Set in the early 20th Century, the film revolves around a man who comes from a mining town and later become respected as he meets and falls for his best friend’s cousin as he would marry her as she would later win a lottery ticket for $5000 as it would tear them apart. It is a film that is really a study of greed and how it consumes people as it is told in a grand style by Erich von Stroheim who also uses text from its original source by novelist Frank Norris in the intertitles. It is a script that also has subplots that includes a story of a junkman and his Mexican girlfriend as the latter was the woman who sold her lottery ticket to one of the protagonists while another revolves around elderly boarders who share the same apartment but have never met as they both would have their encounters with money. Yet, von Stroheim does put a main focus on its narrative as it relates to the character of Dr. John McTeague (Gibson Gowland), his friend Marcus Schouler (Jean Hersholt), and Marcus’ cousin/McTeague’s eventual wife Trina Sieppe (ZaSu Pitts).
Dr. McTeague started off as a young miner who leaves the mine to become an apprentice for a dentist and later starting his own practice at Polk Street in San Francisco where he meets Marcus as they become friends. Marcus would introduce Dr. McTeague to his cousin Trina whom Marcus hopes to marry as Dr. McTeague falls for her but doesn’t want to jeopardize his friendship with Marcus except that Trina would fall for him despite the fact that neither of them come from money like Marcus. When Maria Miranda Macapa (Dale Fuller) sells Trina her lottery ticket that would prove to be worth $5000. The friendship between Marcus and Dr. McTeague falls apart as the former had given the latter his blessing to marry Trina but didn’t realize that some serious money would come in. The tension between the two would come to ahead for years until Marcus leaves San Francisco to become a rancher as he would find ways to ruin Dr. McTeague with Trina becoming stingy as she refuses to spend the money they won leading to chaos and tragedy.
The direction of von Stroheim is truly vast in terms of the vision he had intended to create as the original cut of the film was somewhere between eight to nine hours long when von Stroheim first showed the film in early 1924. Yet, due to a merger between two studios that would become MGM with producer Irving Thalberg being in charge of post-production. The film would then be recut with a 140-minute running time against von Stroheim’s wishes as it would be poorly received upon its initial release. Yet, the film would find a new life in the years to come as attempted reconstructions of the film closer to von Stroheim’s vision had been in the works since the late 1950s as the version that is the closest to what von Stroheim wanted made its premiere at the 1999 Telluride Film Festival with a near four-hour running time featuring still images of the film from books by Jacques-G Perret in 1968 and two versions by Joel Finler and Herman G. Weinberg as the latter also had 400 still images from the film that was never shown as it would be the source for the 1999 reconstructed version.
The 1999 reconstructed version would showcase the usage of actual locations in California including San Francisco, Placer County as the film’s opening scenes in the mine where McTeague came from, and the film’s climax in Death Valley. While there aren’t any movements in the camera, von Stroheim does manage to create some unique compositions in the wide and medium shots where he does a lot to frame a certain shot as well as doing what he can for close-ups. Even as it plays into the drama as the film progresses where Trina would unravel physically where von Stroheim would also create these surreal elements of imagery as it play into the idea of greed. Notably in the subplot involving Maria and her lover in the junkman Zerkow (Cesare Gravina) with the latter claiming there’s plates of gold as there’s recurring images of bone-thin arms holding on to these gold coins with gold being shown in color.
There are also some usage of colors to help maintain a mood whether it is purple for a few scenes at night or multiple colors for a key still shot as it relates to the old couple in their subplot. Even as von Stroheim would create some unique camera angles with these still shots as it play into a much bigger story in what von Stroheim wanted to tell. The film’s climax is shot on location in Death Valley as it plays into McTeague’s fall as he is desperate to become rich yet he has also disgraced himself as von Stroheim’s direction becomes much more vast in its compositions. The final images are among some of the most striking ever captured on film as it doesn’t just play into the fallacies of greed but also how it affects human nature. Overall, von Stroheim crafts a rapturous yet unsettling film about the lives of three people and being consumed with greed.
