The Great Gabbo
Tags: insanity, romantic, melodrama

Plot synopsis:
The movie follows brilliant ventriloquist "The Great Gabbo" (Stroheim), who increasingly uses his dummy "Otto" as his only means of self-expression—an artist driven insane by his work.
Gabbo's gimmick is his astonishing ability to make Otto talk—and even sing—while Gabbo himself smokes, drinks and eats. Gabbo's girlfriend and assistant Mary (Betty Compson) loves him, but is driven to leave him by his megalomania, superstitions, irritability, and inability to express any human emotion without using Otto as an intermediary. In Otto's voice Gabbo accepts the blame for Mary's leaving and recounts all the things she did for him, but as Gabbo he denies his feelings and tells the dummy to shut up.
Two years later, Gabbo has become a nationally renowned ventriloquist. He is revered for his talent even as he is ridiculed for his eccentricity: he takes Otto with him everywhere he goes, even dining out with him, providing much entertainment to the restaurant patrons. Despite his success he continues to pine for Mary, who is now romantically involved with another singer/dancer, Frank (Donald Douglas). With both Mary and Frank performing in a show in which Gabbo is the headliner, he attempts to win her back. Mary is charmed by Gabbo's new romantic behavior, driving Frank to angry fits of jealousy. As his courtship meets with continued success, Gabbo increasingly expresses his emotions to Mary directly, without using Otto.
One day Gabbo finds that in his absence, Mary has straightened up his dressing room the way she always used to. Convinced that she wants to come back to him, he confronts her with his feelings, admitting his loneliness without her and in the process revealing that he has grown past many of his old failings, such as his superstitions and obsession with his personal success. However, Mary tells him that she loves Frank, and has been married to him since before Gabbo came back into her life. She says that she missed Otto but not Gabbo, and in a last farewell she says "I love you" to Otto.
In profound frustration at this, after Mary is gone Gabbo punches Otto in the face, but immediately apologizes and embraces the dummy, weeping. He then storms onto the stage during the finale and loudly rants at the performers. He is forced off the stage and fired from the show. Mary tries to confront Gabbo afterwards, but he only looks at her sadly and walks away. The film ends with workers taking down the letters of "The Great Gabbo" from the marquee as Gabbo looks on.

Review: THE GREAT GABBO (Sono-Art, 1929), directed by James Cruze, adapted from the story "The Rival Dummy" by Ben Hecht, stars famed director and actor Erich Von Stroheim in his talkie debut as an egotistical ventriloquist named Gabbo, or should I say, THE GREAAAT GABBO.
As time passes, Gabbo increases his fame by becoming a featured headliner in the Manhattan Revue where Mary now performs as a singer and dancer along with her new partner named Frank (Donald Douglas).
In spite that he is more conceited than ever, Gabbo decides he wants Mary back with him, but something happens that will cause Gabbo to go completely insane in a dramatic climax that disrupts the show.Aside from long stretches of dialog and no underscoring, a common practice in early talkies, "The Great Gabbo," though not considered a musical, has its share of production numbers.
What makes this 1929 movie stand out among other musicals at that time is that the orchestration during the stage numbers doesn't sound at all like the usual 1920s score but more-so something from the Ziegfeld Follies.
Kusell, unfortunately, does not have the creativity of a Busby Berkeley, for that mainly the girls on stage simply walk back and forth carrying umbrellas, do some dancing and ballet, but there are never any closeups and the camera seldom moves or intercuts, making some of the eight to ten minute production numbers appear to be a little longer than its time length.
The opening credits listing mentions sequences in Multicolor, but the entire movie itself can be seen today only in black and white.The songs (By Paul Titsworth, Lynn Cowan, Don McNamee and King Zany) from the existing film print include: "I'm Laughing" and "The Lollipop Song-Ickey" (both sung by Otto); "Every Now and Then" (sung by Marjorie Kane and Donald Douglas); "I'm in Love With You" (sung by Douglas and Betty Compson); "The New Step" (sung by Kane); "Caught in the Web of Love" (sung by Douglas and Compton/ chorus); "I'm in Love With You" (dance number); and a finale that includes a montage of dance numbers, including the cut number of "The Ga-Ga Bird" which is shown briefly.
Marjorie "Babe" Kane (famous for her role as WC Fields' daughter in the comedy short THE DENTIST in 1932) supplies some comedy, songs and taps.THE GREAT GABBO is Von Stroheim's show all the way, monocle and all, but not the voice that accompanies his dummy, Otto.
