Silent movies of Gloria Swanson that were not directed by Cecil B. DeMille are very hard to come by although Gloria was a fairly prolific silent film actress. Allan Dwan was a prolific director whose career lasted 50 years (1911-1961). It featured movies with Douglas Fairbanks (ROBIN HOOD) as well as John Wayne (SANDS OF IWO JIMA) yet he remains virtually unrecognized today. Despite her long association with DeMille, Swanson said that Dwan was her favorite director so the combination of the two is definitely worth a look. Their other collaborations are currently unavailable.
ZAZA is based on a once popular play about a provincial French showgirl who begins an affair with a French diplomat only to discover that he has a wife and child that he never told her about. When he leaves her to return to them, she is devastated and goes to Paris where she becomes a big star. They then meet again many years later. The diplomat is portrayed by H. M. Warner in a rather solemn performance. He became famous later for playing Jesus in the original KING OF KINGS (1927) and as Mr Gower, the druggist, in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. He is also one of the "waxworks" in SUNSET BOULEVARD. Swanson's dipsomaniac aunt is played by character actress Lucille La Verne who would later voice the Wicked Queen in Disney's SNOW WHITE
ZAZA gives Swanson the opportunity to go from one emotional extreme to the other. In the beginning she is all unbridled raw energy as the small town headliner in a local cabaret who bedevils her maid and her co-workers while trying to catch the eye of the diplomat. Once they become involved with each other, she settles into being the perfect partner until her lover goes back to his family. After the scene where she discovers that the diplomat has a wife and child, we get a sadder, more subdued Swanson. The later scene where she meets the child as a young girl is a dramatic highlight. The ending had ladies of the day reaching for their handkerchiefs..
Allan Dwan was one of many Hollywood directors who were derided by a later generation of critics as company men who submerged their personalities to turn out the typical Hollywood product. The most notable director in this category is Michael Curtiz, the man behind CASABLANCA. While I admire the movies of auteurs like Orson Welles, Ken Russell, and Stanley Kubrick. I prefer the work of so called "company men" who could adapt themselves to any genre and who focused on storytelling rather than style. Directors like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford managed to be both.
This new DVD/Blu-Ray of ZAZA looks great with excellent image quality throughout. There is some wonderful camera work in the early cabaret scenes. The bucolic quality of the cottage scenes is also noteworthy. This print was obviously well cared for as it looks as if it did not require major restoration. The piano score by Jeff Rapsis is well performed and is taken from the original 1923 cue sheet. While not a great movie, ZAZA is worth seeing as a star vehicle for Gloria Swanson and as a typical product of its era. Thanks to Paramount and to Kino for making it available...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.
