ReFocus: The Films of Paul Leni

Silent-era film scholarship has all too often focused on a handful of German directors, including Fritz Lang, F. W. Murnau and Ernst Lubitsch, but little attention has been paid to arguably one of the most influential filmmakers of the period: Paul Leni. This collection – the first comprehensive English-language study of Leni’s life and career – offers new insights into his national and international films, his bold forays into scenic design and his transition from German to Hollywood filmmaking. The contributors give fresh insights into Leni’s most influential films, including Waxworks (1924), The Cat and the Canary (1927) and The Man Who Laughs (1928), and explores such lesser-known productions as The Diary of Dr. Hart (1918), Backstairs (1921) and the Rebus film series (1925–7). Engaging with new historical, analytical, and theoretical perspectives on Leni’s work, this book is a groundbreaking exploration of a cinematic pioneer.

Travelling desde Remordimiento (Lubitsch, 1932) hasta Una gota de sangre que cae (Fernando Molero Campos, 2011)

El presente artículo trata de establecer las conexiones intertextuales existentes entre la película Remordimiento (Ernst Lubitsch, 1932) y el relato Travellíng de retroceso desde una gota de sangre que cae (Fernando Molero Campos, 2011), al tiempo que traza un recorrido por otras fuentes e influencias en el texto literario, así como por determinadas técnicas fílmicas utilizadas en la escritura del mismo.

Wiersz o jesieni. O Frantzu François Ozona

Kozłowski Krzysztof, Wiersz o jesieni. O Frantzu François Ozona [A Poem on Autumn. Frantz by François Ozon]. „Przestrzenie Teorii” 32. Poznań 2019, Adam Mickiewicz University Press, pp. 77–92. ISSN 1644-6763. DOI 10.14746/pt.2019.32.3. The film Broken Lullaby ([1932] Ernst Lubitsch) and the novel L’Homme que j’ai tué ([1921, 1925, 1930] Maurice Rostand) are seen to be the main inspirations for Frantz (2016) by François Ozon. On the basis of methodology broadly understood as the concept of bringing into relief (Domański, 1992, 2002), this article aims to demonstrate the means by which the French director expanded upon the literary-film material, imbuing it with a totally singular meaning. Ozon’s inventiveness did notlimit itself to transformations typical for adaptations, but ventured towards feature film understood as a synthetic work of art that by exploiting the audiovisual properties of the medium itself, acts as a unifying force of poetry (Verlaine, Banville), music (Chopin, Debussy) and painting (Manet). The famous poem recited by the heroine, Ann, Chanson d’automne (Paul Verlaine), serves as the analytical starting point for the above. It is thus used as a pivot for the entire film, a veritable lodestarfor guiding motifs, allowing important aspects of the film to be highlighted and consequently, bring its main theme to the fore.

Of Paramount Importance

Miriam is cast in the hit play Lysistrata, and Paramount producer Walter Wanger offers her a contract. Her first picture is Fast and Loose, but she doubts that films are for her. Actress Nancy Carroll teaches her how to work before the camera. Going into rehearsals for Lee Shubert’s His Majesty’s Car, she has a breakdown. Hopkins’s grandmother dies during rehearsals for Anatol, but she cannot attend the funeral in Georgia, infuriating her mother. Hopkins is making good money and brings her mother to New York. Paramount signs her to do The Smiling Lieutenant for Ernst Lubitsch. Her husband’s screenplay, Honor Among Lovers, attracts RKO and he is offered a Hollywood contract. The couple’s lack of commitment creates a strain and they separate before Billy leaves for California. The Smiling Lieutenant is a hit for Hopkins. Paramount closes the Astoria Studios, and she will make her next film in Hollywood. The evening before she leaves, Bennett Cerf gives her a wild going away party.

The Lubitsch Touch

Hopkins’s secret affair with director King Vidor is revealed when Ernst Lubitsch leaves her a handwritten note on the last page of her Design for Living script. Regardless of the film’s critical success, Hopkins is frustrated with how her career is going. With her walkouts at Paramount making front page news, she looks forward to the day her contract ends. Hopkins finally gets a diversion when she steps in for an ailing Tallulah Bankhead in the title role of the Broadway play Jezebel.