Slideshow
APPLAUSE
U.S., 1929
Directed by Rouben Mamoulian
Starring Helen Morgan, Joan Peers
Approx. 80 min. 35mm.
After being raised in a Wisconsin convent, Joan Peers joins her “actress” mother in New York and is in for the shock of her life when she finds blowsy, washed-up burlesque queen Helen Morgan. A debuting Mamoulian forced long takes, NYC location shooting, overlapping soundtracks, and a dazzlingly mobile camera on a recalcitrant crew and created the first masterpiece of sound film.
Reviews
“One of the most shockingly alive and heartrending films ever screened.”
– Michael Feingold, The Village Voice
“An oasis of filmic sophistication in a desert of stage-bound early talkies.”
– William K. Everson
“Mamoulian pulls out all the stops, employing unusually mobile expressionist camerawork to convey a wealth of detail in his portrait of the seedy backstage realities of the vaudeville world. Pacy, concise and innovative, the film also benefits from a truly magnificent performance from torch-singer Morgan.”
– Time Out