This site is dedicated to the preservation of memory of silent films. Although they were quite important in the evolution of cinema, they remain virtually forgotten nowadays. Since the best way to understand the present is taking an attentive look at the past, here you have some movies, pictures, interviews, etc. on silent cinema. Some occasional material on sound films will also be presented. I hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about the beauty and sheer fun of these golden oldies.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
A Race For Ties - 1929
Country: Canada
Intertitle language: English
Running time: 56 min 13 sec
Description: Drama of competition between a small-time lumberman and a large lumbering company.
"A Race for Ties (at 1,600 feet of 16mm film) is authoritatively stated to be the first feature-length movie made in Canada entirely by amateurs."
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Battle in the Clouds -1909
Country: United Kingdom
Director: Walter R. Booth
Writer: Walter R. Booth (screenplay)
Release Date: 29 December 1909 (USA)
Genres: Short | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
Also Known as: Der Luftkrieg der Zukunft Germany; The Aerial Torpedo UK (reissue title); The Battle in the Clouds USA; The Battle of the Clouds UK (alternative title)
Production Co: Urban Trading Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
An inventor uses a wireless controlled flying torpedo to destroy enemy airships. This is a cracking little film from the pioneering days of cinema (just over a decade after the Lumiéres). It's not exactly science fiction, more a vision of what-might-be given the technology of the day. So we have fleets of airships bombing civilian targets, and an armoured car/tank firing ground-to-air missiles in an effort to destroy them.
Our hero has developed what we would now call a drone: a pilot-less aircraft capable of locking on to a target. He has proposed to the love of his life but her father turns him away. The girl's home is destroyed in the air-raid. Our hero rescues her and her father from the wreckage then returns to destroy the raiders with his new technology. He gets the girl, of course, but I'm not sure whether father was dead and out of the way or just willing to have a brilliant inventor for a son-in-law.
Of course the special effects are primitive but the shot of a burning church is still a distant ancestor of the destruction of the Empire State Building by Roland Emmerich. You can see the film at www.freemoviescinema.com. Have a look. It's worth a few minutes of your time.
Continuity: The burning fuse of one of the explosions near the armored car can be seen on the ground, before we see the streak that is supposed to be the aerial bomb hitting the ground.
An Interrupted Elopement - 1912
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 15 August 1912 (USA)
Filming Locations: New York, USA
Production Co: Biograph Company
Director: Mack Sennett
Writer: S. Walter Bunting
Stars: Edward Dillon, Mabel Normand and William J. Butler
Genres: Short | Comedy
Runtime: 8 min (16 fps)
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Course à la saucisse - 1907
Country: France
Director: Alice Guy
Genres: Short
Also known as: The Race for the Sausage
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
The film consists of some sort of poodle or poodle-mix stealing a long, long coil of sausages from the butcher shop (though it looks more like a rope). Suddenly, everyone in town is chasing the dog--almost like the people in "The Gingerbread Man" story from our youth. This makes the film unusual for an early Gaumont film, as the scenes change a lot during the course of the film. Not surprisingly for the era, the camera is totally stationary and inter-cutting is used extensively--not a roving camera lens.
It's all very slapstick and frantic. All in all, it's a bit overacted but quite fun--sort of like a French version of a Keystone comedy.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
A Trip To Mars - 1910
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Ashley Miller
Release Date: 18 February 1910 (USA)
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
By mixing two powders, a scientist invents a product which has the power to free from the law of gravity. First, the container in which the powder was thrown takes of. He then renews the experience with a chair: same result. Finally the scientist tries his invention on himself. He then escapes gravity and goes sailing up into the clouds...
