The Rotten Ink Theater is open! The lobby has that great smell of freshly popped popcorn, and I can see that the Icee machine is turned on and on tap are my two favorite flavors, Coke and Blue Raspberry, so it will be hard to choose which to get. Today’s “Forgotten Reels” update is about the 1921 religious drama film The Blasphemer that was an almost forgotten rarely seen film that marked the early cinema work of the church. And with any luck this film will have a hint of horror and maybe even showcase the devil himself and be a forgotten spooky gem. Really, let’s hope for that as this is a first time watch for me. So let’s find our seats, and let’s get ready to talk Silent Cinema as we open a fresh bag of potato chips to snack on. Oh and for those of you wondering, I went with a Coke Icee today for this update.
The Blasphemer is a drama film that was produced by the Catholic Art Association to strike fear into the hearts of those who do not follow the word of God. The film was directed by O.E. Goebel who only on record directed one other film before this one that seems to also have been his last film as director, and he was known more for being a writer for films like “The Burning Question (1919)” and “On The Stroke Of Three (1924).” He was also the president of Erbograph Co., a film production company that started in 1916. The film starred names like Augusta Anderson, Irving Cummings, Margaret Seddon and George Howard as John Harden, the man who turned his back on God. George Howard is also known for acting in such films as “The Darkest Hour (1919)”, “The Whisper Market (1920)” and “What Is Your Reputation Worth? (1921)” and was married to actress Clara Earle. The film is considered a religious film, and this allowed it to travel around and play in churches as well as theaters to help spread the word of the Bible and the teachings of God. After its run, the film just kind of faded into obscurity. In modern times, the film has found a place in home media as it has been released on DVD and has found a new audience, and can also be found on such sites as YouTube.
The chips that Juliet selected for me were by Good Health and were the flavor of Olive Oil Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt. The company Good Health looks like it is a side company for Utz Brands, a company that was started in 1921 and was based out of Pennsylvania. Utz has been a force in the world of snacks and can be found in many major retail stores as well as allows you to order from them direct. Another awesome thing about Utz is that they sponsor MLB teams like the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they even sponsor Minor League Baseball teams the Erie SeaWolves and Connecticut Tigers. Much like the film, this will be a first for me as I have not had these Good Health chips in this flavor so I am looking forward to them. Below is a picture of the chips in a freshly opened bag.
Will The Blasphemer be a great silent film that is as great expression of religious cinema or will it be a snooze fest filled with overdone messages, only time will tell as this will be a first time viewing for me. And remember I will be grading both the film and the chips on a classic 1-4 star scale. I also want to say on my film ratings I am basing it on a scale that is for silent films of all budgets and eras. So sit back in your theater seat, grab some a snack and a soda and let’s sit back and see what The Blasphemer has to offer. Alpha Video has brought us this lost classic on home media.
The Blasphemer
Starring: George Howard and Augusta Anderson Directed: O.E. Goebel
Not Rated 1921 62min Alpha Video DVD Full Frame
We open up at a massive church where a sermon is going on, and the priest is talking about those who commit blasphemy. We then cut to the massive estate of John H. Harden who went from having nothing to having it all due to rising in the finical world. Inside the mansion is his wife Mary and his two children Tom and his Daughter, and they all miss John who has been away for long period of times due to his work. John is mad at his wife when she says that it seems that he just doesn’t have time for them, and he had arrived home to hear this. The kids are happy to see him as he glares at his wife for crossing him, and when the kids are away John blames Mary’s faith in trying to turn his own kids against him. The two talk and John tries to put down her beliefs and says they are old fashioned ideas as Mary takes up for God and his teachings. The fight ends when John gets a phone call and leaves the room.
The kids have been put to bed by their nurse, and the two sneak out of bed as they have a puppy that they are playing with. While Mary is upset and worried about her husband John, he is on the phone with his mistress named Florence Darling, and the two plan to meet up that night. As Mary sits in her chair upset, John looks at her with hate in his eyes as their butler brings him his jacket and hat and out the door he goes. Mary falls to the floor heartbroken as the nurse goes to her side.
John arrives at the home of Florence and before he is shown in, another man leaves the living room area, showing that something is odd with his mistress lover. John and Florence sit on her couch and exchange looks and kind words. While Mary at home checks on the kids and finds the puppy the two were hiding and talks about their happiness and how she and their father were once happy like that when they were both kids. She flashes back to when they were kids and were best friends and even about their time in school together and when young John punched out a bully who was threatening her during recess. Mary starts to cry, and her children are sad by this.