One wonders if Rod Serling, host of TV's "The Twilight Zone" of the 1960s, had seen this movie, since there is an episode that I recall that involves a performer obsessed by his dummy and having conversations with it, for which the dummy runs and later ruins his life and career.I last saw THE GREAT GABBO on Cable TV's The Nostalgia Channel in the early 1990s, and it used to be one of the movies shown on Public Television's SPROCKETS back in the early 1980s.
For a best VHS or DVD print with clearer picture and sound quality, with restored opening and exit music (but minus the reported color sequences), the best recommendation is to obtain a copy from the KINO Video Company.
Bizarre in the extreme but a highly entertaining film about a mad ventriloquist and the woman who loves him.Erich von Stroheim makes his talkie debut as the spooky/mad ventriloquist who often speaks through his dummy (Otto) and eventually goes totally mad.
But they meet up again 2 years later when von Stroheim has become a star.We get several scenes about the masochistic relationship between the stars played out against the background of a big New York revue.
There are several terrific 20s songs in this films and one unforgettable production number with Compson and Donald Douglas as a fly and spider and perched on a giant web.The film also boasts the zippy Marjorie Kane who intros "That New Step." Von Stroheim is good and has a surprisingly light accent, but Compson steals the show as the pathetic assistant who can't understand him.
And the final image deserves its place in the Louvre.)Regardless of if you're prepared for this type of experience, one thing is for sure: the amazing performance of Erich von Stroheim will burn itself into your mind forever.
Just like Gabbo, a man divided between two worlds, this film divides itself between Broadway musical and psychological thriller.
This is the best film I've seen in a long time, and the only reason why I'm rating it an 8 instead of a 10 is that, sadly, the original colour scenes were lost, and some of the scenes are in need of restoration on my DVD copy.
Clunky solid gramophone sound and some sensational Ziegfeld stage numbers make this early talkie musical drama a real treat for viewers forgiving of 1929 movies.
Vile schizophrenic ventriloquist brute, Von Stroheim, with his very creepy dummy (like the terrifying one in the DEAD OF NIGHT sequence with Michael Redgrave) seem somehow to be the toast of the stage.
Other comments on this site will tell you the story and some criticize it's 1929 limits, but really THE GREAT GABBO is an excellent film of its day that rightly and clearly shows the force of Von Stroheim and the expert stage and screen dance entertainment popular in the 20s in the Ziegfeld sequences seemingly filmed right in front of a real stage.
THE GREAT GABBO is a major find for students of 20s art deco, early talkie technology and very strong and effective acting.
All that notwithstanding, the lead role of Gabbo, a man who lives to be successful no matter what it takes, who is willing to forsake personal happiness to achieve, who runs the scope of emotions in minutes, is played with gusto by that wonderful actor(and even greater director) Erich Von Stroheim.
Von Stroheim uses all his European charm(and decadence) as the man who shares life and lives with and through his dummy Otto.
Meet the self-absorbed individualist Gabbo who never acknowledges others who help him gain fame, his ventriloquist dummy Otto, and his stage partner Mary.We soon realize that Gabbo has very superstitious religious beliefs.
Few people would dare be as direct today.The sad thing about communism's failure is that without community all we have left is individualists who, like Gabbo, are only self-absorbed and care nothing for their neighbor, nor acknowledge supportive people.This film is a treasure that should be studied over and over.
There are so many messages you simply can not absorb them in one viewing.Watch for Otto's "I'm laughing" song sequence, it is a precursor to Bobby McFerrin's "Don't worry, Be Happy." An interesting comparison is with this film's theater community and with the community environment of Los Angeles in the modern movie "Crash." How are they the same?
Though I agree with previous reviewers' comments about the good performances turned in by Erich Von Stroheim and Betty Compson, I thought the movie was disappointing overall.
Unfortunately, as a previous reviewer said, these scenes are not as creatively done as those by Busby Berkeley; the choreography is often unappealing, and the dancers don't look very well-rehearsed, though there are some bright spots.Interestingly, the contemporary "Variety" review mentioned a color sequence in the film, which was not present on the Video Yesteryear VHS copy I watched.
So it is for the Great Gabbo.Sound is coming and there are going to be actors that cannot cope with the new form of communication.
