At this point, those hardy souls who are actually
interested in this Herr Graf’s silent rants know pretty well what their author
is like, especially in terms of his eccentricities (characteristic of course of
aristocrats in general; oddities are always much appreciated in the upper
classes).
After having watching Herr John Ford’s “Upstream” (1927) the term eccentric has taken on a more powerful meaning in terms of the film career of the Amerikan director, especially in his talkie phase. Gott sei Dank! Herr Ford’s silent career had their share of them too before he finally found his way and place in film history.
Fortunately and by a great whim of destiny, “Upstream” was miraculously found in the opposite ends of the Earth, namely New Zealand, in 2009, ( this reminds this Herr Graf to order the servants to clean up the cellar wherein there are a lot of old and dusty nitrates stored in there since the last century… ) giving in this way the chance for the new generations to watch this lost film. This Herr Graf also wants to give special thanks to the French public television station “France
“Upstream” could be considered as one of the least “Fordian” films of its director; you should know that before Herr John Ford went to the American West, he was in London’s West end. There you cannot find a trace of film testosterone, that is to say, the wild and epic far west, Irishmen punching each other or Herr John Wayne. On the contrary, “Upstream” is basically humorous vaudeville ( yes, even Herr Ford had a similar sense of humour during old silent days ), a satire about artists’ hardships, their dreams, tricks, pursuit of fame and especially their struggle to make a living.
Set in a special boarding house, the landlady who owns the pace has to deal with a bunch of peculiar artists: a knife-thrower, a sister act, a medicine show man, a couple of tap dancers, a flapper, an old but experienced actor and finally Herr Eric Brashingham, the last, and least, of a famous theatrical family. He is truly a terrible actor but one day he will have the chance of his life to become a famous film star inLondon
As this Her Graf mentioned before, the film is a funny and even bittersweet comedy, a satirical look at the theatre world and the peculiar gallery of artists that are part of it, with particular emphasis on Herr Earle Foxe as Brashingham, the Shakespearian actor par excellence, a funny character type who is the exact opposite of the Fordian hero, the exception which proves the rule.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must recite Shakespeare in German.
After having watching Herr John Ford’s “Upstream” (1927) the term eccentric has taken on a more powerful meaning in terms of the film career of the Amerikan director, especially in his talkie phase. Gott sei Dank! Herr Ford’s silent career had their share of them too before he finally found his way and place in film history.
Fortunately and by a great whim of destiny, “Upstream” was miraculously found in the opposite ends of the Earth, namely New Zealand, in 2009, ( this reminds this Herr Graf to order the servants to clean up the cellar wherein there are a lot of old and dusty nitrates stored in there since the last century… ) giving in this way the chance for the new generations to watch this lost film. This Herr Graf also wants to give special thanks to the French public television station “
“Upstream” could be considered as one of the least “Fordian” films of its director; you should know that before Herr John Ford went to the American West, he was in London’s West end. There you cannot find a trace of film testosterone, that is to say, the wild and epic far west, Irishmen punching each other or Herr John Wayne. On the contrary, “Upstream” is basically humorous vaudeville ( yes, even Herr Ford had a similar sense of humour during old silent days ), a satire about artists’ hardships, their dreams, tricks, pursuit of fame and especially their struggle to make a living.
Set in a special boarding house, the landlady who owns the pace has to deal with a bunch of peculiar artists: a knife-thrower, a sister act, a medicine show man, a couple of tap dancers, a flapper, an old but experienced actor and finally Herr Eric Brashingham, the last, and least, of a famous theatrical family. He is truly a terrible actor but one day he will have the chance of his life to become a famous film star in
As this Her Graf mentioned before, the film is a funny and even bittersweet comedy, a satirical look at the theatre world and the peculiar gallery of artists that are part of it, with particular emphasis on Herr Earle Foxe as Brashingham, the Shakespearian actor par excellence, a funny character type who is the exact opposite of the Fordian hero, the exception which proves the rule.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must recite Shakespeare in German.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
-/-
A
éstas alturas todos aquellos melenudos que con gran esfuerzo siguen interesados
en las peroratas silentes de éste Herr Graf, son bien conocedores de su
predilección acerca de ciertas excentricidades, un hecho éste, por otra parte,
muy característico en los círculos aristocráticos en donde las rarezas son
siempre más que bienvenidas.
