Silent

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A Superlative War Picture.
An eloquent pictorial epic of the World War was presented last night at the Astor Theatre before a sophisticated gathering that was intermittently stirred to laughter and tears. This powerful photodrama is entitled “The Big Parade,” having been converted to the screen from a story by Laurence Stallings, co-author of “What Price Glory,” and directed by King Vidor. It is a subject so compelling and realistic that one feels impelled to approach a review of it with all the respect it deserves, for as a motion picture it is something beyond the fondest dreams of most people.Read More »

When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured into a permanent grin. The son can only make a living as a travelling circus clown – The Laughing Man!Read More »

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In 1954, Upton Sinclair donated 100,000 feet of film shot by Sergei Eisenstein in Mexico to the Museum of Modern Art. From this footage, Jay Leyda, assisted by Manfred Kirchheimer, created an almost four hour long assemblage titled “Eisenstein’s Mexican Film: Episodes for Study.” The film is silent with explanatory titles. The MOMA footage was later re-edited by Grigori Aleksandrov to create the 1979 version of “Que Viva Mexico”.Read More »

Buster Keaton plays a young lawyer who will inherit $7 million at 7 o’clock on his 27th birthday–provided he is married. Long before discovering this, Keaton has pursued a lifelong courtship of Ruth Dwyer, whose refusals have become ritualistic over the years (the passage of time is amusingly conveyed by showing a puppy grow to adulthood). He proposes again, but this time she turns him down because she thinks (mistakenly) that he wants her only so that he can claim his inheritance. The doleful Keaton is thus obliged to spend the few hours left before the 7 PM deadline in search of a bride–any bride. He has no luck whatsoever until his pal T. Roy Barnes prints the story of Keaton’s incoming legacy in the local newspaper.Read More »

True Heart Susie is one of D.W. Griffith’s “pastoral” films, wherein plot takes second
place to characterization and romance. Lillian Gish plays Susie May Trueheart, who
so loves local boy William Jenkins (Robert Harron) that she secretly finances his
education.
As it stands, the film’s dramatic and heart-tugging value has not diminished,
not even after the passage of nearly eighty years.Read More »

Adolf Fauler asks Elsa out in a letter. Mr Braun, Elsa’s father, finds the letter and finds the pair in flagranti in the park. Next day Adolf visits the father who gives him his blessings and even a job…Read More »

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The outskirts of New York: Cedrik Errol, 8 years old, lives in miserable conditions with his widowed mother. Refined features, charming demeanour, and always neatly dressed, he earns the nickname “The Little Lord.” One day a lawyer comes saying he is the grandson (and only heir) of Lord Fauntleroy. Cedric travels to England and quickly gets friendly with the grumpy old gentleman.Read More »

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 »

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 »