A Clouded Name (1923) Online

This is indeed a curious film which seems to have been made by the Logan family to promote the distinctly unfetching little Yvonne Logan as a child-star (her father,Jean Logan, wields the camera).

It is a perfect example of "the classical realistic" style and the other reviewer's useful cut-count is an important reminder that films are only as good as the material they contain and the imaginative power of the film-maker and has nothing necessarily whatever to do with the style of the film-making and the use of editing to create continuity (often in practice a remedial process to repair the effects of poor mise en scène and inadequate cinematography).

If we were to believe the "editomaniacs" among the critics and if the quality of films could genuinely be judged by a simple matter of "cinemetrics", then this film would rank up with Griffith's Intolerance. In fact it is a poor piece of work and survives as nothing more than a curiosity.

This extremely odd film will probably appeal only to fans of Norma Shearer who is beautifully captured on the really splendid cover of the Alpha DVD. The movie is also absolute MUST viewing for admirers of cross cutting. I counted one hundred and twelve, and I'm pretty sure I missed a few because they come so fast, usually right in the middle of a scene. If the story were not so stupid, you would have difficulty following the plot. I gave up and didn't bother to follow it at all. I think we would all agree that the plot was a load of rubbish anyway, but I won't spoil the "surprises" here. We all know how Norma managed to live down this incredibly ridiculous melodrama, but the other cast members, of course, were not so fortunate in their choices of spouses! The director who was responsible for this splodge was a chap called Austin O. Huhn. Never heard of him. In any event, I think I'm pretty safe in declaring that there are more cross cuts in this movie than in other movie ever made!

Gladden James would be a rich doctor married to Norma Shearer, except his father had been squeezed out of the salt mines around their homes, apparently shot Miss Shearer's mother and disappeared. James had come home and gone to work for the local newspaper. After unwillingly interviewing Miss Shearer, he takes a vacation at a friend's vacation camp, only to find Miss Shearer staying at the mansion on one side, calling on him constantly because of one medical problem or another, while her current beau, Richard Neill, tries to persuade her to marry him. He also encounters and makes friends with little Yvonne Logan and her half-crazed father, Frederick Eckhart. James tries to avoid the former group, find out more about the latter, and gradually....

In many ways this feature reminds me of several Poverty Row silents from the likes of Chesterfield, trying to merge melodrama tropes with more grounded story-telling techniques. The editing by Tom Bret is rambling (there are a couple of shots of a house cat that serve no purpose I can think of, and there's at least one character, Martha Langford's, who serves no function) and the titles are more discursive than suits good film-making.

As a result of these issues, I find this movie's obscurity understandable, as well as its survival: Miss Shearer, after all, would soon wind up at MGM, married to Irving Thalberg, and Queen of the Company -- after her husband's death, she would remain as one of the largest shareholders of Loew's Corporation through her death.

Before "The Divorcée" (1930) and the sexually liberated looks that seemed to fit Norma Shearer like a glove, she had been slogging away in silents for a decade. Yes, she did marry Irving Thalberg and afterwards more than a few choice roles fell her way but she more than justified his faith in her. Initially, not fitting into the conventional flapper type, she took whatever part she could get (even at little studios such as Playgoers Pictures etc). Even in the early 20s her demeanour was graceful sophistication and she stood out like a beacon among all the "jazz baby" types. "A Clouded Name" was one of her earliest leading roles made at one of the still busy New York based studios: MGM beckoned the following year.

Gladden James (almost 20 years older than Norma) plays Jim Allen, the "If" boy of the town - "if only he'd finished college, if only his father hadn't disappeared" etc but after some initial levity, the story kicks in. "the clouded name" of the title is Jim's father and around the same time as Marjorie Dare's mother is found dead in the woods, his father mysteriously disappears leaving only a note to say that Dare has ruined him and he can't bear the shame!! Jim becomes despondent and escapes to the wilderness to try to sort out his feelings and by a huge coincidence becomes entangled with crooked Stewart Leighton who has also retired to his luxurious home in the woods, hoping to entice Marjorie to forget Jim and marry him. Jim also makes the acquaintance of "Smiles" (Yvonne Logan) and her reclusive daddy and bit by bit the puzzle is put together!!

I thought it was a pretty nice movie - Norma doesn't have a lot to do but she does look fetching and has a couple of hand wringing dramatic moments. The real star (according to the credits) is Yvonne Logan as she is the only actress billed. Play Goers Pictures was a family affair and "A Clouded Name" was the only film produced from this small New York studio, directed by Jean Logan, obviously designed to give his little daughter a chance to shine in the movies. Unfortunately it was her only chance but she may have been on the stage as her "Smiles" character was very winning and not nervous in front of the camera.