Lon Chaney

Someone writing a column in The Times today refers to John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" being popular GCSE material; also that the film with John Malkovich as Lennie, the subnormal friend of a normal man seeking work in the 20's or 30's America, is also popular in schools since it shows in dramatic form what it is they are reading. I prefer the old black and white film directed by Lewis Milestone (of "All Quiet on the Western Front" fame) made in 1939. In that film it had Lon Chaney Junior as Lennie and he was great.
Chaney's father was better known as a Hollywood star but he made only silent films. The son made a lot of films but due to his unglamorous appearance (just plain ugly some people might say) he was uaually cast as a villain or as a man possessed by some evil spirit or a man who changed his nature into something hoprrific and dangerous. I recall him as a werewolf, as an Iron Man - whatever that was - as many other wierd and wonderful B feature people. Then he made "Of Mice and Men" and he was superb. A trait he had often shown in his less memorable films was that of a man troubled by a conscience: an almost miserable look of someone possessed by an unwanted demon. Malkovich plays Lennie well but you can't help feekling that he's acting the part, that he's pretending to be an idiot; with Chaney you believed that he was this man; he seemed to understand the man's inner turmoil: that miserable expression of delusion and dismay at what he might do e.g. kill someone lived on him and in him.
He played another rather smaller part later, towards the end of his career: a man, troubled again by his incapacity to help the main character, Gary Cooper, in "High Noon". It was a small gem in a first-rate film.
There were two other roles in the 1939 "Of Mice and Men" film which deserve mention: Burgess Meredith as Lennie's friend George, the biggest part in the film, and Bob Steele as a nasty piece of work, Lennie's boss. Both these actors were always good whatever films they were in; Meredith usually had the big parts and Steele always small parts, always the villain: "The Big Sleep" as Canino; a killer in "The Enforcer" with Humphrey Bogart. One thing he always did well: die. He never just fell down, he staggered about, full of lead, clutching at his innards, making the most of his role, probably hoping for a supporting oscar award - which never, to my knowledge, came his way.
Became a successful business-man I heard. Like George Raft!

Old Films

There is one thing I can say that's good about black and white films of the thirtees: I can understand every word said. That doesn't go for many modern films - anything with Sean Penn in are almost unwatchable because of his mumbling. To a certain extent I have to blame my own ears since, ageing, I am suffering with being "hard of earing" and have hearing aids which I use in the cinema and sometimes for programmes on TV, though, with a newly purchased "Box", sub-titles are now available.
Mostly it's women I find difficult hearing: the actresses on CSI are the worst; sub-titles are absolutely necessary for them.
Earlier in the week I went to see a very old film at Chapter Arts Centre: "The Old Dark House", a sort of horror film typical of the early 30's but with dashes of humour here and there throughout. While I found the film an experience worth having, a sort of novelty experience, I can't say I there was anything that jolted me in a scary way; indeed, it was at times quite laughable. Not that the laughs were at the film's style but they were, rather, part of the script. I read that this film is a cult classic which means it has never been popular with the mass of cinema-goers but with those who take "film" seriously - people who go to film societies for instance.
So while I enjoyed the film and laughed here and there I can't say that I thought it much good. It sort of clattered along in the way those films of that period did: not much subtlety there, straight-forward story telling, lots of little "frights".
I learn that it was based on a novel by J.B.Preistley. I never would have guessed. Though perhaps it was one of his stories that had to with time returning - but there was nothing of that stuff in this interpretation.
It was directed by James Whale who has, I believe, a greater reputation than he deserves. His "Frankenstein" made him popular and it is worth seeing but still over-rated I believe. He seemed to attract quaklity actors: in this film were Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Massey, Boris Karloff and a very young and rotund Charles Laughton playing a "self-made-man from 'op North".
Halliwell says of it: "A stylist's and connoisseur's treat" and gives it 4 stars.
One big thing going for it as far as I was concerned was taht I heard every word. Why is that? Made in 1932 and the sound track is perfect. "Mystic River" made in 2003 and I need sub-titles - especially for Sean Penn.