Rent Piccadilly (1929)

A Stone Cold Classic - Piccadilly review by PM

This is the second full length silent movie I've seen in my life (The Artist being the first).

What drew me to this gem was the Chinese/American sensation Anna Mae Wong.

Sadly marginalised by the American film industry (at the time it was prohibited for a white American to go out with a Chinese person) Wongs roles were limited to racial stereotypes. Fustrated she left for more open minded backdrop of Europe and produced this classic in London.

Wong totally owns this piece of celluloid joy, playing Shosho - a Bette Noire -who seduces slimy club owner -Valentine Wilmott - who discovered her  dancing in his club kitchen and in true Harvey Weinstein style offers her a gig in the club overshadowing his mistress and star turn- Mabel.

It all,ofcourse, ends in tears but in a glorious,melodramatic manner that will have you hooked right up until the grand dame finale.

Made in 1929-  at the cusp of silent movies crossing over to sound and there was a version made with effects and a voice over prologue which I would love to see.

This is a beautifully restored version with new soundtrack written and performed by Neil Brand that I found a bit intrusive and solved the problem by pressing mute and playing my own selection of music over the top.

If like me you were wary of watching silent movies, try this gem out.I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Silent Exotica. - Piccadilly review by Steve

Delirious melodrama set in a swanky hotspot in the West End. The film's stature among critics is possibly enhanced relative to the poverty of British silent films generally, but this is still an unusual and striking curiosity. And principally because of the performance of it's star, the Chinese-American Anna May Wong.

She plays a dishwasher in the Piccadilly, who becomes a sensation when she gets to perform a sexy, exotic dance number in front of the jaded, well heeled patrons. Which upsets the resident dancer, a fading jazz babe played by Gilda Grey, especially when the new girl attracts the interest of the boss (Jameson Thomas).

There are fascinating similarities with GW Pabst's Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, released the same year. Both are about a femme fatale who destroys men through naive sexual allure. The director of Piccadilly, EA Dupont, was also German, as were his cinematographer and set designer. And the film looks spectacular.

Anna May, like Brooks, became famous overnight, before soon fading into obscurity. But both are indelible in their brief moment of stardom. They even share the same hairstyle! Piccadilly isn't quite in the same class. And it is poorly edited and implausible. But it's a landmark British film photographed with an abundance of style.