Movie thoughts and fiction updates.
Erich von Stroheim's directing career last little more than a decade from the middle period of the silent era right through the beginning of the sound era, though his first full sound film can hardly be called his at this point, reshot by two other directors and mangled by the studio. Several of his films… Continue reading Erich von Stroheim: The Definitive Ranking
According to a pair of cinema historians, Erich von Stroheim directed either 60% or 75% of the final product that got the name, Hello, Sister! Originally titles Walking Down Broadway based on an unpublished play by Dawn Powell, Stroheim finally worked on time during production and within budget, but he ended up producing, reportedly, a… Continue reading Hello, Sister!
Okay, so this requires a small bit of explanation. Erich von Stroheim was hired to write and direct a film for Gloria Swanson (acting as both star and producer), and Stroheim's tendency towards sadism eventually just angered Swanson enough that she had him fired from the production. Not wanting to waste any more money or… Continue reading Queen Kelly
Leaving MGM (and Irving Thalberg) behind and joining Paramount, Erich von Stroheim worked with his co-writer Harry Carr to come up with a tale set in Stroheim's native Vienna, a tale as large and expansive as anything he had told. The production ran on for nine months after having essentially recreated a large section of… Continue reading The Wedding March
Based on an operetta by Franz Lehar, The Merry Widow is Erich von Stroheim working in a similar space as his contemporary Ernst Lubitsch (who made his own version of the same story nine years later). von Stroheim doesn't have the same light touch as Lubitsch, but he was a graceful, detailed, and ornate filmmaker… Continue reading The Merry Widow
David Vining, Author 