"The Italian" (1915), produced and co-written by Thomas Ince and directed by Reginald Barker, is a shameless melodrama that, despite unfortunate stereotypes, musters considerable sympathy for its titular immigrant. George Beban, the silent-era star known for his ethnic impersonations, hams up a storm as Beppo, a jaunty Venetian who must compete for his beloved Annette with a wealthy old suitor.
Determined to prove his economic worth, he journeys from picturesque Italy to the mean streets of Lower Manhattan. He sets up a shoeshine stand and makes enough money to import his fiancée, but the American dream is quickly dashed by the racist callousness of the Irish ward boss and the harshness of close-quarters tenement life. There are unmistakable shades of "How the Other Half Lives," Jacob Riis' photojournalistic chronicle of poverty on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Determined to prove his economic worth, he journeys from picturesque Italy to the mean streets of Lower Manhattan. He sets up a shoeshine stand and makes enough money to import his fiancée, but the American dream is quickly dashed by the racist callousness of the Irish ward boss and the harshness of close-quarters tenement life. There are unmistakable shades of "How the Other Half Lives," Jacob Riis' photojournalistic chronicle of poverty on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
A SECOND LOOK
A Second Look: 'Perils of the New Land'
This collection of 1910s immigrant tales recalls life in a rough-and-tumble New York.
The Los Angeles Times By Dennis Lim, Special to The Times
July 13, 2008
July 13, 2008
"PERILS OF the New Land," a new two-disc set from the specialty distributor Flicker Alley, journeys to the days of early cinema and uncovers burgeoning styles and primal anxieties that are still central to the movies nearly a full century later.
These pre-World War I films -- two features and three shorts -- date to the final days of unrestricted immigration, when thousands of prospective Americans arrived daily in the nation's primary port of entry, New York City. The set, out Tuesday, is subtitled "Films of the Immigrant Experience 1910-1915."
"The Italian" (1915), produced and co-written by Thomas Ince and directed by Reginald Barker, is a shameless melodrama that, despite unfortunate stereotypes, musters considerable sympathy for its titular immigrant. George Beban, the silent-era star known for his ethnic impersonations, hams up a storm as Beppo, a jaunty Venetian who must compete for his beloved Annette with a wealthy old suitor.
Determined to prove his economic worth, he journeys from picturesque Italy to the mean streets of Lower Manhattan. He sets up a shoeshine stand and makes enough money to import his fiancée, but the American dream is quickly dashed by the racist callousness of the Irish ward boss and the harshness of close-quarters tenement life. There are unmistakable shades of "How the Other Half Lives," Jacob Riis' photojournalistic chronicle of poverty on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
The better known of the two features here, "Traffic in Souls" (1913), was an enormous hit and offers a remarkable window into the popular consciousness of the time. this white-slavery exposé.....
These pre-World War I films -- two features and three shorts -- date to the final days of unrestricted immigration, when thousands of prospective Americans arrived daily in the nation's primary port of entry, New York City. The set, out Tuesday, is subtitled "Films of the Immigrant Experience 1910-1915."
"The Italian" (1915), produced and co-written by Thomas Ince and directed by Reginald Barker, is a shameless melodrama that, despite unfortunate stereotypes, musters considerable sympathy for its titular immigrant. George Beban, the silent-era star known for his ethnic impersonations, hams up a storm as Beppo, a jaunty Venetian who must compete for his beloved Annette with a wealthy old suitor.
Determined to prove his economic worth, he journeys from picturesque Italy to the mean streets of Lower Manhattan. He sets up a shoeshine stand and makes enough money to import his fiancée, but the American dream is quickly dashed by the racist callousness of the Irish ward boss and the harshness of close-quarters tenement life. There are unmistakable shades of "How the Other Half Lives," Jacob Riis' photojournalistic chronicle of poverty on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
The better known of the two features here, "Traffic in Souls" (1913), was an enormous hit and offers a remarkable window into the popular consciousness of the time. this white-slavery exposé.....
The set is filled out with three contemporaneous shorts from the Edison Co.: "Police Force, New York City" shows snippets of typical urban police activity; "McQuade of the Traffic Squad" is a cops-and-robbers vignette with a nifty little chase sequence; and "The Call of the City" suggests -- contrary to "Traffic in Souls" -- that young women who fall under the spell of the big bad city need not come to an unhappy end.
0 comments:
Post a Comment