Celebrate Silent Film
Henri-Georges Clouzot is, of course, a legend in the world of thrillers. The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques are justly acclaimed but they came along decades into his career. What about Clouzot at the beginning? This two-disc Bluray set tracks his early career.
Continue reading “Unboxing the Silents (well, kinda): Clouzot- The Early Works”
I’m working out my plans and goals for the site in 2019 but I would love to have your feedback. What would you like to see more of in the new year?
Continue reading “Poll: What would you like me to write about in 2019?”
There are only a few more days left in 2018 so now is the time when all good websites take a look back to share some of the hits and misses of the year. First, the hits.
Continue reading “2018 in Review: The Best Silent Films, Discoveries and Experiences”
Douglas Fairbanks plays a city boy who dreams of the rootin’ tootin’ wild west and gets his wish when the citizens of an Arizona town decide to indulge his fantasies in hopes he will finance a new road through town. Continue reading “Fun Size Review: Wild and Woolly (1917)”
The title character (played by Cannes-honored director and onetime Queen of Mars Yulia Solntseva) is the object of affection for three very different men: a silly bookkeeper, a handsome cameraman and an American businessman in Russia.
Continue reading “The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom (1924) A Silent Film Review”
Only a few days remain in 2018 so let’s take the opportunity to find out what we learned in the last 11 and a half months. It’s quiz time!
Continue reading “2018 in Review: What did we learn about the silent era this year? Take the quiz!”
Silent movie people are very busy, they have places to go. Sometimes, they leave. Other times, they kick you out. Variety is the spice of life.
I am mod but sometimes I take detours and this time, I am trying a food combination that does not come from a cookbook but from celebrity gossip.
Continue reading “Cooking with the (Silent) Stars: I Tried Greta Garbo’s Infamous Breakfast”
Shopping for film nerds can be a challenge, especially if they are already avid collectors. Never fear, I’m here to help! I speak the language and can help you choose the perfect gift for the nerd in your life.
Continue reading “Movies Silently’s 2018 Classic Movie Nerd Gift Guide”
Less than a month remains in the year so I thought I would put this question to you, dear readers: What was your best silent film experience of 2018?
Continue reading “What Were Your Best Silent Film Experiences of 2018?”
Two women and one man are stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean and as they drift, they think about their lives and how they ended up where they are. Out of that simple premise director Mario Peixoto creates one of the most impressive independent films ever created.
A country girl heads to Moscow with a few possessions and a duck. When she is hired by a couple determined not to pay union wages, the stage is set for a mini revolution.
Continue reading “The House on Trubnaya (1928) A Silent Film Review”
Russian films were all dark and heavy, right? Especially the Soviet one. Well, no. In fact, some of the best belly laughs in silent comedy are to be found in Soviet comedies.
Continue reading “Theme Month! December 2018: Soviet Comedy”
Kino Lorber hit it out of the park with their Pioneers of African-American Cinema box set and their follow up is every bit the worthy successor. In the silent era, women took a much larger role behind the camera than even today but most of these pioneers have been forgotten. This set’s goal is to change that.
Continue reading “Unboxing the Silents: Pioneers– First Women Filmmakers Bluray Set”
Welcome back! I am cooking my way through the 1929 Photoplay Cookbook but I sometimes take detours. In this case, we’re tasting a very famous flapper’s foray into molded fish gelatin. Yay?
Continue reading “Cooking with the (Silent) Stars: Clara Bow’s Jellied Tuna Mold”
Well, we have a winner! To the surprise of nobody who has read the comments on these posts, Mary Pickford in Stella Maris carried the day.
Continue reading “The Best Picture of 1918, As Chosen By You”
Hot beverages keep the world running and that was just as true in the silent era.
Continue reading “Silent Film Stars Ask: “One Lump or Two?””
Mack Sennett’s winning duo of Arbuckle and Normand were dispatched to interact with the ongoing exposition in San Diego and chaos ensued, naturally. Arbuckle’s flirty ways anger Normand and she’s not someone you want to get angry.
Continue reading “Fun Size Review: Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition (1915)”
This towering cinematic achievement is easily one of the greatest examples of silent era hokum that I have ever experienced. Joseph Schildkraut and Norma Talmadge are star-crossed lovers in Northern Africa wearing very silly clothes. I am entranced.
Continue reading “The Song of Love (1923) A Silent Film Review”
We’re back with more nit-picking and and witty put-downs from the pages of Photoplay. In November of 1918, these were the errors (real and perceived) that were annoying moviegoers.
Continue reading “100 Years Ago, These Were the Mistakes and Cliches That Annoyed Movie Fans”
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen… Or in this case, running through the glen and getting arrested a lot. A loose and chipper adaptation of the popular legend from Fort Lee, New Jersey.
One artistic flourish that never ceases to delight in silent cinema is the use of silhouettes. Sometimes, the whole film is told in silhouette and other times it is just a brief sequence. Either way, a please to watch.
Here are the nominees for Best Picture of 1918! There were no Academy Awards back then, of course, but that won’t stop us from handing out our own digital statuettes.
Continue reading “Which 1918 Film Deserves Best Picture? Vote Now!”
Few directors have a feature debut as promising as John Ford’s. While the story isn’t much to write home about, Straight Shooting has gorgeous cinematography, good acting and a showdown that remains one of the best in the history of westerns.
Continue reading “Fun Size Review: Straight Shooting (1917)”
Tom Mix plays a Pony Express rider who takes a job leading a wagon train—which is promptly massacred. His workplace evaluation is not going to be pretty. Bessie Eyton and Red Wing are on hand as the women who love Tom, incompetence and all.
Continue reading “In the Days of the Thundering Herd (1914) A Silent Film Review”
I went on vacation last week and hitting up used bookstores is a long and proud vacation tradition. I also received my delivery of books from an online order while I was away, as well as some titles I have not posted as part of a haul so I decided to combine it all into a mega-haul.
Continue reading “Book Haul: Film History, Old Cookbooks, Russia and Antarctica”
Norma Talmadge married in haste to Eugene Pallette and now she repents in leisure while he spends his nights with a showgirl and contemplates becoming a bank robber. So, maybe marriage counseling won’t be enough here…
Continue reading “The Children in the House (1916) A Silent Film Review”
It’s award season but who needs those talkies? We sure don’t! And since the Academy Awards weren’t a thing in 1918, I think it’s high time we make our own silent film award. We’re going to choose the Best Picture for 1918.
Continue reading “Oscars, Schmoscars! We’re choosing the best films of 1918!”
I’m on vacation but I wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that my DVD release of Kidnapped (1917) and its accompanying short films now has expanded distribution.
Continue reading “Expanded Distribution for Kidnapped: A Complete 1917 Night at the Movies”
One of the first comedy stars and one of the first movie stars, period, Max Linder was still going strong in the 1920s and this droll comedy was released for the American market. What it lacks in consistency (it feels like three shorts stitched together) it more than makes up for with the personality of its star.
Continue reading “Fun Size Review: Seven Years Bad Luck (1921)”