FILM FILM - University of Macau Library

The Shadow of the Silents – A Lady to Love 129
Fig. 23: The transition from the silents: Vilma Banky in A Lady to Love.
The third example also represents a classical device of silent cinema, which once
again enlarges the screen space to contain off-screen space. As Buck returns, his
reappearance is first introduced by his shadow falling across the ground, which
is first observed and interpreted by Lena who (according to the script) “looks
up and sees it, then her head comes rigidly away from Tony’s shoulder and her
eyes go wide with dismay at what she sees.” 26 This recalls a familiar scene from
The Outlaw and His Wife, where Kari (Berg-Ejvind the outlaw, played by
Sjöström) discovers his future rival Arnes for the first time by his shadow cast
on the ground. But The Outlaw and His Wife is not the only example where
Sjöström used a complex play of shadows during his Swedish years. In The
Kiss of Death, which also includes a theme of rivalry, the burglar enters the
scene by night, his silhouette being distinguishable in the darkness. In The
Monastery of Sendomir, the husband discovers his rival through a silhouette
on the window. As we have seen, the device also figured during his Hollywood
years in The Divine Woman. The triangle drama where the intruder casts his
dark shadow is thus repeated in this Hollywood sound film. Moreover, at the