Flirting with Fate (1916) - a Silent Film Review

W.E. Lawrence and Douglas Fairbanks

This movie, with Douglas Fairbanks in the lead, rolls slowly. Although painter Augy does not make a penny, he does not look depressed at all and when he falls in love with the beautiful and rich Gladys he’s in seventh heaven. But when Glady’s seeks consolation in the arms of another man, Augy's heart gets broken and he does not want to live anymore. After a failed suicide attempt, he hires a contract killer to do it for him. From that moment on, it becomes a super fun and comic movie in which Augy sees his killer in almost everybody he meets. Fairbanks shows what he’s best in and does a lot of stunt work.

When I heard about the Dutch film ‘De Surprise’, with Jeroen van Koningsbrugge and Georgina Verbaan in 2015, I thought I had already seen the plot earlier. 'De Surprise' has the same theme. This film is based on a story of Belcampo, which was filmed for Belgian television in 1984. But this is not the only movie with that same theme. In 2005, the Czechs made 'Shut up and shoot me'. In 1990 the Finns came with the black comedy; 'I hired a contract killer'. The French also made their own version with 'Up to his ears' in 1965. There is even a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode with this theme. Further back, in 1931, the Germans made the slapstick 'Der Mann, the Seinen Mörder Sucht'. But who thinks that 'Flirting with Fate' was the first story with this theme is being deceived. It may be the first movie with this plot, but the credits for this original story should go to Jules Verne with his book 'Tribulations of a Chinaman in China', dating back to 1879.

In my opinion, I do not mind that the same themes are being used repeatedly, as it is difficult to think of something new. As long as the situation around it is different I have no objections.

Jewel Carmen

Back to Flirting with Fate. Although Douglas Fairbanks plays the stars of heaven, leading lady, Jewel Carmen, is a bit dissapointing. She's just a beautiful face and she hasn’t really have any charisma. Her friend Phyllis, played by Dorothy Haydel, has a minor role, but clearly has more charisma. In addition, George Beranger, who plays Automatic Joe, deserves a mention. He plays his role as a murderer excellent.

But apart from the slow start and the superficial leading lady this is a fun movie.

Comments

Miss Marple - a Film Review

Agatha Christie's murder mysteries are legendary. Miss Marple and Poirot are two of her most popular creations. Over the many decades, Christie has sold more books than many other writers. Since the beginning of the film, popular books have been turned into films. I do not know exactly what was the first movie version of a successful selling book, but I can remember a film of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' that was made in 1903. The first movie of a popular detective I know of is the short movie "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" created in 1905. It is therefore amazing that it was only in 1961 that the first Miss Marple film, with the somewhat eccentric Margaret Rutherford in the title role, was made. Three other Miss Marple movies followed with Rutherford. It's hard to understand for some people, but in most cases it's necessary to change the story to make a good movie of a book. The reason for this is that a story must be told in a lim

Arsenic and old Lace (1944 and 1969) - a Film Review

Critic Mortimer Brewster finds out on his wedding day that his beloved aunts have killed a number of older men and that madness runs in his family. This is a film based on a play by Joseph Kesselring, and is filmed twice. The first movie that was made of it was shown into cinemas in 1944. This film was directed by Frank Capra with Cary Grant, Prescilla Lane, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre in the lead. In 1969 a remake was made for television with Bob Crane, Sue Lyon, Helen Hayes and Lillian Gish in the lead. I will discuss both in this review. When Capra began recording in 1941, the play is a big hit on Broadway. To not interfere with the success of the play, Warner Bros., with the producers of the play, decided that the movie will not be featured in the cinema before it ran out on Broadway. Thus it came to pass that the first performance, for the troops overseas, was shown in 1943. The following year the film was screened in the cinemas. The film i

Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie - a Film Review

Scene from 'Un meurtre en sommeil' In 2009, the French decided to make their own adaptations of Agatha Christie's detective stories. They do this (the series continues and the filming for the new season is to be broadcast in 2018 is being filmed as I write this) entirely in their own way. Poirot and Miss Marple have been replaced by the comic police duo Larosère and Lampion. This is not the only thing they have changed in the stories. They have changed almost everything to Christie's classics except the basics of the stories. In some episodes it was difficult for me to see which Agatha Christie story they used. Antoine Duléry in 'Je ne suis pas coupable' They also made the stories more modern. For example, inspector Lampion is gay and in one story he has to dress himself as a woman to catch the killer. Normally, I do not like this kind of dressing up because it often results in a cheap kind of humour and I just find this embarrassing. But that is

Filmtip for a Filmtrip - Film Reviews

Search This Blog