Cinematographers Ben F. Reynolds and William H. Daniels do amazing work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its approach to low-key lighting for some of the interiors as well as the usage of filters for some key scenes including the usage of yellow in the Death Valley scenes. Editors Erich von Stroheim, Frank Hull, Rex Ingram, and Grant Whytock, with additional edits by June Mathis and Joseph W. Farnham plus Glenn Morgan and consultation by Carol Littleton for the 1999 restoration, do excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward as it helps plays into the drama, suspense, and some of the lighter moments in the film along with some stylish montages that play into the journey of the characters. Art directors Richard Day and Cedric Gibbons do fantastic work with the look of some of the props such as the giant gold tooth for McTeague’s business as well as the interiors of the apartment he stays in as well as the home where Zerkow lives in.
The visual effects work of Sasha Leuterer and Chad Mielke, for the 1999 restoration version, is terrific for enhancing some of the colors including some of the candle lights and sparks from the mine scenes. The film’s music by Robert Israel (along with pieces from William Axt) in its 1999 restoration, is incredible for its orchestral score with its soaring string arrangements, heavy woodwinds, and rumbling percussions as it plays into the drama and suspense as it is a major highlight of the film.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Erich von Stroheim as a balloon maker, Jack McDonald as a sheriff in pursuit of McTeague in its third act, James F. Fulton as a prospector named Cribbens that McTeague meets in the desert, William Barlow as the minister who marries McTeague and Trina, Chester Conklin and Silvia Ashton as Trina’s parents, Jack Curtis and Tempe Pigott as McTeague’s parents, Joan Standing as Trina’s cousin Selina, Max Tyron as Trina’s uncle Oelbermann who helps her with her finances, Erich von Ritzau as the dentist Dr. “Painless” Potter who takes McTeague as his apprentice, Frank Hayes as the veterinarian Charles W. Grannis as an elderly man who lives in the same apartment with McTeague and many others, and Fanny Midgely as Grannis’ neighbor Miss Anastasia Baker who had never noticed Grannis as they would later have their own encounter with a large sum of money but show a direct contrast to the way Trina and McTeague deal with it.
Cesare Gravina and Dale Fuller are excellent in their respective roles as the junkman Zerkow and his wife Maria Miranda Macapa as two people who live in a shanty house with the former claiming there’s gold plates somewhere that would make them rich with the latter being someone who is fooled by her husband’s claims while also dealing with the fact that she sold Trina the lottery ticket that could’ve given them $5000. Jean Hersholt is brilliant as Marcus Schouler as an upper-middle class cousin of Trina whom he hopes to marry as he starts off as a friend of McTeague until money and McTeague’s love for Trina would destroy their friendship as he would later start a life of his own but also still holds a grudge towards McTeague. ZaSu Pitts is amazing as Trina Sieppe as a woman who is from a lower-middle class family as she buys a lottery ticket from Maria that would win her $5000 but becomes obsessed with not spending it as it would lead to ruin as well as deteriorate mentally and emotionally. Finally, there’s Gibson Gowland in an incredible performance as Dr. John McTeague as a miner who leaves his small town to become a dentist’s apprentice and later a dentist as someone who never came from money as he deals with having money but is unsure what to do as he starts to unravel over Trina’s stinginess as well as dealing with failure and loss as it is this chilling and haunting performance.
Greed is a magnificent film from Erich von Stroheim. Although it is very unlikely that audiences will ever see the intended version of what von Stroheim wanted for this film. The 1999 restored version is at least the closest version that audiences will ever get as it is filled with gorgeous imagery, immersive sequences, an exhilarating music score, and captivating themes of what greed can do to a few people. It is a film that 100 years since its original premiere only to endure a troubled history of re-cuts and almost be ignored as it still has the power to shock and provoke. In the end, Greed is an outstanding film from Erich von Stroheim.
Erich von Stroheim Films: (Blind Husbands) – (The Devil’s Pass Key) – (Foolish Wives) – (Merry-Go-Round (1923 film)) – (The Merry Widow) – (The Wedding March) – (Queen Kelly) – (Hello, Sister!)
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