Greed (1924)

Director:

Erich von Stroheim

Writers:

June Mathis (screen adaptation and dialogue)
Frank Norris (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

26 January 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Money | Dentist | Murder | Friendship

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Zasu Pitts	...	Trina
Gibson Gowland	...	McTeague
Jean Hersholt	...	Marcus
Dale Fuller	...	Maria
Tempe Pigott	...	Mother McTeague
Sylvia Ashton	...	'Mommer' Sieppe (as Silvia Ashton)
Chester Conklin	...	'Popper' Sieppe
Joan Standing	...	Selina
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Barlow	...	The Minister (uncredited)
Lita Chevrier	...	Extra (uncredited)
Jack Curtis	...	McTeague Sr. (uncredited)
James F. Fulton	...	Cribbens (a prospector) (uncredited)
Edward Gaffney	...	Extra (uncredited)
Florence Gibson	...	Hag (uncredited)
James Gibson	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Oscar Gottell	...	A Sieppe twin (uncredited)
Otto Gottell	...	A Sieppe twin (uncredited)
Cesare Gravina	...	Zwerkow (a junkman) (uncredited)
Bee Ho Gray	...	(uncredited)
Frank Hayes	...	Charles W. Grannis (proprietor, The Modern Dog Hospital) (uncredited)
Harold Henderson	...	Extra (uncredited)
Austen Jewell	...	August Sieppe (uncredited)
Tiny Jones	...	Mrs. Heise (uncredited)
J. Aldrich Libbey	...	Mr. Ryer (uncredited)
Hughie Mack	...	Mr. Heise (harness maker) (uncredited)
Hugh J. McCauley	...	The photographer (uncredited)
Jack McDonald	...	Placer County Sheriff (uncredited)
Fanny Midgley	...	Miss Anastasia Baker (uncredited)
William Mollenhauer	...	Palmist (uncredited)
Lon Poff	...	Man from the lottery company (uncredited)
Reta Revela	...	Mrs. Ryer (uncredited)
S.S. Simon	...	Joe Frenna (uncredited)
Max Tyron	...	Uncle Rudolph Oelbermann (uncredited)
Erich von Ritzau	...	Dr. Painless Potter (uncredited)
Erich von Stroheim	...	Balloon vendor (uncredited)
James Wang	...	Chinese cook (uncredited)

Directed by
Erich von Stroheim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Joseph Farnham		titles (uncredited)
June Mathis		screen adaptation and dialogue
Frank Norris		novel "McTeague"
Erich von Stroheim		screen adaptation and dialogue

Produced by
Rick Schmidlin	....	producer: reconstruction
Louis B. Mayer	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Irving Thalberg	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carl Davis		(1986)
Robert Israel		(1999)
William Axt		(uncredited)
Leo Kempinski		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(as Wm. H. Daniels)
Ben F. Reynolds		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Joseph Farnham		(as Jos. W. Farnham)
Glenn Morgan		(reconstruction)
Frank E. Hull		(uncredited)
Rex Ingram		(18-reel version) (uncredited)
June Mathis		(42-reel version) (uncredited)
Erich von Stroheim		(42-reel version) (uncredited)
Grant Whytock		(18-reel version) (uncredited)

Production Design by
Erich von Stroheim		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons		(credit only)
Richard Day		(uncredited)
Erich von Stroheim		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Cedric Gibbons		(settings)

Production Management
Harry Rapf	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Louis Germonprez	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Edward Sowders	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Richard Koszarski	....	consultant (reconstruction)
Charles Rogers	....	props (uncredited)
Frank Ybarra	....	props (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Sasha Leuterer	....	visual effects: flame effects (reconstruction)
Chad Mielke	....	motion control effects (reconstruction)

Camera and Electrical Department
Walter Bader	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Paul Ivano	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Warren Lynch	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Ernest B. Schoedsack	....	camera operator (uncredited)
H.C. Van Dyke	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Shimit Amin	....	assistant editor (reconstruction)
Jarrett Fijal	....	assistant editor (reconstruction)
Jessica Kongthong	....	assistant editor (reconstruction)
Carol Littleton	....	editorial consultant (reconstruction)
Russ Martin	....	on-line editor (reconstruction)
Andrew Pierce	....	assistant editor (reconstruction)
Marguerite Faust	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Colin Matthews	....	orchestrator: Carl Davis
David Matthews	....	orchestrator: Carl Davis
Jack Brennan	....	musician (uncredited)
James Brennan	....	musician (uncredited)

Other crew
Albert Cuellar	....	hand tinted stills (reconstruction)
Louis B. Mayer	....	presenter
Deborah Ross	....	title design consultant (reconstruction)
Jod Soraci	....	film transferer (reconstruction)
Eve Bessette	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Harold Henderson	....	location scout (uncredited)
James V. King	....	dailies projectionist (uncredited)
James V. King	....	laboratory technician (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation (1924) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1926) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (DVD)

Runtime:

140 min | USA:239 min (1999 restored version) | Portugal:130 min (original version) (20 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

16th Street, Oakland, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This film features one of the earliest uses of a hidden camera in film-making. In the scene where Zasu Pitts leaves the junk shop after discovering the dead body she rushes into a real street and into real passers-by who were unaware they were being filmed. A crowd gathered, police turned up to the scene and it is said that a reporter called in the 'murder' to his editor. This coincides with Dziga Vertov 's _Kino-Eye (1924)_ which also used hidden camera techniques for the first time.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Marcus breaks McTeague's pipe and throws a knife at him, men pull McTeague's tie off as they hold him back. The tie is back in place a moment later as McTeague rushes out of the saloon.

Quotes:

Marcus: There's no water... within a hundred miles o' here!
[the two men hopelessly stand by the dead mule in the middle of the desert]
Marcus: We... are... dead... men!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitler - ein Film aus Deutschland (1977)

I'd Like to See the Ten Hour Cut

A film almost as powerful as it is famous, Greed is pretty straight-forward about its theme: Greed. And what it does to people.

This would not be a silent film known for its subtlety, but a large part of that is the fact that it's really only a tenth of the film it was supposed to be. Entire reels have been cut down to single cue-cards, entire years jump by that were obviously supposed to be shown. In terms of the general "rules" of narrative, it works out well enough that it's still a quite clear story that follows a reasonable pace, but the lack of a lot of the character development and the like is pretty apparent.

Still, the music used on the film and the general story itself is powerful enough, it's definitely worth your time.

A man and a woman marry. The man is a simpleton, the woman is a hoarder. When she wins a $5000 lottery, she vows never to spend a cent of it... something that sets her husband and their common friend at odds as they all want the cash... but not necessarily to spend it. Entire relationships and lives are ripped asunder as they all grapple for their rights to "their" property: their greed.

This movie has been praised for its realism, but that couldn't be further from the truth. This movie is romanticized to the level of absurdity, the characters are so full-blown they are often hard to relate to. This comes from the fact that 80% of their development has been lost in the final cut. I don't want this to seem like a bad thing: because of their incredible antics, the movie takes you to places almost entirely unheard of and definitely unexpected.

It's one deep thrill after the other, backed up by some very beautiful imagery and intense music. It's just unfortunately not what the director intended. Even back in the day, people just didn't have a big enough attention span, and I find that very tragic. I want to see the ten-hour version.

--PolarisDiB