It crosses a horror story about a mad ventriloquist with an early-talkie musical revue.
Erich Von Stroheim chews up the scenery as he takes his lady-love (Betty Compson) for granted while interacting primarily with Otto, his wooden dummy.
Betty Compson does a good job as Mary, the lady-love of Gabbos' who finds happiness with another.
Most people who like this film dislike the many musical numbers included.
One of Monogram's 1933 films, "The Girl From Calgary", would interpolate dance footage from "The Great Gabbo", underscored by some different music.
Erich von Stroheim stars as a malevolent ventriloquist in "The Great Gabbo", and one can certainly draw parallels between his once auspicious directorial career and the fate of Gabbo.
Additionally, there's the other plot of a woman who easily makes it on Broadway as singer and dancer, with all the generic backstage drama of the early movie musicals.
Anyhow, the drama and musical plots are horrendous and made worse together.Most of the early talkie backstage musicals (including this one) are awful--creaky, lacking inspired film-making, lousy musical numbers, bad acting and insipid, hackneyed story-lines.
This type of picture isn't supposed to be dramatic; or, this type of drama doesn't work as a musical.Stroheim plays his typical tragic man-you-love-to-hate character, but it's out of place--and probably wouldn't have made a decent film alone.
The Great Gabbo was made as a musical and altho some of the musical numbers and songs are not as good as those in other films of its time, they are interesting and enjoyable to see and hear, at least for some of us lovers of the popular music of the 1920s (and 30s)..
Great Gabbo, The (1929) ** (out of 4)Early talkie has Erich von Stroheim playing Gabbo, a ventriloquist who breaks free from his assistant and then finds huge success on his own with his dummy Otto.
Then, for some unknown reason, the final thirty-minutes pretty much gets away from the Gabbo story and we get some incredibly long music numbers but more on them in a bit.
The best thing about the movie and the only real reason to watch it is for the performance of von Stroheim who is perfectly wicked in the role.
The film is pretty much doing its own thing when out of no where these dance sequences come up and they'll all incredibly bad, poorly staged and most of the time the voices are so high-pitched that you'll be wishing you were watching a silent.
As The Great Gabbo (Erich von Stroheim), as he sees himself, he's nasty, offensive, and disagreeable.
The part where Mary walks out on The Great Gabbo and the Dummy calls her softly back, to be reprimanded by Gabbo is both heartbreaking and creepy as hell.The film, in general, is entertaining, though I have to say I found the number of musical intermissions too much.
As director and actor Erich Von Stroheim did some very weird films and The Great Gabbo is certainly one of them.
In this Von Stroheim is a star attraction in a Ziegfeld Follies type stage review and he is fixated on Betty Compson who used to be his assistant in his act, but walked out on him because he treated her shabbily.Now she is keeping company with Donald Douglas a young hoofer in the show.
That was interesting and like Glorifying The American Girl, The Great Gabbo is a nice filmed record of what these shows were like on stage.
Although Von Stroheim is always interesting, The Great Gabbo's best value is as a record of the type musical revue so popular back then..
Now Erich Von Stroheim is regarded as one of the all time great directors but back in 1930 he was almost unemployable.
He was then hired to star in "The Great Gabbo" and the film showed audiences what a wonderful character actor he was.
People could see and hear him yelling, preening and huffing - sounding exactly the way he looked!!!Erich Von Stroheim plays Gabbo, a conceited meglomaniac, who has a ventriloquist act that he performs on the vaudeville circuit.
During one performance, his assistant and live-in love Mary (Betty Compson) drops a tray and is forced by Gabbo to find another job.
He has a complete break down and ruins the finale and the ending shows him walking forlornly away with Otto as his name is being taken off the theatre marquee.I think the problem with the musical numbers during the last part was that they didn't seem to be incorporated into the plot.
In fact, in his later career, given a great director (Jean Renoir, Billy Wilder) Von Stroheim was superb as an actor.So he returned to acting, and "The Great Gabbo" was the result.
Anyone turning to "The Great Gabbo" to see the artistry of early talking picture musicals will run screaming from the room.
One is not listening to his tunes to recall them for later humming or singing purposes of one's own.Instead, the dominating force of "The Great Gabbo" is the masterful, high strung, egomaniac Von Stroheim.
But she's found another, and it sends him into a tailspin."The Great Gabbo" saved Von Stroheim.
