Tweet 2 Stroheim Greats

No idea... The story the screenplay was based on. Not the original screenplay.

No idea... The story the screenplay was based on. Not the original screenplay.

That's what I'm talking about. It's not the ending of Ben Hecht's original story "The Rival Dummy."

I just doublechecked... That's what Barrios says... no citation is given. Unless the Ben Hecht story is based on another story?

Nope, there was no other story. THE GREAT GABBO was indeed based on "The Rival Dummy" -- 'tis a fact widely acknowledged. I'd post the story here if it wasn't so long . . . maybe I'll find a way.

In the meantime, here is Frederick James Smith's review of THE GREAT GABBO from the October 26, 1929 issue of Liberty, which includes a bit of shameless self-promotion:

* * (out of four -- good) THE GREAT GABBO

Here is a good idea gone wrong. Ben Hecht hit upon an original plot -- of a selfish, cold, egotistic ventriloquist whose soul spoke only through the dummy used in his act. A self-centered egomaniac, the great Gabbo could break the heart of the woman he loved -- and the mechanical Otto alone could hint of his real affection. Here seemed a superb start to a great picture, particularly when Erich von Stroheim was selected to play the mad Gabbo.

The whole thing, under the direction of James Cruze, rambles off, padded with musical comedy evolutions in color and back-stage scenes. Even von Stroheim's acting is monotonous. Betty Compson is just pretty good as the one woman in the voice juggler's life.

Cruze, making THE GREAT GABBO as an independent production, may have encountered insurmountable difficulties. Maybe the idea eluded him. Von Stroheim, on the other hand, could have made this into an unforgettable study of a human soul at war with itself. This film is based on a story, "The Rival Dummy," which appeared in Liberty.

There are a lot of lines muffed in this one, but they keep right on going. The production numbers apparently ate up the budget. I think it was in barrios also that says the New York premiere boast a "web of love" arched over the street where the film played. The web had (very brave) women dressed as insects crawling about.

Now THAT would be something to see!

When the "soul at war with itself" belongs to someone of the profundity of Abelard, Becket, Thomas Moore, it's well worth careful study; but the soul of such a deranged "self-centered egomanic" as Gabbo interests me far less than the GaGa Bird & Marjorie Kane. Would that someone else, such as self-centered egomanic Von himself, had made Gabbo's story, leaving Cruze free to enlarge the musical numbers.

Von Stroheim was available because he had just been fired from Queen Kelly. He never directed again.

It's a fascinating film despite the flaws and creakiness. Although I'm not sure there's much chemistry between the leads. Indeed, Betty Compson seems more interested in the dummy than the voice juggler.

Von Stroheim was available because he had just been fired from Queen Kelly. He never directed again.

Actually, he directed Walking Down Broadway for Fox in 1932, based on the play by Dawn Powell. He completed it under that title, on schedule and within budget, but for complicated reasons (studio politics played a large part), the film was largely re-shot by others, re-edited, and re-titled Hello, Sister! Some portions of Stroheim's work can still be found in that misbegotten mish-mash of a film, which was dumped on the market in '33 with no director credited at all.

Interesting. I didn't know that he ever directed again.

Barrios says the story Gabbo was based on had a different ending from the film's. In the story, Gabbo kills Mary and then all deranged (like has hasn't been from the start?) goes out to do his act with Mary's corpse as his dummy.

Now THAT would have been a ending to remember!

Say WHAT?? That's not the original ending of the story. It's not even close. Where did Barrios get his information?

I think I found an answer. There's a radio adaptation of "The Rival Dummy" starring Walter Slesak that aired on the Mollè Mystery Theatre on November 1, 1946 that includes the alternative ending Barrios described. While it adds some minor embellishments to contemporize the story, it actually follows the original fairly closely, except for the very end of Act II and the shock ending of Act III. The recording is rough but listenable, and you can hear it by clicking on this link.

Interestingly enough, "The Rival Dummy" had been reprinted in the June 1946 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, just five months before this broadcast. I don't think any changes were made, as the bibliographical info says it was "reprinted from Liberty magazine."

I've also now read Richard Barrios' account of THE GREAT GABBO in his book A Song in the Dark, and one other minor detail bugs me. He says the name of Gabbo's dummy in the original story was Pepe, but it was actually Jimmy. I'm still wondering where Barrios is getting his info . . .

So the radio adaptation was based on Ben Hecht's original story/screenplay? Given the subject matter, I assumed that Hecht had adapted some European version of the story.

I'm also a fan of his earlier performance for Billy Wilder, Five Graves to Cairo (1943).

I've neglected to watch or record this when it appeared on TCM, but will make a point of doing so the next time.

The almost-complete TCM schedule for October is up on the TCM Message Boards and FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO is listed as coming up on October 14, 2012.

What I remember most about the web number is that the long shots of the dancers is so obviously not Compson.

Does anyone remember the name of the dance team who performed this ballet? I used to know but stupidly didn't write it down.

Marbeth Wright and Harry Ross?

I'm also a fan of his earlier performance for Billy Wilder, Five Graves to Cairo (1943).

I've neglected to watch or record this when it appeared on TCM, but will make a point of doing so the next time.

The almost-complete TCM schedule for October is up on the TCM Message Boards and FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO is listed as coming up on October 14, 2012.

A reminder:
FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO is coming up again on TCM on Sunday night, October 14, 2012.