Silent Western

 

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THE INVADERS-1912-Ancient western about a broken treaty between ranchers and the Sioux. Sometimes considered the “first great western”, its typical cowboys vs. Indians plot was probably pretty new in 1912. Star Francis Ford (younger brother John) co-directed it with Thomas Ince. Ford directed many short silent films and also acted into the 1950's.

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Merry Christmas (a little late)

 

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THE DEATH AND PASSION OF CHRIST-1903-Considered the first feature length film, this is the life of Jesus shown in several episodes, from his birth to his Ascension. It's a pretty great film considering it's age. Made in France with tinted scenes and interesting sfx. The acting is a little over the top but that's not uncommon for a silent film. The original director Ferdinand Zecca had a falling out with producer Charles Pathe' so Lucien Nonguet finished it.

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Wolf's Blood

 

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WOLFBLOOD-1925-In the Canadian wilderness. Dick Bannister (George Chesbro, also the co-director), is field boss of the Ford logging Co. Jules Deveroux (Roy Watson), is the “unscrupulous” owner of Consolidated Lumber and Bannister's enemy. Also involved is Jacques Lebec (Milburn Morante), half breed bootlegger. The owner of the company is Edith Ford (Marguerite Clayton) who's fiancé is Dr. Horton (Ray Hanford). Ban-
nister requests a surgeon and insists the owner come too. Edith, Horton and Edith's uncle (Jack Cosgrave) go there. Later Bannister is hurt and needs a blood transfusion. The only blood available is from a wolf. The doctor does the transfusion. Later thanks to the treacherous Lebec (who wouldn't give his own blood), everyone knows Bannister has wolf's blood in him and treat him like a leper. 

This is not really a horror film but more a romantic love triangle with hints of the supernatural. Star Chesbro later made low budget westerns in the sound era, then was regulated to uncredited roles in films and on TV. He made around 400 appearances in total (his name was spelled differently at various points in his career).

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Buster Times 2

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SHERLOCK JUNIOR-1924-A movie projectionist (Buster Keaton, who also produced and directed) tries to solve the theft of some pearls after he's framed for stealing a watch belonging to the father (Buster's father Joe) of a woman (Kathyrn McGuire) he's sweet on. 

Very clever and funny with a couple of great stunts. The story is credited to Jean Havez & Joe Mitchell and Clyde Bruckman who all worked on many Keaton films.

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BATTLING BUTLER-1926-Socialite Alfred Butler (Buster Keaton; also in the director's chair) goes on a hunting trip and falls in love but his valet (Snitz Edwards) tells the woman (Sally O'Neill) and everyone else that his boss is boxer Battling Butler and then the trouble starts. Especially when the real boxer (Francis McDonald) shows up. 

This is pretty funny but it doesn't have the wild stunts like some of Buster's other comedies. The training scene is great though. Released the same year as Keaton's THE GENERAL, it's regarded as one of the comedian's best. 

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Tell Tale

 

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THE AVENGING CONSCIOUS or THOU SHALT NOT KILL-1914-A man (Henry B. Walthall) is raised by his uncle. When he's an adult (and Edgar Allan Poe fan), he works for the old man (Spottiswoode Aitken). All goes well until he meets a young woman Anabel (Blanche Sweet). He spends more time with her than uncle would like. When the uncle insults her, nephew quits. At a party, they meet “the stranger” (Ralph Lewis). When the nephew realizes that as long as his uncle is around, he and the girl can never be happy, he plots to kill uncle. 

Unfortunately, for him “the Italian” (George Siegman) sees him murdering unk and blackmails him. Nephew walls up the corpse in the fireplace. His guilt gets the best of him and he sees his uncle's ghost and has a breakdown. He goes to a sanitarium and seems to be cured but he suspects the stranger to be a detective (he's right) and hires the Italian to keep an eye out. Later, while being questioned by the detective, he has a fiery vision of demons in hell. He goes insane at the sight of his uncle's ghost and reenacts the murder in front of the detective. He flees but is pursued by a posse and hangs himself. The girl commits suicide but…. 

This DW Griffith directed adaptation based on Edgar Allan Poe's “The Tell Tale Heart” is sometimes called the first great American horror movie. The ending might be a letdown to some. It also features the ill-fated Wallace Reid as a doctor.

