The Great Gabbo

The Great Gabbo is a 1929 American Pre-Code early sound musical drama film directed by James Cruze, based on Ben Hecht's 1928 short story "The Rival Dummy", and starring Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson. The film features songs by Lynn Cowan, Paul Titsworth, Donald McNamee and King Zany. Originally released by Sono Art-World Wide Pictures, certain sequences were presented in Multicolor. However, current prints, restored by the Library of Congress and released by Kino International on DVD, exist only in black-and-white. Plot Brilliant ventriloquist Gabbo increasingly uses his dummy "Otto" as his only means of self-expression—an artist driven insane by his work. Gabbo's gimmick is his astonishing ability to make Otto talk—and even sing—while Gabbo himself smokes, drinks and eats. Gabbo's girlfriend and assistant Mary loves him, but is driven to leave him by his megalomania, superstitions, irritability, and inability to express any human emotion without using Otto as an intermediary. In Otto's voice, Gabbo accepts the blame for Mary's leaving and recounts all the things she did for him, but as Gabbo he denies his feelings and tells the dummy to shut up.