Big Screen Seattle

Should You See It? See them together and compare.

The first film (of 8) I have seen at SIFF is Au Bonheur Des Dames, and it is remarkably similar to a film starring Harry Langdon I saw at the Northwest film forum two weeks ago called Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. Both are silent films (and both had really great live film scores accompanying them). Au Bonher Des Dames is French released in 1930 while Tramp, Tramp, Tramp is Hollywood released in 1926.

The Plots: The title Au Bonheur Des Dames (The Ladies’ Paradise) refers to the name of the behemoth department store that is ruthlessly and purposefully crushing all the family run boutiques in Paris. Our heroine is trying to help her aging uncle (with the dying daughter) save his business. While in the Hollywood counterpart Langdon, our protagonist, is trying to save his father’s shoe making business from the behemoth industrial shoe company trying to run all the mom and pop shoe-makers out of business. (It is basically the current Walmart story in perhaps its initial inception? It would be interesting to see how far back the ruthless behemoth vs. the mom and pop saga goes back in time.)

The solutions: The niece goes to work as a model at the Au Bonheur Des Dames to bring in some extra cash. Langdon enters a cross country race to win the $10,000 prize and save his father’s business. The catch? The race is put on by the rival shoe giant and he must wear the rivals shoes in the stunt designed to advertise the product that is putting his dad out of business.

The outcomes: The girl’s uncle goes nuts (when his daughter dies and he sees the manger of Au Bonheur Des Dames) and goes on a shooting spree through Au Bonheur Des Dames until he is shot and killed himself. (How old is the shooting spree as a way to express supreme alienation?) While back in the good ole USA Langdon wins the race, the money and saves dad.

The romance: Both also fall in love with the rival. The niece is loved by and eventually loves the manger of Au Bonheur Des Dames. Langdon loves first the image (in the ads) and then the real daughter of the rival shoe company who loves him back.

The message: In the French version the niece comes to see the behemoth conquering the mom and pop as progress and her family as wrong to fight progress. She happily concedes her uncle’s building to be torn down and turned into another giant palace for luxury of goods. It is quite a startling and unexpected social and political message – get out of the way old people with your old businesses, here comes something new, better and unstoppable – ruthless laise-a-faire capitalism. Meanwhile back in Hollywood Capra is asserting the triumphant of the little guy over the behemoth. Langdon shows us how with a little old fashioned pluck, hard work, sacrifice and innocent faith the most humble of men can take on and win against the most powerful. (And there is a straight-line for Capra from Tramp, Tramp, Tramp to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to It’s a Wonderful Life.)

# posted by Jerry in Seattle @ Sunday, June 04, 2006