Laughter and Tears

It's Carnevale in Venice, and the Bohemian crowd is composed of artists and hangers-on, poseurs and beguiled. Adelqui Migliar is a serious painter, but desperately poor, and popular among the crowd, except for those who look down on the sort of fake artists who try to sell their work. Evelyn Brent is a milliner, and desperately in love with him, making his costume for the celebrations, and expecting nothing in return. When Migliar exhibits for a prize, his work attracts the attention of Dorothy Fane, who carries him back to Paris and success. He leaves Miss Brent with enough money to carry her over to the time when she will cease to love him.

It's a year before the British film industry went into a tailspin, so this Anglo-Dutch production, written by Migliar and directed by B. E. Doxat-Pratt had the budget to shoot in Venice during Carnevale, and also in Paris. It's competently if stodgily shot, and the acting is broad and melodramatic. The poor copy I looked at doesn't show off the venue very well, and few of the cast and crew are remembered, except for Miss Brent. She certainly doesn't show much subtlety, but it's good to see her this early in her career.

I do not know where the idea comes from that Laughter and Tears (which contains no circus and no Jim) and Circus Jim are the same film but both are extant (one in Dutch and the other in English) and are quite clearly different films. Both films are seemingly directed by Doxat-Pratt and star Evelyn Brent and Adelqui Migliar. This film came out in 1921 and is a tale of Bohemian life in Venice and Circus Jim, which came out in 1922, is, as the name implies a melodrama set in a circus.

The Venice setting for this film is attractive but otherwise the strained, maudlin imitation of Scènes de la vie de Bohème is a bit of a trial as is Migliar's acting and the ending, which I shall not reveal, is just about as preposterous as any ending could possibly be. Circus Jim is a rather better film.

According to the British Film Catalogue, Laughter and Tears is #7233 (August 1921 release) (5947 feet) and Circus Jim is #7314 (November 1921 release) (5000 feet). Picture and Picturegoer magazine suggests that Circus Jim is the sequel to Laughter and Tears. Both films have the same production company credits, feature Evelyn Brent, and could likely have been filmed back to back.

The tinted original print held by EyeMuseum, recently uploaded onto YouTube with English sub-titles, identified as Circus Jim, runs 42:45 and shows some editing, but is acceptably close to its original 5000 foot length.