Post by petrolino on Nov 9, 2018 21:26:32 GMT
The crime drama 'Regeneration' is built from two primary sources; the play 'The Regeneration' by Walter C. Hackett and Owen Frawley Kildare, and Kildare's personal memoir 'My Mamie Rose : The Story Of My Regeneration' (1903). It tells the tale of orphan Owen (Rockliffe Fellowes), an Irish-American boy in New York City who feels consigned to a life of poverty by the death of his mother. Owen turns to crime and becomes affiliated with the mob. His one opportunity for salvation comes when Marie Deering (Anna Q. Nilsson) takes an interest in him. The man on the mob's case is District Attorney Ames (played by filmmaker & co-writer Carl Harbaugh) who vows to bring them down.
"Marie Deering, whose butterfly existence has hidden, even from herself, the knowledge of her nobler qualities."
'Regeneration'
'Regeneration' is shot on location in New York City's Lower East Side. Director Raoul Walsh exhibits a talent for using the whole frame early in his directorial career. Opening the picture with shots of forgotten 10-year old Owen without his mother, Walsh draws the viewer's attention to a skinny tomcat fending for itself in the background, blocking out part of the frame to heighten the effect. Later, during scenes showing life on the docks, there are scuffles and tussles as hungry men compete for jobs.
Gloria Swanson & Raoul Walsh in 'Sadie Thompson' (1928)
'Roland?' - Interpol
Despite District Attorney Ames' commitment to cleaning up the city, it's hinted that he enjoys exploring the city's sleazy side in his spare time. Memorable moments in 'Regeneration' include a ballerina dance shot using a peephole effect and a dazzling action sequence drawn using washing lines running between tenement blocks. Members of one housing settlement take a fateful boat trip that ends in disaster, recalling the General Slocum Disaster of 1904. By the film's conclusion, the moral of the story is that access to good education can help prevent crime and I find it's hard to argue with that.
'But 'Regeneration' was the main event of the morning, and it did not disappoint. This story of a tenement toughie reformed by a guilt-stricken socialite soars past your cynicism, because it is so exquisitely, tenderly photographed. It’s realism, but editorialised. And those performances! Rockliffe Fellowes has the best name in showbiz, hands down, and is reminiscent of a young [Marlon] Brando here as the angsty hero. Anna Q Nillsson (yes, a “waxwork” from 'Sunset Boulevard') puts in a heartfelt turn as his goodhearted ladyfriend. And oh, the photography, those truncated tracking shots and oh, the ensemble cast of characterful and possibly threatening faces. Everything [Martin] Scorsese ever did is here, and it’s compelling, enthralling to watch.'
- Silent London
The Regenerators
New York Tenement in 1910
'The Modern Age' - The Strokes
Raoul Walsh went on to direct the genre piece 'Me, Gangster' (1928) with Carole Lombard as Blonde Rosie, but it's now considered a lost movie. Aware of advancements being made by Mervyn LeRoy's 'Little Caesar' (1931), William Wellman's 'Public Enemy' (1931) and Howard Hawks' 'Scarface' (1932), Walsh set his sights on a new project, 'The Bowery' (1933). The joys of working-class life and pleasures of New York's bad girls are shown in 'The Bowery'. The chorus girls are particularly outrageous, high-stepping, skirt-hitching and bending over in frilly knickers. In a career year, Fay Wray plays naughty Lucy Calhoun, a good time stray on the lookout for fun who hides a passion for raw negligee and who's job is the fleece. Killing it for Walsh, Wray bites George Raft's hand and has her feet tickled by Wallace Beery, both men succumbing to her charms. Truth is, Lucy Calhoun's about as far from Marie Deering as you could get.
The success of 'The Bowery' ensured Wray and Beery would be reunited for Jack Conway's Pancho Villa biopic 'Viva Villa!' (1934) which is said to have taken some uncredited direction from William Wellman and Howard Hawks. Interestingly, Walsh once played Villa himself, for Christy Cabanne's biographical piece 'The Life Of General Villa' (1994) which was produced by his early mentor D.W. Griffith.
George Raft & Fay Wray in 'The Bowery'
Fay Wray & Wallace Beery in 'Viva Villa!'
'Say Hello To The Angels' - Interpol
Raoul Walsh was one of crime cinema's great pioneers. He'd make three more influential genre films in 'The Roaring Twenties' (1939), 'High Sierra' (1941) and 'White Heat' (1949), providing building blocks for the gangster picture. In the year 2000, 'Regeneration' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Francis Coppola, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese are three of America's great crime filmmakers who owe a debt of gratitude to Walsh.
