Erich Von Stroheim's "Greed"
Greed's Missing Hours
My article on "Greed's" missing pieces.
Greed Reconstructed
The six hour reconstructed version.
Background
On various aspects of the story and film.
Greed Picture Book
Stills and photos from "Greed" and Von Stroheim's career.
Links
Silents, Von Stroheim, Pitts, Norris, San Francisco, et al.
 | Erich von Stroheim's 1924 epic motion picture "GREED" |
Greed's Six Missing Hours
by Michael Mills
The Man With A Hat
Thalberg and Mayer took the film away from Stroheim, and Thalberg told MGM editor Joe W. Farnham to cut it down to two hours. Von Stroheim's bitter observation was that, "It was cut by a hack cutter who had nothing on his mind but his hat."
Joe W. Farnham was Mayer's ideal of a team player, a company man. He was talented and efficient and carried out his assignments. Later, Farnham was one of the founders of MGM's promotional awards group that to this day still hands out statues to promote better box office.
Backlash
Von Stroheim's Greed was also the victim of a backlash against changing social mores in Prohibition era America and political pressure to "give me that old time religion" and stand up for traditional American Christian values.
Since 1922 a series of front page scandals, suicides, a murder, and an alleged rape threatened filmmakers. Though the comedian Arbuckle was acquitted in an actress' death, the violent and sexual details of Fatty's party shocked a conservative nation of small towns, and other prominent citizens of Hollywood were arrested for illegal booze, drugs, sexual offenses or under suspicion of murder.
Then as now, politicians campaigned against Hollywood with comments like, "At Hollywood is a colony of these people where debauchery, riotous living, drunkenness ribaldry dissipation free love seem to be conspicuous," coming from the floor of Congress.
To turn the tide of dwindling profits and relieve political pressure, the studios created an independent arbiter of decency to clean up their image. The Hays Office was born, headed by a slippery Indiana operator who played inside hardball. Men like Von Stroheim, who explored mature sophisticated themes were not wanted, and people like him found their names in the unofficial Hays Doom Book.
Universal's public relations department had given Von Stroheim an unruly reputation, and the mature sexuality of his films, as well as his current expose convinced Hayes and Mayer that Stroheim was bad for business.
In the public's mind Von Stroheim was still the Man You Love to Hate courtesy of his several on screen appearances as a heartless Prussian officer in many dramatic propaganda movies during World War One, but what made Von Stroheim irredeemable was described by a French critic.
Andre Bazin wrote of Von Stroheim, "He had one since rule for direction. Take a close look at the world, keep on doing so, and in the end it will lay bare for you all its cruelty and its ugliness." Louis B. Mayer was in the business of selling tickets and patently not interested. "If you want to send a message, send a telegram," so said Louis B. Mayer.
His sentiments were echoed by a review in Harrison Reports, which called Greed "The filthiest, vilest, most putrid picture ever in the history of the motion picture business. In Austria, where Erich von Stroheim comes from, they may enjoy this picture, but I doubt if a single normal American can be found to feel that way about it."
And it should be noted that the prime backer of Mayer's ascendancy at MGM was William Randolph Hearst. Together Heart and Mayer used the press to promote their films and sully their enemies. Even to casual readers the message was clear: Stroheim not only made vile pictures, but he was un-American.
Next: Time is Money and What's Missing?
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