Post by tom on May 29, 2022 16:54:00 GMT -6
Some info I dug up on a movie that Joan was initially slated for, but was replaced by Renee Adoree.
Tide of Empire (1929) is a story as old as Hollywood itself. Boy meets girl. Boy is smitten, girl is not. Boy proves his ardor via heroic deeds. Girl falls in love - hugs, kisses. Finis.
Tide is set in California at the time of the late 1840’s Gold Rush. The interaction between Josephita Guerrero (Renée Adoree) and Dermod D’Arcy (George Duryea AKA Tom Keene) reflects the struggle between the genteel Spanish aristocracy of Old California and the rough & tumble Americans eager to strike it rich in the Sierra Nevada placers.
Tide of Empire is predictable in that you know Josephita and D’Arcy will fall in love by the last reel. But, I think it remains an engaging story. Duryea is OK; I am sure MGM could have put any number of their secondary male stars in the role. Keene’s/Duryea’s claim to fame may be one of his last film appearances in the infamous, ultra-bad Plan 9 from Outer Space by Ed Wood Jr.
Renée Adoree, on the other hand, is wonderful; full disclosure, I adore her, not JC-level smitten, but still I’m predisposed to any movie in which the lovely Ms. Adoree appears. The supporting cast provides a dose of levity at appropriate times in the picture, in particular the wonderful George Fawcett as Don Jose - Josephita’s dad. Fawcett was featured in the early JC silent, The Circle (1925), as Lord Porteous, and also as the golf-crazy boss in Spring Fever (1927). The picture is directed by the great Allan Dwan - Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) plus a bunch of Gloria Swanson silents, including one of my favorites Manhandled (1924). Dwan’s greatest contribution to Hollywood, however, was probably the discovery of Jane Alice Peters, later famous as Carole Lombard. It has been speculated that Dwan was chosen for Tide of Empire because of his experience with location shots, of which there are many in this movie. The action sequences are particularly well done, including a leap on horseback across a chasm that may well be the progenitor of all such similar Hollywood stunts!
What’s the connection to Joan? It seems that Joan was originally set to star in Tide. You can see pictures of Joan in exotic attire and makeup for Tide of Empire on the BOE site, shot by Ruth Harriett Louise.
www.joancrawfordbest.com/images1928.htm
On a different web site (https://forums.tcm.com/topic/13564-tide-of-the-empire-1929/) it was hypothesized that by the time Tide was going into production that Joan was now too big of a star, given her breakout performance in Our Dancing Daughters, for a programmer or tweener like Tide of Empire, a movie not necessarily a B flick, but not A-level either. Tide was released April 23, 1929. What’s Joanie up to at this time? The following is extracted from the BOE Chronology. Based on the movie magazines I could find on archive.org, it seems that Joan was spending most of her time on her budding romance with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
www.joancrawfordbest.com/timeline20s.htm
September 1. Our Dancing Daughters released.
September 7. The NY Times announces that Doug Jr. and Joan are to wed:
November 21. MGM head Louis B. Mayer announces that Joan and Doug will co-star in Our Modern Maidens.
December 1. Dream of Love released.
1929
February 18. After the previous fall's success of Our Dancing Daughters, an MGM accountant queries studio attorney re Joan's official status: "Is Joan Crawford to be considered a star?" The answer comes back: "Yes."
March 16. The Duke Steps Out released.
June 3. Joan marries Doug Fairbanks, Jr…
The Feb. 18, 1929 entry above is interesting, as it is about 2 months before Tide was released, and presumably the movie was in production or planning at that time. The timing seems to support the “Joan is now too big a star” theory. Another interesting theory that I read - the link to which I am having trouble finding - says that Joan was “too modern” for the movie-going public to be accepted in a historical drama like Tide.
It has also been suggested that Joan and Renée Adoree swapped roles with Joan ending up in Rose-Marie and Renée in Tides. The timing seems odd in that Rose-Marie was released February 11, 1928, a year before Tide of Empire. I’m not sure how long a typical movie took to shoot back then; I’ve seen estimates that it was typically from a few weeks to a few months. There are behind the scenes photos of Renée on the set of Rose-Marie; see link below for an example, plus quite a few others you can find via a quick Google search. Taken together, they suggest that Rose-Marie was quite advanced when it was decided that Joan replaced Renée.
www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/french-actress-renee-adoree-wearing-a-mounties-uniform-and-news-photo/3292461
There are a bunch of interesting backstory tidbits to Tide of Empire. To quote IMDB: “This film is the first picture where zoom lenses were used. they had just been invented.” To be honest, I didn’t particularly notice or recall many zoom shots, but I wasn’t on the lookout for it. Next time I view it, I will check!
