Hacker Cinema
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
1927 · Film · 87 min
Directed by Alexander Korda
Setting the standard for his later light-hearted biopics The Private Life of Henry VIII and Rembrandt, producer-director Alexander Korda steadfastly refuses to take any of The Private Life of Helen of Troy seriously. Maria Corda, wife of the director, plays the title character as a fetchingly underdressed coquette, oblivious to all the political turmoil she's causing when she allows the handsome Paris (Ricardo Cortez) to kidnap her. Meanwhile, poor King Menelaus (Lewis Stone), Helen's husband, stands by in stoic silence, just as he's done on previous occasions when his wife succumbed to the charms of various sexy suitors (one of whom is played by future cowboy star "Wild Bill" Elliot). Finally galvanized into action, Menelaus reclaims his bride, who seems none the worse for wear for her experiences.
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1 comment on Hacker News
You can say the same for any field of literature.
Have you heard of Sully Prudhomme, Theodore Mommsen, Rudolf Eucken, or Eyvind Johnson? All of them won Nobel Prizes for literature and -- if you're lucky -- you'll find one or two of their books in print.
Years of Grace by Margaret Barnes? Guard of Honor by James Cozzens? Both are Pulitzer Prize winners that are out of print.
The Private Life of Helen of Troy by John Erskine? Sold over 500,000 copies, critically praised, even had a movie made out of it that got some Academy Award nominations. Also out of print.
For noir you've got imprints like Hard Case Crime that have rescued dozens of once well known & regarded books from decades of obscurity.
I dunno, I think that F/SF is probably about the same as anything else when it comes to "forgetting their greats".