Cecil B. DeMille's CARMEN is one of the most entertaining of Hollywood's 1910s output. The visuals are simple but atmospheric, and the acting is marvelous. Geraldine Farrar is a natural in front of the camera, giving her Carmen an easy sexuality and playful attitude that come off as rather contemporary, nothing at all like the nostril-flaring vamping you'd expect from a movie of this vintage. Wally Reid is a likeable and passionate lead.
I've revisited this movie about three times and it never disappoints. With the sister release of even more visually innovative THE CHEAT, 1915 seems to have been a golden year for the young DeMille.
And once again, people other than DW Griffith were breaking new ground in 1915.
I've revisited this movie about three times and it never disappoints. With the sister release of even more visually innovative THE CHEAT, 1915 seems to have been a golden year for the young DeMille.
And once again, people other than DW Griffith were breaking new ground in 1915.