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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Cinecon 2012

From August 30 to September 3, Cinecon will delight lovers of silent and classic sound films.

Two silent titles (not all of the films to be shown have been posted on the Cinecon website) are Harold Lloyd's Hot Water, and an early John Ford film, Upstream.

More information can be found at the website.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

The Master, Restored

The British Film Institute has restored nine silent and early sound films from the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock.

The films are:

The Pleasure Garden
Blackmail
The Ring
The Lodger: A Tale of the London Fog
Downhill
Easy Virtue
The Farmer's Wife
Champagne
The Manxman

An additional treat can be found in the restorations; an extra twenty minutes of footage from The Pleasure Garden were discovered, allowing the BFI not only to restore the film, but lengthen it, too. Blackmail is being released with a score by Neil Brand - and he's amazing; I've heard his impromptu piano accompaniment to several silent films at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone.  

Hats off to Martin Scorsese and his Film Foundation, which raised most of the money for the restoration! The BFI will hold a festival of all Hitchcock's films during the London Olympiad, and two actors from his films - Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie) and Bruce Dern (Marnie, Family Plot) will speak at the event.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Ray Bradbury

What is a post about Ray Bradbury doing on a silent-film blog?

It's a tribute. As most, if not all, of you know, Mr. Bradbury has passed away. I began to read his stories and books at an early age, and I've been hooked ever since. He wrote of one of his early influences, Lon Chaney, especially in his most famous role, that of Eric in The Phantom of the Opera. I own The Lon Chaney Collection, in which Bradbury speaks of Chaney's characters - that he typified the things in us we felt could never be loved; the fear that nobody, ever, could love us.

Spread a little stardust upon us, Mr. Bradbury.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

More on The Artist

Okay, I finally saw The Artist. I know. I should have seen it long ago. I realize this.

It was well worth the wait. I recognized clips from The Mask of Zorro in the scene where George is watching what is supposed to be one of his own films; I also identified many silent stars in the character of George. There is more than a touch of Fairbanks, especially with the charming smile George often has. John Gilbert. Rudolph Valentino (George's last name is, after all, Valentin). And the many stars who never made a successful transition to talkies.

I loved the movie. No, I adored it. The costumes, the situations, the locations, and the faces. The problem with most modern actors is that they have the look of this century stamped all over them. Put them in costume, and they look like modern actors in period costume; they don't look realistic.

Jean Dujardin, however, does; so do all of his costars. Granted, the women are too thin, but I can forgive them for that. I found an interview with the two leads, and I was amazed at the difference between the actors and the characters they play; they really do immerse themselves into their roles.

Hats off to all involved in this cinematic triumph!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Artist strikes again!

Rentals of silent films have risen by approximately 40% due to the success of the recent Oscar-winning silent film The Artist. Now, screenings of films from the silent era are playing to sell-out crowds:

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9585206.Silent_movie_pulls_in_the_crowds/

This showing was three hours long, with silent cartoons in addition to the main feature, Harold Lloyd's sweat-inducing 1923 film Safety Last.

Yes! Silents forever!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Phil-for-short

This is a truly delightful 1919 movie about a young woman, Damophilia (who goes by the nickname of Phil), whose world is turned upside-down when her father, a professor of Greek, dies suddenly.

Phil now finds herself the unwanted recipient of too much attention from a lecherous banker, who manages to have himself named her guardian. Rather than put up with him, Phil promptly dresses as a boy and runs away.

This cross-dressing works very well for her, but not for another professor of Greek. John Alden has just discovered that his fiance has been keeping her boyfriend on the side all along, and plans to support him after she is married. Embittered towards all women, he has no plans to get involved again. He meets Phil first as a boy, then as Phil's twin sister, when she gets hired as his assistant.

Will she win him over? She might. The movie doesn't end when you think it will, and there's more story than you would expect. One of those movies that should be released on DVD, if it hasn't been already.

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Artist - Oscar winner!

I can't tell you how pleased I am that, for the first time since the 1920s, a silent film has won the Oscar for Best Picture.

And Actor, and Director. Yes.

Sometimes, Hollywood really does get it right.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Hail the Woman

This is a very impressive, pro-feminist film. The "woman" of the title is Judith (Florence Vidor), the only member of her family who has the courage to stand up to her domineering, narrow-minded zealot of a father (Theodore Roberts). Judith is accustomed to being held accountable for every evil that has ever existed in the world, since she was born - gasp! - female. Her brother David (Lloyd Hughes) doesn't have it much better; he isn't viewed as the embodiment of sin, but their father has taken it for granted that David will do whatever he is told.

When it is revealed that David secretly married Nan (Madge Bellamy), a local woman, and that Nan is now pregnant, their father Oliver buys off Nan's father (Tully Marshall) with a check for a thousand dollars. Rather than face the entire town while she is pregnant - and the marriage certificate now destroyed - Nan leaves for the big city.

Judith is also accused of wrongdoing, having been seen associating with a poet, of all things, and smoking a cigarette. She, too, leaves for the city; not out of shame, but because she simply can't stand living with her father any longer, and who can blame her?

There is a marvelously touching scene between Judith and Nan, whom she finds in the city one Christmas. I'm not a fan of Madge Bellamy, who was extremely bland, but she really gives a fine performance here. The scene is also photographed beautifully, and is very emotional.

Eventually, of course, Judith returns home, and Oliver is given a taste of his own medicine. 1921, folks.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A double tragedy

I was thinking the other day about the movie Bettina's Substitute, which I have posted about here. I was curious about the actors in it, and discovered some fascinating information.

Bettina's fiance was played by Richard Rosson, who acted in several silents. He was a director as well, with his most famous film being the 1932 Scarface. His brother Arthur was a director; his other brother, Harold, was a cinematographer; his sister, Helene, was an actress. All in all, they were quite an illustrious family, with everyone but Helene continuing to work well into the sound era.

Rosson was married to silent actress Vera Sisson, who made her last film in 1926.

So far, so good - except that Rosson committed suicide in 1953, at the age of 60. His health was failing, and the cause of death is given as "carbon monoxide poisoning". (Most likely, he shut the garage door and turned on the car engine.)

Vera died the following year, of an overdose of barbiturates. They are buried side-by-side in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.