Bells, the

The story is supposedly based on an Edgar (Allan) Poe poem. In reality its only relation to Poe is that the title only matches that of one of his poems. To be honest, though, it's fair to bring Poe to mind regarding the story, because it's got a lot in common with THE TELL-TALE HEART (and other Poe stories) in that it's an all-consuming guilty conscience that drives much of the narrative. The ending is disappointingly abrupt, but it does seem typical of silent movies in general.

Despite modern-day second billing, Karloff is only a small player here. He has only a few lines of dialogue (or rather, a few intertitles) but a memorable countenance and sly grin. The movie belongs to Barrymore, sometimes playing scenes with ghosts (double-exposure effects shots). Lola Todd (as Catharine) and Edward Phillips (as local gendarme Christian) are pleasant and make a handsome couple.

The print used for the DVD is stunning. Very clean and crisp, no oversharpening, and perfect contrast. There are only two or three instances of jumps caused by missing frames; otherwise there is practically no damage. The packaging says "digitally mastered from an original tinted-and-toned nitrate 35mm print." The DVD transfer is lovely. The musical score is provided by Eric Beheim and "The William Pratt Players" (in honor of Karloff's real name). The score is adequate, played on synthesizers and punctuated by ringing bells when appropriate.

Also on the disc is THE CRAZY RAY originally known as PARIS QUI DORT (yet presented on the DVD with the title AT 3:25). This 1922 short may satisfy fantasy fans who felt let down by the preceding feature, at only 18 minutes long it still weaves an energetic and whimsical story about a group of people who find themselves in a Paris in which everyone else is frozen. They eventually discover the scientist who has invented the method of stopping the world, and convince him to reverse the effect. The print is on par with THE BELLS and features some breathtaking views of 1922 Paris from atop the Eiffel Tower. This extra helps make the DVD a worthwhile purchase for silent film fans, which leads me to my bottom line: if you count yourself a Lionel Barrymore fan, or an admirer of early screen fantasy, or a Karloff completist, you will want this disc. If you're not sure, you might want to consider renting if possible. There are no other disc contents, just the 68-minute feature and the 18-minute short, and it might not be worth your money to add it to the collection.

I hope you found this review useful!