Das Opfer der Stella Dallas

I was unfamiliar with the story of Stella Dallas, so when I first sat down and began to watch the 1925 version, I was expecting a simple, and light hearted silent; 'a fun way to spend an hour, but will soon be forgotten', type of film. By the very end, I had tears in my eyes, and I suddenly wanted to run up to my mother, hug her close, and never let her go. Stella Dallas took a completely unexpected twist, and turned out to be one of the most moving, and bittersweet dramas of the silent era.

A believable and extremely talented cast, molds this film into the finest it can possibly be. Belle Bennett absolutely steals the show from everyone else. Her performance is unforgettable and heartbreaking. Even though her character makes some mistakes in the beginning, she has a big heart, and lots of love for her beloved daughter. We cry and grieve with her, as she tries to set things right, and fights for her daughter's happiness and well being. Her daughter, Laurel Dallas, is played by the soft, sensitive, and purely pretty actress Lois Moran. She struggles between the love for her mother and her beau (played by a young and handsome Douglas Fairbanks Jr.). Ronald Colman is a natural at pantomime, and brought his character (Laurel's father, Stephen, who lives away in New York) to glowing life. Alice Joyce is a great actress, it's always nice to see her, and in this she plays the true love of Stephen Dallas. Unfortunately, her part is just a tad too small, but very effective.

If mother-daughter stories touch you, be sure to bring at least one whole box of tissues, because you WILL need them. I guarantee you, that by the time The End appears across the screen, you'll have teared up at least once or twice. One deeply feels for the characters and their troubles; not to mention, the famous ending is haunting.

It was a very moving experience for me to finally view this movie. It is definitely, without, a doubt superior to the already great 1937 version. Belle Bennett is absolutely brilliant in this role. It is only the second silent film that, not only brought tears to my eyes, but overfilled them, until almost bawling. It is that good. Even without the spoken word, the actors were able to display the emotions even better than actors whom had spoken their words.

I have been begging TCM for a couple of years, now, to please, air this movie. Mainly, because, I would love to know more people out there would get the chance to see this movie. If you haven't had the pleasure to see this movie, try to find a way. It won't be a waste of your time.

In the schedule of Cinema Zuid this was one of the films I had never heard of before. Looking at the ratings here, on RYM and on Letterboxd, the cinephile audience has too. Quite a shame as this may be the first film that criticises the American dream, more specifically the hardships one of the lower class experienced when trying to assimilate with those of the upper class.

At first I held no sympathy for the protagonist Stella as I found that the troubles she was creating were of her fault. At the midpoint of the film I had to accept that the screenwriter and maybe the author of the original novel, Olive Higgins Prouty, was of the mindset that people of certain classes cannot change their tastes or habits; this reminds me of Pierre Bourdieu's theory of class distinction, based on aesthetic taste and habitus. The film has a deterministic view on these acquired dispositions; Stella grew up in a poor family, therefore she will never understand the ways of the upper class. She can strive to meet the high standards of the upper class, but everything she tries (especially the way she dresses) comes out as kitsch for which she is laughed at by the people she wants to accept her.

When you accept this hypothesis (I found it quite hard as I saw Stella as a smart woman able to change), Stella becomes much easier to empathize with. In her mind upwards social mobility is everything and she will sacrifice everything to get it for her and her daughter.

Unfortunately, this progressive subject is the only interesting and strong point of the movie, the camera-work is fixed and theatrical, the acting is mediocre for all actors except Belle Bennett in the second half of the film. To conclude, it is a film that is more interesting than it is enjoyable.

The first film version of the Olive Higgins Prouty best seller.

Despite third billing, Belle Bennett stars as Stella and is very good in the role of her career. She does an amazing job of aging over a 20-year period and is very effective.

Ronald Colman stars (and gets tops billing) as Stephen Dallas, and Alice Joyce is Mrs. Morrison.

Lois Moran gets the role of Laurel and is excellent, starting out as a 10-year-old. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. plays the boy friend. They were both 16. Jean Hersholt is Ed Munn, Vera Lewis is a gossipy teacher, and Beatrix Pryor plays Fairbanks' mother.

Bennett never got another good role and died of cancer in 1932.

"Stella Dallas" is a weepy film about a long-suffering mother who gives everything to do what's best for her child. This sort of picture was very common back in the day, with films like this, "So Big" and "Madame X". And, they proved popular enough that they were remade again and again. Apparently the public loved weepy movies about mothers!

As for me, I've seen the first remake of this. "Stella Dallas" (1937) was a very well made Barbara Stawyck vehicle and it was remade yet again with Bette Midler a couple decades ago. The 1925 version is the first...a pretty silent picture that might be best viewed with a box of tissues nearby!

When the story begins, Stephen Dallas (Ronald Colman) is rich and happy an looking to marry the neighbor girl. However, his father was apparently embezzling and when it made the newspapers, the old man killed himself. Stephen, wanting a fresh start, moved to a small mill town where he got a job as a lawyer for the company.

Stella (Belle Bennett) notices the handsome young man and invites him to dinner. Almost immediately after, they marry and have a little girl. However, all is not good, as the unsophisticated Stella never really fits in with society....and her new 'friends' do little to help her. She is, essentially, a bit rough around the edges...but you wonder why Stephen didn't help her with this.

Soon Stephen receives a promotion and when he returns home to tell Stella, he finds Mr. Munn in the house. Munn is a guy she met at the race track and she invited him home for dinner with them. Not surprisingly, Stella's not thinking about what others might think about her bringing a man home and Munn's beer drinking didn't do much to make Stephen like him! To make things worse, Stella refuses to go to New York for Stephen's new job...and so he goes alone...hoping that Stella and the baby will soon join him. But instead, years pass and Stella is still back in this small town with her child who will soon be a young lady. And, Stella is spending a lot of time with Munn...and local tongues are certainly wagging over this. And, Stephen was lonely as well and began seeing a local widow. Not surprisingly, although Stephen and Stella are still married, the days are numbered for that marriage. What's next and how does the child play into all this? See the film and find out for yourself.

I was surprised when I watched this film on the Criterion Channel. Why? Because usually silents are shown along with some incidental music but there is absolutely none here....just silence. It's not a huge problem, as some silents have had recent ill-fitting scores added to them....just something you might want to be aware of if you watch.

So is this version worth seeing? Absolutely. It's very well made...with a nice cast and production values. It was obvious that this was a prestige project for Samuel Goldwyn and it looks great. My only complaint, and it's small, is that you don't really totally connect with Stella, as she wasn't completely pitiable...and often made stupid choices.