Film Review
If you can forgive
The Red Dance
its outrageously far-fetched plot and the fact that it is has only the
flimsiest of connection with actual historical events, it is possible
to enjoy it for what it really is, a feisty crowd-pleasing romp.
Competently directed by Raoul Walsh, one of the most prolific and
successful of Hollywood filmmakers, the film was a suitably flamboyant
vehicle for Dolores del Rio and Charles Farrell, two of the biggest
stars of the silent era. Walsh had previously worked with Del Rio
on
What Price Glory
(1926) and
The Loves of Carmen (1927);
he would later direct Farrell in
The
Man Who Came Back (1931) and
Salomy
Jane (1932).
The Red Dance is one of the
most overlooked of Raoul Walsh's films, and it is not too hard to see
why. The script is appalling and there is not a single
cliché, nor toe-curling platitude, that gets overlooked in its
attempt to come up with the most fanciful interpretation of the Russian
Revolution ever. Yet, whilst the film does look pretty lame when
compared with Walsh's other great silent films and his later sound
masterpieces, it does occasionally impress with a few inspired
moments. The overhead shot of prisoners walking like zombies down a
circular staircase into what looks like an infernal pit is the film's
most striking image, matched in visual impact only by the dramatic
sequences depicting the revolution as a mad orgy of chaos and
destruction. There are also a few fine comedic touches, such as
the scene in the barber's shop (which incidentally doubles as a
dentist's), where the creepily likeable villain Petroff mistakes aftershave for
vodka, with predictable results.
Anyone who is looking for an accurate (or even semi-) accurate account
of the Russian Revolution is unlikely to be impressed by the eccentric
comicbook fantasy that
The Red Dance
serves up. The revolutionaries are portrayed as sadistic schemers
and drunken oafs; Rasputin (here referred to as the Black Monk) is
actively working to destroy the Tsar; and the three main protagonists
(a duke, a dancer and a vagabond) clearly have no idea which side they
are on, or indeed what they are doing. Ivan Petroff switches
allegiances as easily as he might flick a light switch, and the happy
ending is arrived at by the most facile of plot contrivances.
Still, we should remember that
The
Red Dance was intended not to inform and educate but to
entertain, and it does that well enough, particularly if you are
an ardent fan of the Mexican beauty Dolores Del Rio.
© James Travers 2012
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Next Raoul Walsh film:
The Big Trail (1930)
Film Synopsis
In pre-revolutionary Russia, the Grand Duke Eugen is recalled from the
eastern front of WWI and tasked with exposing the forces that are
working to destroy the power of the Tsar. He must marry the
Princess Varvara, not knowing that by doing so he will become
implicated in a dangerous game of politics. By chance, Eugen
meets and falls in love with Tasia, a beautiful young dancer who is
maltreated by her adopted family whilst her father, a teacher,
languishes in prison. Tasia was to have married Ivan Petroff, a
rustic lout, but he is so busy getting drunk that he misses the
wedding. As the revolution gets underway, Petroff quickly rises
to the rank of general whilst Tasia becomes a well-known dancer.
To prove her loyalty to the revolutionary cause, Tasia must undertake a
special mission: to assassinate the Grand Duke Eugen. But how can
she bring herself to kill the man she loves...?
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.