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Silent Star Prince

 

 (moviessliently.com)

THE STAR PRINCE-1918-A baby falls from the stars and is found by a woodcutter. He takes it home and he and his wife raise him with their other children. He (played by Zoe Rae, a young girl) grows into a deceitful, arrogant little brat who bullies his step-siblings and beats a bigger woman who turns out to be his mother who he shuns and insults when he finds out. A fairy sees his foul behavior and turns him into an ugly beggar. He wanders around looking for mom so he can apologize to her. Meanwhile, a fairy godmother tells a young princess (Dorphia Brown) she will marry the Star Prince. He saves a trapped squirrel and the fairy turns him back. Later, he meets The Dwarf (John Dorland) who imprisons the prince in a cave and asks the king to let the princess marry him instead. When the prince escapes, the dwarf's mom sends some imps to bring him back. He gets help from the squirrel he helped and arrives in time to break up the bogus marriage, see the dwarf turned into a pig and meet with both of his parents before marrying the princess. All the roles were played by kids. 

This silent production is the only film directed by Madeline Brandeis (she also wrote it), who was also a popular children's author. She distributed other films and planned to make more but died from injuries received in an automobile accident in 1937. She was 39 years old. Star Zoe Rae was also in a lost Lon Chaney film THE KAISER, THE BEAST OF BERLIN the same year.

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Early Alfred

 

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BLACKMAIL-1929-It takes a little while to get started but a woman Alice (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her policeman boyfriend Frank (John Longden) then goes with an artist (Cyril Ritchard) to his studio. Unbeknownst to her Frank sees them. After some flirtation he tries to rape her but she stabs him to death. The police investigate and Frank finds Alice's glove and sees that the dead man is the one she was with. When a man shows up at Alice's father's tobacco shop attempting to blackmail Alice, Frank devises a plan to pin the murder on the blackmailer. A chase through a museum highlights the story. Guilt ridden Alice wants to confess. 

This was Alfred Hitchcock's tenth movie and though originally done as a silent film it was decided midway way through the production that a sound film would also be made. This silent version is very well done with Hitchcock showing many of the traits he would use in subsequent film classics. It also features the longest of his many cameo appearances. The new score is a bit overwhelming.

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Happy Father's Day!

 

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FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER-1928-A man named Alan (Charles Lamy) is summoned to the home of his friend Roderick Usher (Jean Debucourt), who lives in seclusion with his wife Madeline (Marguerite Gance). Rod-erick is obsessed with a portrait of his wife. When he thinks she has died he accidentally buries her alive. She breaks free of her tomb and comes back to haunt hubby. 

This adaptation of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story is very experimental in nature with many eerie and nightmarish scenes. Luis Bunuel is credited with the adaptation, a year before he and Salvador Dali made UN CHIEN ANDALOU, although it's unclear how much he contributed to the final film as he and director-producer Jean Epstein had an argument during the production and Bunuel left, leaving the director to make several changes in the story. Lead actress Gance was married to director Abel Gance (who appears as a bar patron) at the time and had appeared in his NAPOLEON the year before. This French production runs about 13 minutes. Another version was produced in the US in 1929.

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Chaney in Charge

 

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THE MONSTER-1925-When Dr. Bowman disappears (actually his car is caused to crash and his body is taken by two ghoulish figures), the town of Danburg is in an uproar. The constable (Charles Sellon) and his "daring detectives'' investigate. Local boy Johnny Goodlittle (Johnny Arthur) who has a book "How Be A Detective" is the only one who finds a clue but the Constable laughs at him. Johnny works under Amos Rugg (Hallam Cooley) at a general store. They are both sweet on Betty Watson (Gertude Olmstead). The insurance company sends detective Jennings (William H. Turner). Once again Johnny shows them the clue he's found, a card from nearby Edwards sanitarium with the word help written backwards on the reverse side. Still, nobody believes it, since the doc is away and his sanitarium is closed. At Betty's party, she throws Johnny over for the pompous Rugg. Leaving dejectedly, Johnny meets a loony looking man who smokes an invisible pipe. When he mentions Bowman, Johnny follows him. When Rugg and Betty go for a ride, they fall victim to a planned auto accident just like Bowman had. Meanwhile Johnny accidentally gets into the sanitarium and later meets Rugg and Betty who went there to use the phone. They find a dead body. Asshole Rugg accuses Johnny of murder. Odd things happen around them. Then 30 minutes into the story Dr. Ziska (Lon Chaney) appears, saying he's in charge when Dr. Edwards is away. The guy they think is dead was actually in a trance. Ziska also has a huge mute servant Caliban (Walter James). Of course, Ziska is really an insane surgeon, once a patient who now has Edwards, Bowman and another guy captive in a dungeon. Meanwhile Ziska plans to transfer Rugg's soul into Betty's body. Fortunately, Johnny overcomes his cowardice and uses his "ingenuity" to put a stop to Ziska's evil machinations. 

THE MONSTER is thought to be the first type of haunted house mystery ala "THE OLD DARK HOUSE”. There's lots of strange characters and spooky goings on (clutching hands, secret doors etc). Co-star Johnny Arthur was known for playing timid characters, sometimes described as “effeminate”. After the Production Code was implemented in 1934, he had uncredited roles in many movies. He also portrayed Darla Hood's father in several “Our Gang” shorts. Star Lon Chaney is quite over the top in this horror-comedy which he made the same year as PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and THE UNHOLY THREE. 

Director/co-writer Roland West went on to make THE BAT and THE BAT WHISPERS but retired from the movies and went into business with ill-fated actress Thelma Todd. Co-writer Crane Wilbur (who wrote the play THE MONSTER is based on) made the controversial THE UNBORN in 1934 but went on to write many more movies (WEST OF SHANGHAI, HOUSE OF WAX, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND).

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Not Really Horror

 

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THE EYES OF THE MUMMY-1918-A man, Albert Wendland (Harry Liedtke) becomes obsessed with visiting the tomb of Queen Ma, whose other visitors have had “terrible misfortune” after going there. Wendland can't get anyone to go with him so he goes alone. He meets local Radu (Emil Jannings), who leads him into the tomb and attacks him. Wendland knocks Radu out and investigates, finding a room where he meets a woman also named Ma (Pola Negri) who says she is Radu's prisoner. Wendland whisks her away to Europe and tries to teach her how to act like a European but Radu also goes (with the help of a professor who saved him in the desert) to find her. Wendland gives a party and the male guests are mesmerized by Ma's exotic dance. A variety show agent wants Ma in his show. 2 months later, Ma is a dancing sensation and the professor goes to see her. He brings Radu, now his servant. When Radu sees Ma, the trouble begins. 

 (imdb)

There is no mummy in this silent film production which is good on its own but not really a horror movie. This silent German production was directed by Ernst Lubitsch who later went to Hollywood and directed many famous comedies like NINOTCHKA (1939) and TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942). 

Star Pola Negri (from Poland) made 3 more movies with Lubitsch, after which she came to Hollywood where she was quite popular and successful in silent films for Paramount for a while. Co-star Jannings would go on to work for FW Murnau, eventually coming to the US and winning the first best actor Academy Award in 1929. His film work for Nazi propaganda films during WW 2 finished his career as an actor after Germany's defeat. Actor Harry Liedtke was killed by The Red Army in 1945.

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Comedy Comp

 

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MGM's BIG PARADE OF COMEDY-1964-Compilation of comedy scenes from the studio starting in the silent era then talkies with parts featuring Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo and others. It's also the only time you'll see Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, The Marx Bros, The 3 Stooges (with Ted Healy) & WC Fields in one film! One of 8 comedy compilation films director Robert Youngson made between 1957 and 1970.

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2 Shorts

 

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LE SPECTRE ROUGE-(THE RED SPECTRE)-1907-This silent 9 MINUTE short was made in Spain by two directors and was influenced by Georges Melies. A skeletal demon does lots of magical tricks thanks to the use of many optical film tricks. It's crude but clever (hey, it was made over a hundred years ago!) and features great tinted color scenes. Sometimes confused with SATAN S'AMUSE made the same year by the same directing team.

