The Way of All Flesh (film)
Encyclopedia
The Way of All Flesh is a drama film
directed by Victor Fleming
, written by Lajos Biró
, Jules Furthman
and Julian Johnson
from a story by Perley Poore Sheehan
. The film is unrelated to Samuel Butler's novel The Way of All Flesh
, and is now considered a lost film
.
starring Emil Jannings
, Belle Bennett
, and Phyllis Haver
. Jannings won the first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
for his performance in this film and his performance in The Last Command
(the only year that acting Oscars were awarded for multiple performances).
to Chicago
, he meets a blond seductress on the train, who sees what he is carrying. She flirts with him, convinces him to buy her a bottle of champagne, and takes him to a saloon run by a crook. The next morning he awakes alone in a dilapidated bedroom, without the securities. He finds the woman, and at first pleads with her, then intimidates her to return the stolen securities. He is knocked unconscious by the saloon owner and dragged to a nearby railroad track.
As the crook strips him of everything that might lead to his identification, Schiller recovers consciousness, and in a struggle the crook is thrown into the path of an oncoming train and killed. Schiller flees, and in despair is about to take is own life, when he sees in a newspaper that he is supposedly dead, the crook's mangled body having been identified as Schiller's. The time passes to twenty years later. Schiller is aged and unkempt, employed to pick up trash in a park. He sees his own family go to a cemetery and place a wreath on his grave. Following other scenes in a Christmas snowstorm, Schiller makes his way to his former home, where he sees that the son whom he had taught to play violin is now a successful musician. He walks away, carrying in his pocket a dollar that his son has given him, not recognizing that the old tramp is his father.
. She said the story was based on the life of her husband's father, who had similarly abandoned his family after making horrible mistakes in his personal life. They named the script "Beefsteak Joe" and presented it to Emil Jannings. As a fellow German-American, Ernest had thought Jannings would help them get the script made into a movie. Instead they were shocked to learn that it had been stolen and produced without any credit or remuneration. The fact that it became an award-winning film only aggravated the situation.
, starring Akim Tamiroff
, Gladys George
, and William Henry
.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Victor Fleming
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
, written by Lajos Biró
Lajos Biró
Lajos Bíró was a Hungarian novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who wrote many films from the early 1920s through the late 1940s. He was born in Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary and eventually moved to the United Kingdom where he worked as a scenario chief for London Film Productions run by...
, Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman was a magazine and newspaper writer before working as a screenwriter.Born in Chicago, Illinois, during World War I he wrote under the name "Stephen Fox." Furthman wrote screenplays for a number of important or popular films, including: The Docks of New York , Thunderbolt , Merely...
and Julian Johnson
Julian Johnson
Julian P. Johnson was an American surgeon and author of several books on Eastern spirituality. He spent much of the 1930s in India, is most closely associated with the Radha Soami movement and Surat Shabd Yoga, and wrote four volumes as a result of his experiences.The writings of Paul Twitchell,...
from a story by Perley Poore Sheehan
Perley Poore Sheehan
Perley Poore Sheehan was an American film writer, novelist and film director...
. The film is unrelated to Samuel Butler's novel The Way of All Flesh
The Way of All Flesh
The Way of All Flesh is a semi-autobiographical novel by Samuel Butler which attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. Written between 1873 and 1884, it traces four generations of the Pontifex family. It represents a relaxation from the religious outlook from a Calvinistic approach, which is presented as...
, and is now considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Cast
- Emil JanningsEmil JanningsEmil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar...
- August Schilling - Belle BennettBelle BennettBelle Bennett was a stage and screen actress who started her professional career in vaudeville. She was born in Milaca, Minnesota.-Stage actress:...
- Mrs. Schilling - Phyllis HaverPhyllis HaverPhyllis Haver was an American actress of the silent film era.-Early life:She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, Kansas. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High...
- The Temptress - Donald KeithDonald Keith (actor)Donald Keith born Francis Feeney was an American silent film actor remembered for costarring with Clara Bow in several films in the 1920s...
- August, junior - Fred KohlerFred KohlerFred Kohler was an American actor known for his "heavy" style of character.-Career:Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to support himself. He lost part of his right hand in a mining accident during this time...
- The Tough - Philippe De LacyPhilippe De LacyPhilippe De Lacy a.k.a. Philippe deLacy was a former silent film era child actor.-Early life:Born during World War I, the already fatherless Philippe lost his mother and five siblings when a German shell devastated the family home...