Back at the home of Florence she tells John about her brother, a man who is about to make a big deal that will bring in lots of money, and she asks John if he is able to help him by giving him eight hundred thousand dollars to close the deal. He agrees to help, and the man who had just left her house returns and is her brother and for security to get the money he offers government bonds for John to hold onto until he pays him back for his help on this “big” deal. After thinking for a few moments, John agrees to lend him the money and hold onto the bonds and Florence his happy her lover will help her brother.
The next day at the office of John Harden, his mother comes to visit and they two sit and talk as she is mad about how upset Mary and the kids are over the behavior of John, and this makes the rich man mad that his mom is now involved and shows anger at his wife. His mother reminds him of the love that he use to show Mary, and she shares a story of when John and Mary was kids. The story has John sneaking and smoking and getting trapped in a shed after his match causes a fire, and Mary was the one who saved him from burning to death. John hears the story but still puts down his wife and her religious beliefs, and this saddens his mother as she knows that his money has truly changed her son for the worse. She shares another story about how Mary and him learned to always be kind to each other and share what the other had and would read Bible tales. But these tales do not change his mind, and John tells his mother that he just does not worship God anymore, and she leaves sad from his office.
After his next big business success, John holds a dinner party for his friends and has Florence at his side and he gets angry as one of his guests starts flirting with her. She calms him down as a thunderstorm comes rolling in and he makes a toast that praises wealth and his rise to it. And when one of his guests talks of God being the ultimate power and controller of fate, John snaps and puts down God and makes the claim that he himself is who made his own success…this offends his guest and the two argue about it with John mocking him. And to prove his opinion right he says let god strike him dead at midnight if he is real, and the storm rages outside as everyone waits to see what happens. As midnight hits so does lighting that makes a tree branch fall through the window, but John is not killed and claims he won!
The next day at John’s office he gets terrible news that his stock has dropped and he does what he can to keep his money safe and even uses the bonds that was given to him for safe keeping in order to try and keep his money safe at the bank. But as the bank looks into the bonds they find that they are stolen and with that John Harden looses everything and all his money is gone due to the stock market and because he trusted his mistress and her brother. John calls up Florence and demands that she find her brother as he is on her way to her house to settle up on the stolen bonds.
At the home of Florence she is panicking as her brother as well as two other men are talking about how to deal with John once he arrives and they even bring out a handgun as they think that this might be the only way out as they can not be brought down by the stolen bonds. Once he arrives John and one of the men fight over the gun, and the other man ends up being shot as Florence watches on in horror. The man is really Florence’s husband or so she says and as her brother and the other man enter the room they tell John that he will get the electric chair for his crime! The brother tells John to leave town and he will cover up this crime for him, and John hangs his head low and leaves his one-time lovers home a broken man as the brother says he will tell of this crime if he talks about who gave him the bonds.
The world now looks at John Harden as a failure and his disappearance proves to them that he was just another washed up former rich tycoon who has fallen from grace. It’s been many years now and John’s mother is heartbroken about her missing son, as his Mary his wife who has lost her dreams of being with her husband their whole lives. His kids have grown up and do what they can to cheer up their mother as well as their grandma as they have grown up without their father most of their lives.
Meanwhile in a city John Harden who was once a well dressed rich man is now a hobo wearing worn out clothes and his soul has been broken. While sleeping on the street young kids even ask him if he is sick due to his looks and living conditions. He tells the kids that he is very hungry and they run off to try and find him help, and they find his daughter who does not recognize him but gives him money for food. He watches as she walks into and out of an Opium Den, and the workers come outside and are plotting something against her. John wonders into town and sees a Holy parade and remembers back to when his father used to march in a parade like this, and listens as people talk about the church, the parade and the importance of finding God.
John starts wondering the city and walks past the church and decides to go inside and ends up finding his faith that he lost so long ago due to greed and the love of his money. He has visions of Saints and their messages, words and trails and then begs for forgiveness and learns that he must now live for his faith.
