Editing Greed (1924 film) (section)

==Production==
{{quote box|bgcolor=|align=right|width=25%|quote=I intended to show men and women as they are all over the world, none of them perfect, with their good and bad qualities, their noble and idealistic sides and their jealous, vicious, mean and greedy sides. I was not going to compromise. I felt that after the last war, the motion picture going public had tired of the cinematographic 'chocolate éclairs' which had been stuffed down their throats and which had in a large degree figuratively ruined their stomachs with this overdose of Saccharose in pictures. Now, I felt, they were ready for a large bowl of plebeian but honest corned beef and cabbage'.|source=—Erich von Stroheim.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=7}} }}

===Background and writing===
''Greed'' is based on the American author [[Frank Norris]]'s 1899 novel ''[[McTeague|McTeague: A Story of San Francisco]]''. Von Stroheim's interest in ''McTeague'' can be traced back to January 1920, when he told a journalist that he wanted to film the novel.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=188}} He had lived in San Francisco in the early 1910s, living there in poverty like that of the story's characters.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=186}} He eventually moved to [[Los Angeles]], and worked his way up in the film industry from extra to acting in villainous or aristocratic roles in films.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=25–58}} By 1919, von Stroheim had finally become a successful director in his own right at [[Universal Pictures|Universal Film Manufacturing Company]], although one with a reputation of going over budget and over schedule.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=122}}

Upon the appointment of [[Irving Thalberg]] as general manager at Universal, von Stroheim's defiance of commercial and industrial norms was no longer tolerated. After Thalberg's prior shutdown of ''[[Foolish Wives]]'' in 1921 (which had been shooting nonstop for eleven months), and after six weeks of filming on ''[[Merry-Go-Round (1923 film)|Merry-Go-Round]]'', von Stroheim was finally fired from the studio on October 6, 1922. This was a step unprecedented in Hollywood, heralding a new era in which the producer and the studio would hold artistic control over actors and directors.{{sfnm|1a1=Wakeman|1y=1987|1p=1073|2a1=Lennig|2y=2000|2p=188}} However, by this time von Stroheim had received several offers of contracts with other studios, even before being fired from Universal. He had met with executives of the [[Goldwyn Pictures|Goldwyn Company]] on September 14, 1922, less than a month before, and he formally signed with them in late November.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=114}}

[[File:Erich Von Stroheim 1 Motion Picture Classic 1920.png|thumb|left|upright|Erich von Stroheim in 1920, the year he first publicly expressed interest in adapting the novel ''[[McTeague]]'']]
Von Stroheim chose his new studio because of the level of artistic freedom he was offered, which he had been denied at Universal under Thalberg. In March of that year, Frank Joseph (Joe) Godsol was elected president of Goldwyn Pictures. Board of Directors member Abe Lehr publicly promised that "each director will have his own staff and will be given every facility in putting into production his own individuality and personality."{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=188}} Von Stroheim signed a one-year, three-feature deal with Goldwyn on November 20, 1922. The deal stipulated that each feature would be between {{convert|4,500|and|8,500|ft|m}} long,{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=189–190}} cost no more than $175,000 and be completed in fourteen weeks. It also promised von Stroheim $30,000 for each completed film.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=116}}

Lehr initially hired von Stroheim in order to film a big-budget version of the [[operetta]] ''[[The Merry Widow]]'', which the producer saw as a guaranteed hit; von Stroheim, however, convinced Lehr to let him make ''Greed'' first, promising low costs.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=189}} A press release of February 1923 said that although von Stroheim had "run rather freely to large sets in the past, [he] seems to have reformed—or surrendered—for it is announced that he will not build any sets at all."{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=189}}

Von Stroheim wrote a highly detailed 300-page script that contained camera movements, composition and [[Film tinting|tint]] cues.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=190}} Among the changes that he made to Norris's novel was giving McTeague the first name of John and omitting Norris's [[anti-Semitism]].{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|p=31}} ''McTeague'' had been filmed once before as ''[[McTeague (film)|Life's Whirlpool]]'', a five-reel short by [[William A. Brady]]'s World Pictures, starring Broadway star [[Holbrook Blinn]] as McTeague, which had been released in 1916.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=186}} Film critics disliked this version and von Stroheim later criticized Blinn's performance.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|pp=116–117}} According to film historian [[Kevin Brownlow]], ''Life's Whirlpool'' was also shot on location in Death Valley.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|p=20}}

