Why don't we have more of these?
I discovered a wonderful action figure of Lon Chaney from the famous (and, sadly, lost) film London After Midnight. You can also get figures of him as Erik in Phantom of the Opera and as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I did find, much to my delight, a series called Silent Screamers Action Figures. These gems include the Frankenstein monster from Edison's 1910 version of the classic tale (in which Charles Ogle played the monster) and Count Orlok from Murnau's classic Nosferatu.
These figures were all sold out at the website I checked. But they're sold all over the place.
How about some other figures?
- John Gilbert and Lillian Gish in La Boheme
- Valentino and Agnes Ayres in The Sheik
- Buster Keaton and Brown Eyes in Go West
- Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston in Girl Shy
- Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky in any of their movies
- Richard Barthelmess and Lillian Gish in Way Down East
- Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson in The Affairs of Anatol
- George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor in Sunrise
Come on, people! Get with it! Make some!
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Showing posts with label lon chaney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lon chaney. Show all posts
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Miracle Man
You can see the only surviving footage of The Miracle Man on YouTube (link below).
This is one of those films that cause intense anguish for me, wondering what might have been. We see just enough of it to want to see the whole thing, but most of it hasn't survived, unless there's a print out there somewhere, hidden away.
It was Chaney's breakthrough role, as a con man named Frog, and he's incredible, as always. DeMille leading man Thomas Meighan also stars, but that one scene - the fake healing, followed by the real thing - makes the film Chaney's, and his alone.
I hope that, as with Metropolis, we'll soon hear that the "lost" footage has been found, and the whole movie will be restored and presented to the public.
Take a look.
This is one of those films that cause intense anguish for me, wondering what might have been. We see just enough of it to want to see the whole thing, but most of it hasn't survived, unless there's a print out there somewhere, hidden away.
It was Chaney's breakthrough role, as a con man named Frog, and he's incredible, as always. DeMille leading man Thomas Meighan also stars, but that one scene - the fake healing, followed by the real thing - makes the film Chaney's, and his alone.
I hope that, as with Metropolis, we'll soon hear that the "lost" footage has been found, and the whole movie will be restored and presented to the public.
Take a look.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Lost
One of the saddest things about the silent era; so many films from that time no longer exist. I read somewhere that the guesstimate is 80 - 90%.
That is one GRIM statistic. For all of the great films that still exist, how many more are gone? No wonder we get excited at the news that the missing footage of Metropolis has been found. I wouldn't mind taking a tour of screening rooms, old movie theaters, and the houses of theater owners, in the hope of finding even one reel of a missing film. I'm that intent.
I know that the AFI has a list of "Most Wanted" of the lost films, but I couldn't find it online; I found many mentions of it, but not the list itself.
Here are some of mine:
The Miracle Man
The Greatest Thing in Life
London After Midnight (I've seen this referred to as perhaps the most famous lost film of them all)
Remodeling Her Husband (starring Dorothy Gish and directed by none other than her sister, Lillian; her only film behind the camera)
Cleopatra
The entire epic of Greed
The Boy in Blue
Number 13
Chaney! Gish! Murnau! Hitchcock!
That is one GRIM statistic. For all of the great films that still exist, how many more are gone? No wonder we get excited at the news that the missing footage of Metropolis has been found. I wouldn't mind taking a tour of screening rooms, old movie theaters, and the houses of theater owners, in the hope of finding even one reel of a missing film. I'm that intent.
I know that the AFI has a list of "Most Wanted" of the lost films, but I couldn't find it online; I found many mentions of it, but not the list itself.
Here are some of mine:
The Miracle Man
The Greatest Thing in Life
London After Midnight (I've seen this referred to as perhaps the most famous lost film of them all)
Remodeling Her Husband (starring Dorothy Gish and directed by none other than her sister, Lillian; her only film behind the camera)
Cleopatra
The entire epic of Greed
The Boy in Blue
Number 13
Chaney! Gish! Murnau! Hitchcock!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Performances
Here is a list of some of my favorite performances in silent film. Yes, I'm sure I'll be returning to this topic, too.
Lillian Gish. Well. Is there anything Lillian couldn't do? I doubt it. I don't have just one favorite performance; here are some of them:
Lucy in Broken Blossoms. Pushing up the corners of her mouth in a rictus rather than a smile, while her eyes overflow with terror; regarding a doll with wonder and quiet joy.
Anna in Way Down East. The baptism scene is my favorite in the movie. She gently applies water to the baby's head, then looks heavenward with an expression of pleading on her face. Lillian claimed that the baby's father, who was watching the filming of this scene, fainted while it was being filmed. She heard a thump as he slid to the floor.
Mimi in La Boheme. Starving herself for three days to make her death scene more realistic. Holding the back of a cart and letting it drag her along a street. Throwing herself at John Gilbert as he attempts to storm out of the room. Everything works in this performance.