Después
de haber visto el filme “Upstream” (1927) de Herr John Ford, el término
“excentricidad” adquiere un notorio significado al estar inscrito éste dentro
de la carrera cinematográfica del director americano, especialmente en su etapa
sonora, pues, Gott sei Dank!, durante el periodo silente de Herr Ford, se
pueden ver algunas excentricidades como el filme que nos ocupa, hasta que
finalmente el susodicho encontró su camino y característico sello personal
dentro de la historia cinematográfica.
Afortunadamente
y gracias a los caprichos del destino, “Upstream” fue milagrosamente
descubierto en las antípodas, esto es, en Nueva Zelanda, en el año 2009 ( un
hecho éste que le recuerda a éste Herr Graf que debe ordenar a la servidumbre
que limpien el sótano del Schloss en donde desde el pasado siglo se hayan
almacenados viejos y polvorientos nitratos… ) dando así la oportunidad a las
nuevas generaciones de poder contemplar éste filme considerado como perdido,
agradeciendo especialmente éste Herr Graf al canal público afrancesado “France
3” por haber emitido en exclusiva dicho filme recientemente durante éste tiempo
de estío.
“Upstream”
podría ser considerado como uno de los filmes menos “Fordianos” de su director;
y es que deberían ustedes saber que mucho antes de que Herr Ford se fuese al
oeste americano, éste ya había estado en el oeste londinense, esto es, en el
“West End”, la zona teatral de la capital británica, por lo tanto en “Upstream”
no encontrarán ustedes ni rastro de testosterona, esto es, el salvaje y épico
lejano oeste americano o a irlandeses dándose de mamporrazos o incluso a Herr John
Wayne, más bien todo lo contrario, pues el filme es un divertido sainete ( sí,
incluso Herr Ford tenía algo parecido al sentido el humor durante aquellos
viejos tiempos silentes ), una sátira acerca de la dura vida del artista, sus
sueños, engaños, búsqueda de la fama y especialmente, la azarosa existencia
cotidiana del artista.
El
filme está ambientado en una casa de huéspedes, en donde la patrona del local
tendrá que lidiar con un puñado de peculiares artistas; un lanzador de
cuchillos, un par de bailarinas, otro de bailarines de claqué, un vendedor de
medicinas milagrosas, un veterano y experimentado actor, una chica moderna y
Herr Eric Brashingham, el último de una generación de famosos actores de
teatro, un actor terrible en el más puro sentido de la palabra, el cual un día
tendrá la oportunidad de su vida: convertirse en toda una estrella del teatro
en Londres, provocándole esto un ataque de divismo, convirtiéndolo así y de
forma definitiva en todo un perfecto idiota.
Tal
y cómo éste Herr Graf ha mencionado anteriormente, el filme es una divertida y
agridulce comedia, un satírica aproximación acerca del mundo del teatro y la
peculiar galería de artistas que lo conforman, destacando especialmente en el
reparto Herr Earle Foxe como Brashingham, el actor Shakesperiano por
excelencia, un personaje cómico el cual se haya en las antípodas del héroe
“Fordiano”, o lo que es lo mismo, la excepción que confirma la regla y es que
“Upstream” es ciertamente una deliciosa rareza silente, teniendo siempre en
cuenta los clásicos parámetros cinematográficos de Herr John Ford, natürlich!.
Y
ahora si me lo permiten, les tengo que dejar momentáneamente, pues este conde
germánico tiene que declamar a Shakespeare en teutón.
Herr
Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