Erich von Stroheim plays Gabbo the ventriloquist, who tyrannizes his beautiful assistant Marie (Betty Compson) until she leaves him.
This film marked the talkie acting debut of Erich Von Stroheim, a great talent on the verge of a sharp professional decline.
The Great Gabbo was a low budget effort produced at the very dawn of the talking picture era, and it suffers from the common defects of many early talkies: the pacing is leaden, the dialog is clunky, and the performances are stiff and self-conscious.
We have no sympathy for him (sympathy for Erich Von Stroheim is another matter), and the other characters are superficial.It doesn't help much that the filmmakers took advantage of the backstage setting by adding gratuitous musical numbers.
That scene does earn points for sheer weirdness, however.In my opinion the only sequence that works is the last one, and it works not in relation to the movie itself but as a sad metaphor for Erich Von Stroheim's career.
For a moment he's no longer Gabbo, he's Erich Von Stroheim, icon of the silent screen, driven mad by noise.
good and unusual film marred by the musical numbers.
This was a very good film that could have been great had it not been a musical.
But, in 1929 when the movie came out, Hollywood seemed to be producing tons of musicals (so they could show off the new medium of talking pictures) and a lot of stage numbers were used to stretch out the film.
I think showing bits and pieces of the musical numbers or eliminating them altogether would have been a good idea in retrospect.Erich von Stroheim played "Gabbo", the world's greatest but seriously flawed ventriloquist.
The film starts with Gabbo unmercifully berating his companion, Mary, and blaming her for every little flaw in his act.
Either way, it's strange that von Stroheim can eat and drink--all the while Otto talks and talks and even lectures Gabbo!
Plus, for 1929, the sound and picture quality on the new Library of Congress restoration released by Kino Video.PS--As a homage to this film, THE SIMPSONS had an episode where a ventriloquist and his dummy, Gabbo, became a huge hit with the kids and briefly put Krusty out of work..
NOTES: Although Mordaunt Hall accorded The Great Gabbo a rave review in The New York Times, he did not list the movie as one of the Ten Best of the Year.
Anyone who enjoys spectacular stage numbers clothed with scads of dancing chorus girls will soon forgive the somewhat stagey off-stage scenes with Mr. Von Stroheim, Miss Compson (and the voice of Master Grandee).
This movie will probably be enjoyable mainly to those of us interested in the early talkie era of films.
It is not your melodrama set to music that you would typically see in 1929.Gabbo (Erich Von Stroheim) is a ventriloquist, apparently living with his girlfriend Mary (Betty Compson) who also helps him in his act.
Time passes, and Gabbo becomes the star of the Manhattan Revue, a successful Ziegfeld-like Broadway production, and a show in which Mary is also starring as a singer and dancer with her partner and boyfriend, Frank (Donald Douglas).
Gabbo even punches Otto saying it is his fault that Mary has left him.The musical part of the film has some lavish numbers that appear very typical of Ziegfeld's productions, although the famous showman had nothing to do with this movie.
Mary seems to hint at this several times early in the film when she says that the only kind words Gabbo ever said to her came from Otto.
At the end of the film, after Mary makes clear to Gabbo she will never return to him and why, Otto never moves or speaks again.
Erich Von Stroheim was particularly good as Gabbo.
The very autocratic von Stroheim makes Otto Preminger look like a pussy cat, and while many of his later roles lacked in humor while playing very severe brooding older men, here he is actually quite funny.
I don't think that there is anything funny about mental abuse, but the way von Stroheim plays the part, his character is so phony that he makes his dummy look real.
Yes, von Stroheim plays a ventriloquist, although not a very good one.
"Every Now and Then" is actually one of the best numbers of the early sound era, with the chorus girls and boys wearing white in the front and black in the back, and when they turned it gives a very interesting effect.
Betty Compson is a very attractive and personable young lady, and when they are reunited when he headlines a Broadway revue where she is now part of a singing and dancing team, it brings on a break down for him that has to be seen to be believed.Yes, Max from "Sunset Boulevard" is acting most melodramatic in an early musical that actually looks pretty expensive considering that it came from one of the Z grade studios of the era, Sono Art World Wide.
Some of the chorus numbers have so many singers and dancers in them there seems barely any room to move on stage, but these early movie musicals we're certainly not at all realistic in a Broadway sensibility..
"The Great Gabbo" is an American movie from 1929, so this one is from over 85 years ago and of course it is a black-and-white film still.