Retrospective 2015

Double Feature: Clash & Chang

143 min
V'15

CLASH OF THE WOLVES
Lobo, half dog and half wolf, is the leader of a wolf pack, and the ranchers have put a price on his head. David Weston, a young borax prospector, befriends him after removing a thorn from his paw. Dave and his sweetheart, May Barstowe, disguise Lobo with beard and boots. He repays his new master’s kindness by defending him against the attacks of chemist Borax Horton, who covets Dave’s claim and sweetheart. “The first Rin Tin Tin, who along with his heirs starred in numerous films and television series, was discovered during World War I, by Corporal Lee Duncan in France. Contacting every studio in Hollywood with a Rin Tin Tin-starring script, Duncan unexpectedly stumbled onto a low-budget, Warner Bros film crew having difficulty shooting an exterior scene with a wolf. Duncan quickly approached the director and told them that Rinty could do the scene in one take. True to his word, Duncan’s ‘wonder dog’ did the scene in one take and both were hired for the entire shoot of MAN FROM HELLS RIVER. The film was a hit and Rin Tin Tin was a sensation, making 26 pictures for Warners while starring in his own live 30’s radio show ‘The Wonder Dog’.” (Michael Stevens)

Piano: Gerhard Gruber

CHANG: A DRAMA OF THE WILDERNESS
Shot on location deep in a Siamese jungle (now Thailand), CHANG is from a scripted story that follows a small family (played by native, nonprofessional actors) setting up house away from the tribe. Cooper and Schoedsack open with scenes of domestic bliss and, offsetting title card warnings of the dangers of the jungle, a bucolic Eden ripe for development. But the tone soon shifts as tigers and leopards attack, and the picture evolves into a succession of episodes concerning their survival. The manipulated perils in CHANG often feel rigged, most conspicuously in places where animals appear to have been killed simply for the benefit of the camera. By most accounts, Schoedsack did most of the filming while Cooper covered him with a rifle, and their patience and endurance netted a number of breathtaking scenes. CHANG is from that rare mind that believes squarely in the survival of the fittest. (Ray Young)

Piano: Gerhard Gruber
 

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