Victor Varconi Movies

Having scored big-time box office with his first Biblical epic, The Ten Commandments (1923), Cecil B. DeMille hoped to top this success with his 1927 The King of Kings. Inasmuch as he was now dealing with the life of Christ, DeMille had to be careful to serve up equal amounts of showmanship and reverence. The first creative challenge: how to "introduce" Christ in a tasteful manner? The answer: as a blind child is cured through Jesus' intervention, DeMille cuts to the child's point-of-view, slowly fading in on the kindly countenance of H.B. Warner as the Son of Man. Still, DeMille remained DeMille, especially in his handling of the character of Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan). No longer a tattered streetwalker, Mary Magdalene is now a glamorous courtesan, replete with legions of gorgeous slave girls (one of whom is "bubble dancer" Sally Rand) and dressed in revealing Hollywood-style gowns. In fact, the film opens on this character, as she ruminates over the defection of her favorite customer, Judas Iscariot (Joseph Schildkraut), who is spending far too much time with Jesus of Nazareth. Upon visiting Jesus herself, she immediately repents, casting off all her prior sins. Once again, the efficacy of the Cecil B. DeMille formula is proven: redemption has no dramatic value unless the film shows viewers why the sinner needs to be redeemed. Once he's gotten his box-office considerations out of the way, DeMille adheres faithfully to the particulars of Jesus' life, betrayal, trial, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. (Again, however, the director improves a bit upon his source material: the storm that follows the Crucifixion is of the same spectacular dimensions as the parting of the Red Sea in Ten Commandments, while the Resurrection is filmed in vibrant Technicolor). To back up the authenticity of his images, DeMille -- with an assist from scenarist Jeannie Macpherson -- utilizes Scriptural quotes in his subtitles. And to avoid any untoward publicity while filming, DeMille required all of his actors to sign legal documents preventing them from indulging in any sort of "sinful" activity; this meant that poor old H.B. Warner had to steer clear of alcoholic beverages for nearly a year, though he more than made up for lost time after his contract ran out. Prepared to mercilessly lambaste The King of Kings, DeMille's critics were disarmed by his reverent, tasteful approach to the subject. Years after the film's release, a specially prepared 60-minute version of the 18-reel King of Kings was making the rounds of religious groups, church basements, and Easter-weekend telecasts. The film was remade in 1961 by producer Samuel Bronston and director Nicholas Ray, with Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Forbidden Woman was the first production by PDC Pictures to be released after the defection of the company's founder Cecil B. DeMille (though DeMille's brother William upheld family tradition by supervising the picture). Threatened by the imperialistic inventions of the French army, an Arab sultan (L. Snegoff) calls upon his half-French granddaughter Zita (Jetta Goudal) for aid. Zita sneaks into the French camp in hopes of getting her hands on vital military information, going so far as to marry French colonel Gautier (Victor Varconi) to maintain her "cover." Complicating her scheme is Gautier's musician brother Jean (Joseph Schildkraut), with whom Zita falls hopelessly in love. Feeling that Jean has betrayed him, Gautier arranges for his brother to be drafted in the army and shipped off to Africa, where the film comes to its operatic conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One feels that if Cecil B. DeMille had been assigned to direct the one-character play Krapp's Last Tape, he'd have added 15,000 extras and a flood. A typically overbaked (and immensely entertaining) DeMille effort, The Volga Boatman was "inspired" by a Konrad Bercovici novel. Set in the months prior to the Russian Revolution, the story opens as Princess Vera (Elinor Fair), promised in marriage to Prince Dmitri (Victor Varconi), chooses instead to spend her time with humble but handsome Volga boatman Feodor (William Boyd). Comes the revolution, and Feodor leads his fellow peasants in an assault against the nobility. Angered when Vera's father orders the death of one of his followers, Feodor breaks into her palace, demanding that either she or her father be executed as punishment. Vera courageously offers to sacrifice herself, but Feodor, who's fallen in love with her, can't bring himself to end her life. He fakes her execution and helps her to escape, introducing her to the other revolutionaries as his wife. When the Royalist armies counterattack, Vera and Feodor are captured and subject to a series of humiliations. Dmitri rescues Vera, but sentences Feodor to death -- relenting at the last minute when Vera pleads that Feodor be spared. Thus, when the balance of power shifts and Russia is again in the hand of the revolutionaries, Dmitri is allowed to go into safe exile by a grateful Vera and Feodor. The film's now-famous advertising photo, showing a group of aristocrats being forced to drag a ferryboat along the Volga, was later utilized for a memorable sight gag in the 1927 Laurel and Hardy comedy With Love and Hisses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Leatrice Joy has a dual role, as Gwynne Evans, a restless young wife who longs to go on the stage, and as lookalike actress Eva Graham, who wants nothing more than peace and quiet. The two women meet up and agree to change places. Oliver Evans (Victor Varconi) is glad to see that his wife has calmed down, while Eva's fiancé Bob Hamilton (Raymond Griffith) is thrilled when his sweetheart becomes a lot more lively. The girls can't keep their secret for too long, and circumstances finally force a confession. The men, however, are happy with their new mates and they decide to solve the dilemma with a divorce trip to Reno and remarriage. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Before he became a producer at MGM, Paul Bern showed a flair for directing, adding a sophisticated touch to this comedy-drama. Salesman Fred Hopper (Pat O'Malley) gets by on bluff and he uses his skills to win Eleanor Lawson (Agnes Ayers) over his rival, department store head Clifford Ramsey (Victor Varconi). But once they are wed, Eleanor discovers the truth -- that all of Hopper's flash was bought on loan and now the couple is heavily in debt. Things get so bad that Eleanor goes to work and Hopper asks Ramsey for a job. When he overhears Ramsey discussing the purchase of a new site, he gets an option on the property with the help of a rich widow. Eleanor smells perfume on his sleeve when he returns from the transaction and she suspects he has been unfaithful. She leaves him and Ramsey uses this opportunity to woo her once again. She ultimately decides she wants to stick with Hopper and they are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This epic Austrian production was credited to Michael Kertesz, who became better known as Michael Curtiz. It was also the screen debut of Walter Slezak. Mary Conway (Lucy Doraine) agrees to marry the wealthy Jackson Harber (George Reimers) to save her mother (Erika Wagner) from a forgery charge. She's really in love with Harry Lighton, a poor sculptor (Kurt Ehrle). At the engagement party, Lighton shoots himself, and Mary turns vindictive and cynical. She decides to make Harber's son, Edward (Slezak), fall in love with her and she succeeds. In an attempt to save Edward, his tutor (Michael Varkonyl) tells him the story of the queen of sin, who he compares to Mary. When this doesn't work, he goes to Mary and relates the story of Lot's wife. When Mary falls asleep, she dreams, in vivid cinematic detail, about the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, in which Lighton is Lot and she is his wife. When she wakes up, she calls off the wedding and goes to Lighton, who is recovering from his wound. Haber and his son reconcile. In its European release, this picture was 18 reels long; it was cut down to eight for release in the States, but the severe editing made the story disjointed and confusing. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide