Old movies: celebrating the films of Rouben Mamoulian

Rouben Mamoulian was behind some classic movies across his career – and we’re celebrating them in our old movies spot.

When it comes to Pre-Code cinema, there are a handful of directors who are regular spoken about in conversation. Names such as Ernst Lubitsch, Tod Browning, and, at times, Dorothy Arzner, are held to the highest regard and their works have transgressed the years with great reverence.

One of the masters of cinema during this time was director Rouben Mamoulian. This time, I’m going to take you through some of his finest films that make him one of my favourite directors.

Rouben Mamoulian, of Armenian descent, was an American theatre and film director. Born in Tifilis, raised in England, he was brought to America in 1923,

 

He first started directing theatre in 1927, on Broadway, where he famously won acclaim for his production of DuBose Heyward’s Porgy. He would then direct Wings Over Europe, a revival of Porgy, George Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess, and was the first to stage Oklahoma!, Carousel, and Lost In The Stars.

Mamoulian would transfer his skills to motion pictures in 1929 with musical talkie film Applause. Starring Helen Morgan in her first sound role, the film revolves around the backstage antics of dancer Kitty Darling, and the misery of her life.

Despite being his first film, Mamoulian would change how Hollywood would treat sound pictures. Instead of being confined to a soundstage, though some of it was shot on Paramount’s Astoria lot, Mamoulian filmed parts of the film across Manhattan. The director would push the boundaries of sound on the screen, making it an essential part of the narrative by using overlays and exploring voice-off. In short, Mamoulian’s first film revolutionised how cinema sound should be.

In 1931, Mamoulian would direct one of the first examples of proto noir with the incredible City Streets.  Starring Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sidney, City Streets sees a young carnival worker fall for a gangster’s daughter, and the pair are caught in her father’s nefarious schemes. The shadowy and murky underbelly of this gang warfare make a great backdrop for this incredible film.

Mamoulian’s most acclaimed work is, of course, his fine adaptation of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1931.) This cinematic retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella is often considered the best version of the story.

Now you don’t need me to remind you on its greatness – I speak about it on my column all the time. Mamoulian infused this horror with such tremendous artistry. The use of overlays and fantastical scenes lend credence to Jekyll’s repressed state and ultimate undoing. A ticking over two Victorian men speaking of urges and yearning highlights Jekyll’s secret desires, which is a catalyst for Hyde’s appearance. This innovative telling is such a perfect adaptation and helped propel Fredric March to his first Academy Award win.

Erroneously, most people would class Love Me Tonight (1932) as an Ernst Lubitsch film – or, at the very least, a film that copied the director’s style.

Granted, the film is a musical starring Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald made in the pre-Code era of Hollywood. It’s easy to mistake it as a Lubitsch rip-off. It isn’t, though. After watching most of his films, I can safely tell you that it is a Mamoulian movie through and through.

The musical revolves around a Parisian tailor who poses as a nobleman to win the heart of the princess he has fallen in love with. Not only is it effortlessly charming, but it swims with swooning romance and has some amazing, dreamy set-pieces that wow. ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ is a prime example of this – a song which is sung by different characters through Paris as they pass on the sentiments from one another across the city. Also featuring Charles Ruggles and Myrna Loy, this is a light-hearted and captivating musical.

Mamoulian would work with Marlene Dietrich on melodrama The Song Of Songs in 1933. However, it would be his historic film with Greta Garbo that would be most remembered from that time.

Queen Christina (1933) revolves around the Swedish Queen who wished to rule her own way – untethered by gender and expectations. This delicious historical tale sees Garbo romp around in men’s clothing, kissing girls, and ruling a country. Though it is a more straightforward approach for Mamoulian, he does great work with these grand sets and candlelit sequences. He followed Queen Christian with the, admittedly, forgettable We Live Again (1934)

Mamoulian would later use Technicolor to help aide his cinematic vision. Reuniting once more with Miriam Hopkins (who starred in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde,) he would adapt William Makepeace Thackery’s 1848 novel Vanity Fair.

The film would be Becky Sharp (1935) and recounts a lower-class girl who uses any means necessary to level up her status. Becky Sharp was the first feature film to use the three-strip Technicolor process – making it sublime viewing, with pastel colouring to highlight the lavish world Becky so handsomely covets.

Since Becky Sharp, Mamoulian directed The Gay Desperado in 1936 with Ida Lupino, High, Wide, And Handsome in 1937 with Randolph Scott and Irene Dunne, and Golden Boy (1939) with Barbara Stanwyck and William Holden.

However, another triumph for the direct came in 1940 with the swashbuckling The Mark of Zorro. Based on the novel The Curse Of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley, this story is set in 19^th century Southern California and tells the tale of a bandit who helps the people rise against their oppressive governor.

Launching leading man Tyrone Power to fame, and with an exquisite score by Alfred Newman, The Mark Of Zorro was a smash hit and is one of the finest action movies of all time. In fact, though it was the silent version of this story which inspired the original comic-book Batman. In The Dark Knight Returns, it is Mamoulian’s work with is cited.

In 1941, Mamoulian would use Technicolor and Power, again with Blood And Sand. The story of a matador’s rise to fame, this one featured the likes of Rita Hayworth, Laird Cregar, and Linda Darnell. Yet it’s the visuals of this film that are the most enticing. Mamoulian sets were inspired by painters such as El Greco, Goya, and Velázquez, giving the whole film this striking, sun-soaked cinematography. He would paint the sets and props at a moment’s notice to give it this warm feeling, and would shoot in places such as Mexico to bring the vibrancy of the blood and sand.

Mamoulian’s career declined slowly in the 1940s with 1942 film Rings On Her Fingers and Summer Holiday (1948). The latter was a box-office failure but many regard it is an utter classic thanks to Mamoulian’s artistic vision.

Incidentally, Mamoulian’s last completed musical film was for MGM’s 1957 Silk Stockings – adapted from Cole Porter’s musical of the same name. It featured Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, and Peter Lore. Unfortunately, Mamoulian’s film career would come to an end by the 1960s after he was fired from two film sets.

Though his career came to a stop, and he was a target of blacklisting, Mamoulian became an active member of the Director’s Guild of America, helping and influencing fellow movie directors. He died in 1987 at the age of 90.

Mamoulian is a unique film director, using artistic and theatrical influence through every film that he had directed. Whilst his career abruptly ended, his films live on thanks to their expressive techniques and absolute astonishing artistry. Do consider checking his films out: there are some flat-out classics waiting to be seen…

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