The Great Gabbo
| The Great Gabbo | |
|---|---|
Original theatrical poster
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| Directed by |
James Cruze Erich von Stroheim (uncredited) |
| Produced by | James Cruze |
| Written by | Hugh Herbert (continuity & dialogue) |
| Based on | story "The Rival Dummy" by Ben Hecht |
| Starring |
Erich von Stroheim Betty Compson |
| Music by |
Howard Jackson (musical arrangement) Songs: Lynn Cowan Paul Titsworth Donald McNamee King Zany |
| Cinematography | Ira H. Morgan |
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Production
company |
James Cruze Productions
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| Distributed by | Sono Art-World Wide Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Great Gabbo (1929) is an American early sound film musical drama film directed by James Cruze, based on a story ("The Rival Dummy") by Ben Hecht and starring Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson.
As originally released by Sono Art-World Wide Pictures, the film featured sequences in Multicolor. The current prints, restored by the Library of Congress and released by Kino International on DVD, now exist only in black and white.
The movie follows brilliant ventriloquist "The Great Gabbo" (Stroheim) who, as he spirals down into madness, increasingly uses his dummy "Otto" as his only means of self-expression—an artist driven insane by his work.
Gabbo's gimmick is his astonishing ability to make Otto talk—and even sing—while Gabbo himself smokes, drinks and eats. Gabbo's girlfriend and assistant (Betty Compson) loves him, but is driven to another performer (Donald Douglas) by Gabbo's deteriorating personality.
Touted in advertising as an "all-dialog singing, dancing and dramatic spectacle", this early sound film oddly interleaves stark drama with gratuitous full-length, large-scale, on-stage musical production numbers such as "Every Now and Then", "I'm in Love with You", "The New Step", "The Web of Love", and the now-missing "The Ga Ga Bird", which was filmed in color. The "Web of Love" number, in which the performers wear stylized spider and fly costumes, is occasionally shown on Classic Arts Showcase. Footage from the dance sequences was re-used with different music in The Girl from Calgary (1932).
The public domain version available on Internet Archive runs 68 minutes, while the original film ran 96 minutes, including the exit music. The opening credits mention "Color sequences by Multicolor", but those sequences are now either lost or have survived only in black-and-white form. Multicolor, based on the earlier Prizma color process, went out of business in 1932; its assets were bought by Cinecolor.
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