Silent

  • John G. Blystone & Buster Keaton – Our Hospitality (1923)

    John G. Blystone1921-1930ComedySilentUSA
    Our Hospitality (1923)
    Our Hospitality (1923)

    A man returns to his Appalachian homestead. On the trip, he falls for a young woman. The only problem is her family has vowed to kill every member of his family. Keaton stars as youthful dreamer Willie McKay, who travels westward on a rickety locomotive to claim his birthright, only to find that his inheritance is a shack. And he learns that the object of his affection (Keaton’s real-life wife, Natalie Talmadge) is the daughter of a man with whom his family has been engaged in a long, violent feud. McKay’s personal struggles are punctuated by brilliant slapstick set pieces…Read More »

  • Constantin J. David – Die Republik der Backfische AKA Teenagers’ Republic (1928)

    1921-1930Constantin J. DavidGermanySilent
    Die Republik der Backfische (1928)
    Die Republik der Backfische (1928)

    From wiki:
    The Republic of Flappers (German: Die Republik der Backfische) is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Constantin J. David and starring Käthe von Nagy, Raimondo Van Riel and Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur. The title refers to flappers.Read More »

  • Johannes Guter – Ihr dunkler Punkt AKA Her Dark Secret (1929)

    1921-1930ComedyGermanyJohannes GuterSilent
    Ihr dunkler Punkt (1929)
    Ihr dunkler Punkt (1929)

    Quote:
    When registering in a Berlin hotel, the beautiful Lilian realizes that she apparently has a doppelganger: She is arrested as a wanted jewel thief. Lilian decides to find the woman who is preparing her next coup in Nice.Read More »

  • ? – Les ficelles de Léontine AKA Léontine Pulls the Strings (1910)

    1901-1910ComedyFranceSilent
    Les ficelles de Léontine (1910)
    Les ficelles de Léontine (1910)

    A young girl plays a series of pranks and soon has a crowd of angry villagers chasing after her.

    Quote:
    Léontine is a specialist, who can destroy whole households in five minutes of film. Her chosen weapon may be water, fire or explosives. Here she uses string to topple everything and everyone. In 1910 Pathé set up the Comica studio in Nice, and Léontine was one of its first comedienne based series.Read More »

  • W.S. Van Dyke & Robert J. Flaherty – White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)

    1921-1930ClassicsRobert J. FlahertySilentUSAW.S. Van Dyke
    White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)
    White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)

    Synopsis:
    An alcoholic doctor on a Polynesian island, disgusted by white exploitation of the natives, finds himself marooned on a pristinely beautiful island.Read More »

  • D.W. Griffith – The Lesson (1910)

    D.W. Griffith1901-1910DramaSilentUSA
    The Lesson (1910)
    The Lesson (1910)

    The Moving Picture World, 31 December 1910 wrote:
    At one time the Biograph Company had quite a reputation for sermons. Here is one which has much of the original flavor, representing a young man disobeying the wishes of his father, a minister, to become a preacher; sinking lower and lower until just as his father dies he kills a man in a saloon brawl, and but for the plea of a sister would have been taken to prison, even as his father died. Whatever may be thought of this type of picture individually, the power it exerts upon an audience cannot be questioned. Like the horrible examples graphically shown in the goody-goody Sunday school books these films possess a fascination which cannot be denied, yet perhaps few would care to acknowledge its influence. The dramatic attractiveness in this particular instance consists in reproducing a domestic scene, unhappily too common, in some of its aspects at least, in such a way that the events seem to be transpiring before the audience. It is a graphic and impressive illustration of the commandment to honor, which means obey, one’s parents.Read More »

  • Yakov Protazanov – Nishchaya AKA The Beggar Woman (1916)

    Yakov Protazanov1911-1920DramaSilentUSSR
    Nishchaya (1916)
    Nishchaya (1916)

    “This Russian-made picture (distributed in the U.S. by Pathe) is typically gloomy. Prima donna Mary Mar (N.A. Lesienko) is surrounded by admirers. But a poet, Sergius (Ivan Mozukin) wants to be more to her and he proposes. So they marry, and she becomes involved in charity activities. On one of her rounds, she contracts smallpox and is quarantined. Even Sergius cannot enter the house. During her illness another opera star becomes the favorite in her stead. Mary’s face becomes horribly disfigured as a result of the smallpox and she has to auction off her belongings to pay her creditors. Finally Sergius returns. Mary is wearing a veil, and when he lifts it, he is disgusted by the sight of her. So she leaves him and becomes a beggar in the streets, while he goes to his studio and kills himself by drug overdose”
    by ~ Janiss Garza, RoviRead More »

  • René Leprince – Vent debout (1923)

    1921-1930DramaFranceRené LeprinceSilent
    Vent debout (1923)
    Vent debout (1923)

    Jacques Averil leads an idle life that plunges him into lassitude and melancholy.
    When he learns of his father’s suicide, a banker ruined by a shady ore speculation in Iceland,
    he decides to take matters into his own hands.
    An old friend of his father offers him the chance to sign on as a sailor aboard a terre-neuvas.
    On the trawler, the law of the strongest, even the fiercest even the most ferocious…Read More »

  • Josef von Sternberg & Arthur Rosson – Underworld (1927)

    Josef von Sternberg1921-1930Arthur RossonCrimeSilentUSA
    Underworld (1927)
    Underworld (1927)

    Boisterous gangster kingpin ‘Bull’ Weed rehabilitates the down-and-out ‘Rolls Royce’ Wensel, a former lawyer who has fallen into alcoholism. The two become confidants, with Rolls Royce’s intelligence aiding Weed’s schemes, but complications arise when Rolls Royce falls for Weed’s girlfriend ‘Feathers’ McCoy.

    Adding to Weed’s troubles are attempts by a rival gangster, ‘Buck’ Mulligan, to muscle in on his territory. Their antagonism climaxes with Weed killing Mulligan and he is imprisoned, awaiting a death sentence. Rolls Royce devises an escape plan, but he and Feathers face a dilemma, wondering if they should elope together and leave Bull Weed to his fate.Read More »

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