The King on Main Street. 1925. Directed by Monta Bell.

(8/10/01-8/18/01)

Bessie Love may be adorable but this is Adolphe Menjou's show all the way. He is suave and sophisticated as only Adolph Menjou can be in a witty and peppy picture about the king of an impoverished country who comes to America to raise money, only to be charmed by the delights of Coney Island and a young lady from Little Falls, New Jersey.

I somehow forget a lot of the details, but remember the film as being enjoyable with a good pace to it. There is an amazing scene of a rollerr-coaster ride done with a lot of subjective photography. It's a damn exciting scene to watch.

I remember, too, that Bessie Love meets the king by spilling food on him. She is flustered and he registers sophisticated amusement as only Adolphe Menjou can. And then there is that touching moment when the boy who shows the king around Coney Island trades him a harmonica for a knife which was given to him--we later learn--by the king of Spain.

Much as I like Adolphe Menjou's performance there are a couple of things that I find unsatisfying. There is his whole cavalier attitude to the business deal that he hopes will save his country. This is important. Menjou's character may be a playboy but at the same time he seems matue enough to recognize the importance of the situation and act on it. His disregard doesn't make sense to me.

I am also bothered by the fact that he submits to blackmail at the end in order to save Bessie Love's reputation. This would be fine and dandy if he himself were being blackmailed, but he is actually selling out his country for personal reasons. That left a bad taste in my mouth. However, the print was incomplete so we may not know all the details about this. I suspect this because the film ends with the king agreeing to marry to save his country. Since this was precisely what the business deal was intended to avoid things seem a bit unclear. Yet, since the business deal was so unfavorable to the country the marriage may indeed have been necessary.

But the last part of the film is confusing and I am sure it is due to the incompleteness of the print. There is the matter of the locked door. The king and the young lady are accidentally locked on the balcony. It is presumed that they will have to stay there all night. But later someone comes and opens the door as if it hadn't been locked at all. This is confusing. And just what did go on on that balcony? The blackmailer accuses the king of abusing his host's hospitality. This may havejust been a false accusation, but not very much seems to have gone on on that balcony. There is not even enough to suggest that the king and the young lady had developed really serious feelings for each other. Yes, the king was attracted to her, but they both seemed to have been basically cordial to each other.

Whatever. In what I saw there really wasn't much for Bessie Love to do and that was disappointing. I also didn't like the ending in which the king unhappily gives up his freedom for his country. That was a disappointing ending to a film that had such zest until the final reel or so. The downbeat ending might have worked better if we had been left with assurance that the king's amorous adventures would continue despite his marriage. (Maybe we were expected to conclude that on our own.)