Von Stroheim was known for his meticulous perfectionism and attention to detail,{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=8–9}} as well as his insolence towards studio executives.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=2}} Working on ''Greed'', von Stroheim set out to make a realistic film about everyday people and rejected the Hollywood tropes of glamor, happy endings and upper-class characters.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=217}} Before shooting began, von Stroheim told a reporter:

{{blockquote|1=It is possible to tell a great story in motion pictures in such a way that the spectator forgets he is looking at beauteous Gertie Gefelta, the producer's pet and discovers himself intensely interested, just as if he were looking out of a window at life itself. He will come to believe that what he is gazing at is real—a cameraman was present in the household and nobody knew it. They went on in their daily life with their joys, fun and tragedies and the camera stole it all, holding it up afterward for all to see.{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|p=1074}}}}

In early January 1923, von Stroheim arrived in San Francisco, where he scouted locations and finished writing the shooting script. While researching for ''Greed'', he attended society functions in town and met many friends of Frank Norris, including his brother [[Charles Gilman Norris|Charles]] and his sister-in-law [[Kathleen Norris|Kathleen]].{{sfnm|1a1=Curtiss|1y=1971|1p=164|2a1=Koszarski|2y=1983|2p=122}} To capture the authentic spirit of the story, von Stroheim insisted on filming on location in San Francisco, the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] mountains, the Big Dipper Mine in [[Iowa Hill, California|Iowa Hill]],{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|pp=156–159}} and Death Valley.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=29}} He rented some of the actual buildings that had inspired scenes in the novel.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=16}} Other locations included [[Cliff House, San Francisco|Cliff House]] and San Francisco Bay.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=190}}

Norris had similarly scouted settings for his novel and chose the upstairs of a building on the corner of Polk and California street as McTeague's dentist office, as well as many of the saloons and lunch counters in the area.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|p=16}} Von Stroheim discovered that many of the locations that Norris had described, such as Polk Street, had been destroyed in the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]], but he was able to find suitable period locations on Hayes and Laguna streets.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=124}} For authenticity, von Stroheim had no sets built in San Francisco and only redecorated existing locations, such as saloons, butcher shops, and wooden shacks, thus saving on construction costs.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=190}}

Despite the strict conditions of von Stroheim's initial contract, Goldwyn approved the lengthy shooting script before filming began. Production Manager J. J. Cohn later explained that "they thought they could control him when the time comes."{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=127}}

===Casting===
[[File:Souls for Sale (1923) - Greed fragment.webm|thumb|left|thumbtime=19|Scene of the film ''[[Souls for Sale]]'', showing von Stroheim directing Jean Hersholt in a screen test for ''Greed'']]
With the exception of [[Jean Hersholt]], all of the main actors in ''Greed'' were regulars of von Stroheim's earlier films, a group dubbed the "Stroheim Stock Company".{{sfn|Finler|1972|pp=17–18}} [[Gibson Gowland]] had previously appeared in ''[[Blind Husbands]]'' and returned to the U.S. from Scotland for the role of John McTeague. [[Cesare Gravina]], who played the junkman Zerkow, and [[Dale Fuller (actor)|Dale Fuller]], the lottery-ticket seller Maria, had both appeared in ''Foolish Wives'' and would later appear in ''The Merry Widow''. Other actors in von Stroheim's Stock Company included [[Sidney Bracey]], [[Mae Busch]], [[George Fawcett]], [[Maude George]], [[Hughie Mack]] and [[George Nichols (actor)|George Nichols]].{{sfn|Finler|1972|pp=17–18}}

Trina was the most difficult role to cast, and [[ZaSu Pitts]] was hired at the last minute,{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=190}} after von Stroheim had rejected both [[Claire Windsor]] and [[Colleen Moore]].{{sfn|Curtiss|1971|p=165}} Pitts had previously acted only in comedic roles; ''Greed'' was her first dramatic part. The actress later appeared in both ''[[The Wedding March (1928 film)|The Wedding March]]'' and ''[[Hello, Sister! (1933 film)|Hello, Sister!]]'' Von Stroheim said that Pitts was "the greatest psychopathological actress in the American cinema" and that "she should not be in comedy, for she is the greatest of all tragediennes."{{sfnm|1a1=Finler|1y=1972|1p=17|2a1=Koszarski|2y=1983|2p=119|3a1=Wakeman|3y=1987|3p=1074}}

