MovieChat Forums > The Grim Game (1919) Discussion > Just saw this on TCM, and it's a very fi...

Just saw this on TCM, and it's a very fine film.


Strong story, good acting, good direction, seldom a dull moment.

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I enjoyed it too, and thought that Houdini came off quite well as leading man.

Too bad about that monotonous musical score, however. The film deserves better.

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Total agree about the dismal score.

I'm no expert, but each character seemed to have their own theme, and I never noticed that in a silent score, so I thought that "modernized" it and was cool. But after only 25 minutes or so, it became annoyingly repetitious, particularly Houdini's "oom-pah" bass. iano part. (Please refer back to the "I'm no expert" part, because I know I didn't say that right.)

Anyway, after getting a late start hitting Play (while still recording), combined with the grating score, and my wife's "I'm not saying a word, you can watch whatever you want" posturing silence, I cut my losses and switched to 'The Good Wife'.
I guess I'll just have to watch the rest of the miraculously recovered piece of Cinematic History some other time and hate the music on my own.

(Wait, my Wife's Not-so-Good crankiness made me switch channels so she would'nt miss The Good Wife.
Is'nt that irony, or an oxymoron or Grounds for divorce or something?)


I prefer the toad less raveled

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Too bad about that monotonous musical score, however.


Not too monotonous, but I felt that it occasionally went into "inappropriate" territory. For example, there were times when I heard the piano playing, and it reminded me of a Family Guy riff on silent comedies, where I was expecting Houdini to have a piano fall on him for comedic effect. I know it's billed as a "suspense," so I felt that even if it was the interim material, it still was a bit wrong.

Give Mankind nothing but calm and order, and Mankind is nothing on its own but a grazing cow.

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My thoughts exactly! I enjoyed it very much.

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Very enjoyable for sure!
Not every day you get to see a movie almost 100 years old!

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You said it...that was a trip.

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I was very impressed with this film and its restoration, although I agree that the score was repetitive and not very good. Silent film melodrama and exaggerated motions aside, I was engrossed in the plot and Houdini's escapades. The airplane chase scene -- in 1919!! -- was riveting. And Ann Forrest, what a beauty!

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For those disappointed in the score, TCM should be blamed for not advertising this more effectively, but they actually aired The Grim Game later the same evening with a different score. I only found out by chance because I happened to glance at their article on "Lost and Found" movies on their website before it aired. I recorded both versions but have yet to watch either. A brief sampling though indicates that the first score (the one those complaining heard) was indeed a little annoying. The second one is a more conventional piano score and is the one I will eventually watch the film with.

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Yes, I just heard today that TCM aired the film with a much better score, later in the evening. The question is, why on earth do things that way? I have to assume they had some sort of contractual obligation to use the first score (that's my guess), but it's a bewildering way to operate.

At any rate, I greatly enjoyed the movie, despite the repetitive music. Good cast, and it was interesting to see a pair of character actors I recognized from the talkie era, Tully Marshall and Arthur Hoyt.

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Damn! I wish I had known TCM was going to show it again, but with a different score. The repetition in the score I had was really annoying after a while.

Anyway, I watched it yesterday and was pretty impressed. Off the top of my head I don't recall ever seeing a Houdini movie before, so this was my first, and I thought he did a very respectable job.

The storyline reminded me of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, 1956, with Dana Andrews.

For a film that's almost 100 years old, it holds up pretty well!


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