Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

ShangLuda Admirable film.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

kfo9494 In order to properly understand this film you have to take yourself back to 1928-1929. You had only 20% of the theater's ready for sound performance. The rest of the film viewing arenas were still 'silent only' films. So in late 28 and early 29 films were filmed in sound and also in silent. This film was written for silent but was transformed to sound as the technology progressed in the late 20's.So they made a film that was written for the silent era but transformed into the sound era. No one had written the rules of sound performances which lead for many awkward moments.So without an underline music score or the thought of continuing dialog, the film was made. It is a seam between silent and sound. It is a learning tool for the next progression step.An aging ventriloquist is trying to put a stop to history. He commanded money and respect in his time but cannot see that times are passing him by like a train. He wants to hold on to the applause and the bright lights of his youth. He wants time to stand still- a time where he commanded respect. But we all know that it is impossible.The obvious love story is a front for more active and sinister activity. The puppet is just a metaphor. The real story is that times are a changing and people are going to be left behind. So it is for the Great Gabbo.Sound is coming and there are going to be actors that cannot cope with the new form of communication. Such as Gabbo when he finds out that people prefer sound (musical) instead of vaudeville. It is a change of the seasons.This is what I get from this film. Times are changing and some are going to be left behind. The Great Gabbo, even in 1929, seems old. A sad ending to a good movie.

earlytalkie This film is very unique. It crosses a horror story about a mad ventriloquist with an early-talkie musical revue. Erich Von Stroheim chews up the scenery as he takes his lady-love (Betty Compson) for granted while interacting primarily with Otto, his wooden dummy. The musical interludes are eye-popping, particularly the "Web of Love" number which features chorus girls dressed as insects, complete with fright-wigs. Betty Compson does a good job as Mary, the lady-love of Gabbos' who finds happiness with another. Also in the cast is Marjorie "Babe" Kane, a carbon-copy of Helen Kane, who figures in several of the musical numbers. This film was not considered successful at the time of it's release, but it still is a lot of fun to watch today. The Library of Congress restoration of this film looks and sounds great, even if the original "Multicolor" is absent. Most people who like this film dislike the many musical numbers included. However, I feel they add to the Ziegfeld-type atmosphere the story is trying to represent. The songs themselves are quite good, and one must also remember that in the fall of 1929, when this film was released, musicals were all the rage. The huge success of MGM's "The Broadway Melody" made it standard for any film that hoped to be a success to include at least some music. This of course would backfire when, about a year after "Gabbo's" release, the public would stay away from musicals like the plague, due to overexposure. It's amazing that this production, which looks like some money was spent on it, was made by Sono-Art-Worldwide, a company which, in a few years would become Monogram Pictures after a merger with Rayart. One of Monogram's 1933 films, "The Girl From Calgary", would interpolate dance footage from "The Great Gabbo", underscored by some different music. Even the audience reaction footage would be used.

spaman34 The Great Gabbo "The Great Gabbo" is one of the finest examples of American Communist Propaganda films of the early 1900's existent today. It is a master piece of film literature, when you consider the limitations of the technology of the day. Vitaphone, the technology used to cut a vinyl record of the speech or music as the action was filmed, was new and very expensive, and made film editing a nightmarish chore if not impossible.The script employ's Epic Theater techniques taught by Bertolt Brecht. In this respect it is a thinker's film, the film forces you to think. From the very beginning to the end you are constantly quizzical about behavior, motivation and environment. This is a musical comedy, right? How and why is the title card segment at the beginning of film different from other "musicals". Meet the self-absorbed individualist Gabbo who never acknowledges others who help him gain fame, his ventriloquist dummy Otto, and his stage partner Mary.We soon realize that Gabbo has very superstitious religious beliefs. While he does not perform a sign of the cross, we know that he operates under the fear of his destined fate from unseen mystical powers. For instance when Mary inadvertently places his hat upon the bed, Gabbo calls Mary a foul name saying "Don't you know that it is bad luck?" Mary, in response, lists a series of activities which might displease and bring about the wrath of an angry immortal. She is more practical stating, "We make our own bad luck." The comparative is the communist environment of the musical theater. Everyone works and does their part for the betterment of the show. Here, once Mary leaves Gabbo, she too climbs to the top and find success in her profession as a singer and dancer with her partner/husband Frank. Gabbo and Mary are both successes in their professions, who then is happier? Who is more honest in their success? Capitalism is treated as an impertinent side note to the values being discussed. Capitalism is the financier management of the show and it seeks gain through investing in both ideals.The film contrasts individualism versus communism. Many reviews have missed the underpinning effort of the writers and directors to use epic theater, and there blatant agenda to use it to teach the values of communism. They often deride the films production numbers as being unpolished and lacking flair. I ask, how could a film made with the intent to teach communistic ideals express them more eloquently? The ideal of community is not a flawless world, but a world where everyone does what they can to contribute to the whole. Some dancers lag behind the others yet they are there doing there part. Some simply walk from one place to another. The stage is full, busy and the message is understood. The imperfect dance numbers, in the epic theater style, emphasize the communistic ideal not detract from it. Few people would dare be as direct today.The sad thing about communism's failure is that without community all we have left is individualists who, like Gabbo, are only self-absorbed and care nothing for their neighbor, nor acknowledge supportive people.This film is a treasure that should be studied over and over. There are so many messages you simply can not absorb them in one viewing.Watch for Otto's "I'm laughing" song sequence, it is a precursor to Bobby McFerrin's "Don't worry, Be Happy." An interesting comparison is with this film's theater community and with the community environment of Los Angeles in the modern movie "Crash." How are they the same? How are they different? How are messages of these two films different? How are they the same? Think about it.If you don't own a copy of these films you should. I give "The Great Gabbo" two thumbs up and a black and blue stubbed toe. I guess I'm a little like Mary—accident prone. Oh and have a nice day. Be Happy!

fonosmith The Great Gabbo was made as a musical and altho some of the musical numbers and songs are not as good as those in other films of its time, they are interesting and enjoyable to see and hear, at least for some of us lovers of the popular music of the 1920s (and 30s).