Von Stroheim had met casually with Jean Hersholt to discuss the role of Marcus Schouler, but he was initially reluctant to cast him. However, after Hersholt adjusted his appearance and wardrobe to more closely resemble Schouler, von Stroheim changed his mind on the spot.{{sfn|Finler|1972|pp=22–23}} With the exception of Gowland, von Stroheim shot extensive [[screen test]]s of all the other actors at Goldwyn with cinematographer [[Paul Ivano]].{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=119}} A scene from the Goldwyn film ''[[Souls for Sale]]'' is thought to be behind-the-scenes footage of von Stroheim directing ''Greed'', but it actually depicts him directing Hersholt during one of these screen tests.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=122}}

===Filming===
Filming commenced in San Francisco on March 13, 1923 and concluded in October, for a total of 198 days, producing about 85 hours of footage. The San Francisco location shooting wrapped in late June.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=124}}{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=135}} Despite the initial contract between von Stroheim and Goldwyn, Lehr agreed to double the film's budget to $347,000 three days after shooting began.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|pp=21, 37}} Von Stroheim had already worked twenty-hour days for over two months of pre-production and collapsed on set after a few days of filming. He remained in good health for the remainder of the shoot.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=124}} This was not the only mishap on set; during scenes shot at San Francisco Bay, Cesare Gravina developed double pneumonia, making von Stroheim bitterly ashamed that Gravina's entire performance was later cut from the film, despite the actor's dedication to the role.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=27}} Hersholt was knocked unconscious by Gowland during the picnic scene (later cut) in which McTeague and Schouler fight, and Pitts was nearly run over by a trolley.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=129}} In late May, Lehr visited von Stroheim on the set and praised the footage that he had seen, saying that "it has atmosphere, color and realism that could not possibly have been reproduced in the studio."{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=135}}

One scene that von Stroheim re-shot at the studio's insistence depicted a younger McTeague in his apprenticeship with Potter. In the scene McTeague is too embarrassed to examine the teeth of a young woman and Potter has to take over. A thinly disguised ZaSu Pitts portrayed the woman so that the audience would see a resemblance to Trina, but the studio insisted that the scene was confusing and von Stroheim agreed to re-shoot it.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=135}} Von Stroheim also conceded his original vision when shooting the bar confrontation between McTeague and Schouler. The director wanted to have a knife thrower actually throw a real knife at Gowland's head; Von Stroheim was overruled by Gowland himself, who refused to participate in such a dangerous stunt. A [[special-effect]] shot was created instead.{{sfn|Finler|1968|p=52}}

[[File:Greed, 1924, 19 epilogo.jpg|thumb|The [[Death Valley]] scenes, including this final sequence, were filmed over two months during midsummer, in harsh conditions.]]
After filming in San Francisco finished in June, the production traveled to [[Death Valley]]. Most Hollywood films that required desert scenes settled for the local [[Oxnard]] dunes north of Los Angeles, but von Stroheim insisted on authenticity.{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|p=1074}} Death Valley had no roads, hotels, services or running water and was teeming with [[tarantulas]], [[scorpions]], [[rattlesnakes]] and [[Latrodectus|black widow spiders]]. The nearest populated area to the shoot was around {{convert|100|mi|km}} away, and insurance coverage was denied.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=18}} Filming in Death Valley lasted through July and August 1923, allowing Gowland and Hersholt to grow the beards necessary for the sequence.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=136}} During production, the highest temperature officially recorded in Death Valley was {{convert|123|F|C}}.<ref name="Station Details Station Name: DEATH VALLEY, CA US">{{cite web|url=http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GHCNDMS/stations/GHCND:USC00043603/detail |title=View Data |website=[[National Climatic Data Center]] |access-date=28 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220031546/http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GHCNDMS/stations/GHCND%3AUSC00043603/detail |archive-date=December 20, 2013}}</ref> Of the forty-three members of the cast and crew who worked on the Death Valley sequence, one cook died of [[heatstroke]] and fourteen others became ill and were sent back to Los Angeles{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=23}} [[Heat exhaustion]] was a daily occurrence for members of the crew. Hersholt spent a week in the hospital after shooting was completed, suffering from internal bleeding.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=18}} He claimed to have lost {{convert|27|lb|kg}},{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=23}} and was covered in blisters due to severe [[sunburn]] by the end of filming. (Despite the hardship, Hersholt later stated that he considered his role in ''Greed'' to be the best of his career.){{sfn|Finler|1972|p=24}} In order to motivate Hersholt and Gibson during the scene where they fight, von Stroheim yelled at them, "Fight, fight! Try to hate each other as much as you both hate me!"{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=24}}

