Film Friday: Michael Curtiz’s ‘The Undesirable’ - a previously lost film from ‘Casablanca’ director’s early days

Every director has to start somewhere, and for Michael Curtiz, it was in his native Hungary. The director, who would go on to make Hollywood classics like Casablanca, Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Adventures of Robin Hood, was a Hungarian immigrant and he didn’t come to America without experience.

Despite Curtiz’s stature in Hollywood history, his pre-Warner Bros. films are mostly unavailable in the U.S. However, Olive Films rectified that this week, with a surprising Blu-ray release of his 1915 silent The Undesirable. But should this actually be a desirable film to add to your collection?

The film was long thought lost until it was discovered at the Hungarian House cultural center in New York City. It was sent back to Hungary for restoration there. This restoration serves as the basis for the Blu-ray and simultaneously released DVD.

Anyone seeing the film might be doing so to see where the genius began. Unfortunately, it began after this film. Running barely over an hour, the movie centers on Betty (Lili Berky), who is just told by her dying father that he is actually her uncle.

Betty then goes to the city to find employment and his hired by a rich woman who becomes convinced that Betty is a thief. Unfortunately, Betty falls in love with the woman’s son Nick (Victor Varconi). Somehow, their love has to survive Nick’s mom. Meanwhile, Betty’s mother is released from prison and she tries to find her daughter. It’s a typical melodramatic story and easy to follow, despite few inter-titles to guide us along.

If you are looking for hints of Curtiz’s directing Hollywood style, you won’t find much. While his knack for keeping a story moving quickly is already here, he doesn’t ask his performers to act for a movie camera. Considering that the phrase “movie acting” didn’t really exist in 1915, it’s not much of a surprise. The stars here are clearly acting as if they are on a stage, not a movie studio. Still, Lily Berkly’s performance as Betty is pretty good and she carries the film with ease.

Considering the film’s short running time, you would think that Olive would break their habit of not creating any new bonus material, but they didn’t. There’s no commentary and no extra features that put the film in context. A little booklet with an essay or two might have helped, but Olive didn’t do that either. It’s sad, because any extras here would have made this really worth getting. Olive also used English-language inter-titles, rather than preserving original Hungarian titles (if they even exist).

It’s hard to recommend picking up The Undesirable, even if you are a big fan of Curtiz’s films. There’s little chance that you will want to watch it again and there’s no extras to make it a valuable release.

The Undesirable was released on Blu-ray and DVD this week.