The Great Gabbo
About The Great Gabbo
Ventriloquist Gabbo (Erich von Stroheim) eats, drinks, and smokes while his dummy Otto talks and sings. His assistant Mary (Betty Compson) leaves, because he will only say what he feels through Otto. Two years later he is a star, and Mary is married to the dancer Frank (Donald Douglas), who is on the same bill. Gabbo courts her in his own voice. She tells him she loves Frank, then says "I love you" to the dummy. He punches Otto, apologizes, and weeps. He storms the finale, is thrown off the stage, and fired. Mary tries to speak to him. He walks away as workers take his name off the marquee.
Cast & crew
More about The Great Gabbo
James Cruze directed. Hugh Herbert wrote the screenplay from Ben Hecht's 1928 story "The Rival Dummy." Ira H. Morgan was the cameraman. Howard Jackson wrote the music, with songs by Lynn Cowan, Paul Titsworth, Donald McNamee, and King Zany. Sono Art-World Wide Pictures released it on 12 September 1929. Some sequences were shot in Multicolor. Those reels now survive only in black and white, and the production number "The Ga Ga Bird" is missing from known prints. A short public-domain version runs 68 minutes.
Themes
Background
Sono Art put the revue numbers into an early talkie melodrama, with part of the stage show photographed in Multicolor in 1929.
Making
Von Stroheim is sometimes listed as an uncredited co-director. The released film carries Cruze's name. The Library of Congress restoration, issued on DVD by Kino International, is black and white.
Look
Ira H. Morgan shot the film, including the Multicolor revue numbers that now exist only in black and white.
Technique
Selected sequences were printed in Multicolor. Surviving copies of those reels are black and white.
Music
Howard Jackson wrote the score. Lynn Cowan, Paul Titsworth, Donald McNamee, and King Zany wrote the songs, among them "The Web of Love" and Otto's "I'm Laughing."
Preservation
The Library of Congress restored a black-and-white print, later issued on DVD by Kino International. The Multicolor sequences do not survive in color, and "The Ga Ga Bird" is missing. A 68-minute public-domain cut also circulates.
Notes
- Otto sings "I'm Laughing" and the lollipop song "Icky," with Gabbo drinking and eating at the same time.
- Mary and Frank's numbers include "I'm in Love with You" and "The Web of Love.
- The opening credits name Multicolor for the color sequences. The process folded in 1932 and its assets went to Cinecolor.
- Marjorie Kane plays Babe, who shares "Every Now and Then" and "The New Step" with Frank.
Scenes
- Gabbo eats and drinks onstage while Otto sings.
- After Mary speaks to the dummy, he punches Otto and then embraces it.
- Workmen pull the letters of his name off the marquee.
Influenced by
- The Rival Dummy (Ben Hecht, 1928)
Also available
- Internet Archive (great_gabbo)
- Kino International DVD (Library of Congress restoration)
Quotes
I love you.