Les Résultats du Féminisme -1906
Country: France
Release Date: 1906 (France)
Director: Alice Guy
Also known as: The Consequences of Feminism
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Plot Keywords:
Futurism | Cross Dressing | Effeminacy | Flirting | Hatbox | Gender Roles | Seduction | Mason
This film is a tongue-in-cheek look at what COULD happen if women begin assuming male roles. Throughout the film, the men are very effeminate--wearing flowers in their hair, behaving as if they were gay and doing the housework. It's an interesting juxtaposition. What's also interesting is how the ladies respond. In a scene in a bar, the ladies make sexist advances at men who enter and they sit around drinking, smoking and carousing!
La Possession de l'enfant - 1909
Country: France
Release Date: 26 July 1909 (France)
Also known as: Custody of the Child
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Director: Louis Feuillade
Stars: Renée Carl, Christiane Mandelys and Maurice Vinot
This Louis Feuillade film begins with a man gaining custody of his son. Why the mother loses custody is unknown, but the father is shown as rather cold and unforgiving. The child, though raised in luxury, is miserable and lonely. Later, the father takes the child to his mother's house and seems to forget the kid there! Soon, the mother takes the child home to raise herself. The father has a change of mind and looks for the kid. When he and the police find him with the mother, all is forgiven and the family becomes one once again.
Overall, the story is very, very simplistic and not especially believable. However, for 1909, this is exactly the sort of morality play that was typical and this film is a decent one from this period despite its shortcomings.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
High School Field Exercises, Missouri Commision - 1904
Country: USA
Release Date: May 1904 (USA)
Filming Locations: St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
Production Co: American Mutoscope & Biograph
Genres: Documentary | Short
Mr. A. E. Weed placed his camera beside a high school playing field and then clearly instructed the teachers to get as many pupils as possible to perform some form of field sport within the view of the camera. We see young boys jumping a rather low high jump, young boys shot putting, young boys lurking in the background with a javelin.
Kindergarten Ball Game - 1904
Country: USA
Production Co: American Mutoscope & Biograph
Genres: Documentary | Short
Asia in America, St. Louis Exposition - 1904
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 1904 (USA)
Director: A.E. Weed
Also Known As: Asia in America, St. Louis Exposition
Production Co: American Mutoscope & Biograph
Genres: Documentary | Short
A parade by denizens of one of the Oriental Concessions, The Pike, St. Louis.
104th Street Curve, New York, Elevated Railway - 1899
Country: USA
Filming Locations: New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Plot Keywords: Number In Title
Genres: Documentary | Short
"Taken from the front platform of a special train run backward over this celebrated S curve. Not only are the passing trains and crowded platforms of great interest, but the view of uptown New York is an excellent one, showing acre upon acre of roofs, towers, steeples and towering apartment houses. As the 'special' slows up at 92nd street, a Harlem express dashes by, the engineer leaning out of his cab, and waving a good-bye." Written by Edison Catalog
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Comedy Capers
Country: USA
Comedy Capers was a TV series produced in the USA in early 60ies, which aired some short films, both silent and talkies. This program was aired in many countries worldwide, one of then was Brazil. Therefore the video above has the audio and credits dubbed in Portuguese. Anyway, my intention here was to pay a homage to all great comic actors of silent era.
Comedy Capers, also known in Brazil as “Reis do Riso” was a TV serie composed of a package of sequences of short movies of the so-called “silent era” produced by Mack Sennett e Hal Roach within 20ies and 40ies.
They were produced and distributed by National Telepix, which in 1960 had already reissued with a narration series like “Our Gang” by Hal Roach and released under the title “Mischief Makers”.
One year later, in 1961, the same film producer started again to transform short films by Sennett and Hal Roach under the denomination “Comedy Capers” in two reels called "Christie comedy", that were divided in 108 episodes of approximately 12 minutes each one, in 16 mm films in black and white, that were distributed to many TV channels worldwide.
The opening song of the serie was published by National Telepix (BMI), as well as the closing theme “Comedy Capers End Title” also known as “End Theme That´s All, neighbors”, both with music by Jack Saunders and lyrics by Phyllis Brandell together with Jack Saunders.
