"Zaza" Review

 

by Daniel White

Fearing I might have been a little too harsh on The Trespasser, I rewatched the film this morning. While it may not have been "Plan 9 From Outer Space BAD" as I originally stated, it's a poorly-made movie, a victim of its time. A time when Hollywood struggled to make a smooth transition from silent to sound. Stilted dialogue and stagnant camera work wreck The Trespasser, and poor Gloria Swanson, like a doomed passenger in a sinking ship, is its primary casualty.

Here is a question I pose to any film buff reading this review: How many truly great movies were made between 1929 and 1931? How many flicks could transcend the technical difficulties presented to the movie industry in that period and be called a "classic film"?

I know one thing for sure: Gloria Swanson deserves better than the lambasting I gave her over The Trespasser, so I decided to take a look at Zaza, a 1923 film she made with Allan Dwan, a frequent director of hers.

Gloria Swanson was one of the biggest, if not THE biggest female star of the 1920's. In Zaza she plays the title character, a fiery, frenetic, French cabaret performer who falls in love with a married diplomat (H. B. Warner).

Swanson is fantastic; the fluidity of movement that was denied her in The Trespasser is here in abundance. Whether stomping her feet, cat fighting with her chief rival (Mary Thurman) or flicking her petticoats insouciantly, Gloria Swanson is a feminine fireball!. She may not be the prettiest woman in the room, or the most photogenic, or even the most talented, but she is the most exciting. And that's what makes her a STAR: the energy she brings to the screen.

Zaza is a fun film that shows a feisty Gloria Swanson who is all sizzle and spark. And the costumes! Outrageous, outlandish, and out of this world, the pint-sized Miss Swanson wears them with aplomb (and plumage I might add!). Who designed these marvels of couture? Zaza was made in 1923, several years before Travis Banton and Edith Head came to Paramount. In doing some research the name Clara West popped up. She worked with Cecil B. DeMille and Swanson on several of their movies. And while she's not credited with Zaza, she may have contributed. Also director Mitchell Leisen, who started out in costume design, was around at this time. Whoever it was, I'm sure Gloria had a lot to say about what went on her back, her head, and her feet.

Finally a word about her co-stars. Besides Warner (who would go on to appear as Jesus in 1927's The King of Kings), there is Lucille La Verne who plays Rosa, Zaza's wine guzzling "aunt". A celebrated actress of the stage, La Verne would achieve movie immortality by voicing the evil queen in Disney's Snow White. Here she is fun, if a bit overdone, as the comic relief.

Helen Mack also shows up as the daughter of Bernard Dufresne (Warner), Swanson's love interest. I always remember Miss Mack as the girl in Son of Kong (1933). She had a lengthy career in film, and later wrote for radio, Broadway, and television. Google her, she's a remarkable woman herself.

Watch Zaza to see what made Gloria Swanson a star. Watch The Trespasser to see what happens when a star gets stuck in a mediocre vehicle. Watch Sunset Boulevard to see said star make film history. Hell, just WATCH! Films are fabulous, and as long as we keep watching and talking about them they will remain relevant and necessary and available for future generations to explore, experience, and exult in.

Zaza is available on YouTube. Watch it today!