash during the game? Are they from the suburbs? Are they unable to read the signs posted everywhere? Do they think they won't get towed because they're special? Well, as the photo below illustrates, the tow truck man is no respecter of persons.

Don't park here: Why do Bears fans continue to park on Wabash during home games?

Good-bye South Loop Wine Cellar
Another small business closed its doors in the South Loop. Many may have noticed that the South Loop Wine Cellar hasn't been open since before the December holidays. I was hoping things would improve and owner/operator Amy Garman would be able to stay open, but it wasn't meant to be. I visited the shop many times and attended numerous events there as well. Amy was someone I enjoyed knowing as a local merchant. She contributed several posts on wine to the South Loop Connection, which are still very popular. I wish Amy the best.

I'm sorry that South Loop Wine Cellar is no more.

Car Capital
During the early years of the 20th century, the South Loop was famous for it's many car dealerships and businesses related to the automobile industry. So famous that the area was nicknamed Motor Row. Michigan Ave. was one of the smoothest roads in America at the time and perfect for taking that new coupe out for a test drive. The Buick building, built in 1906, at 1454 S. Michigan was the first Buick dealership in Chicago. For many months it was home to the sales offices of the Marquee and Terrazio condo developments. Just recently, the banner covering the Buick shield came down.

The Buick building was built in 1906.

Art in the Everyday
When I walk around the South Loop, it's interesting to see utilitarian structures take on intriguing shapes and shadows. Even the L tracks above our heads can become works of art. When the light is shining just right, even rusty old steel beams look great.

The L tracks above Wabash Ave.

And the Oscar (nomination) Goes To...
One of the great things about living in a city like Chicago is you don't miss out on anything, even when you're walking to work in the morning. Where else can you see the Academy Award nominations on your commute to the office and on a jumbo screen no less?

The giant screen at CBS on Washington and Dearborn

Perfectly Centered
Remember the picture of the white clock in the lobby of the Chicago Hilton and Towers? During the holidays, it was replaced by a Christmas tree. After the New Year, they put the clock back, but it wasn't centered on the rug and it kind of drove me crazy. Someone from the Hilton read my blog post and had it fixed. See, people do read the stuff I write!

The clock in the Chicago Hilton and Towers lobby is "right" on the carpet.

Go “Wild” with Theodora this Saturday at Facets Night School

Looking for something “wild” to do this Saturday? Look no further than this week’s midnight screening of the screwball comedy classic, Theodora Goes Wild (1936), starring Irene Dunne at Facets Film School, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago, IL.

Drama Queen

Irene Dunne took a leap of faith by starring in a comedy after she was dubbed “Queen of the Weepies” by the film trade publications in the 1930s. Having made her mark in the western epic Cimarron (1931), Dunne carved out an enormously successful career as the heroine of a string of popular melodramas.

Comedy Rules
When she reluctantly accepted the role of Theodora Lynn in the film directed by Richard Boleslawski, Dunne was an instant comedy sensation. So popular was the film and Dunne’s performance, that she earned her second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (Dunne’s first nomination was for her role in Cimarron). The year 1936 was a great year for the screwball comedy. That same year saw the release of Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Gregory LaCava’s My Man Godfrey.

The Peyton Place of Lynnfield!
The plot surrounds Dunne, a small town woman who is the best-selling author of a scandalous romance novel. Writing under the name of Caroline Adams, her secret is safe. That is until she meets a New York illustrator played by Melvin Douglas. He decides Theodora needs to break out of her small-town existence, all the while he’s trapped in a loveless marriage to please his politically connected father. So who really needs to go wild?

Theodora Goes Wild is a highly entertaining comedy that borders on comic genius. It deserves to be in the same class as Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and LaCava’s My Man Godfrey. It fact, it's in a class all by itself.

10 things to do this weekend

A picture with "Oscar"
This weekend, you can get a photograph of yourself holding a genuine Academy Award (Oscar). The gold statuette is made here in Chicago by R.S. Owens. I did this last year (and I'm doing it again this Saturday) and it was a lot of fun. The line moves incredibly fast and your photograph will be e-mailed to you within a day or so.

To get your picture with Oscar, go to the Shops at North Bridge, 520 N. Michigan Ave. on Saturday March 5, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday March 6, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Hey, you need to get home in time to watch the Academy Awards, right?).

Nine more things to do!
For the rest of the "10 things to do this weekend" list, click here.