Paul Fejos Movies
Filmmaker Paul Fejos first worked as a bacteriologist for the Rockefeller Institute. He was born and educated in Budapest, where he stayed through WW I. Following service in the Hungarian military, he made a few films and then came to the U.S. Three years later in 1928, he left science and made an avant-garde feature-length silent film The Last Moment, an exploration of suicide. The low-budget film was well received and earned him a contract with Universal. One of Fejos' best-known films at Universal was Lonesome (1928) a partial-sound examination of loneliness in the city; the film was notable for its innovative camera work. Fejos returned to Europe during the early '30s and became a noted producer of scientific documentaries; he also continued to make the occasional feature film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1932
Amour a L'Americaine (American Love) focuses on a Yankee millionairess, played by Gallic comedienne Spinelly. Jilted by her French lover, Spinelly heads to Paris in hopes of winning him back. She spots her errant Romeo in a night club, where he is entertaining a pretty young woman. Assuming that the woman is his wife, Spinelly does everything she can to break up the marriage. By the time she learns that he was never married at all, it hardly matters: like the Mounties, Spinelly has finally gotten her man. The music in Amour a L'Americaine was provided by world-renowned bandleader Ray Ventura, who appears onscreen at several junctures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Carton, André Luguet, (more)
- 1932
Though the story is tragic, the inner message of this drama is inspirational as it chronicles the travails of an impoverished young woman who is impregnated and abandoned by her lover. Soon after her baby is born, the woman experiences a few moments of joy. Unfortunately, the self-righteous village authorities take the baby away from her. Unable to bear the chastisement of her fellow villagers, the poor woman prays to a statue of the Madonna. She then dies and her spirit rises to heaven. There she becomes a loving guardian angel to her daughter and is able to stop her from making a similar mistake. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annabella
- 1932
The venerable silent-serial menace Fantomas was revived on-screen in 1932 by globetrotting filmmaker Paul Fejos. Back to his old tricks, the hooded, black-clad Fantomas goes around robbing from the rich and giving to himself, though he's not quite as homicidally inclined here as he'd been in his earlier film appearances. Jean Galland stars as the elusive "hero," while Thomy Bourdelle plays the detective who dedicates his life to bringing Fantomas to justice. Director Fejos doesn't miss a trick, running through a gamut that includes clutching hands and screams in the dark. An English-dubbed version of Fantomas was released in the U.S. in 1934. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Galland, Thomy Bourdelle, (more)
- 1930
Directed by the Hungarian Paul Fejos, Menschen Hinter Gittern ("Men Behind Bars") was the German-language version of M-G-M's powerful prison drama The Big House. Filmed "after-hours," so to speak, this German version starred Gustav Diessl, Heinrich George, Egon Von Jordan and Dita Parlo in the roles originally enacted by Chester Morris, Wallace Berry, Robert Montgomery and Leila Hyams. Fejos also helmed a French version and Ward Wing a Spanish. One of Germany's most popular character stars, the heavyset George later collaborated with the German National Socialist regime to the point of starring in two of Nazi-Germany's most atrocious propaganda films, Hitlerjunge Quex (1933) and Jew Suess (1940). He died in a prisoner-of-war camp in the Soviet occupied zone in 1946. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1930
This French epic chronicles the French Revolution as seen by Rouget de Lisle, the man who composed the French national anthem. In addition to many scenes of angry peasants, the film also feature's many songs by Lisle. The film makes no claim for historical accuracy. Songs include: "Song of the Guard," "Maids on Parade", "For You," "Can It Be?" "It's a Sword," "You, You Alone," and "La Marseillaise." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boles, Sam de Grasse, (more)
- 1929
This early musical features several song-and-dance numbers in the midst of a story about underworld criminals. Nick (Paul Porcasi), who runs the Paradise Night Club, is murdered by Steve (Robert Ellis), a bootlegger. Billie Moore (Merna Kennedy), a hoofer at the club, witnesses the killing but stays mum about the dirty business until she finds out Steve's next target is Roy (Glenn Tryon), her dancing partner. Billie is determined to tell her story to the police before Roy winds up dead, but Steve isn't about to let that happen and kidnaps her. No synopsis of this film is complete without a mention of the then-remarkable camera crane, which director Paul Fejos had designed specifically for use on Broadway, allowing unusually fluid movement and access to nearly every conceivable angle. It could travel at 600 feet per minute and enlivened the visual style of any number of other films on the 20th Century Fox lot over the next several years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Tryon, Evelyn Brent, (more)
- 1929
In this crime drama, a aging illusionist falls in love with his comely young assistant. Unfortunately, she is enamored with the young thief who has become the magician's student. Another assistant gets jealous of the affair and tells the master. In retaliation, the thief kills the snitch and then himself at his trial. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Veidt, Mary Philbin, (more)
- 1928
Two lonely people discover short-lived happiness in this silent drama. Jim (Glenn Tryon) and Mary (Barbara Kent) live in the same rooming house in New York City, though they've never met; Jim works in a metal fabricating plant, and Mary runs a switchboard for the telephone company. While both have friends, they both long for something more in their lives. One afternoon, Jim decides to go to Coney Island to see the famous amusement park, and on the bus he spies Mary. Jim finds her attractive, and eventually works up the nerve to introduce himself on the beach. The two discover they share a mutual attraction, and over the course of the day Jim and Mary fall in love, while a visit to a fortune teller suggests to Mary that she's met the man who will become her husband. However, Jim and Mary are separated, and despite their best efforts the two don't know how to find one another again. Lonesome was released in 1929, as silent films were giving way to talking pictures; the picture was originally released silent, though it was soon reissued in a version with sound sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Kent, Fay Holderness, (more)
- 1928
On a meager budget of $5000, European director Paul Fejos tried to crack the American film market with an experimental effort titled The Last Moment. With a cast of unknown volunteers, an inexperienced production staff, and several reels of donated film stock, Fejos came up with a visually stunning "subjective-time" drama focusing upon the final thoughts of a suicide victim (Otto Matiesen). Despite a 54-minute running time, this Freudian exercise never lagged or became repetitious -- and though the production values left a great deal to be desired, Fejos handled his subject matter with clarity and precision. Highly praised by such notables as Charlie Chaplin, The Last Moment at long last opened the professional doors that had previously been closed to the Hungarian expatriate director. This humble project enabled Paul Fejos to secure a contract with Universal Pictures, resulting in such well-received films as Lonesome(1928) and Broadway(1929). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Matiesen, Julius Molnar, Jr., (more)
- 1927
Stunt-rider Jack Padjan starred as a Texas Ranger infiltrating a vicious gang of outlaws in this obscure low-budget Western written by, of all people, Hungarian director Paul Fejos.This writing assignment was apparently Fejos' introduction to Hollywood film-making; he later helmed the experimental The Lost Moment (1928), which won him a contract with Universal. Fejos, however, was too eccentric a talent for mass appeal and returned to Europe. Jack Padjan was not finding much success either and changed his name to Jack Duane. When good roles kept eluding him, Padjan retired to operate a stable in Northridge, California. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Padjan, Tom Santschi, (more)
