Any silent film fans out there?

[elperromagico]

Or am I the lone freak?

Among my favorites:
The Crowd (1928)
Intolerance (1916)
The Big Parade (1925)
Greed (1924)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Ben-Hur (1925) (superior to the sound version, IMO)
The Kid (1920)
Nosferatu (1921)
The Wind (1928)
Any Buster Keaton film

[wryter2000]

1. I like some

The Thief of Baghdad was pretty good, too. Sally of the Sawdust obviously needed for Fields to be able to speak.

I haven't seen many silents, but it appears that Turner is showing some now. Maybe I'll be able to catch up on some. I always enjoy recommendations.

Personally, movies from the '30's are my favorites.

[elperromagico]

3. Turner Classic Movies airs silent films

every Monday morning at midnight EST. Sometimes they run some great silent films (particularly films from the MGM vault).

[The Zanti Regent]

40. Los Angeles has the last Silent Movie Theater

http://www.silentmovietheatre.com/

It is a WONDERFUL place to go to and has a lot of the great films!

[roguevalley]

2. Sheik movies with Valentino. Those are a hoot and its easy to

see how he got so famous. I love the ones with
Dorothy and Lillian Gish too.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

33. Lillian Gish

Her life spanned theater of the late 19th, early 20th century when she traveled in theater groups with her mother and sister, to the birth of silents and talkies. Her last film, I believe, was The Whales of August in 1987. She grew up deprived (that's why her mother had to go into the theater to support her and her sister) and left her with an appreciation of her place in time. I have a video copy of The Wind and she speaks about the hardships of making that film. She literally risked her life to make some of her films. No stunt doubles in her day.

[elperromagico]

36. Gish said something about reaching for a car door handle

in the desert while shooting The Wind, and pulling back to find a piece of her hand still stuck to the handle!

Gish looked like such a frail woman, but she was tough as nails. Good businesswoman too, I believe (so was Mary Pickford).

[judy]

4. I recommend "Sunrise" by F.W.Murnau

A must !!!

[elperromagico]

5. I've seen it.

I like it, but I've always preferred The Crowd, for some reason. Nosferatu is still my favorite Murnau film.

[wryter2000]

6. Nosferatu

That's one I definitely want to catch up with.

[elperromagico]

7. Oh, that scene where

the door to Hutter's room flies open, and Count Orlok slowly walks through... that's scarier than anything Bela Lugosi ever did.

[put out]

8. I thought my son would be amused.

That movie is just so old, and he liked scary movies. Major screw up on my part; I slept on the floor of his room that night. It was really frightening for him, and creeped me out too.

Buster Keaton, though, and Charlie Chaplin. Have fun, the silents are a world unto themselves.

[Dr Fate]

58. Yes- "Sunrise" is my favorite as well...

...one of my favorite movies of any genre, actually...

[terrya]

9. "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"

Unusual German silent horror film from 1919. Almost experimental.

[elperromagico]

10. Saw that one too.

The first version I saw was a butchered re-release version from the 1940s; it didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. Then I caught a restored version a few months back, and gained a greater appreciation for it. I think a lot of people who say it's overrated have seen only the bowdlerized version.

[FarLeftRage]

11. Yes, all you have listed

And any Clara Bow film is fine for me.

[FarLeftRage]

17. Forgot to add

Louise Brooks, a fine, fine actress in her own right.

Anyone here seen any Theda Bara flicks?

Enjoyable only for the history of the silents...

[flamingyouth]

20. Most Theda films are lost

Fox suffered a major fire in their vaults in the late '30s, and that's where her films were stored. Of course, most silent films were on silver nitrate stock, which is highly flammable, and that's a major reason why so many films are lost today.

You can see "A Fool There Was" on VHS. It's a pretty silly film, and in retrospect it's highly amusing to wonder how she became so controversial and even downright threatening to the nation at the time. (Too much eye liner? Who knows? :shrug: ) Anyway, that's the film where she uttters, "Kiss me, my fool!" and where the term "vamp" came into fashion. Check it out if you get a chance! :hi:

[elperromagico]

21. What's the percentage of silent films lost?

I seem to recall it was something like 80%.

The damned nitrate stock would flame up at the slightest provocation, and once sound came in, what incentive did the studios have to save silents?

Due to the lack of funding, many more silent films will probably be lost before they can be saved. Nitrate stock, if it doesn't burn, will simply turn to dust in the cans.

[flamingyouth]

27. I think you're about right on that figure

Most are lost.

Of course, they keep finding films too. Not too long ago, they found a treasure trove in northern Russia. They had been buried in a vault years ago and had lain there basically frozen, so they were preserved.

At film festivals, I've seen some snippets from films that were subtitled in Serbo-Croatian and other eastern European languages. Maybe there are some still out there? One can only hope!

[BlackVelvetElvis]

31. The fall of the iron curtain was a blessing for silent fans

When the west had crappy copies of long forgotten films, many of those same films were discovered in vaults in eastern Europe or Russia in wonderful condition or with lost parts intact. I'm sure there are many more waiting to be found.

[FarLeftRage]

23. That is unfortunate

about the fire...

I have seen stills of Theda's films in a book:

"Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara" by Eve Golden

And I have "A Fool There Was" on VHS.
I have to agree with your assessment that the movie is somewhat "pretty silly and highly amusing" by today's standards... but just think what they might say about some of the current films some 75 - 100 years from now.

FWIW, when people ask me what films I like to watch, I usually tell them that I like silent films and films of the 1930's and 1940's...

Of course, I get strange looks :shrug:, but what the hay... to each their own. :hi:

[flamingyouth]

29. That's a great book on Theda

I would LOVE to see Cleopatra! Those sets and costumes are totally wild! Especially that snake brassiere!

[flamingyouth]

12. Yes (hence my user ID)

Oh, to have seen the original, uncut version of Greed...
All of the ones you picked are excellent. I also like Peter Pan with Betty Bronson, The Unholy Three (anything with Lon Chaney), The Eagle with Rudolph Valentino (anything by Valentino, with the exception of Monsieur Beaucaire, which I don't care for).

Here's my dream list of lost silent films:
Flaming Youth and The Perfect Flapper, with Colleen Moore
London After Midnight, with Lon Chaney
Beyond the Rocks, with Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson
Cleopatra and Salome, with Theda Bara
The Sainted Devil, with Valentino

Oh, I could go on and on. I am a huge fan and I've traveled all over to attend silent film festivals and meet both the aging stars and their families. Two former silent actors are still alive today: Anita Page, who also had a career in talkies, and Diana Serra Cary, who was the child star Baby Peggy Montgomery. She has written several books about early Hollywood and child stars, and she is a sheer delight - an amazing woman.

OK, enough rambling from me! Thanks for this thread! :hi:

[elperromagico]

15. The silent version of Peter Pan

with Betty Bronson is very impressive, particularly considering the era in which it was made. And to think that most of those special effects were done in-camera!

The person playing the dog and the alligator was great as well (I believe it was the same person doing both- a professional animal impersonator).

[flamingyouth]

18. Yes, it was the same person

I will have to look it up and see who it was - I'm sure I have that info around here somewhere.

I was traumatized when my cable co. took TCM off our lineup earlier this year. It's enough to make me want to get satellite TV. So many silents haven't been released on DVD, or even on video. I always really enjoyed the short silent films TCM ran around Christmas; I'd never seen any of them before.

[elperromagico]

24. American Movie Classics used to run silent films.

I developed my fondness for Buster Keaton from one of AMC's film preservation marathons. They ran most of Keaton's silent features and all (I think) of his two-reelers.

I'm in the minority, but I generally prefer Keaton over Chaplin, for any number of reasons. Keaton was a far greater director, with a better visual sense. In Chaplin's films, Chaplin is the scene... without him you have only window dressing; Keaton is more a part of the scene, reacting to it rather than creating it.

Besides, Chaplin makes me cry too damned much. If I want to cry, I'll watch The Big Parade or The Crowd.

But alas, AMC seems to have lost interest in broadcasting true classic films, choosing instead to appeal to the "idiot audience" with newer (and generally inferior) films.

[flamingyouth]

30. It was sad when AMC changed so drastically

They used to run quite a few silents. I even remember when our local channels would run them late at night too (but that was a long time ago).

It's funny, my parents grew up in the '40s and '50s and they do not get my interest in silent films at all. To them, they are ridiculously old-fashioned and silly, yet I love them.

I have my grandmother's scrapbooks from the '20s when she was living in Santa Monica. She cut out articles and photos from Photoplay and Motion Picture, et al, so I think maybe that's where I got my interest back when I was little, looking through her books.

[CBHagman]

56. I'm with you on Keaton.

I saw a few of his films when I was in college and just loved them. He has his own poignancy, I would say, as Chaplin does, but Keaton is also just so laugh-out-loud funny and inventive.

Turner Classic Movies did a Harold Lloyd retrospective a while back, and he's another one silent movie fans MUST check out. There was a sequence in one of his films (I forget which) in which he races to stop his lady love from marrying the wrong man. In the sequence, Lloyd uses almost every form of transportation available at the time.

My grandmother was a minor actress in silent films, and I often wonder where she did her work (probably in Fort Lee, NJ, I would guess) and whether anything she did survived.

[elperromagico]

57. Fort Lee, NJ? Was that with the Edison Company?

[CBHagman]

64. I wish I knew

I know my grandmother worked in silent films and lived on the East Coast. I believe she lived in Greenwich Village circa World War I. The problem is, I have no clue how or through which company she did her work. Obviously, she's no longer around to be queried about all this. I'm currently researching her family, though, so something might turn up.

[BuelahWitch]

51. Do you go to Cinecon, Flaming Youth?

and are you a poster on alt.movies.silent?

[kskiska]

13. I watch them all the time

Harold Lloyd is fantastic. My hands still sweat as he hangs from those buildings in downtown L.A.

Turner showed one in particular that was intriguing: The Passion of St. Joan of Arc. Ordinarily the subject matter wouldn't interest me, but this one was fascinating. It was banned in France and a copy was found in an attic in Amsterdam, I believe.

Fatty Arbuckle and Clara Bow are good, too. It's interesting to see what a wonderful place Coney Island used to be in these old movies, with the funhouse blowing up women's skirts, the revolving barrel, and the slides. My mother used to tell me how great Steeplechase Park was.

[pansypoo53219]

14. i guess i dabble

seen several listed, even saw nosferatu at a theater.

[mykpart]

16. I used to love Silent films,

but quite frankly, at my age now I'm just too damn lazy to read the dialogue cards! Ditto for foreign films with subtitles. Sad to get old.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

19. You are not alone!

I have a huge collection. The Big Parade is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Another John Gilbert film I love is Flesh and the Devil with Greta Garbo-so sexy.
I am also a fan of S. Eisentstein, the Russian director famous for Battleship Potemkin.
You listed so many great films!

[Spirochete]

22. I like some of them

mostly comedy stuff like Harold Lloyd and buster Keaton

[ajacobson]

25. Big Time!

There used to be a guy in Ann Arbor, Mich. who had a huge silent film collection and he would screen them a selection very Sunday or so at a local hotel. It was great. The last time I heard of him doing that was a few years ago, so I imagine he's passed on. I hope his collection went to the University of Mich, he had some very rare films.

I'm partial to Louise Brooks and Colleen Moore, myself.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

26. Louise Brooks was a very interesting person

Has anyone ever read any of her writings on film or her biography?
It is amazing and rare that she gave up the movie business in her prime shortly after talkies were introduced.

[corporatewhore]

28. Modern Times-Chaplin

[Astarho]

32. Silent fan here

My Mom was kind enough to get me a bunch of Chaplin films for Christmas, including Tillie's puntured Romance, one of my favorite Chaplin films.

My Favorites:
Metropolis
The General
The Big Parade
Phantom of the Opera
Nosferatu
The Mark of Zorro
The Cameraman
My Best Girl

[Lady Freedom]

34. I love Phantom of the Opera!

The silent one is the spookiest!

[thebigidea]

35. love em & make em

favorites:

The Golem
Cabinet of Doctor Caligari
Epstein's The Fall of the House of Usher
Un Chien Andalou

if its German expressionist, its gotta be good!

[kskiska]

37. No one's mentioned Uncle Tom's Cabin

When I was a kid in the NY area one of the early channels had a program called "Million Dollar Movie," where for an entire week, one movie would be played over and over. One week the feature was the silent, Uncle Tom's Cabin. There's a great scene where Eliza crosses the river stepping nimbly from one ice floe to another as the current moves toward a waterfall. This was actually filmed on a river.

[LynneSin]

38. I absolutely love anything by Charlie Chaplin

I have a ton of his stuff on video tape and I'm working to get it all on DVD. I love both City Lights and Gold Rush - 2 of the most amazing movies ever made and of course both silent.

I also love Nosferatu and I have that on DVD. Another amazing silent movie!!!!

[Sapphocrat]

39. Yep, thanks to...

...1) a high-school freshman who introduced me to the Blackhawk Films catalogue when I was 15, and 2) living in close proximity to the fabulous Stanford Theatre, which has a real, vintage Wurltizer organ that rises out of the orchestra pit, and a very talented organ player who lends just the right music and sound effects to the silents they often run.

Oh, and it didn't hurt that the very first movie my mother ever saw was the original Cat and the Canary (1927) -- she was about 6, and remembers it scared bloody hell out of her. So that was one I had to get on tape, to see what freaked her out as a kid. :)

The General has got to be my favorite -- although I was surprised that I really enjoyed... oops, wait, which Gish picture was set against the backdrop of the French Revolution? Was that Orphans of the Storm?

Anyway, YEAH! Love 'em!

[elperromagico]

41. Yes, Orphans of the Storm.

That was a D. W. Griffith picture. 1922, I think.

[edbermac]

42. My faves

I'll go with these:

The Gold Rush by Chaplin
Sunrise by Murnau
Battleship Potemkin by Eisenstein
Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl both with Louise Brooks
Blackmail by Hitchcock

[Orrin_73]

43. Harold LLoyd

His movies are the ones I fondly remember.


kucinich.us

deanforamerica.com
clark04.com
sharpton2004.org

Tom DeLay:"I challenge anyone to live on my salary" <$158,000 a year>

[Cooley Hurd]

46. My favorite HL feature is...

..."Girl Shy" (1924). The gags were breathtaking (much more so than "Safety Last"). The scene where he's rushing to stop Jobyna Ralston from marrying the polygamist, by hitching rides on a trolley, a fire truck, a motorcycle, and finally a horse-drawn wagon always has my heart in my throat!

Wouldn't anyone risk life and limb for THESE eyes?
And the final scene, in which he bursts into the chapel and stops the wedding, was the inspiration for the final scene in "The Graduate."

"Speedy" (1928) and "The Kid Brother" (1927) are my #2 and #3, respectively...


Harold Lloyd is the most underrated comic of the silent era...

[elperromagico]

47. He's especially impressive when you realize

that he did a lot of those stunts with only three fingers on one hand. Apparently there was an accident with a prop bomb that turned out to be real.

He wore gloves (one can be plainly seen in your second picture) in order to cover up the injury.

[Astarho]

49. Did you know

that Harold Lloyd's "Glasses" character was an inspiration for Clark Kent.

[area51]

44. "Any silent film fans out there?"

I like silent films, but haven't been able to see many of them. Maybe someday.

[TacticalPeek]

45. "Any Buster Keaton film"

'The General' is the funniest film ever made.

[Cooley Hurd]

48. "The General" is an incredible film...

...visually (the Civil War scenes were beautifully filmed), as well as gag-wise. My favorite scene is the one where Buster is trying to aim the train-drawn cannon at the other train, only to have the cannon level itself at Butster's train. Fortunately, Buster's train rounds a bend just in time, clearing the firing path for the cannon to hit the other train. The timing of all of Buster's gags was always impeccable...

As much as I love "The General," I have to say my favorite BK film is "Sherlock, Jr." The story of Buster (playing a movie theatre projectionist) becoming part of the films he's showing (it predates Woody Allen's "Purple Rose of Cairo" by 60 years) is way ahead of its time.

I also really like "Steamboat Bill, Jr." A great scene in it is when Buster's father, whom he hasn't seen since childhood, wants to make him more "manly" by buying him a new hat (to replace Buster's effeminate beret). He makes Buster try on several, including Buster's trademark "porkpie" hat, which Buster promptly hides before his father has a chance to see it on him. For a comedian known for broad, physical humor, this little subtlety is hilarious!

On edit... Forgot to mention - I bought this on eBay yesterday:

Buster Keaton Life Mask
Exclusive Casting From New Superior Quality Mould
THIS IS THE BEST, MOST DETAILED LIFE MASK OF BUSTER KEATON EVER OFFERED FOR sale ANYWHERE, AND IT'S ONLY AVAILABLE FROM THE HAUNTED STUDIOS . This is an authentic cast, made from an original life mask of actor, writer, and director Buster Keaton newly added to our collection. This cast is completely original, with no 'enhancement' of any kind. What you see is his actual face, with every detail, just as it was when he sat for the life mask.

Pretty cool, huh?

[flamingyouth]

50. Very cool indeed

I love that life mask!

One of my favorite Keaton shorts is "One Week." Very funny stuff.

[elperromagico]

54. "One Week"

I love the closing scene with the house on the railroad tracks. :D

[flamingyouth]

55. I recently saw that in a theater

There were lots of kids there, as well as many other people who had obviously not seen it before. People just gasped at the last scene - it's brilliant! :D

[BuelahWitch]

52. I'm on the comittee of the Topeka KS Silent Film Festival

We have a FREE festival every year (in 2004 it will be Feb. 27 and 28). Planning a lineup that includes Oliver Twist with Lon Chaney, Spite Marriage with Buster Keaton and Lilac Time with Colleen Moore and a very young Gary Cooper.

My fav silent film stars are Ramon Novarro, Mabel Normand, Chaplin, Clara Bow, Harold Lloyd and Bessie Love

[flamingyouth]

59. That sounds great!

Do you have live musical accompaniment? You picked some great films to show.

[elperromagico]

60. "Spite Marriage" has a synchronized music track, doesn't it?

It comes from that brief period between about 1927 and 1929 when the studios were making silents and talkies simultaneously.

[flamingyouth]

61. "Lilac Time" has a bit too

The song "Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time" was a very big hit from that film (can't remember who sang it, tho).

[BuelahWitch]

62. Yes, there will be live accompaniment for most of it

Perhaps all (not sure about "Spite Marriage"). Mont-Alto Orchestra will be playing, but most of the features will be accompanied by Dr. Marvin Falwell (no relation to Jerry, LOL!) on the organ.

[BuelahWitch]

53. BTW, if anyone is interested in a calendar of Silent Film Stars

You can contact Rodney Sauer of Mont Alto Orchestra (they're a fantastic quintet that accompanies silent films) at this web address:

http://www.mont-alto.com/Calendar/Calendar.html

Only 10 bucks and part of proceeds go to help film preservation.

[ProfessorGAC]

63. Intolerance

Best silent film ever.

Close second: The Battleship Potemkin
The Professor

[BuelahWitch]

65. If anyone likes Ramon Novarro (Ben-Hur, 1925)

Check out the book "Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro." The author is Andre Soares and he did some fantastic research on Novarro.