John’s daughter heads back to the Opium Den and is kidnapped by the workers and she is even drugged and knocked out by them. John enters the den and asks were the young lady is that just came in and for his questions John is attacked by the workers who even hit him over the head with a steel pipe and then toss him into the basement. Meanwhile outside the den, a cop stands guard and the workers get nerves as they have two people captured beyond their will. John wakes up in the basement and comes face to face with the man he thought he shot dead, who is mow addicted to opium and tells him that Florence and her brother as well set him up and lead him to ruin, and that the gun was filled with blanks. His daughter wakes up and tries to escape the room and is making all types of noise and one of the workers comes in to attack her, but her screams make John and the other ruined man break down the basement door to come to her aid. They two fight off the workers and save her and get the attention of the cops who go into the den.
The daughter comes home after being attacked and brings John with her and once the family sees him they realize that he is their loved one and he is home! John hugs his wife Mary as well as his kids and mother. We next see John at church as he has found his faith and his life has gotten better.
The Blasphemer is a interesting religious silent film from the early days of cinema and does a good job of being preachy but not over board, but some of the moments that showcase parades and people going into church seems to last a little long and comes off as filler. The story really revolves around John Harden, a man who made lots of money via the stock market and who started to lose the love for his wife, family and religion as to him getting more money was more important. He also seems to lose common manners as he mocks those who have faith and even chooses to cheat on his wife with a younger woman who clearly is using him for her own gain as well as that of her criminal con-man brother. John mocks God himself and this is when he falls from grace and loses it all and really hits rock bottom by living on the streets and have believed to committed two big crimes. It’s sad as his kids barely remember him and his wife and his mother’s lives have had a void in them sense he went on the run away from them all. While John is the film’s villain turned good once he finds God again, the film’s real bad guys are his lover Florence and her brother who use people to gain money, stole government bonds and even faked a murder that ended up ruining many peoples lives just so they could steal money from ego driven rich men. The true victims in this film is Mary, the kids and his mother who all have to deal with John’s careless ways and his self centered acts that leave with without their loved one for years and are forced to think he was a coward who ran out on them when thinks got bad. This clearly was a film that was a way to try and show viewers that God is what makes life good to live and if you turn on him he can turn on you and with him in your life you can find the love and comfort you seek. The best scene in the film for me is the one that has John at the dinner party mocking religion as a thunderstorm rages outside, it reminded me of classic Horror as they kept showing shots of the outside with the rain and lighting all around. Also I have to point out that the film also has a opium den that is run by a group of Chinese men, and they are shown to be very evil as they try to kidnapped and assault a woman for their amusement, and while they are bad guys, I am glad that they at least did not get raciest in their depiction as bad guys. Over all this is an entertaining religious film of early cinema and while I wish it had a little Horror Film elements in it, I was still entertained for the most part as actor George Howard played the part of John Harden so well that he draws you in. The print of this film by Alpha Video is ok and does have scratches, bleaching, missing frames and off centered title cards but none are to bad to ruin your filming experience. Over all if you like old religious films and enjoy silent dramas, then make sure to check this one out.
Now let’s talk about the chips. The first thing I have to say is that they have a very interesting and yet good flavor as the olive oil used to make the chips did make it taste different from your normal chips. The downside is the sea salt is lost in the cracked pepper flavor that on some chips was very over powering and took over the full taste. Good Health Cracked Pepper & Sea Salt is a good chip that is a slightly healthier choice for a snack while watching a silent film at home, but while tasty, I would say that its not the best of this flavor chip I have ever eaten.
Movie: **1/2
Chips: **1/2
Both this film and the chips were very middle of the road, but I have to say the film did have some great moments and I truly do wish they had played more up on the Devil aspect as well as even show the character John H. Harden’s fall from wealth and they should have pushed his downfall deeper into the dirt and had him get an illness and be lower than low, that way when he gets his rise and family back it would have been more impactful. And like those we reviewed and chatted about before this one, I have to say it’s been a blast to watch these Silent Films and do these Forgotten Reels updates. But as you can see, the movie is over and we are all out of chips so I think that is our sign that its time to go but before we leave. Let me take a moment to tell you that the next update will take us to medieval times as we take a look at the indie comic series called “Honor Among Thieves,” a comic series I found in the cheap bin at a local comic shop. So until then, read a comic of three, watch a silent film or two and as always, support your local Horror Hosts. See you next update as this looks like it’s going to be a indie good time.
