Riviera Revels Travelaugh No 6: Cold Feats. 1927. France/USA. Directed by Harry Lachman. With Michael Powell. 4K DCP courtesy BFI National Archive. US premiere. Silent. 8 min.
After serving an apprenticeship with the American director Rex Ingram at his studio in Nice, a very young Michael Powell stepped out on his own with a series of silent shorts, shot in and around the Cote d’Azur. Directed by Harry Lachman (who himself would become a feature director of some standing), the “Travelaughs” featured a group of English tourists on a tour of the region’s natural wonders, punctuated by comic bits from the most eccentric member of the group, a befuddled birdwatcher named Cicero Simp (played with aplomb by Powell himself). The Red Shoes these are not, but they each illustrate Powell’s fascination with the cinema and his nearly fantastic dedication to it—as demonstrated by the mad stunts he undertakes without the evident aid of a double. The BFI has restored seven films from the series, which will be shown with Powell’s early “quota quickie” features.
Hotel Splendide. 1932. Great Britain. Directed by Michael Powell. Screenplay by Ralph Smart, based on the story by Philip Macdonald. With Jerry Verno, Anthony Holles, Edgar Norfolk. 4K DCP courtesy BFI National Archive. US Premiere. 53 min.
“Powell’s amiable ‘Quickie’ comedy stars music hall veteran Jerry Verno as a lowly clerk who inherits a hotel, but gets more than he bargained for when various guests turn out to be crooks. Watch out for the cameo from Powell himself” (BFI).