Crystal Balls in Film 3
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Crystal Balls in Film, Part Three
Why would anyone spend 20 years collecting digital images of crystal balls in film, anyway?
1914: "The Crystal Ball," starring Jack Hopkins as Walter Deland and Marian Swayne as Gladys Brooks. This lantern slide has a blank area toward the bottom for the theatre to announce the show dates of this film as a coming attraction. In the murky hand-tinted image we see a mystical Hindu swami in a blue robe and bright blue feathered turban, holding the crystal ball of the title. The plot is a detective story that solves the mystery of a wealthy man's death and the suspicious will that he apparently left behind.
Colour lantern slide.
Genre: Crime Drama.
1914: "The Crystal Ball," starring Jack Hopkins as Walter Deland and Marian Swayne as Gladys Brooks. This is a lost film; only a poster, a lantern slide, and a few frames of celluloid survive. However, from a synopsis published in "Moving Picture World," it would appear that this poster shows the climax of the story, when the District Attorney picks up the Hindu's mystic's crystal ball and urges the lovers to escape his own ability to prosecute them by telling them to take a train to Montreal to start their lives over again.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Crime Drama.
Good question, but as you can see, this has been one of my eccentric passions for quite a while. Here we are, at Part 3, and the images have not all been uploaded yet -- and as much as i hate to admit it, there are probably dozens of movies featuring crystal gazers that have eluded my knowledge.
1918: "Salome", starring Theda Bara as Salome. This is a lost film from which many stills and a few film clips survive. Attempts at reconstructing it are ongoing.
Black and white publicity still.
Genre: Drama.
Undated: Probably this is the silent film star Pauline Frederick, however, the attribution of this image to Frederick and to any specific film is not uniform across the internet; the photo is often tagged as Pauline Frederick in the 1931 film "Potiphar's Wife," starring Nora Swinburne and Laurence Olivier, but IMDb does not list Frederick as having appeared in "Potiphar's Wife." Meanwhile, some sites have credited the actress as Theda Bara, which she is not.
Black and white tinted publicity still.
Genre: Drama.
One reason i know that there are more films about crystallomancy out there for me to find is that i have a couple dozen still photos of movie stars posing with crystal balls -- but i cannot link them to a film. Perhaps they were just publicity shots, but the costuming is such that i think there must be a film behind each one, somewhere.
1927: "Rough House Rosie," featuring Henry Kolker as the Fortune Teller. Perched on a table, surrounded by Arabic props, he smokes a hookah, his crystal ball at his feet. This s just one of many remaining stills from what is, alas, a lost film in which Clara Bow portrays a female boxer.
Sepia tone publicity still.
Genre: Comedy.
1927: "Rough House Rosie," starring Clara Bow as Rosie O'Reilly and Reed Howes as Joe Hennessey, with Henry Kolker as the Fortune Teller. Rosie is shocked at what she sees in the crystal; Joe is alarmed. The film is lost, but by putting the stills in order, it seems that this sequence is part of a series of incidents set in an amusement park.
Sepia tone publicity still.
Genre: Comedy.
And that's where you can help! If we've missed one of your favourites, or made a mistake along the way, drop us a line at the Lucky Mojo Forum (no email or social media messages, please) and let us know about it.
1929: "The Black Watch" with Myrna Loy as Yasmani, the fortune teller, and Victor McLaglen as Captain Donald King of the British Army. The film is based on the 1916 novel "King of the Khyber Rifles" by Talbot Mundy. At the onset of World War One, King leaves for India on a secret mission, convincing his comrades that he is a coward.
Black and white publicity still.
Genre: War Adventure Drama
1933: "Supernatural," starring Carole Lombard and Randolph Scott. In this strange movie, Lombard plays Roma Courtney, a woman who is overtaken by the spirit of a murderess. Here she is at a seance given by the unscrupulous spiritualist Paul Bavian, played by Alan Dinehart, accompanied by stalwart Randolph Scott as Roma's suitor Grant Wilson. The crystal ball in the center of the table glows with an unearthly light.
Black and white publicity still.
Genre: Horror.
This showcase list of crystallomantic films is chronological, as were previous gallery collections. Once every photo is cleaned and uploaded, the entire pile will be compiled, and one year after that, it will open to the public. In the meantime, you can say that you saw them here first.
1933: "Night of Terror," starring Bela Lugosi as Degar the fortune teller, Wallace Ford as Tom Hartley, and Sally Blane as Mary Rinehart.
Black and white publicity still.
Genre: Horror.
1933: "Night of Terror," starring Bela Lugosi as Degar the fortune teller, Wallace Ford as Tom Hartley, and Sally Blane as Mary Rinehart.
Colour lobby card.
Genre: Horror.
Having talked about Hollywood's preference for glowing, smoke-filled balls, or balls so large that they can serve as small television units, it's time to address the issue of Hollywood's preferred styles of crystal gazer. These types have changed over the years, but not as much as one might think.
1938: "Religious Racketeers" a.k.a. "The Mystic Circle Murder," starring Robert Fiske as The Great LaGagge aka The Great Garno, Betty Compson as Ada Bernard, and Bess Houdini as herself.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Film Noir.
