Impoverished beauty Corinne Griffith (as Toni LeBrun) dreams of becoming a famous opera singer. After getting her diploma, Ms. Griffith is accepted for an audition in Budapest. She finds figures more interested in her beauty than her singing ability. Mannish Maude George (as Madame Bauer) demands Griffith, "Show me your legs", then hires her to sing at the "Palais de Paris". There, leering patrons, like Lowell Sherman (as Henri D'Avril), admire the female form. Griffith bonds with matronly worker Louise Dresser (as Rosa de Garcer), a down-on-her-luck Baroness. When Ms. Dresser's pension check comes in, she takes Griffith on a Cinderella-like adventure; and, she meets princely Charles Ray (as Richard Dupont).

Lewis Milestone (director), John Arnold (photographer), and William Cameron Menzies (designer) are responsible for some stunning, stylish work. Especially, savor Griffith's arrival at the squalid "Palais de Paris", early in the film. Later, watch for the scene with Griffith and Mr. Ray sitting at the grand piano, as the raised lid puts them in a beautiful, reflective "triangle".

Star Griffith receives a lavish, loving production. The cast is very entertaining, especially Dresser and Ms. George, who more often supported Erich von Stroheim. Ray seems a little uncomfortable at times; a decade earlier, he routinely offered superior performances. Although, the story is rather routine, it's nice to have "The Garden of Eden" around; thanks to "Flicker Alley".

****** The Garden of Eden (2/4/28) Lewis Milestone ~ Corinne Griffith, Charles Ray, Louise Dresser, Maude George

This is a sweet little comedy from 1928 starring Corrine Griffith. She plays Toni, a young girl that leaves home in search of a career as an opera singer. However, when she arrives at the theater that promised her a job, she finds that it's really a sleazy cabaret and she is manhandled by one of the patrons after she performs. She fights back and both she and her older friend, Rosa, are fired. Instead of going looking for a job, Rosa insists that Toni come with her on vacation as her guest. However, Rosa is a seamstress and Toni has no idea HOW they can afford to stay in the swanky hotel she takes them to. Rosa signs in as a baroness and Toni as her daughter. It turns out Rosa didn't lie too badly, as she really is a poor baroness and she adopts Toni.

A short time later, Toni meets a nice rich guy and, after initially disliking each other, they fall in love. Shortly afterwards, he asks her to marry him. The only problem is, Toni hasn't told her about herself--he thinks she's a rich lady.

How this is all worked out is pretty cute and pretty sweet. All-in-all, this is a wonderful little romance highly reminiscent of some of the Hollywood romances of the 30s and 40s. Nice acting, direction and writing make this one of the brighter films of the silent era.

A SPECIAL NOTE: This DVD was released by Flicker Alley--a company I have never heard of in my life. Despite this, it is about the best packaged silent film I have seen in ages. The print is absolutely top-notch, plus the film comes with two short subject films--both of great historical value and with accompanying notes. This is a tremendous value and I strongly recommend it. I hope all future films I see from Flicker Alley are of such stellar quality.

This is a delightful film based upon a play by Avery Hopwood, an adaption of a work by Rudolph Bernauer and Rudolf Oesterreicher, featuring a radiant and vivacious Corinne Griffith as Toni LeBrun, a would-be diva who is adopted as ward by a baroness (Louise Dresser) who takes her to Monte Carlo where romantic adventures then take place. The work is directed by Lewis Milestone, one of the few Americans who may be described as a cinematic auteur, predicated upon his clear stylistic methods, in evidence here in this leisurely paced effort, in particular with clever establishing, long and detail shots used in the seamless decoupage typical of silent filmmaking at its best, and certainly present in this influential picture. The keen expressivity of art director William Cameron Menzies and the technically flawless cinematography of John Arnold are absorbed by Milestone as this trio combine in presenting a stream of interesting imagery, some of which has been copied but not bettered in the sound era. A highly polished supporting cast backs Griffith, notably Charles Ray as her romantic favorite, Lowell Sherman as a knavish would-be nobleman, Maude George, who portrays an androgynous stage manager and Dresser in a typically well-defined performance as Toni's adoptive mother. Rosa Rio, at the Wurlitzer, plays the original score with a great deal of wit and neatly interpretive passage-work; a perfect aural mating with a sublimely visual feast.