Mystery Of The Leaping Fish, The; Chess Fever

1160. THE MYSTERY Of THE LEAPING FISH AND CHESS FEVER (1916-1925-USA-USSR)
1. THE MYSTERY Of THE LEAPING FISH (1916-USA). WITH DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS, ALMA REUBENS, BESSIE LOVE. DIRECTED BY JOHN EMERSON. STORY BY TOD BROWNING. BEFORE DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS SWASH BUCKLES HIS WAY TO SCREEN IMMORTALITY, HE APPEARED IN A SERIES Of SOCIAL COMEDIES IN WHICH HE PERSONIFIED THE ENTERPRISING, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY YOUNG AMERICAN Of THE ERA. HE IS ANYTHING BUT ALL-AMERICAN, HOWEVER, IN THE MYSTERY Of THE LEAPING FISH. ONE Of HIS EARLIEST CREDITS. FAIRBANKS STARS AS THE “WORLD’S* GREATEST SCIENTIFIC DETECTIVE” A CHARACTER NAMED “COKO ENNYDAY”. OUR HERO SPENDS HIS DAYS SLEEPING, EATING, DRINKING AND DOPING: HE EVEN CASUALTY SHOOTS THE LATTER INTO HIS HAND! THERE ARE HALLUCINATIONS (IN FACT, THIS WHOLE FILM IS LIKE A HALLUCINATION), WEIRD COSTUMES, AND A “MYSTERY” THAT IS AS ODD AS ANYTHING EVER PUT ON THE SCREEN.
2. CHESS FEVER (1925-USSR). DIRECTED BY V.I. PUDOVKIN, NIKOLAI SHPIKOVSKY. VSEVOLOD I. PUDOVKIR RANKS WITH EISENSTEIN AND DOVZHENKO AS THE GREATEST Of ALT SOVIET FILMMAKERS. THIS COMEDY, MADE DURING AN INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT IN MOSCOW, IS PUDOVKIN’S SECOND DIRECTORIAL CREDIT. IT’S A KNOWING PARODY Of THE INTENSITY Of CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS: HOW CHESS FEVER CAN GRIP A CITY, AND HOW IT MAY EVEN BECOME A GREAT MENACE TO HAPPY DOMESTIC LIFE. SILENT FILMS WITH MUSIC SCORE, CORRECT PROJECTION SPEED. 64 MINUTES TOTAL. ÒSILENTÓ SATIRE