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We’re Experiencing Technical Difficulties

Hi there, just a quick note to let you know that I am in the process of working under the hood and so the site may not be 100% operational for the next few days. Comments are also not going to be entirely reliable, I will let you know when they are restored to full functionality.

The site should be up and running with a new look and the same great content in a few days. If you have any questions, you can catch up on my Twitter account and I am also making the major site issue posts on Patreon available to non-patrons. (Patrons will get a sneak peek at the new design though.)

See you on the other side, kids!

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Silent Movie Bookshelf: Amateur Movie Making by Herbert McKay

Today I am going to review yet another volume from the New York Institute of Photography’s silent movie how-to series. This book is a little different from the other works reviewed. While the previous books in the series focused on a specific skill (acting, writing, directing, photography) for would-be professionals, this book teaches the reader how to make an entire silent movie for their own amusement.

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Chaplin as Hamlet? Mary Pickford as Cleopatra? Photoplay Magazines Miscasts the Top Stars of 1920

Photoplay Magazine published a brief series showcasing the top stars of the day in what they considered to be wildly inappropriate roles, calling it “Photoplays We Don’t Care to See.” The illustrations by Norman Anthony are incredibly charming and I am afraid that the series had the opposite effect on me: I do very much care to see these imaginary pictures!

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The Best Films of 1924 According to Critics of the Time (and most of them survive)

We’re back with another list of top 10 films as published in the Film Daily. This lists were created by asking top critics to vote on the best films of the year, though wonky release dates sometimes mean that years don’t always match. First, we took a look at 1922 and then on to 1923. Since 1924 cinema just entered the public domain, the time seemed right to showcase the critic’s choices.

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Oscar Delay

Hey there. I usually post reviews on Sunday but today is Oscar day and every time I have posted a review on Oscar day, the traffic has been a bit sad. As a result, I will be putting off my review of The Headless Horseman (1922) until tomorrow. I’m pretty excited about it and want it to get the best exposure possible.

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