Okay, on to other performers.
John Gilbert in The Show. God, what a triumph it was for him, and what a great talent was dimmed so soon. He's the ultimate anti-hero; someone you simply can't stand, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but Gilbert makes you watch him. You can't take your eyes away.
Henry B. Walthall in The Birth of a Nation. Such a shame the film took the slant that it did. Walthall effortlessly takes control of his scenes, matched only by Lillian Gish as his love interest. His best scenes, for me, are the battle scenes where Ben Cameron is ducking bullets; the scenes in the hospital, when he is recovering from his wounds; and the love story with Elsie Stoneman.
Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs. Having the corners of his mouth wired in a permanent smile, able to show his feelings only through his eyes. How many other actors could do it?
Lon Chaney. Here's another one with a string of excellent performances. Among them:
Tito in Laugh, Clown, Laugh. Portraying a middle-aged man who has fallen in love with his foster daughter, to whom he can only ever be her father. The look of pain on his face when interacting with her near the end of the film is heartrending.
The Miracle Man. I know, I know - only a few minutes of footage still exist. Even so, it's enough to show Chaney's incredible ability to work with his body, as his character is "healed" by faith.
The Penalty. He was brutal in that film, and it works perfectly. His physical stunts were no less impressive; hauling his whole body upwards by means of pegs inserted into holes in the wall never ceases to amaze me.
Buster Keaton. Everything Buster did, was uniquely his. That ability he had to convey a wide range of emotions without laughing or smiling is one that nobody will ever be able to do again. All of his performances are my favorites, even if not all of the films are.
Harold Lloyd in Girl Shy. Harold's "glasses" character can get on my nerves, but here, rather than being the typically brash young man, he's shy, withdrawn, and has a stutter. I was most impressed by the scene where he is pretending to his girlfriend that she never meant anything to him, and begins to laugh. In the midst of his laughter, you see an expression of deep disgust on his face that makes the scene even more poignant.
More later.
Lillian Gish. Well. Is there anything Lillian couldn't do? I doubt it. I don't have just one favorite performance; here are some of them:
Lucy in Broken Blossoms. Pushing up the corners of her mouth in a rictus rather than a smile, while her eyes overflow with terror; regarding a doll with wonder and quiet joy.
Anna in Way Down East. The baptism scene is my favorite in the movie. She gently applies water to the baby's head, then looks heavenward with an expression of pleading on her face. Lillian claimed that the baby's father, who was watching the filming of this scene, fainted while it was being filmed. She heard a thump as he slid to the floor.
Mimi in La Boheme. Starving herself for three days to make her death scene more realistic. Holding the back of a cart and letting it drag her along a street. Throwing herself at John Gilbert as he attempts to storm out of the room. Everything works in this performance.
Okay, on to other performers.
John Gilbert in The Show. God, what a triumph it was for him, and what a great talent was dimmed so soon. He's the ultimate anti-hero; someone you simply can't stand, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but Gilbert makes you watch him. You can't take your eyes away.
Henry B. Walthall in The Birth of a Nation. Such a shame the film took the slant that it did. Walthall effortlessly takes control of his scenes, matched only by Lillian Gish as his love interest. His best scenes, for me, are the battle scenes where Ben Cameron is ducking bullets; the scenes in the hospital, when he is recovering from his wounds; and the love story with Elsie Stoneman.
Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs. Having the corners of his mouth wired in a permanent smile, able to show his feelings only through his eyes. How many other actors could do it?
Lon Chaney. Here's another one with a string of excellent performances. Among them:
Tito in Laugh, Clown, Laugh. Portraying a middle-aged man who has fallen in love with his foster daughter, to whom he can only ever be her father. The look of pain on his face when interacting with her near the end of the film is heartrending.
The Miracle Man. I know, I know - only a few minutes of footage still exist. Even so, it's enough to show Chaney's incredible ability to work with his body, as his character is "healed" by faith.
The Penalty. He was brutal in that film, and it works perfectly. His physical stunts were no less impressive; hauling his whole body upwards by means of pegs inserted into holes in the wall never ceases to amaze me.
Buster Keaton. Everything Buster did, was uniquely his. That ability he had to convey a wide range of emotions without laughing or smiling is one that nobody will ever be able to do again. All of his performances are my favorites, even if not all of the films are.
Harold Lloyd in Girl Shy. Harold's "glasses" character can get on my nerves, but here, rather than being the typically brash young man, he's shy, withdrawn, and has a stutter. I was most impressed by the scene where he is pretending to his girlfriend that she never meant anything to him, and begins to laugh. In the midst of his laughter, you see an expression of deep disgust on his face that makes the scene even more poignant.
More later.
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