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Fragmented Pieces: Writing the History of the Lost Hollywood Films 115
treated as if he were American, i.e. as part of the system. Thus, the emphasis is
altered: instead of discussing the particular “Seastrom qualities”, with more or
less explicit references to his Swedish background, American critics now undertake
a general evaluation of his directorial know-how, noting, in particular, his
shortcomings.
In The Masks of the Devil, too, dissolves filling the function of analogies
appear. However, the most interesting dissolves in this film rather seem to express
thoughts or images that would normally only be visible to the inner eye of
one of the characters.
A dissolve functioning in a similar way to those in He Who Gets Slapped
and that from the cutting continuity script of The Tower of Lies, also occurs in
the cutting continuity script of The Masks of the Devil, in the first part of the
script, where Count Palester (Theodore Roberts), an artist, is painting the archangel
Michael and the Devil, while Baron Reiner poses as Michael.
No. 14 (Reel 1) MS of Count Palester standing beside painting of Michael, CAMERA
MOVES UP past Count Palester to CU of Michael’s head
DISSOLVE TO
15 BIG HEAD CU of Baron Reiner, CAMERA MOVES BACK to MCU of Baron Reiner
– . 50
This dissolve may appear as a simple device, with the only function of establishing
a link between the painting and the model. However, as it is gradually revealed
during the unfolding of the story, the short sequence contains a highly
ambiguous subtext, not least through the ironic juxtaposition of Michael and
the person who, despite his posing as an angel, appears to be quite devilish. A
link between Michael and the Devil as the two main characters of the painting
(or a glass window, for which the painting serves as a preliminary study) was
established in an introductory title which, according to the script, was followed
by an insert of the window. Later in the script, in a couple of superimpositions
combined with a mirror, Baron Reiner appears talking to a double, who seems
to be the Devil. This also recalls Örjan Roth-Lindberg’s discussion referred to in
a previous chapter on the general importance of mirrors, doubles and masks in
Sjöström’s films.
Paul Bern’s critical remarks on Marion’s original script deserves to be quoted
in relation to the dissolves, as they are of importance for the technique developed
during the work on the film:
Most of the dream pictures are merely picturized thoughts along the old-fashioned
line. They lack the power of the same device as used by O’Neill in THE STRANGE
INTERLUDE, because what he did constantly was to contrast thought and action.
Thus, when Helene comes to the studio, if the shadow figures of Reiner crosses to her
in the presence of her husband, and kisses her passionately, then you would have