Photoplay Magazine held a little star identification quiz in 1927 and so let’s take the test ourselves and see how many stars we can recognize.
There are a dozen photos here. Some of these stars are more famous than others but every single one of them has at least one title available on home video, so this is a pretty fair quiz for modern silent fans, methinks. Have fun!
Do you have your guesses jotted down? Okay, here’s the answer key….
(No peeking!)
And there we have it! Twelve big names. I personally think that Blanche Sweet and Richard Barthelmess are the easiest to guess but I am terrible at star identification so what do I know? Anyway, I hope you had some fun!
I have not yet reviewed Betty Compson or Alice Joyce (though I have made her sandwich) or Claire Windsor in a picture (though I have cooked her sweetbreads recipe!) but here are some choices for everyone else:
Watch Bebe Daniels in Feel My Pulse
Watch Jean Hersholt in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
Watch Edna Purviance in Burlesque on Carmen
Charles Ray in The Busher
Blanche Sweet in Judith of Bethulia
Laura La Plante in The Cat and the Canary
House Peters in The Captive
Eleanor Boardman in She Goes to War
Richard Barthelmess in Tol’able David
Movies Silently 
Well, it turns out, though I’m pretty good at guessing adult stars, their kiddie versions…not so much. Only got 3 right: Jean Hersholt (something about that mouth and jawline), Edna Purviance (mostly the eyes and shape of face), and Richard Barthelmess (he eventually grew into those headlamps). A fun quiz- thanks for posting it!
Yes, with Barthelmess I was like “It’s him!” Charles Ray stumped me completely but once I saw the answer, it was so obvious.
I don’t do well with identifying baby pictures, either – I didn’t even try with these! It’s interesting how certain distinctive features carry on from childhood – like the turned-down mouths of Richard Barthelmess and Laura LaPlante.
Yes, the big “Ah ha!” for me was Charles Ray. Eyes exactly the same.
I got Richard Barthlemess straight away, but thought number two was Jackie Cooper.
Yes, Richard Barthelmess is one of those people who, when you ask what he looked like as a kid, responds with “Shorter.”