The sequences were starred by famous comic artists like Snub Pollard, Ben Turpin, Billy Bevan, Harry Langdon, The Keystone Cops, Laurel & Hardy, among others. Some data found suggest that the series was originally presented in syndicated, in the United states this same year. In Brazil it was found information by some authors that this series was presented by Rede Globo de Televisão in the 70ies, under the name “Reis do Riso”.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
La Glu - 1907
Country: France
Also Known As: The Glue
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Genres: Short | Comedy
Director: Alice Guy
Although IMDb lists this as a film by Louis Feuillade it is actually one of Alice Guy's - and very good it is too. As with quite a few of these early comedies, the film focuses on the pranks of a mischievous boy, this one in possession of a large pot of glue that offers limitless opportunities for pranks. It's not long before the dignity of adults is disintegrated when they find their feet stuck to steps or their posteriors to bicycle seats. Some of the scenes are genuinely funny, and although the film is fairly primitive by modern standards, it shows a good deal of sophistication for the era in which it was made and offers a good example of how far cinema had progressed not only in the twelve years since its inception, but also in the previous couple of years.
Madame a des envies - 1907
Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: 21 December 1907 (USA)
Also Known As: Madame's Cravings
Production Co: Pathé Frères
Genres: Comedy | Short
Plot keywords: Lollipop, Pregnancy, Sexual Imagery, Phallus, Pregnant Woman, Kinky
Director: Alice Guy
The film is about the irresistible cravings of a pregnant woman which drive her to steal sweets from a child, booze from a cafe customer, a pipe from a baker (she obviously hadn't heard about how it stunts baby's growth), and even scraps from a beggar, much to the distress - and physical discomfort - of her long-suffering husband.
Shooting the chutes_ Luna Park_ Coney Island - 1903
Country: USA
Filmed July 3, 1903.
American Mutoscope and Biograph Co.
Cameraman, G. W. ''Billy'' Bitzer
The ride known as Shoot the Chutes was first introduced in 1895 by inventor Captain Paul Boynton at Sea Lion Park, the first enclosed outdoor amusement park in Coney Island. He billed it as ''the King of All Amusements.'' In 1902 he sold the park to a couple of young sharps, Fred Thompson and Elmer ''Skip'' Dundy. One year later the new gates opened and Luna Park was in operation.
The success of Luna Park would allow Thompson to build and open the 'Hippodrome Theatre' in Manhattan two years later. (see video of ''Panorama from the Times Building, New York'' for a view of the building)
According to historian Woody Register, Boynton was inspired by ''watching boys skipping stones across a pond,'' and the idea was born.
Recommended reading:
The Kid of Coney Island / Fred Thompson and the Rise of American Amusement - Woody Register
Smilin' Through -1922
Country: USA
Release Date: 13 February 1922 (USA)
Also Known As: Smiling Through
Production Co: Norma Talmadge Film Corporation
Plot Keywords: Based On Play
Genres: Drama
Director: Sidney Franklin
Writers: Jane Cowl play "Smiling Through" (as Alan Langdon Martin)
James Ashmore Creelman adaptation
Sidney Franklin (adaptation) (as Sidney A. Franklin)
Jane Murfin play "Smiling Through" (as Alan Langdon Martin)
Stars: Norma Talmadge, Wyndham Standing and Harrison Ford
Here Norma Talmadge plays the Irish girl who wants to wed the son of the man who killed her uncle's fiancee on their wedding night. Family feuds battle true love. Copies of this film exist in two archives: the Library of Congress and the Nederlands Filmmuseum.
Une héroïne de quatre ans - 1907
Country: France
Directors: Louis Feuillade, Alice Guy
Genres: Short
Also known as: A Four-Year-Old Hero
Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
This is a typically well-produced little film from Alice Guy, the pioneering French woman. It follows a little four-year-old girl who skips away when her nursemaid falls asleep on a bench in the park. The little girl helps the police apprehend a couple of muggers, prevents a blind man from falling into a canal and a trio of drunks from being obliterated by a train at a level crossing before finding a helpful policeman to take her home much to the relief of her parents and nursemaid.
