German aristocrats are famous for their stiff Teutonic humour, but at
least once a year-no more than one or two days of course-the German
mood lightens and it is time for frivolity. One seeks out the company
of a rich and fat heiress and when the planets are in rare alignment
it
is also good to watch an entertaining though unimportant silent film.
But that it is not an easy matter to achieve because, besides classic
Teutonic gravitas, there are no insignificant silent films in Germany.
Thus it is necessary to turn to developing cultures, particularly
Amerika, where there are many light hearted films that can
occasionally
be enjoyed even by a strict German count.
"Two Arabian Knights" is one such Amerikan film and was directed in
the
silent year of 1927 by Herr Lewis Milestone. The film tells of the
complicated relationship between two Amerikan soldiers as they travel
across Europe; an enmity and rivalry that will traverse frontiers and
take those strange comrades from France to Northern Germany and then
to
Turkey and finally to Arabia. In this latter place they will, after
being rescued from a shipwreck, fight each other for the favours of
Dame Mirza, a mysterious Arabian lady.
As this German count mentioned before, the only purpose of the film is
to entertain and certainly that intention is achieved in this
conventional adventure silent film that includes the necessary
ingredients of those commercial and popular films; that is to say,
exotic settings, some action and funny situations. Herr Milestone has
not made a milestone silent film though there is some clever
camera-work, particularly at the beginning of the film where, from
different angles ( up and down ), we see the two men battling each
other in a foxhole while astonished German soldiers look on.
The film intertwines World War I sequences (light hearted rather than
dramatic)as well as exotic adventures in the East, an East of course
that is seen through Western eyes and one that is deliberately
frivolous and cliché ridden. It is the perfect fictional setting for
these two strong personalities who, in spite of their rivalry, can't
live without each other ( or Dame Mirza, natürlich!.)
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because
this German Count must continue with the exclusive and aristocratic
art
of being bored.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
Movies