Another persistent rumor is whether Buster Keaton appears as an uncredited extra in a cameo as a drunk being thrown out of a bar. See, for example, this picture:
thefyuzhe.tumblr.com/post/126390296542/urrrrrgh-i-spent-3-hours-watching-tide-of-empire
There is also a fun 39-second YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oQINcqwJgU). I’m not convinced. MGM had just signed Keaton in 1928, so maybe they were looking to get their moneys worth.
Another rumor about the film is that it is missing its final reel. Having recently watched it, the movie’s ending seems like a typical 1920’s movie ending, neither abrupt nor with any obvious continuity gaps. D’Arcy saves Josesphita’s brother from the gallows, the brother escapes, D’Arcy and Josphita kiss, the film fades to black. On Nitrateville, one contributor did a comparison of the script/music cues with the 72 minute version and it seems to line up. So, perhaps this is just an urban myth. See the antepenultimate post here: nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=8135
Finally, Tide of Empire is one of the last silent films made by MGM. Like, the Joan-Doug Jr. film Our Modern Maidens (1929) there is some synchronized sound: animal noises, background music, etc.
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable movie. Renee Adoree is one of my favorite silent film actresses. If you have never seen her work, I encourage you to check her work out, especially in The Big Parade (1925), if nothing else the last 10 minutes of Parade are worth watching. To be honest, I think Ms. Adoree did a better job than Joan would have. As I’ve intimated in my movie reviews for BOE, Joan had a style in her silent acting, that while good, was more for the coming talkie revolution. Subtle, without the overt pantomime. The story in Tide of Empire, I think, calls for a more traditional silent film approach - overt gesticulation, facial contortions, etc. At this, Ms. Adoree was accomplished, moreso than Joan I feel, particularly at this time in their careers. It’s a tragedy that she died so early (35 y.o.) from TB, or I think Renee Adoree could have been a big star in the new medium of sound pictures.
Tide of Empire (1929) is a story as old as Hollywood itself. Boy meets girl. Boy is smitten, girl is not. Boy proves his ardor via heroic deeds. Girl falls in love - hugs, kisses. Finis.
Tide is set in California at the time of the late 1840’s Gold Rush. The interaction between Josephita Guerrero (Renée Adoree) and Dermod D’Arcy (George Duryea AKA Tom Keene) reflects the struggle between the genteel Spanish aristocracy of Old California and the rough & tumble Americans eager to strike it rich in the Sierra Nevada placers.
Tide of Empire is predictable in that you know Josephita and D’Arcy will fall in love by the last reel. But, I think it remains an engaging story. Duryea is OK; I am sure MGM could have put any number of their secondary male stars in the role. Keene’s/Duryea’s claim to fame may be one of his last film appearances in the infamous, ultra-bad Plan 9 from Outer Space by Ed Wood Jr.
Renée Adoree, on the other hand, is wonderful; full disclosure, I adore her, not JC-level smitten, but still I’m predisposed to any movie in which the lovely Ms. Adoree appears. The supporting cast provides a dose of levity at appropriate times in the picture, in particular the wonderful George Fawcett as Don Jose - Josephita’s dad. Fawcett was featured in the early JC silent, The Circle (1925), as Lord Porteous, and also as the golf-crazy boss in Spring Fever (1927). The picture is directed by the great Allan Dwan - Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) plus a bunch of Gloria Swanson silents, including one of my favorites Manhandled (1924). Dwan’s greatest contribution to Hollywood, however, was probably the discovery of Jane Alice Peters, later famous as Carole Lombard. It has been speculated that Dwan was chosen for Tide of Empire because of his experience with location shots, of which there are many in this movie. The action sequences are particularly well done, including a leap on horseback across a chasm that may well be the progenitor of all such similar Hollywood stunts!