The film is particularly well edited, with sequential shots clearly showing the girl and her nursemaid leaving the lounge of the girl's parents, leaving the house and walking to the park. It's the sort of sequence that we take for granted today, but back then many filmmakers would probably have considered a couple of those shots superfluous. This one's worth a look.
Wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth - 1923
Silent video footage of the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) (1923).
Prince Albert initially proposed to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1921, but she turned him down, due to misgivings about royal life. When he declared he would marry no other, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis to see for herself the girl who had stolen her son's heart. She became convinced that Elizabeth was "the one girl who could make Bertie happy", but nevertheless refused to interfere. After the third proposal Elizabeth finally agreed to marry Albert: their engagement was announced in January 1923.
The Duke and Duchess of York had two children, Elizabeth (who would succeed her father as Elizabeth II), born 21 April 1926 and Margaret, born 21 August 1930.
The Villain Foiled - 1911
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 31 August 1911 (USA)
Production Co: Biograph Company
Plot Keywords: Alcohol | Fiance | Suitor
Genres: Short | Comedy
Directors: Henry Lehrman, Mack Sennett
Stars: Edward Dillon, Blanche Sweet and Joseph Graybill
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The Baron - 1911
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 31 August 1911 (USA)
Filming Locations: Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA
Production Co: Biograph Company
Genres: Comedy | Short
Director: Mack Sennett
Writer: Edwin August
Stars: Dell Henderson, Mabel Normand and Joseph Graybill
If you want to understand how you joke with yourself (which is the centerpiece of being) you need to understand how film comedy works. And for that you have to experience the inventors: Chaplin, Keaton, Arbuckle. And deeper yet, the inventor of the inventors, Sennett. He is that ghost behind the babbling ghosts in your soul.
This is one of Sennett's apprentice films from the period where he was directing... one every week. They aren't remembered fondly. This is the first I've seen from this period as they are hard to find, and he didn't write it.
Nonetheless, there are several comic twists in this seven minute story, twisted cleanly. No sign yet of the frantic.
A Roman Orgy - 1911
Country: France
Release Date: 24 November 1911 (France)
Also Known As: L'orgie romaine (Original French title)
Director: Louis Feuillade
Stars: Jean Aymé, Louise Lagrange and Luitz-Morat
Plot Keywords: Lion | Roman Empire | Assassination
Genres: Drama | Short
Production Co:
Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Elagabalus was married as many as five times, lavished favors on courtiers popularly assumed to have been his homosexual lovers, and was reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. His reputed behavior infuriated the Praetorian Guard, the Senate and the common people alike.(Wikipedia)
Feuillade could have chosen a more famous emperor ,for this obscure one -who also despised Roman religion- looks like Nero or Caligula. It's Rome 218 AD,folks ,and the decadent emperor is having a good time with male and female courtiers taking part of an orgy.The emperor and the ladies' costumes seem more oriental than Roman.
First sequence:looks like a fashion show .
Second sequence: the grooming of the emperor: although the emperor seems to enjoy the ladies who keep him company ,he looks himself more like a woman .alas !someone scratches the emperor !"you deserve to die" ;in spite of the people who implore him ,he is delivered to the lions.
Third sequence :the lions pit;people have a wonderful time watching the lions' meal;De Mille will show the same sadism when he films his "sign of the cross"
Fourth sequence:the orgy (at last for that's what the audience was waiting for)binge,pagan dances and flowers showering down:lovely.No sleeping around.Alas ,the lions spoil the party.
Fifth sequence:the assassination:the courtesans decide to put an end to this shameful reign.Down on his knees,the king tries to save his life ,crying for mercy;contrast between the effeminate sovereign and the virile brutal guards .
Thus died Elagabalus.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
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