Susanna

After he lost out in a power struggle at Paramount, Jesse Lasky went to Fox, where he produced some innovative pictures that were not particularly successful at the box office. This is one of them.

Most of what is interesting about this movie is the opportunity to see the handiwork of a couple of marionette companies of the era. Otherwise, there is one clear case of miscasting (Gene Raymond is supposed to be the neurotic scion of five generations of puppeteers who has a better relationship with his puppets than human when he looks and acts like a college football star) and some more subtle mistakes in acting and directing: Lilian Harvey is directed in the opening scenes as so withdrawn that I thought she might be playing an idiot, but as she gains in self control and knowledge, she becomes audible. Leslie Banks is quite amusing in a brief foray into the colonies and Georgia Caine handles the confidante-out-for-herself role very well.

Although this is a visually striking film, there are script problems. There is an interesting subtext about the relationship of identity and control as various people insist that they are Suzanne, the Lilian Harvey character, before the matter is sorted out. Had the film makers had a little more confidence in their audience, this might have turned into a better movie.

A friend just sent me a great copy of this film. It is black and white, but primarily sepia-colored when the stage performances are shown.

From the first I felt an empathy for poor Suzanne who practiced for hours and was forced by her manager (well-played by Leslie Banks) to isolate from fans or friends. Her helper, "Mama", was in sympathy, but was out for what she could get. She tirelessly keeps Suzanne practicing her ballet steps.

When Suzanne meets Tony the puppeteer, her manager throws him out, as he fears she will leave the act. He is jealous in a personal sense as well. Even when Tony explains he wants to sketch a puppet of Suzanne, The Baron gets angry. Though he never appreciates her fine singing voice and her lovely stage dancing, he is quick to pocket a lot of Suzanne's earnings. He also uses psychology on Suzanne to get her to marry him. Hinting that she will be without her act if she does not, Suzanne is afraid to give up her dancing and singing. She almost tearfully asks "the Baron" to marry her and it is arranged.

When Suzanne (beautifully portrayed by Lillian Harvey) sang and did her stage performances, I felt pleasantly surprised by the lovely intertwining harmonies supplied by the puppeteers, who had their people sing and dance with lovely precision. The singing voices are reminiscent of the haunting harmonies of the voices in Merrie Melodies cartoons of the 30s and also films I love of the early 30s.

When Suzanne is doing her act "flying through the air" from the audience to the stage, Tony begs her not to marry the Baron. Thus, she recognizes feelings for him which cause her to miss-step. As she falls and ends up in hospital, Suzanne is encouraged by the doctor and Tony daily. Tony helps with her exercises and Suzanne is recovering. She does not wish to marry the Baron and tells him so.

I have not seen many puppet performances, but these are superb! The dancers are perfect replicas of Tony and Suzanne and dance beautifully in time to the music. I do like The Puppet People and a film with Lionel Barrymore where he wreaks vengeance on people, shrinking them to doll size. These are skillfully done, but show the real people in close-ups as well as the puppets.

In I Am Suzanne, we see more close-ups of the puppets. AS reviewers have already pointed out, Suzanne is confused about Tony's feelings when he proposes to her through the life-like puppet he has made of himself (and her). Later he explains that she, as a star, was an ideal to him. He never thought he would be close enough to propose marriage to her.

I will not spoil the denouement of the film for others. I think it is time well spent.

A young puppeteer falls for a dancer in a Svengali-like relationship with her overbearing manager. Unique and quirky early musical featuring Germany-based British star Lilian Harvey, whose life was worthy of a film of its own. Not sure why she never succeeded in the States because on the strength of her performance and personality here she certainly had all the necessary qualities. It's the puppets that make this otherwise ordinary romance memorable, though, especially in a nightmare sequence (which features creepy human puppets as well). Leslie Banks and Georgia Caine share an amusingly comical relationship as Harvey's manager and dance instructor. Not often you see the kind of tinting you find here in a talking picture

You have probably never seen a movie like "I Am Suzanne!" Read the summary and you will get a feel for it, and it will save me from trying to explain why this is such a rewarding, heartwarming film - and those are adjectives I seldom use. I just wonder where the idea came for this picture - 'original' is hardly the word to describe it.

I think it is basically a love story and would be rated 'G' today, as it would have great appeal to children; think "Hans Christian Andersen" (1953) but minus puppets, and that would approximate the depth of the plot. The principals are childlike, and behave like children would think adults behave. Bland 30's leading man Gene Raymond is the puppeteer who thinks his marionettes are almost real, and Lilian Harvey is an unhappy dancer. They fall in love, although she is a greater success than he; few come to see his puppet shows and she is a celebrity.

Special mention should be made of the Yale Puppeteers, the real stars of the piece. When they are on-camera they steal the show, as much as possible for dolls on strings. So good are the Puppeteers that the dolls come to life in the several different set pieces they are in. I always thought puppeteers just stood above the puppet stage, but here they have intricate walkways to follow the movements of the puppets. The whole novel effect of the picture is fascinating and might have been better with a replacement for Raymond. Also if Fox spent a few more dollars on the production.

This one is worth it if you can find it. It comes in one-strip color but my copy was slightly blurry. Find a good movie pirate and buy it.

I Am Suzanne is recognized by many puppeteers as a milestone for puppet movies. Yet, very few have seen it. I worked with the Yale Puppeteers in the late fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties into their very senior years. So being the youngest of their troop, the "Turnabouters", I have many recollections. There are few of us left. Perhaps only Gene Maiden and myself, Charles Taylor, have the knowledge of details regarding the Yale Puppeteers.

I always wondered how the portrait puppets were created. My apprenticeship with Harry Burnett led me to believe that the fine portrait work was beyond his ability. There are clues in Punch's Progress,and Small Wonder, the biographies of the Yale Puppeteers and the latter book including Turnabout Theater. by Forman Brown, that led me to believe that work was carried out with someone with finer sculpting ability . Harry Burnett would have made the bodies, hands and heads of most of the characters but definitely not the true likeness of the puppets representing well known "portrait" personalities.

Harry gave me photographs of Lillian Harvey and Gene Raymond with their puppets. Many years later I happened on the puppet figure of Lilian Harvey without her head. I am pleased to have the headless puppet in my collection. Perhaps one day I can replicate the head to go with the torso. It is possible that the portrait puppets of Lilian Harvey and Gene Raymond were in the possession of the actors. Although, during the mid to late fifties, much of the puppets and personal possessions of the Yale puppeteers were stored in an elephant van by Jimmy Woods owner of Jungle Land. Vandals broke into the unguarded van and photographs, negatives, and antiques were strewn about the field. Many of the puppets had been stolen. This was between 1956 and 1959. Perhaps that is how the Lillian Harvey puppet "lost" her head! Many of these objects had been wrapped in newspaper and stored in boxes. We found some items had been pulled out of their wrappings tearing priceless antiques. I have a set of crèche figures that stood in the Turnabout Theater. Hat brims and small details were destroyed when they were pulled out and so they were left behind in the field. Other objects were totally lost. Fortunately, there were so many items that the thieves didn't scratch the depth of their treasures!

You can see a photograph of the Lilian Harvey and Gene Raymond puppets by going on line and type in Turnabout Theater then go to the Los Angeles Library | Regional History | Turnabout Theater - Then go to TT-001-804 no neg. It's many pages in but worth looking at the fun pictures of the Turnabout Theater family and Yale Puppeteers history. You'll see me in there too!

Another excellent source of information regarding I Am Suzanne, The Yale Puppeteers, Turnabout Theater would be Alan Cook of COPA, Conservatory of Puppetry Arts. Just type COPA puppets.