Torrent (1926 film)

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Torrent

Poster
Directed by Monta Bell (Uncredited)
Produced by Monta Bell
Written by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
Dorothy Farnum (adaptation)
Starring Ricardo Cortez
Greta Garbo
Cinematography William H. Daniels
Editing by Frank Sullivan
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) February 26, 1926
Running time 87 minutes
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language Silent film
English intertitles
Budget $250,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile
For the ship, see The Torrent (ship)

Torrent is a 1926 silent American film directed by an uncredited Monta Bell based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. It was released on February 26, 1926 and stars Ricardo Cortez and Greta Garbo.

Torrent was the first American film starring Swedish actress Greta Garbo.[1] The film was done with MGM studios, also starring Ricardo Cortez as the son of a domineering mother, played by Martha Mattox.

The title refers to a flood that occurs in the small town where most of the film's action takes place, which draws the two romantic leading characters Cortez and Garbo closer.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The wealthy matriarch Dona Bernarda Brull (Mattox) is irritated by her son Rafael's infatuation with the orange farmer's (Edward Connelly) daughter, Leonora (Garbo). She forbids him to see her, something that causes Leonora great heartache, to say nothing of her family's financial condition. Using the singing talent cultivated by her wannabe father Pedro, Leonara leaves her humble home to later become a sensation on the stages of Paris, as La Brunna, where nobleman and other rich gentleman express their approval of her "talents".

Meanwhile, back in their small American town of Valencia where Leonora's father has died, Dona Bernarda Brull's domineeering influence has brought Rafael to the brink of being elected to office. She's also arranged for her son to marry the wealthy Remedios Matías (Gertrude Olmstead), the daughter of a rich hog farmer (Mack Swain). However, just before both of these events are realized, La Brunna returns to her humble beginnings to visit her mother Pepa (Lucy Beaumont) and barber friend Cupido (Lucien Littlefield). Incognito, she gives Rafael the impression that she is still poor, and nearly destitute. When the proud soon to be elected official visits Cupido, Leonara reveals that she is the famous La Brunna. Naturally, he is irresistibly drawn to her, which though it doesn't keep his inevitable election from happening, it does threaten his marriage to Remedios ... that is until his mother intervenes once again. Some time after the flood (the torrent), though not on that particular night, Leonara and Rafael spend a night of passion together amidst the orange groves, Dona Bernarda Brull visits Pepa to tell her of the shame which has been brought upon her home. So, La Brunna returns to her life on the stage in Madrid while Rafael marries Remedios. Shortly afterwards however, Rafael follows his Leonara to declare his undying love for her once again, seemingly ready to throw away his life for her. She is thrilled and, with her maid (Lillian Leighton), packs her bags to await his return. Rafael's wise lawyer friend Don Andrés (Tully Marshall) intervenes on behalf of his mother and the community he serves to convince him to do otherwise, and again Leonara is left "holding the bag". Years pass, but the two never forget their everlasting love for one another. A much older looking Rafael visits La Brunna, who doesn't appear to have aged since last they met. This time he's ready to leave his wife and two children for her, but she is unwilling to be the cause of it. He returns to Remedios, looking over his sleeping little ones while La Brunna completes another performance with adoring fans and then sits alone forlornly thinking of their love lost as the credits roll.

[edit] Overview

Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo

The touch of director Monta Bell is clearly present, as he gently mocks the characters without undercutting the dramatic material. Comic actors are cast in supporting dramatic roles. Cortez' mother has decided that her son will marry the attractive but plain Gertrude Olmstead, heiress to her father's pork fortune. The father is played by Mack Swain, whose contribution to the narrative is to continuously eating and gluttonery on screen. There is a notable sequence where the mother and Swain negotiate the number of hogs in his daughter's dowry.

The director's mischievous nature shows again with a love scene after Cortez goes out in the torrent to save Garbo. Back inside, she gives him one of her fur trimmed robes to wear, so they both play the scene wearing women's nightgowns.

The story doesn't set up the romance between the two as any deeper than youthful infatuation, so the subsequent narrative tension is less than it might be. Cortez' love for Garbo is genuine, so he is not driven by infatuation, but by sincerity. While later films might have shown Garbo's descent after being cast off by the rich playboy, in this movie she learns that Cortez wasn't that big a prize, and she was better off without him.

[edit] Reception

Opening credits
Opening credits

Producers to the Torrent were uncertain how to cast Garbo as she arrived in Hollywood. In her first American film she was cast as Leonara, the Spanish peasant girl, and MGM executives were pleased with the results. After the film was released, Variety magazine described Garbo on her debut as " a girl with everything, looks, acting ability and personality". Louis B. Mayer's initial instinct about the actress's ability paid off, and the film was a success.[2]

[edit] DVD release

The Image Entertainment 1998 laserdisc release (included in The Garbo Silents) has a newly created and very effective elaborately orchestrated score of original music by composer Arthur Barrow, featuring Spanish guitar when appropriate, and sound effects for rain, etc. The image is still in good condition, featuring various tints, including sequences in black and white. Some nitrate decomposition is evident in the original, but it appears mostly in the intertitles.

[edit] Cast

Cinematography was performed by Greta Garbo's assistant William H. Daniels, who worked with her on many later films.
Cinematography was performed by Greta Garbo's assistant William H. Daniels, who worked with her on many later films.

[edit] Technical specifications

Film length (metres) - 2063.19 m (7 reels)
Film negative format (mm/video inches) - 35 mm
Cinematographic process - Spherical
Printed film format - 35 mm
Aspect ratio - 1.33 : 1

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Most beautiful woman who ever lived
  2. ^ Greta Garbo - The Ultimate Star - The Torrent

[edit] External links and sources