Throughout filming, von Stroheim brought musicians on set to help create the appropriate mood for the actors. For the Death Valley scenes, he employed a [[harmonium]] and a [[violin]] player.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=81}} A theme inspired by the music of Italian operatic composer [[Ruggero Leoncavallo]] was composed and played throughout production. Other music included the popular songs "[[Nearer, My God, to Thee]]", "[[Hearts and Flowers]]", "[[Oh Promise Me]]", and "Call Me Thine Own".{{sfn|Curtiss|1971|p=173}}

Filming moved to [[Placer County]] on September 13 and continued for less than a month. The Big Dipper Mine had been closed for ten years, so von Stroheim convinced the Goldwyn Company to lease and renovate it for filming. While first visiting Placer County during pre-production, von Stroheim had met Harold Henderson, a local resident and fan of Norris's whose brother had worked in the mine in the 1890s. Von Stroheim hired Henderson to oversee the renovation of the mine and other locations in Iowa Hill. Von Stroheim also wanted to restore the local cemetery for a newly invented scene depicting McTeague's mother's funeral, but the Goldwyn Company turned down this proposal. Inside the mine, von Stroheim usually shot at night between 9&nbsp;pm and 6&nbsp;am.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|pp=138–139}} Cinematographer [[William Daniels (cinematographer)|William H. Daniels]] later said that von Stroheim insisted on descending {{convert|3,000|ft|m|sigfig=1}} underground for realism, even though the setting would have looked exactly the same at {{convert|100|ft|m|sigfig=1}}.{{sfn|Finler|1972|p=26}} Filming of ''Greed''  was completed on October 6, 1923,{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=190}} after 198 days.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=140}} Despite his original contract stipulating that all films be under {{convert|8,500|ft|m|sigfig=2}}, von Stroheim shot a total of {{convert|446,103|ft|m}} of footage for the film, running approximately 85 hours.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=215}}

===Style===
[[File:Greed, 1924, 05 passaggio del carro funebre in profondità di campo.jpg|thumb|left|The wedding scene made innovative use of [[deep focus]] cinematography, despite challenges with the lighting.]]

Von Stroheim's biographer Arthur Lennig compared the director's visual style to that of pioneering filmmaker [[D. W. Griffith]] but felt that "unlike Griffith, who viewed scenes as though through a fourth wall, von Stroheim shot from many sides and from different angles; he also used deep focus, meaningful foregrounds and effective camera movement."{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=219}} ''Greed''{{'}}s lighting included high contrast, [[chiaroscuro]] techniques with pools or shafts of lights illuminating an otherwise dark space. Examples of this technique include the scene where McTeague begs Trina for money in a pool of moonlight and the merry-go-round scene in which characters alternate between appearing only as dark silhouettes and being fully lit.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=76, 202}}

Daniels was especially proud of the wedding scene, which has a funeral procession visible through the window and was difficult to light properly.{{sfnm|1a1=Finler|1y=1972|1p=26|2a1=Lennig|2y=2000|2p=77}} ''Greed'' has often been praised for its use of [[deep focus]] cinematography, seventeen years before its more-famous application in ''[[Citizen Kane]]''.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=206}} Daniels sometimes used [[incandescent light]]s instead of studio [[Arc lamp|arc lights]], due to the constraints of his locations.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=134}} He later said that von Stroheim "was one of the first to insist on no make-up for men, on real paint on the walls which were shiny, real glass in the windows, pure white on sets and in costumes&nbsp; ... everything up to then had been painted a dull brown" to mask the scratches on worn-down film prints.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=77}} Although not officially credited, [[Ernest B. Schoedsack]] worked on the picture as a camera operator.{{sfn|Weinberg|1972|p=21}}

Von Stroheim favored [[Soviet montage theory|"Soviet-style" montage editing]]. ''Greed'' often uses dramatic close-ups and cuts instead of long takes. One exception to this is the scene in which Schouler becomes angry with McTeague and breaks his pipe, which was shot in one long, unbroken take. Von Stroheim also used symbolic cross-cutting for dramatic effect, such as his use of animals in the film and a shot of a train when McTeague and Trina first kiss.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=75–76, 202}} In 1932 film theorist Andrew Buchanan called von Stroheim a montage director, stating that "each observation would be captured in a 'close-up' and at leisure, he would assemble his 'shots' in just the order which would most forcibly illustrate the fact."{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=142}} In the 1950s film critic [[André Bazin]] praised von Stroheim's use of ''[[mise en scène]]'' and noted his "one simple rule for directing. Take a close look at the world, keep on doing so and in the end it will lay bare for you all its cruelty and ugliness."{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=142}}

