Movie reviewed: Greed (1924), starring Zasu Pitts and directed by Erich Von Stroheim

Movie reviewed: Greed (1924), starring Zasu Pitts and directed by Erich Von Stroheim

McTeague’s Gold

When Erich Von Stroheim started working on this project, he wanted to deviate from traditional cinematic chocolate éclair stories into a more realistic drama; the mystique of life, seen though one's sheer lust for gold and its consequences. Stroheim was notoriously known for over-spending the budget by several folds and doing his work in complete secrecy away from nosy studio executives. He started working when he moved from Universal Studio to Goldwyn Studio. When filming started, Goldwyn became a part of the new MGM Studio, and Stroheim came directly under the control of shrewd MGM producer Irving Thalberg. When the filming was completed, it had 42 reels, but Thalberg brought it to a respectable 10 reels that would rum for about 130 minutes. Erich Von Stroheim was visibly annoyed at the butchery of his masterful work and quipped that whoever cut his film has nothing on his mind but his hat.

It is an unremittingly realistic filming of a sordid novel of Frank Norris' McTeague. The leading characters are so obsessed with gold, they end up in squalor and Gibson Gowland as McTeague escapes to Death Valley, California, after murdering his wife played by Zasu Pitts, and stealing her money. The last ten minutes was shot in Death Valley amidst intense heat of the sun, no civilization nearby and no water to quench his thirst and handcuffed to a dead man with his horse being shot. A man's endless greed leads him take desperate measures and faces a slow and painful death. Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM predicted that this movie will be a failure at the box office; he was right, it never recovered its cost. The highlight of the movie is the dramatic performance of Zasu Pitts as Mrs. McTeague. Jean Hersholt offers a good performance in the supporting role.