The Johnstown Flood (1926)

• Directed by Irving Cummings.

• Story by Edfrid A. Bingham & Robert Lord.

• Silent.

• Important historical context to note from the top: the titular Johnstown Flood was a real event, occurring along the south fork of the Little Conemaugh River (near Johnstown, Pennsylvania) on May 31st, 1889. Killing 2,208 people, the flood – which was caused by an ill-maintained dam collapsing amidst torrential rainfall – stands today as one of the deadliest natural disasters in American history.

• An additionally significant note of context, which appears at the beginning of the film, put there by its team of modern-day restorers:

“The Johnstown Flood was produced in 1926. It is a product of its time that tells a story that took place in 1889 – twenty-four years after the end of the Civil War.

The film may depict some racial and ethnic prejudices that were the unfortunate norm in America at that time. They were short-sighted and painful then, and can still be upsetting today.

Those behind the preservation and restoration of this film are presenting the work as originally created.

To do otherwise would be akin to suggesting that these prejudices never existed.”

THIS! my movie-watching pallies – this is the perfect example of how films containing problematic subject matter should be handled and presented by anyone who screens them and/or hosts them on their streaming platforms today, and carrying on until forever. Do not ignore the realness or the hurtfulness of the problems they contain – but also do not blanketedly erase the films from history.

(Please, please, GONE WITH THE WIND lovers and ‘Bury GONE WITH THE WIND forever’ers, alike – pay attention and take heed.)

• Now, for the actual film.

• (Almost) Introductory title cards:

“In the hills above the city stood the Conemaugh Dam – its waters serving the great lumber companies.

A vast body of water held at high level – to insure the continuous running of logs down to the Johnstown mills.”

…I’m forced to include the word “almost” – because the film’s actual first title card is: “Headquarters of the local baseball club” and is followed by a shot of some dandily dressed baseball dudes emerging from a downtown bar-building.

(Why this serves as the film’s opening, rather than placed after the above setting-and-narrative-defining titles…I have postively no idea.)

• George O’Brien is hot-stuff (though non-baseball-playing) lumberman Tom O’Day. Tom’s current lady pal is Gloria Hamilton (Florence Gilbert), the richling niece-ward of lumber company boss/owner John Hamilton (Anders Randolf) – but also present is local pretty Anna Burger (played by a 19-year-old Janet Gaynor), who is clearly (though timidly) love-entranced by Tom, and who would definitely be down with taking him off of Gloria’s rich-ass, fance-gloved hands.

I find the casting and/or performance of Gilbert in this role to be highly, distractingly questionable; from the get-go, Gilbert’s Gloria is an overly grinny, disconcertingly eager-eyed…older…woman, who – next to the sweet, tranquil beauty of Gaynor’s Anna – makes absolutely zero sense as the devotedly chosen object of HotStuff Tom’s romantic affections. Just…no. It doesn’t work, and my brain’s attempts to justify this relationship setup have rather immediately taken me out of the narrative, in a way that is both frustrating and off-putting.

[Edit: Since I commented on Janet Gaynor’s age, it seems only fair that I also note the fact that Gilbert – born in 1904 – was 22 when this was filmed. Based on her appearance and enacted demeanor here – I find this shocking and vexing. Some combination of makeup and performance went terribly wrong in the building and/or recording of this character.]

• Anyway – Tom the HotStuff Lumberman is (despite his current romantic loyalties) a smartling, and is like, ‘Yo, Mr. President LumberBoss – we must fix our weak-ass dam before the spring rains come, otherwise we will become stupid victim-fishes swimming in Disaster.’

Mr. President LumberBoss is like, ‘But my BFF GreedPal Peyton says it’s fine, plus I really like the million dollars awarded to me by my latest contract, so like…whatevs, man. Too bad. Chill.’

• Hahahaha…what the fuck?! Meanwhile, an adorably raincoated Anna appears at the lumber office, mid-thunderstorm, looking for her father. Mr. Peyton (Paul Nicholson) is the only dude there, and he attempts to woo her with the pair of photo portraits he apparently keeps in his wallet – taken, he proudly declares, “at Coney Island” and featuring Mr. Peyton in a harshly striped, full-bodied bathing costume. This plays as absurdly as it sounds it might; the right-most portrait captures a smiling Peyton in a standing pose, his left hand on his hip, his right clutching an unfurled parasol, which serves as a backdrop for his shoulders and head…an inarguably goofy image that feels spectacularly perplexing, from a tonal standpoint – as the dude-character’s next move is to force himself on the vulnerable, uninterested Anna.

Like…what?! Who decided to take and insert such clearly comedic images into a scene centered around a predatorial assault, within a movie about a catastrophically tragic natural disaster?! That’s fucking loony tunes, man!

• There are a lot of odd inconsistencies built into the framework of this film – such as the absence of a title card credit for the (major) character of Ward Peyton – however, I do appreciate the detail of including the date on the telegram Hamilton receives (threatening to void his contract, should he not soon deliver the quantity of lumber that’s been promised). It’s dated May 26, 1889 – placing it forebodingly, for a knowing audience, five days before the flood.

• Carole Lombard’s uncredited, pre-fame appearance (as a member of Gloria’s quartet of lady-friends) is delightfully unmistakable – as such cameos often aren’t.

• Janet Gaynor’s deep-eyed expressivity is pretty damn magical, y’all. And then?! She gets to be some kind of…weather(wo)man Paul Revere, as the (Wedding Day)(of Tom and Gloria) “cloudburst!” occurs, and the local waters begin to choose violence.

• Though the flood sequence is, without a doubt, masterfully accomplished by effects innovators E. Roy Davidson and Jack Clifford Smith – it seems unfortunate and inaccurate that – throughout Anna Revere’s Midday Ride – Gaynor and her surrounding environment are lit by bright sunshine…hardly a raindrop in sight.

The cascades of water and the crash-tumbles of all of the loggery, however, are indeed as impressive and impactfully orchestrated as all commentaries on this film promise.

• The tableau created amongst the flood wreckage to include (a tragically lifeless) Anna clutching the hand of (an equally lifeless) preacher – which surviving Lumberman Tom weep-worthily stumbles upon, while frantically searching for Gloria (“Anna, it’s Tommy! It’s Tommy!”) is rather beautifully devastating.

• For the record, Tommy and Gloria do find each other (Uncle Hamilton and GreedPal Peyton, Swimsuit Predator, do not – they dead), and the film leaves us with this (perhaps too quickly conjured) title card o’ hope:

“Time softened tragedy – toil overcame desolation – Johnstown was built anew – a lasting tribute to the dauntless courage of its citizens.”

• TCM’s Dave Karger notes that Davidson would soon go to work with Howard Hughes on the (infamously lengthy) production of HELL’S ANGELS (1930), while Smith, the next year, had a hand in creating the celebrated storm sequence in SUNRISE (1927), a film which, of course, also starred George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor.

• Overall, though the rest of the film is shot and acted decently enough – the flood sequence stands as the most significant and memorable piece of a not-so-significant and not-so-memorable movie. Obviously, I’m glad that the film still exists and has been appropriately restored – but it’s certainly not one that I’ll be excited to seek out again and again in the future.