Despite von Stroheim's reputation as a perfectionist, ''Greed'' contains several [[anachronisms]]. In the scenes on Polk Street, the main characters are clothed in 1890s fashions, but the extras wear 1920s clothing. Von Stroheim did his best to avoid such historical mistakes; he shot only those buildings that were from the era ''Greed'' was set in, and he kept motor vehicles out of sight while filming. Daniels stated that, despite his desire for authenticity, von Stroheim sometimes had walls knocked out of real locations to achieve a desired camera position.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|p=22}}

===Themes===
Frank Norris's novel belongs to the literary school of [[Naturalism (literature)|naturalism]] founded by French author [[Émile Zola]].{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=187}} ''McTeague'' depicts the fate of its lower-class characters in terms of heredity and their environment,{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|p=1073}} with the belief that "man's nature, despite free will, is determined by genetic and environmental factors"{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=187}} and that heredity controls fate, despite efforts at upward mobility.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=118}} This literary style was influenced by [[Charles Darwin]] and portrayed characters whose higher states of being, the rational and compassionate, are in conflict with their lower states, the ''bête humaine'' (human beast).{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=118}} ''McTeague'' was first published in 1899 and was inspired by an October 1893 murder case in which Patrick Collins, a poor husband with a history of beating his wife Sarah, finally stole her money and stabbed her to death at her San Francisco workplace. Sarah Collins worked at the Lest Norris kindergarten, which was financed by Norris's family.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=186}}{{sfn|Rosenbaum|1993|pp=16-18}}

Von Stroheim did not see ''Greed'' as political and told a journalist that he considered it to be like a [[Greek tragedy]]. Despite the characters' struggles with poverty and class, von Stroheim followed the naturalist technique of portraying characters whose lives are driven by fate and their inner nature. Von Stroheim employed variations of this theme in his other films, which often involved a commoner falling in love with an aristocrat or royal.{{sfn|Koszarski|1983|p=129}}

[[File:Greed, 1924, 06 banchetto.jpg|thumb|right|In the wedding banquet scene, Trina's mother grotesquely devours her food.]]

One of the cinematic techniques by which von Stroheim portrayed naturalism was animal symbolism.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=195–196}} In ''Greed'' McTeague is associated with a canary, only briefly mentioned in the novel.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=198}} Von Stroheim altered Norris's original ending and has McTeague release the canary in Death Valley.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=214}} McTeague buys Trina a female canary as a wedding gift and early in their marriage von Stroheim cuts from a shot of them kissing to birds fluttering wildly in their cage.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=198, 200}} Another scene with animal imagery includes cross-cutting between a cat attempting to pounce on the canaries in the scene where Schouler bids goodbye to McTeague and Trina without telling them that he has informed on McTeague.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=198}} Dogs, cats and monkeys are associated with various supporting characters.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=195–196}} Von Stroheim also used the naturalist technique of giving characters specific objects, gestures or phrases that repeat throughout the film as a visual ''[[leitmotif]]''. For example, Trina tugs on her lips and McTeague fiddles with his birdcage.{{sfn|Finler|1968|pp=31, 38}}

Throughout his career von Stroheim used grotesque imagery and characters. This is most apparent in the wedding-banquet scene, which includes a midget, a hunchback, a woman with buck teeth and a boy on crutches.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=87–88}} The wedding guests violently and crudely devour their meal like animals. This scene was unlike any other in films of that period, which treated meals with dignity and a sense of communion.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|pp=204–206}} Other instances of grotesque imagery include Trina's fingers becoming infected and amputated.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=211}} Von Stroheim contrasted love scenes between McTeague and Trina with their ugly, lower-class environment, such as the sewer with the dead rat and a garbage truck driving by as they kiss.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=95}}

As in his other films, von Stroheim used Christian imagery and symbols, such as crosses and churches.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=91}} Trina first shows signs of greed on [[Easter Sunday]] and is murdered by McTeague on [[Christmas Eve]]. Christmas Eve was often depicted in von Stroheim's films and was close to the date of his father's death.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=90}} Lennig asserted that the character of McTeague's father (who was only briefly mentioned in the novel) is based on von Stroheim's own father, while McTeague's mother is a tribute to von Stroheim's mother, to whom ''Greed'' is dedicated.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=193}} Von Stroheim stated that he considered all of his good qualities to have come from his mother and all of his bad qualities to have come from his father.{{sfn|Lennig|2000|p=194}}