1938: "Religious Racketeers" a.k.a. "The Mystic Circle Murder," with Robert Fiske as The Great LaGagge and Arthur Gardner as Elliot Cole. Fisk is dressing up in his fake swami robes; his feathered turban is at left, casually tossed onto the Wurlitzer organ. The only crystal ball to be seen is in the title card at top left.
Colour lobby card.
Genre: Film Noir.
The Man in the Turban: This cinematic stereotype is based almost entirely of the dramatic and very influential stage presentations of Claude Alexander Conlin. As Alexander, the Man Who Knows, he and his troupe of dancing girls (one of whom was his wife) and stage hands (one of whom was his poster artist) travelled from theater to theater by rail, towing an entire box car filled with their elaborate stage props, posters, costumes, and booklets to sell at the back of the room. Alexander wore a turban as part of his act, and dressed in amazing finery imported from India and designed to lend him an air of mystery. If you are unfamiliar with him, look no farther than the book "Secrets of the Crystal Silence League," which contains not only the text of two of his instructional booklets from 1919 and 1923, but is also filled with art used to promote him, and those who assiduously, even slavishly, copied both his stage act and his sartorial style. Actors who donned the turban include Warren William, Will Rogers, Henry Kolker, and Frank Morgan.
1941: "The Deadly Game," with Charles Farrell as Barry Scott and Ottola Nesmith as the Nazi Wife, whose main games are evidently astrology and palmistry -- but if you look at the wall, under the horoscope, you will see her dark crystal.
Black and white publicity still.
Genre: Drama.
1985: "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," starring Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee and Erica Yohn as Madam Ruby, the crystal gazer.
Colour publicity still.
Genre: Comedy.
The Man in the Black Suit: The suave male crystal gazer who does not wear a turban is best exemplified by Turhan Bey and Alan Dinehart. This character too draws his formal style from that of a stage magician, but his look is more akin to a prestidigitator than a swami.
1986: "Labyrinth," starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
Colour publicity still.
Genre: Fantasy.
1986: "Labyrinth," starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Fantasy.
The Exotic Spooky Woman: These women are dressed in expensive finery, their bosoms are well endowed, their hair is coifed, and very often they are surrounded by stunning Arabic brassware and yards of Chinese draperies. Pauline Frederick and Theda Bara exemplify this type to a "T."
1986: "Labyrinth," starring David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connelly as Sarah.
Colour publicity still.
Genre: Fantasy.
1986: "Labyrinth," starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. Bowie, as Jareth, the Goblin King, forces Sarah to rescue her infant half-brother from a large maze.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Fantasy.
The Mesmerized Woman: Women who stare into crystal balls until their minds become unhinged are an interesting lot. They may start out not believing in the supernatural, but the lure of the crystal is hypnotic and they end up glazed-over, drugged, or just plain weird as they stare into its depths. Jean Sothern, Ann Doran, and Carol Lombard should get Oscars for portraying this type, with Clara Bow a runner-up and Judy Garland given an honourable mention.
1986: "Labyrinth," starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Fantasy.
1986: "Labyrinth," starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Fantasy.
The Ditzy Crystal Dame: The middle-aged comedic character actress whose crystal ball never seems to tell the truth, and who is completely flustered if it does, is a special sort of Hollywood type. Marion Lorne, Emma Thomson and Erica Yohn are stand-outs in this genre.
1992: "Spellcaster," starring Adam Ant.
Full colour poster.
Genre: Horror.
2001: "The Fellowship of the Ring," starring Elijah Wood as Frodo and Ian McKellen as Gandalf.
Colour publicity still of the Palantir, a large gazing ball.
Genre: Fantasy.
The Fake Crystal Gazer: The carnival cheat and the private reading swindler provide the moral basis for Hollywood's notorious anti-occult stance. Some, like Warren William and Frank Morgan, also wear the turban, some, like Turhan Bey and Alan Dinehart, are suave and classy in contemporary street clothes. A bit more unusual is the nice-girl-roped-into-carny-life, portrayed by Paulette Goddard.
2001: "The Fellowship of the Ring," featuring Christopher Lee as the White Wizard Saruman.
Colour publicity still.
Genre: Fantasy.
2002: "The Two Towers," featuring Christopher Lee as Saruman the White Wizard.
Colour movie advertisement.
Genre: Fantasy.
The Witch: Witches who read crystal balls are featured in fantasy settings. Marion Lorne is both a witch and a ditzy dame, and Emma Thompson is a half-blood witch, but when it comes to pure, unadulterated wicked witchcraft, Margaret Hamilton reigns supreme.
2002: "The Two Towers," featuring Christopher Lee as Saruman and Brad Dourif as Wormtongue.
Colour movie poster.
Genre: Fantasy.
2007: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," featuring Emma Thompson as Sibyl Trelawney.
Colour publicity still.
Genre: Fantasy.
The Wizard: Another character from fantasy films is the wizard with a crystal. Rarely a helper, he usually is a supernormal villain. Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, and David Bowie are examples of this type.
See Also
Lovely Ladies and Their Little Balls
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catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
Your Wate and Fate
Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.