One of the most famous American Silent productions is also among the first to deal with the much-filmed subject of Joan of Arc – treated over the years in both an elaborate and intimate manner. De Mille being De Mille, this particular version naturally takes the former path – even drawing parallels with the ongoing 1914-18 war (in the bookend sequence, a British soldier is inspired by Joan's sacrifice to undertake a suicide mission). Incidentally, this aspect necessitates a certain sympathy for the English – resulting in a tentative yet unconvincing romance between the heroine and, of all people, the young man leading the enemy forces facing her! Geraldine Farrar is an earnest but clearly over-age and rather ordinary-looking Joan, while the figure of Bishop Cauchon – whom she spites and ends up on the receiving end of his ire during the subsequent trial – inevitably represents the archaic prototype of the hissable villain; he is abetted in his wickedness by a so-called mad monk (who eventually repents) and an enemy agent dubbed "The Spider" posing as the uncrowned King's jester – with the latter, always depicted as something of an idiot, being easily influenced by their wiles and proving rather unworthy of Joan's championing. Of course, the film – a hefty but rarely boring 137 minutes – illustrates the most significant events in the exploits of the Maid Of Orleans: receiving her spiritual calling via symbolic crucifixion on a fleur-de-lys lit against the back wall of her room (she later experiences visions of a radiant sword and a black horseman alerting her to impending doom), her military campaign (by way of one lengthy and surprisingly fierce battle) and her martyrdom (though the hearing itself – around which would be built some of the best versions of the story – is rather hastily resolved with the threat of torture). In retrospect, this De Mille effort can be seen to have retained its essential relevance (despite its obvious age) when compared to other accounts of the life of Saint Joan (of which this is the eight example that I have seen). Incidentally, being the 50th anniversary of the director's passing, I have managed to acquire a fair number of his works (some of which had thus far eluded me) – including two more well-regarded Silent dramas, namely THE CHEAT (1915) and THE WHISPERING CHORUS (1918) – and which I now hope to check out in the not-too-distant future.
Review of Joan the Woman
