The Secret Cinema will return to Glen Foerd for a special screening of Erich von Stroheim’s 1924 silent-era classic, ‘Greed,’ accompanied by live music on the nonprofit’s restored 1902 Haskell pipe organ.
Erich von Stroheim’s ‘Greed,’ adapted from Frank Norris’s novel ‘McTeague: A Story of San Francisco,’ is as legendary for its lost footage as for its cinematic brilliance.
Based on Frank Norris’ naturalistic novel “McTeague: A Story of San Francisco,” it graphically depicts the slow descent into madness of a simple-minded miner-turned-dentist and his bride, depicted by Gibson Gowland and Zasu Pitts, as each becomes obsessed with gold. Von Stroheim, in his past work having already battled studios over expenses and running times, decided to not only film every page (and more) of the source book, but to shoot virtually every scene in the locations Norris described. Thus, nothing was shot in a studio. Only buildings that survived the San Francisco 1906 earthquake were used, to match the period of the novel.
The insistence on filming authentic locations would include bringing cast and crew to dangerously hot Death Valley — the United States’ hottest and most inhospitable place — in August. Fourteen crew members became sick, and one cook died of heatstroke. The director told the press, “I decided to make an absolutely literal film transposition of a novel that has been accepted as a classic of American literature.” He made ‘Greed,’ “without a single important change, except the title. I made it so that it could be said, ‘As Norris wrote it, so von Stroheim produced it.’”
Reportedly some 85 hours of film were shot over seven months. The editing process took a year, with the Goldwyn studio ordering Von Stroheim to make it shorter and shorter. An initial 42-reel version was seen by only a handful of insiders, who proclaimed it the greatest film ever made. Von Stroheim decided to cut it down to 24 reels, which would still require ‘Greed’ to be shown over two nights with intermissions (most silent features consisted of six or seven approximately 15-minute reels).
The studio insisted on further cuts, which Von Stroheim refused to participate in. During this process, Goldwyn merged to become MGM, whose Irving Thalberg wanted ‘Greed’ to be much shorter. Finally, the film was cut to ten reels — edited by, according to Von Stroheim, “a hack with nothing in his mind but a hat.” This is the version that survives today, and only still photos remain of the missing footage. Sub-plots and some characters were removed entirely, but the basic plot remains.
Despite this severe editing, the surviving version remains a bold, groundbreaking masterpiece of the silent era.
The Glen Foerd showing (5001 Grant Avenue), featuring organist Don Kinnier, will take place Friday, Jan. 24, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. The performance will take place in the second-floor art gallery, accessible only by stairs.
Concessions will be available at a pop-up bar before and after the event, with soft pretzels, soft drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. General admission is $25, with students and seniors’ tickets available for $20.
For tickets and more information, visit glenfoerd.org/events.