- August, as a child - Mickey McBan - Evald
- Betsy Ann Hisle = Charlotte
- Carmencita Johnson - Elizabeth
- Gordon Thorpe - Karl
- Jackie Combs - Heinrich
- Dean Harrell -
- Anne Sheridan -
- Nancy Drexel -
- Dorothy Kitchen -
- Philip Sleeman - ?
Production
The film is a melodramaMelodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
starring Emil Jannings
Emil Jannings
Emil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar...
, Belle Bennett
Belle Bennett
Belle Bennett was a stage and screen actress who started her professional career in vaudeville. She was born in Milaca, Minnesota.-Stage actress:...
, and Phyllis Haver
Phyllis Haver
Phyllis Haver was an American actress of the silent film era.-Early life:She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, Kansas. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High...
. Jannings won the first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his performance in this film and his performance in The Last Command
The Last Command (film)
The Last Command is a 1928 silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and written by John F. Goodrich and Herman J. Mankiewicz, from a story by Lajos Biró. Star Emil Jannings won the very first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performances in this film and The Way of All...
(the only year that acting Oscars were awarded for multiple performances).
Preservation Status
No known copies of this film in its entirety are known to survive, making Jannings' the only Academy Award-winning performance with no known copy of the film in any private collection or film archive. This may also be Victor Fleming's only lost film.Plot
In the story, which opens in the early 1900s, Jannings plays August Schiller, a bank clerk in Milwaukee who is happy with both his job and his family. But when bank officials ask him to transport $1,000 in securitiesSecurity (finance)
A security is generally a fungible, negotiable financial instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into:* debt securities ,* equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and,...
to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, he meets a blond seductress on the train, who sees what he is carrying. She flirts with him, convinces him to buy her a bottle of champagne, and takes him to a saloon run by a crook. The next morning he awakes alone in a dilapidated bedroom, without the securities. He finds the woman, and at first pleads with her, then intimidates her to return the stolen securities. He is knocked unconscious by the saloon owner and dragged to a nearby railroad track.
As the crook strips him of everything that might lead to his identification, Schiller recovers consciousness, and in a struggle the crook is thrown into the path of an oncoming train and killed. Schiller flees, and in despair is about to take is own life, when he sees in a newspaper that he is supposedly dead, the crook's mangled body having been identified as Schiller's. The time passes to twenty years later. Schiller is aged and unkempt, employed to pick up trash in a park. He sees his own family go to a cemetery and place a wreath on his grave. Following other scenes in a Christmas snowstorm, Schiller makes his way to his former home, where he sees that the son whom he had taught to play violin is now a successful musician. He walks away, carrying in his pocket a dollar that his son has given him, not recognizing that the old tramp is his father.
Disputed provenance
In her 1999 autobiography, Frederica Maas claimed that the idea for the movie had been stolen from her and her husband, Ernest MaasErnest Maas
Ernest Maas was a silent-era screenwriter.Maas first worked on silent films in 1920 when he created the scenario for Uncle Sam of Freedom Ridge, a pro-League of Nations film in the aftermath of World War I. He also was the first to film the almost unbelievable crush of commuters during the rush...
. She said the story was based on the life of her husband's father, who had similarly abandoned his family after making horrible mistakes in his personal life. They named the script "Beefsteak Joe" and presented it to Emil Jannings. As a fellow German-American, Ernest had thought Jannings would help them get the script made into a movie. Instead they were shocked to learn that it had been stolen and produced without any credit or remuneration. The fact that it became an award-winning film only aggravated the situation.
Remake
The movie was remade in 19401940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
, starring Akim Tamiroff
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff was an Armenian actor. He won the first Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.Tamiroff was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire , of Armenian ethnicity. He trained at the Moscow Art Theatre drama school. He arrived in the U.S. in 1923 on a tour with a troupe of actors...
, Gladys George
Gladys George
Gladys George was an American actress.-Early life:She was born as Gladys Clare Evans on September 13, 1904 in Patten, Maine to English parents.-Career:...
, and William Henry
William Henry (actor)
William Albert Henry was an American actor working in Hollywood movies. He started as a child actor, then was a hero in B-movies , and ended his career as a character actor. He also appeared in various roles on episodes of many TV series. He was a member of the John Ford Stock Company and...
.