Silent

  • D.W. Griffith – A Romance of Happy Valley (1919)

    1911-1920D.W. GriffithDramaSilentUSA

    Since much of this film takes place in rural Kentucky, where director D.W. Griffith grew up, it no doubt has many autobiographical touches. Since the setting was so close to his heart, that may be why this simple and winsome picture is one of Griffith’s most charming creations. With complete lack of pretension, it tells the story of John Logan Jr. (Robert Harron), an ambitious young inventor who is determined to be a success. So he heads for the big city to achieve his dream of making a toy frog that actually swims. Not that he hasn’t had opposition — his sweetheart, Jennie Timberlake (Lillian Gish, in a rare showing of her comic ability) and his parents (George Fawcett and Kate Bruce) have done everything they could to make him stay. Although he promises to return in a year’s time, John gets caught up in the temptations of the city, including a flirtation with a spirited young lady (Carol Dempster in her first credited role). Read More »

  • Mario Bonnard – Der goldene Abgrund (1927)

    1921-1930AdventureGermanyMario BonnardSilent

    Plot:
    An eccentric millionaire brings together four men who, under different circumstances, wanted to commit suicide. The proposal made to them is the following: they will travel to an islet that, according to legend, emerged from the sea when Atlantis sank and that houses a fabulous treasure buried by the Incas. But that territory is populated by the worst band of pirates and evildoers the world has ever known.Read More »

  • Georg Wilhelm Pabst – Die Büchse der Pandora AKA Pandora’s Box (1929)

    1921-1930DramaGeorg Wilhelm PabstGermanySilentWeimar Republic cinema

    Pandora’s Box (German: Die Büchse der Pandora) is a 1929 German silent film based on Frank Wedekind’s plays Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (1904). Directed by Austrian filmmaker Georg Wilhelm Pabst, the film stars Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner and Francis Lederer. Brooks’ portrayal of a seductive, thoughtless young woman whose raw sexuality and uninhibited nature bring ruin to herself and those who love her, although initially unappreciated, eventually made the actress a star.Read More »

  • Clarence Brown – The Eagle (1925)

    1921-1930Clarence BrownRomanceSilentUSA

    Plot Synopsis from allmovie:
    Based on a Pushkin novel, The Eagle stars Rudolph Valentino as a Russian cossack who is the special favorite of the formidable Catherine the Great (Louise Dresser). He spurns her attentions, preferring not to be a kept consort. When his lands are stolen from him, Valentino transforms into a Robin-Hood-like masked avenger. Vilma Banky plays the daughter of the man who killed Valentino’s own father. Despite his thirst for revenge, our hero falls in love with Vilma, who goes the “Lois Lane” route of adoring the masked-avenger Valentino but disdaining the unmasked Rudy, little guessing that the two are one in the same. Watch quickly for Gary Cooper as one of Valentino’s masked minionsRead More »

  • Clarence G. Badger – It (1927)

    1921-1930Clarence G. BadgerDramaSilentUSA

    This is the movie that gave Clara Bow, the film world’s first sex symbol, her lasting nickname. She will allways be “The It Girl”. “IT” is roughly sex appeal, or in the words of novellist Elinor Glyn: “‘IT’ is that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With ‘IT’ you will win all men if you are a woman—and all women if you are a man. ‘IT’ can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction.”Read More »

  • Frank Hurley – South AKA Shackleton’s Expedition to the Antarctic (1919)

    1911-1920AustraliaDocumentaryFrank HurleySilent

    Quote:
    The story of the 1914-1916 Antarctic exploration mission of Sir Ernest Shackleton. The ship sails south, breaking the ice, and ultimately getting trapped by the fast-changing weather. The ship breaks up in the ice, and while 22 men and 70 dogs wait on Elephant Island, Shackleton and a crew of five take a 20-foot lifeboat 800 miles to South Georgia Island to mount a rescue mission. We also get a good look at the exotic animals of the region, particularly the penguins.Read More »

  • Jean Epstein – La belle Nivernaise AKA The Beauty from Nivernais (1923)

    1921-1930FranceJean EpsteinSilent

    Quote:
    Bargeman Louveau finds an abandoned boy, Victor, and with the authorities permission takes him back to his own family where he raises him. 10 years later Victor and Louveau’s daughter Clara have fallen in love, and it is then that Louveau is called to Paris, where it has been discovered that Victor is really the son of Maugendré, a charcoal shipper on the Nivernaise canal.Read More »

  • Fred Niblo & Dorothy Arzner – Blood and Sand [extended version] (1922)

    1921-1930Dorothy ArznerDramaFred NibloSilentUSA

    Synopsis:
    Juan is the son of a poor widow in Seville. Against his mother’s wishes he pursues a career as toreador. He rapidly gains national prominence, and takes his childhood sweetheart Carmen as his bride. He meets the Marquis’ daughter Dona Sol, and finds himself in the awkward position of being in love with two women, which threatens the stability of his family and his position in society. He finds interesting parallels in the life of the infamous bandit Plumitas when they eventually meet by chance.Read More »

  • Tod Browning – The Unknown (1927)

    1921-1930HorrorSilentTod BrowningUSA

    Quote:
    A criminal on the run hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter of the ringmaster at any cost.Read More »

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