Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian Blu-ray from Undercrank Productions presents a double-feature of newly restored 7-reel comedies starring silent film comedian Raymond Griffith.
A little background on Raymond Griffith. He was born in 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised by a theatrical family. Bby the time he was a toddler he was already performing on stage. Griffith unfortunately lost his voice at a young age—the result of a childhood bout of respiratory diphtheria and overworking his vocal chords. From then on he spoke in a hoarse whisper (think Jack Klugman post-cancer). While this sidelined his theatrical career, silent films gave Griffith a new opportunity to showcase his acting talents when his voice wasn't needed. Griffith was a natural comedian and worked with everyone from Mack Sennett to Cecil B. DeMille to Alice Howell. He went under contract with Paramount Pictures and starred in a series of film as a bon vivant character who donned a silk hat and a tuxedo with coattails. This gave him a signature look much in the vein of other silent film comedians. Harold Lloyd had his glasses. Charlie Chaplin had his mustache and bowler hat and Buster Keaton had his stoneface expression. Raymond Griffith had his silk hat. When the industry transitioned from silent film to sound, his hoarse whisper prevented him from continuing his acting work. He did make one notable appearance in the film All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) as a dying French soldier. He shifted his focus to production and was an associate producer or producer throughout the 1930s working on films like Three on a Match (1932), Baby Face (1933) and Gold Diggers of 1933.
While popular in his day, he's since become an obscure figure of the past. Much of his film work is lost which makes the release of this double-feature all that more special.
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| photo credit: Museum of Modern Art Film Stills |
The first film on the Blu-ray is Paths to Paradise (1925). Set in 1920s San Francisco, the story follows two con-artists—played by Raymond Griffith and Betty Compson—who join force to steal a necklace. Their target is a wealthy man who plans to gift the necklace to his daughter on her wedding day. He's a bit too vocal about his prized possession telling everyone that it contains the largest diamond in the country. The story then follows the hijinks of the two con-artists as they attempt to steal the necklace and get away with it.
It's a fun comedy made even more delightful with a cute dog who seems to be the only character who realizes what the con-artists are doing. The film does contain an unfortunate sequence set in Chinatown which features offensive language and actors in yellow face. A warning about this content is given before the start of the film. This is a seven-reel comedy missing its final reel. Information gathered from surviving stills as well as a continuity script is presented in several title cards, accompanied by the musical score, where the seventh reel be played.
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| photo credit: Museum of Modern Art Film Stills |
You'd be Surprised (1926) is a typical murder mystery set in a mansion. Raymond Griffith plays an overly dressed coroner who is called to investigate the murder of a district attorney. Like Paths to Paradise, this story is centered around a stolen necklace. Griffith's leading lady Dorothy Sebastian plays the district attorney's ward and she's the prime suspect of the murder. Griffith's character barely examines the body of the murder victim. Instead, he takes over the investigation when the bumbling cops can't seem to do their job. All of the action takes place in the living room of the mansion.
Unlike Paths to Paradise, You'd be Surprised is intact with all seven reels presented. This is the weaker of the two. Because it's so constrained and because the coroner character is constantly trying to do several things at once, it becomes overwhelming but not in a funny way. However, with that said it is fun to see Raymond Griffith in all his silk hat and tuxedo glory. All of the dinner guests are dressed to the nines which showcase the finer apparel of the era. Anyone into fashion history, specifically the 1920s, will want to check this one out for the eye candy.
Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian Blu-ray contains the double feature as well as a twelve minute video essay about Raymond Griffith's life and career and narrated by film historian Steve Massa. They include musical scores performed by silent film accompanist Ben Model played on a pipe organ. Both films have been restored in 2k resolution from original 35mm nitrate prints from The Library of Congress' Paramount collection.
Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian is available on Blu-ray wherever Undercrank Productions releases are sold.
Thank you to Undercrank Productions for sending me a copy for review.
I share more thoughts about the film and the Blu-ray on episode #4 of The Classic Movie Roundup on YouTube. Watch here:
