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- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.This continues to be one of my favorite movies of any year. The film is a very energetic "city symphony" documentary with wonderful glimpses of early 20th Century Russian life. Reviewed.
- DirectorRobert FloreyJoseph SantleyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxDuring the Florida land boom, The Marx Brothers run a hotel, auction off some land, thwart a jewel robbery, and generally act like themselves.The Marx Brothers' debut and one of my very favorites. I laughed out loud several times, mostly during Groucho's encounters with Margaret Dumont. How I love that woman! One of the great straight "men" of all times. I always enjoy Chico and Harpo's performances on piano and harp and this movie has some dandies. The chorus girls are also unintentionally amusing - where did they ever find them and how did they improve so noticeably in just a few years? Version on YouTube now unwatchable.
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsLouise BrooksFritz KortnerFrancis LedererThe rise and inevitable fall of an amoral but naive young woman whose insouciant eroticism inspires lust and violence in those around her.Criterion Channel. I rented the excellent Criterion Collection 2-DVD set from Netflix and had many hours of fun with: the film, the film with commentary, a 60-minute TCM documentary on the life of Louise Brooks, a 40-minute interview with Louise Brooks, and an interview with G.W. Pabst's son. I've seen the film before but had forgotten most of it other than the images of Brooksie's face. It stands up well on a bunch of grounds. I think Pabst is a master at directing groups of people, such as in the backstage and casino scenes here. Reviewed.
- DirectorEwald André DupontStarsGilda GrayAnna May WongJameson ThomasA young Chinese woman working in the kitchen at a London dance club is given the chance to become the club's main act, which leads to a plot of betrayal, forbidden love, and murder.I had a feeling Anna May Wong would be a treat but I did not expect such a stylish and beautiful film. The costume design and art direction are simply fabulous. The love triangle plot is relatively standard but it is so well told that it kept my interest throughout. It was fun to see my favorite Captain Hook, Cyril Ritchard, as a young song and dance man as well. YouTube
- DirectorKing VidorStarsDaniel L. HaynesNina Mae McKinneyWilliam FountaineA sharecropper decides to become a preacher after falling for a vamp from the city.Despite the stereotypes, I really enjoy this film. There is a sincerity in the portrayals of simple country folk that transcends race. And the singing, from spirituals to blues to Tin Pan Alley, can't be beat. The lead actor, bass-baritone Daniel Haynes, is very appealing and Nina McKinney wasn't called "the Black Clara Bow" for nothing. For rent on YouTube
- DirectorJames CruzeErich von StroheimStarsErich von StroheimDonald DouglasBetty CompsonAn insanely, egocentric ventriloquist, even though he is possessed by his wooden dummy, is in love with a dancer who is in love with another. The dummy gives advice to the ventriloquist.Erich von Stroheim plays an egocentric ventriloquist whose personality is slowly splitting between a persona who cannot relate to others and the kind and funny puppet who does his engaging with the world. He climbs his way up to Broadway after his sweetheart/assistant (Betty Compson, The Docks of New York) no longer can suffer his abuse and leaves him. His rise is accompanied by a great fall when they are reunited in a Broadway review. This movie would have been great minus the bizarre musical numbers. The "Caught in the Web of Love" number, complete with chorus girls who must have been borrowed from the same factory where they got the Cocoanuts chorines, must be seen to be believed. Von Stroheim is marvelous as is whoever voiced Otto the dummy. YouTube
- DirectorJoe MayStarsAlbert SteinrückElse HellerGustav FröhlichJoe May's sensual drama of life in the Berlin underworld is in many ways the perfect summation of German filmmaking in the silent era: a dazzling visual style, a psychological approach to its characters, and the ability to take a simple and essentially melodramatic story and turn it into something more complex and inherently cinematic.This is a late silent German picture directed by Joe May, with whom I am unfamiliar. It also introduced me to another American sloe-eyed vamp, Betty Amman, who is simply mesmerizing here. Why she did not become a big star I cannot fathom. Gustav Frolich, the juvenile lead in Metropolis, plays a rookie policeman who falls for the allure of jewel thief Amman. This movie was a complete delight to me, from its amusing beginning to its melodramatic end. I drank in the gorgeous expressionist lighting and super-stylish design. The acting was excellent. I highly recommend it. Amazon. Reviewed
- DirectorGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsLouise BrooksJosef RovenskýFritz RaspAfter falling pregnant by a pharmacist and refusing to marry, a young woman is ejected from her home and sent to a strict girls' reform school.Worth seeing just for the natural performance of the fabulous Louise Brooks as the lost girl. The other actors aren't too shabby either. The "naughty" story with its faux morality is not the main draw here. YouTube. Reviewed.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMaurice ChevalierJeanette MacDonaldLupino LaneThe queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying.Criterion Channel. Prototypical early Lubitsch musical featuring Maurice Chevalier and an impossibly young Jeannette MacDonald in her film debut. As usual, the story is a light and frothy melange about court life in a fictional kingdom with plenty of double entendres. I enjoyed it very much although I think these movies improved as they went along. The sound technology was in its infancy here and it shows a bit around the edges.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsHelen MorganJoan PeersFuller Mellish Jr.A burlesque star seeks to keep her convent-raised daughter away from her low-down life and abusive lover/stage manager.Tear-jerker about the sacrifices a dim burlesque star (Helen Morgan) makes for her daughter. Morgan is simply fabulous in this film. The movie's other claim to fame is the fluidity with which Mamoulian uses the camera in this very early sound film. Its reputation is born out in the viewing. YouTube
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraJohn LongdenSara AllgoodAfter killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.This is Hitchcock's first sound film and it's interesting to see how he uses sound effects to build suspense and convey emotion. The film was post-synchronized and Hitchcock cleverly added ambient sound to his silent footage, thereby avoiding the need to re-shoot much of the movie. This also includes an early Hitchcockian set piece on a national monument - in this case the British Museum.
- DirectorEdward SedgwickBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonDorothy SebastianEdward EarleAn unimpressive but well intending man is given the chance to marry a popular actress, of whom he has been a hopeless fan. But what he doesn't realize is that he is being used to make the actress' old flame jealous.This was Buster Keaton's last silent film and his first under his career-wrecking contract with MGM. Having heard for years how MGM mishandled my favorite comedian, I was surprised at how enjoyable and characteristic this movie was. There are plenty of gags that could have been devised by nobody but Buster and I smiled throughout. I was also impressed with what a good sport the plucky heroine was. For rent on YouTube.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsWilly FritschGerda MaurusKlaus PohlA tenacious scientist blasts off for the moon in hopes of riches that may be found there.AKA "Woman in the Moon" This is a fun film about a journey to the dark side of the moon to see whether there is gold in them thar hills. It's one of those movies where you talk to the screen throughout, laughing about some of the ideas about space exploration. I was particularly taken with two of the astronauts' matching sweaters. At the same time, the conception of the rocket and rocket launch were eerily prescient.
The film also contains a nifty subplot about how international bankers will stop at nothing to gain control of the moon's gold. The chief thug employed by cartel is portrayed by our old friend Fritz Rasp who played the pharmacist's assistant in Diary of a Lost Girl. He is rapidly becoming one of my very favorite screen badies.
Unfortunately, this movie runs almost 3 hours. Trimming an hour could only have improved it. I found myself editing in my head as the movie played on and on. YouTube - DirectorAnthony AsquithStarsHans Adalbert SchlettowUno HenningNorah BaringA former barber escapes from a high security prison. Flashback story of an escape from the lonely, high-security Dartmoor Prison.Silent film about a man who escapes Dartmoor prison and heads to the cottage of an female co-worker who had married another man. The story of how the man ended up in prison is told in the form of a long flashback. The co-worker is played by Norah Baring, who portrayed the accused actress in Alfred Hitchock's Murder!.
The story doesn't make a whole lot of sense and drags but the cinematography is remarkable. There is a long sequence of people watching a talkie that doesn't advance the plot but does provide an amusing commentary on the changes the new technology is bringing to movie going. Amazon. Reviewed. - DirectorMillard WebbStarsMary EatonEddie CantorHelen MorganThe rise of a showgirl, Gloria Hughes, culminating in a Ziegfeld extravaganza "Glorifying the American Girl".Early backstage musical about a plucky department store song demonstrator who makes it big in the Zigfield Follies but loses her chances for True Love in the process. This is nothing great but I forgave it most of its faults. The story moves right along, the singing and dancing is not bad, and it is fun to see the performances at the end by the Zegfield Follies stars such as Rudy Vallee, Helen Morgan and Eddie Cantor. YouTube
- DirectorAleksandr DovzhenkoStarsSemyon SvashenkoGeorgi KhorkovAmvrosi BuchmaA soldier returns to Kyiv after surviving a train crash and encounters clashes between nationalists and collectivists.This late Soviet silent film commemorates the Ukrainian revolution. It focuses on the aftermath of World War I, the Ukrainian uprising against the Czar, and the subsequent battles between nationalist Ukrainian forces who wanted to see an independent Ukraine and Bolshevik forces who wanted union with the Soviet Union. The civil war is symbolized by the unsuccessful efforts of Bolshevik workers to defend a munitions factory in Kiev against attack by nationalist forces.
The images of death, destruction, famine, sickness, maiming and other horrific results of war are undeniably powerful and moving. The Kino Video DVD has an interesting commentary that gives the historical background to the story. Still, this is nothing I ever want to watch again. YouTube. - DirectorArnold FanckGeorg Wilhelm PabstStarsGustav DiesslLeni RiefenstahlErnst PetersenA man climbs a 12,000-foot mountain to search for his wife, who was lost on their honeymoon. Another couple makes the dangerous climb with him.You just have to know a character is doomed when she is mountain climbing while wearing a skirt. Sure enough this one bites the dust within 5 minutes of the start of the picture. The hero has a grip of iron but the rope breaks. The hero's heart is broken and he spends his lonely life wondering the alps. Later he meets up with a young couple (Leni Riefenstahl and Ernst Petersen). Despite the hero's obvious death wish and the ominous weather, the couple decide to join him in an attempt to conquer the mountain's dangerous North Face. They are, of course, trapped by avalanches. Leni Riefenstahl glows with athletic beauty and the scenery is magnificent. Other than that I found the movie somewhat tedious.
I was fascinated with the attitude towards women. Although Leni refused to be left behind by the men and at least did not attempt to climb in her skirt, she did almost nothing to try to get the little group rescued even though she was the only uninjured member of the party. It wasn't like there was much to do, it mostly consisted of calling out and waving objects around but she didn't even do that. YouTube - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraCarl BrissonMalcolm KeenA fisherman and a rising young lawyer, who grew up as brothers, fall in love with the same girl.I liked Hitchcock's last silent film better than I thought I would based on its reputation. Make no mistake, you would not know he directed it if that were not revealed in the credits. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant enough love-triangle melodrama and the acting is pretty good. I also enjoyed looking at the scenery from the Isle of Man and Cornwall where this was filmed. Amazon Prime
- DirectorMalcolm St. ClairFrank TuttleStarsWilliam PowellJean ArthurJames HallA beautiful showgirl, nicknamed 'the Canary', is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and soon ends up dead. But who killed 'the Canary'. All the suspects who knew her had been used by her. The only witness to the crime was also killed. Only one man, debonair detective, Philo Vance, might be able to figure out who silenced 'the Canary'.The primitive sound technology and creaky direction was partially overcome by the always reliable William Powell and Eugene Pallette and by the lovely Louise Brooks. Poor Louise to be so badly dubbed. It was amusing to think how a woman with such a voice could have dragged so many men to their doom. YouTube. Reviewed.
- DirectorEwald André DupontStarsFranklin DyallMadeleine CarrollJohn StuartOn its maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.I really can't recommend this early sound disaster flick except for historical interest. Even the special effects aren't spectacular. About 80% of the film takes place on a single set - the bar. And it all goes very slowly mostly because all the actors speak in very ... measured ... cadences.
I speculated a bit about the unusual delivery and came up with two possible theories. The actors may have been used to silent pictures where they spoke slowly so the audience could lip read? Or, did the director think it would be easier to synchronize the dialogue for the other language versions if the dialogue was very slow? YouTube - DirectorGrigoriy KozintsevLeonid TraubergStarsDavid GutmanYelena KuzminaAndrei KostrichkinIn the beginning of the industrial revolution, the Paris Commune was established in 1871 against the rich and the powerful, and violently repressed by the army that remained faithful to a tamer form of Republicanism. How could the love story between a young sales girl and a soldier unable to decide if he was pro or against the radical fashion? Two short months were needed for the answer to be found - in blood and tears, and under rain that washes all past memories. Any day, a New Babylon shop will open with frilly things for the bourgeois girls. The washerwomen will be there to wash them.I have to admit I need someone to explain the wonders of this film to me. It is a silent Soviet movie about the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune. The bourgeois are very, very decadent and act in a frenzied and demented manner. The workers are, if anything, even more deranged. The cutting is choppy and disorienting. Possibly I would have been more open to the artistic merits of this piece had it not been accompanied by a headache-inducing Shostakovich score which had been specially composed for the film. Alas, I am perhaps a philistine. YouTube
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsDouglas FairbanksBelle BennettMarguerite De La MotteKing Louis XIII of France is thrilled when his son is born--an heir to the throne. But his Queen has actually delivered twin boys. Cardinal Richelieu sees the second son as a potential for revolution, and has him sent off to Spain to be raised in secret to ensure a peaceful future for France. Alas, keeping the secret means sending Constance, lover of D'Artagnan, off to a convent. D'Artagnan hears of this and rallies the Musketeers in a bid to rescue her. Unfortunately, Richelieu outsmarts the Musketeers and banishes them forever. Richelieu enlists D'Artagnan to look after and protect the young prince. Meanwhile, de Rochefort learns of the twins and Richelieu's plans, and kidnaps the twin, raising him in secret. Many years later, with Richelieu dead and the young prince crowned King Louis XIV, Rochefort launches his plan. The king is kidnapped, replaced with his twin, put in an iron mask so as not to be recognized, and led off to a remote castle to be held prisoner. Louis XIV is able to alert D'Artagnan, who realizes that only his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis can help him, so he reunites the Musketeers to derail Rochefort's nefarious plot but at a heavy toll.Internet Archive Reviewed
- DirectorSam TaylorStarsMary PickfordDouglas FairbanksEdwin MaxwellIn sixteenth century Padua, Hortensio loves Bianca, the youngest daughter of Baptista. But Baptista will not allow the two to get married until his eldest daughter, the extremely headstrong Katherine, is betrothed. This task seems impossible because of Katherine's shrewish demeanor. They believe their prayers have been answered with the arrival from Verona of the lusty Petruchio, whose father has just passed, leaving him to travel the world and marry. Having not yet met her, Petruchio agrees to court Katherine when he is told of her beauty and wit. Petruchio is even more excited at the prospect of marrying this wildcat of a woman after meeting her. Katherine will have none of it, even if it means her sister's spinsterhood, but has no choice but to marry him. Beyond the fact of the marriage itself, Katherine is even more irked by Petruchio's less than conventional behavior at the ceremony and post ceremony bridal feast. Each starts to play what they consider sly games of oneupsmanship with each other to gain the upper hand in the marriage.Amazon Instant
- DirectorFranz OstenStarsSeeta DeviHimanshu RaiCharu RoyTwo neighboring Indian kingdoms are ruled by cousins - King Ranjit and King Sohat. Unbeknownst to Ranjit, Sohat is plotting to seize control of his kingdom.YouTube Reviewed
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLon ChaneyLupe VelezEstelle TaylorWhen an animal trapper in Indo-China finds that his daughter's fiancé is being successfully seduced by her estranged mother, he takes appropriate action.Amazon Instant Reviewed