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Il CASO VALDEMAR-1936-Weird, haunting silent short adaptation of the Poe story done in Italy. It might be hard to follow if you're not familiar with the story (I am and still found it a little mind boggling). It's sometimes referred to as the first "gore film" and I can see why in the climax. 26 years later Roger Corman used the same story for the third segment of TALES OF TERROR. It's only 12 minutes, judge for yourself:

https://youtu.be/qz3bw_21K8M?feature=shared 

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Short Shorts

 

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POSSIBLY IN MICHIGAN-1983-This is a strange surreal plot-less musical short with two women being stalked by a weird guy named Arthur. After some incomprehensible scenes they turn the tables on him (???). Weird shit made with funds from The National Endowment for The Arts and The Ohio Arts Council.

MAMMALS-1962-This weird short about two guys in the snowy frozen wilderness has been described as "Waiting for Godot" on ice. Roman Polanski co-wrote and directed it before his first feature film, KNIFE IN THE WATER. Yuk it up. It's Roman Polanski. He's a genius...

 (grepmed.com)

MUCHAUSEN-2013-Very well made short without any dialogue, about mother's (Bonnie Bedelia) obsessive behavior toward her son who is ready to leave home for college. Written and directed by Ali Aster. 

 (getty images)

GRANDMOTHER'S BEDTIME STORY-1979-A tired grandmother fed up with her bratty grandson who won't go to bed, reads him a story about a little princess who won't go to bed and is terrorized by a witch, a goblin, a hunchback and finally a dragon. Weird little gore short by Michael Hitchcock.

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Mammal by They Might Be Giants:

https://youtu.be/14jjo7MtSzE?feature=shared

Lon Clowns Around Again

 

 (imdb)

HE WHO GETS SLAPPED-1924-In Paris, scientist Paul Beaumont (Lon Chaney) proves his theories thanks in part to his wife Marie (Ruth King) and his rich benefactor The Baron (Marc McDermott) but the Baron steals not only Beaumont's discoveries but also his wife. Beaumont is disgraced and laughed at by an academy of old farts after The Baron calls him insane and slaps him. His wife insults and slaps him too. They are really an evil pair. 

Since his wife calls him a clown, he becomes one and 5 years later he's working at a circus as "He", a clown who makes the audience laugh by being slapped. Also there are daredevil rider Benzano (John Gilbert) who falls madly in love with Consuelo (Norma Shearer), the daughter of the shabby Count Mancini (Tully Marshall), who's to be his bareback rider. One night during his act, which despite having the audience in stitches, is rather cruel and morbid to me, “He” spies The Baron in the crowd. He also sees him talking to Consuelo, who He of course has now taken a shine to. Later, Benzano and Consuelo meet secretly. They are in love but Mancini convinces The Baron to marry her. When He declares his love for Consuelo she laughs thinking it a joke. He overhears the secret marriage proposal and sets up some deadly revenge. A scary clown with a globe shows up occasionally. 

This is another silent tragic revenge tale with Chaney once again giving his all in the sympathetic but vengeful lead role. Lead actress Shearer was married to MGM co-owner Irving Thalberg who co-produced the film with Swedish born director Victor Sjorstrom (THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE (1921)) who also co-adapted it from a Russian play. Co-star John Gilbert was on the verge of becoming one of the biggest stars of the silent era.

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Are You With Me, Dr. Wu?

 

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MR. WU-1927-Mandarin Wu (Lon Chaney) hires American Mr. Muir (Claude King) to teach his son "the ways of the west". When young Wu grows to manhood, he (also Chaney) marries but his wife dies after giving birth to their daughter Nang Ping (Rene Adoree'). Years later young Wu is a powerful mandarin and Nang Ping, a precocious young woman who will soon wed a man she's never met. Everything seems OK until she accidentally meets Basil Gregory (Ralph Forbes), the son of a racist diplomat (Holmes Herbert). They fall in love and have secret meetings in the lotus garden. Only her friend Loo Song (Anna May Wong) knows. When she meets his parents, Nang realizes their romance is doomed. The gardener tells Wu he saw them together so in anger Wu kills him! Then he watches Nang as she and Basil declare their love. Later saying Nang has disgraced the family Wu kills her to save her soul. Then he tortures Basil and torments Mrs. Gregory (Louise Dresser) by making her choose who should live or die: her son or daughter (Gertrude Olmstead). 