What’s the connection to Joan? It seems that Joan was originally set to star in Tide. You can see pictures of Joan in exotic attire and makeup for Tide of Empire on the BOE site, shot by Ruth Harriett Louise.
www.joancrawfordbest.com/images1928.htm
On a different web site (https://forums.tcm.com/topic/13564-tide-of-the-empire-1929/) it was hypothesized that by the time Tide was going into production that Joan was now too big of a star, given her breakout performance in Our Dancing Daughters, for a programmer or tweener like Tide of Empire, a movie not necessarily a B flick, but not A-level either. Tide was released April 23, 1929. What’s Joanie up to at this time? The following is extracted from the BOE Chronology. Based on the movie magazines I could find on archive.org, it seems that Joan was spending most of her time on her budding romance with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
www.joancrawfordbest.com/timeline20s.htm
September 1. Our Dancing Daughters released.
September 7. The NY Times announces that Doug Jr. and Joan are to wed:
November 21. MGM head Louis B. Mayer announces that Joan and Doug will co-star in Our Modern Maidens.
December 1. Dream of Love released.
1929
February 18. After the previous fall's success of Our Dancing Daughters, an MGM accountant queries studio attorney re Joan's official status: "Is Joan Crawford to be considered a star?" The answer comes back: "Yes."
March 16. The Duke Steps Out released.
June 3. Joan marries Doug Fairbanks, Jr…
The Feb. 18, 1929 entry above is interesting, as it is about 2 months before Tide was released, and presumably the movie was in production or planning at that time. The timing seems to support the “Joan is now too big a star” theory. Another interesting theory that I read - the link to which I am having trouble finding - says that Joan was “too modern” for the movie-going public to be accepted in a historical drama like Tide.
It has also been suggested that Joan and Renée Adoree swapped roles with Joan ending up in Rose-Marie and Renée in Tides. The timing seems odd in that Rose-Marie was released February 11, 1928, a year before Tide of Empire. I’m not sure how long a typical movie took to shoot back then; I’ve seen estimates that it was typically from a few weeks to a few months. There are behind the scenes photos of Renée on the set of Rose-Marie; see link below for an example, plus quite a few others you can find via a quick Google search. Taken together, they suggest that Rose-Marie was quite advanced when it was decided that Joan replaced Renée.
www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/french-actress-renee-adoree-wearing-a-mounties-uniform-and-news-photo/3292461
There are a bunch of interesting backstory tidbits to Tide of Empire. To quote IMDB: “This film is the first picture where zoom lenses were used. they had just been invented.” To be honest, I didn’t particularly notice or recall many zoom shots, but I wasn’t on the lookout for it. Next time I view it, I will check!
Another persistent rumor is whether Buster Keaton appears as an uncredited extra in a cameo as a drunk being thrown out of a bar. See, for example, this picture:
thefyuzhe.tumblr.com/post/126390296542/urrrrrgh-i-spent-3-hours-watching-tide-of-empire
There is also a fun 39-second YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oQINcqwJgU). I’m not convinced. MGM had just signed Keaton in 1928, so maybe they were looking to get their moneys worth.
Another rumor about the film is that it is missing its final reel. Having recently watched it, the movie’s ending seems like a typical 1920’s movie ending, neither abrupt nor with any obvious continuity gaps. D’Arcy saves Josesphita’s brother from the gallows, the brother escapes, D’Arcy and Josphita kiss, the film fades to black. On Nitrateville, one contributor did a comparison of the script/music cues with the 72 minute version and it seems to line up. So, perhaps this is just an urban myth. See the antepenultimate post here: nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=8135
Finally, Tide of Empire is one of the last silent films made by MGM. Like, the Joan-Doug Jr. film Our Modern Maidens (1929) there is some synchronized sound: animal noises, background music, etc.
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable movie. Renee Adoree is one of my favorite silent film actresses. If you have never seen her work, I encourage you to check her work out, especially in The Big Parade (1925), if nothing else the last 10 minutes of Parade are worth watching. To be honest, I think Ms. Adoree did a better job than Joan would have. As I’ve intimated in my movie reviews for BOE, Joan had a style in her silent acting, that while good, was more for the coming talkie revolution. Subtle, without the overt pantomime. The story in Tide of Empire, I think, calls for a more traditional silent film approach - overt gesticulation, facial contortions, etc. At this, Ms. Adoree was accomplished, moreso than Joan I feel, particularly at this time in their careers. It’s a tragedy that she died so early (35 y.o.) from TB, or I think Renee Adoree could have been a big star in the new medium of sound pictures.
