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.

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.

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.

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.

Tickets

A Cheap Seat is offering tickets at a deep discount. Upcoming events include Roger Waters, Ozzy Osbourne, Carrie Underwood, and Lady Gaga (ST. PETE TIMES FORUM TICKETS).

Not only does the site offer discounted tickets to concerts, but also to sports events, theatre shows, and circuses. One such event is the ACC Men's Football Championship (ACC Mens Football Championship Tickets).

Venues nationwide are included in the offer, including Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. (VERIZON CENTER TICKETS).

Enjoy your show!

More silents!

I just discovered that the British Film Institute has its own channel on YouTube. The name is BFIfilms.

Some fascinating things here, such as Anny Ondra's sound test for Hitchcock's (and Britain's) first sound film, Blackmail. Footage of the construction of the Olympic, sister ship to the Titanic. Footage of London, pre-WWII.

Take a look!

This year's Giornate

I couldn't make it to Le Giornate del Cinema Muto this year, and I'm heartbroken. The program is rich and varied, as I saw from checking the website:

http://www.cinetecadelfriuli.org/gcm/giornate/questa_edizione.html

The Giornate has been suffering from budget cuts; this year, the admission fee had to be increased. It's still worth it. Where else can you find such marvelous treasures, eight days' worth, available to you?

Silent film historian Kevin Brownlow attends the Giornate every year. This year, as I blogged earlier, he is receiving an honorary Oscar for his work in getting silent films restored. Maybe more attention will be focused on this field, keeping the silents alive for all of us.

I hope it's a good one. And I am determined to make it next year!