Strange little drama with Chaney once again carrying the picture as the honorable Wu. Ironically, director William Nigh years later directed the “Mr. Wong” series of films with Boris Karloff. Lead actress Renee Adoree' (from France) was a big star at the time but later contracted tuberculosis and died in 1933.

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Silent Talkie

 

 (tcm.com)

THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND-1929-Count Dakkar (Lionel Barrymore) is a brilliant scientist who along with his daughter Sonia (Jacqueline Gadsden) and her fiancé Roget (Lloyd Hughes) invents fantastic submarines to go look for a civ-ilization deep in the sea. But he's betrayed by his friend Baron Falon (Montagu Love) who wants to be dictator of nearby Hetvania. 

This silent film has several scenes with characters speaking and their voyage to a strange undersea kingdom populated by fish men is quite eerie as is a giant octopus attack. Some prints featured tinted color scenes. The SFX are great for the time but some of the scenes with dialogue drag a little. Most likely only used simply because the advent of sound interrupted the production. Snitz Edwards and Gibson Gowland also appear. 

It's loosely based on the 1874 Jules Verne novel of the same name which was a sequel to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". A more faithful remake was made in 1961. 

This is only one of three movies directed by Lucien Hubbard who went on to become a producer and writer. A few added scenes were directed by Maurice Tourneur and Benjamin Christensen.

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Rediscovered

 

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AS THE EARTH TURNS-1938-Amateur science fiction silent film originally made in 1938 but only rediscovered in 2019. A mysterious being known as Pax (the director Richard Lyford) can control the weather and cause earthquakes. He wants the world to stop making war. A newspaper publisher and two reporters (1 male, one female) investigate. Pax plans to "rock the Earth" and seems to succeed but the story ends before we find out. 

This is a trendsetting piece and its restored version looks great but it is an amateur film done in a little by bad SFX, over the top acting and terribly made-up actors. Nice new score by Ed Hartman was added after it's restoration. Director/star Lyford made other experimental short films (most of which are lost) but later he worked for Disney Studios.

 (Los Angeles Times)

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Silent Doll

 

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THE DOLL-1919-In this silent fairy tale from Germany, the Baron (Max Kronert) wants his nephew Lancelot to marry and carry on his bloodline. Lancelot (Hermann Thimig), a real mama's boy starts crying at the thought of matrimony. There's a frenzied chase after Lancelot by all the eligible women in town. He seeks shelter in a monastery run by some glutinous monks who have no money. When they read that the Baron is offering Lancelot 300,000 francs for him to come home and marry, the greedy monks come up with a plan to have Lance marry a mechanical doll. A nutty inventor (Victor Janson) has made a whole batch of them including one that looks like his daughter Ossi (Ossi Oswalda). 

Of course, that's the one Lance wants. Unfortunately, the inventor's abused assistant breaks it and the real Ossi has to stand in. When the inventor finds out the deception his hair turns gray. Lancelot marries her and goes back to the monks. She causes quite a distraction dancing with them. When it's discovered that Ossi is human, she and Lancelot fall in love. 

Director/co-scripter Ernst Lubitsch later came to America and made movies like THE MERRY WIDOW (1935), NINOTCHKA (1939) and HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1943).

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Alice Guy-Blache

 

 (IMDB)

BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHE-2018-Very interesting if a little long, documentary about Alice Guy-Blache probably the first woman director and the first person to make a feature film. Forgotten and ignored for decades she was a pioneer making something like 1000 short films with varied subjects (THE PIT & PENDULUM; HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME; THE LIFE OF CHRIST). Much of her output was later credited to her husband. The do it all writer/director/producer/editor Pamela B. Green does an awesome job of tracking down filmed interviews, written material and relatives. Check it out!

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Short But To The Point

  (TCM.com)

THE ERL KING-1931-A man races on horse back through a forest with his dying son but death in the form of the lurking Erl King (elf king) pursues them. This early French sound film (based on a novel Goethe) features crude but effective sfx. It was made in France by Marie-Lousie Iribe, a former actress who formed her own film company and directed her own movies. Highly recommended.

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