Work in Progress
Anthony Asquith x 2: Shooting Stars, co-directed with a.V. Bramble, uK, 1928; Underground, uK, 1928; Kino classics
BRITISH JOURNEYMAN ANTHONY ASQUITH CAME TO NARRATIVE cinema by a somewhat unconventional but extremely privileged path. Born of a Liberal Prime Minister and a British society lady, he was educated at Eaton House and Oxford, and upon graduation found himself in Hollywood striking up friendships with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. He returned to his native land and began working at a company that made industrial films, including naturalist documentaries, before being given his first chance at narrative cinema with Shooting Stars and Underground (both 1928), which are finally being released in the U.S. on Blu-ray in beautiful transfers by Kino Lorber.
From the beginning and throughout their run times, both films use extremely limited intertitles, instead relying on Asquith’s expressionistic lighting and especially the actors’ facial expressions and gestures to set the tone and advance the plot. In the aptly titled , set in the dressing rooms and sets of the silent-era British filmmaking industry, Asquith introduces his movie stars (Annette Benson and a ridiculously young!) to a nearby slapstick set and see Andy Wilkes (Donald Calthrop) performing his shtick, the camera holds while Mae watches him with a disconcerting glee as Julian unknowingly walks away to the back of the frame, setting up her betrayal of her husband.
