Celebrate Silent Film
As we come to the end of the year, we have a ton of silent film releases to enjoy. Most of these films are available on Bluray for the first time ever.
We all have favorite comedians and favorite comedy films but what about favorite comedy moments? Is there a scene that just makes you laugh out loud?
Continue reading “What’s your favorite silent movie belly laugh?”
Welcome back! I’m cooking my way through the 1929 Photoplay Cookbook but sometimes I take detours. This time, I’m using a recipe from a 1930s booklet for a jellied fruit salad. The star is a delightful supporting player from the silents and talkies.
Silent movie stars were armed and dangerous, more often than not. It’s hardly surprising as villains and bandits and villainous bandits and bootleggers could be around any corner. Here are the assorted steps taken for offense and defense.
Continue reading “Silent Movie Stars Brandishing Assorted Weapons”
We’re back with some more unboxing! This time around, we’ll be taking a close look at a pair of October releases from Undercrank Productions. Both discs contain rare and obscure material that would never have been released under normal circumstances, so we are very fortunate to have them.
Continue reading “Unboxing the Silents: Lon Chaney and Whispering Shadows from Undercrank”
Comedic dynamic duo Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew poke fun at the then-current fox trot craze and their own May-December marriage in this absolutely delightful little comedy.
The queen of Egypt loves her Romans and so she falls for Mark Antony… What? You mean you know this one? Well, anyway, we’re looking over one of the very first feature-length Cleos with Helen Gardner in the title role.
One of the great pleasures of silent cinema is that there are always hidden corners to explore, new flavors to discover. About a year ago, I realized how many silent movies were made in Latin America and how little English-speaking fans know about them, myself included.
Time for some more silent movie dance GIFs! There are always plenty of dance sequences in silent films (a good number of movie stars did stints as professional dancers) and here are a few choice cuts.
Continue reading “Silent Movie Stars Are Dancing Fools (Two-three-kick-turn! Turn-turn-kick-turn!)”
I’m cooking my way through the 1929 Photoplay Cookbook and I’m inviting you to tag along. This time, we’ll be testing out a fruit salad from one of the silent era’s pricklier leading ladies.
Continue reading “Cooking with the (Silent) Stars: Aileen Pringle’s Pineapple Fruit Salad”
People sometimes ask me how many silent films I own. Let’s find out! I’m sharing more titles from my absurd and eclectic silent film collection. If you want to catch up on other “shelfie” posts, you can find them here.
Continue reading “Shelfie: Americana, Swashbuckling, Divorce and Anarchists”
Here we go again. Every time there is a scandal in Hollywood, some smartypants decides that it’s time to dust off the innuendos and myths surrounding the death of Virginia Rappe. This time, the AP is the culprit and it’s up to us to let them know.
Continue reading “The AP Got It Wrong: Roscoe Arbuckle Needs Your Help”
One of THE most iconic cliffhanger serials (never mind that it contains no cliffhangers) starring one of the most important serial queens is… not that good.
Continue reading “Fun Size Review: The Perils of Pauline (1914)”
What do you do when your girlfriend’s dad says no to the wedding? Earn money by forging Eqyptian antiquities, of course!
Continue reading “The Egyptian Mummy (1914) A Silent Film Review”
If there is one way to make yourself sound like a fuddy-duddy, it’s to complain about whippersnappers and their phones. Bonus points if you do so via text. Of course, I’m as concerned about distracted drivers as the next almost-dead pedestrian but, dudes, it ain’t just kids.
An Egyptian prince hopes to bring back his lost love under the shadow of the Sphinx. But, as Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee would later discover, there’s always a catch in such a plan.
All through September, I reviewed silent films made in Latin America. I had a wonderful time and was glad to see a positive response from my readers. I’ll definitely be doing this again! Well, it’s a new month, so let’s see what we learned.
Continue reading “Quiz: What did you learn about Latin American silent film?”
It’s time for another episode of After the Silents, where I examine the careers of silent film personnel in the talkie era. Today’s film is a low-budget turkey but it has more silent veterans than you can shake a stick at. (And stop shaking sticks at people, it’s rude.)
Continue reading “After the Silents: The Legion of Missing Men (1937)”
A good murder mystery is always in style. Modern audiences can’t get enough of their forensic shows and police procedurals. Well, silent era audiences felt the same way and here are some splendid mystery scenes.
Continue reading “A Slight Case of Murder in the Silent Movies”
No profession is more cinematic than an agent of espionage and Fritz Lang’s stylish thriller has never been surpassed in flash, dash and sneaky doings. Grand fun, especially if you are a devotee of modern spy pictures and want to see one of the great building blocks of the genre.
The Panama Canal’s construction was a cause for celebration in the United States but Colombia had a very different viewpoint and this intriguing film presents it in no uncertain terms.
Continue reading “Claws of Gold (1926) A Silent Film Review”
October marks the 100th anniversary of 1917’s biggest picture: Theda Bara’s Cleopatra. It is also one of the most famously lost silent films; only a few seconds of footage survive.
Continue reading “Theme Month! October 2017: In the Shadow of the Sphinx”
“Silent movies? You like silent movies?”
It’s a conversation that I’ve had all too many times in my career as a silent movie fan. Many modern filmgoers just can’t comprehend why anybody would willingly watch a silent movie, let alone multiple silents.
Welcome back! I’m cooking my way through the 1929 Photoplay Cookbook and this week, I’m preparing a recipe from a star who has fallen pretty deeply into obscurity.
Continue reading “Cooking with the (Silent) Stars: Pat O’Malley’s Pot Roast”
As a direct result of having a fourth grade teacher obsessed with Herman’s Hermits, I can quote most of their songs from memory. This skill has dubious utility in everyday life so please forgive me for using it as a theme for a GIF post.
Continue reading “Silent Movie Stars are Silhouettes on the Shade”
The internet is forever… until it isn’t. Sure, there are a thousand ways to dig up embarrassing posts written by celebrities but too many writers have seen their work disappear without a trace.
Continue reading “Preserving Your Blog and Articles on Internet Archive Sites”
Cowboys and vamps? Guys, I think we have hit peak 1915! William S. Hart plays a saloon proprietor who shoots a no-good skunk of a thief. But guess who has a pretty sister? Go on, guess!
There are criminal happenings on the Veracruz railroad and Adolfo Mariel is sent in to investigate. What he finds is a criminal gang led by the mysterious Ruby and the stationmaster’s inevitably beautiful daughter. This stylish action/thriller comes from Mexico.
Continue reading “The Ghost Train (1927) A Silent Film Review”
I’m sharing more titles from my silent film collection. If you want to catch up on other “shelfie” posts, you can find them here.
I’m based in California, so these films are quite possibly region 1. Readers living outside the region will need to make sure they have a region-free player before grabbing one of these titles.
Continue reading “Shelfie: Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, Dinosaurs and All-Night Cycling”
Welcome back to After the Silents, where we examine the careers of silent movie personnel after the transition to sound. This time around, we’re going to be reviewing a post-WWII domestic comedy about a boarding house in New York. One of the tenants is played by Leatrice Joy, a huge favorite around these parts.