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.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The Bat - 1926
Country: USA
Language: English (intertitles)
Director: Roland West
Writers: Avery Hopwood (play), Julien Josephson, George Marion Jr.(titles), Mary Roberts Rinehart (play "The Bat"), Roland West (adaptation).
Stars: George Beranger, Charles Herzinger and Emily Fitzroy
Release Date: 14 March 1926 (New York City, New York - USA)
Also known as: Das Rätsel der Fledermaus (Austria / Germany), El murciélago (Spain / Venezuela)
Production Co: Roland West Productions, Feature Productions
Plot Keywords: Bat | Animal In Title | Old Dark House | One Night | Revolver | Fireplace | Killer | Evil Man | Psychopath | Bat Costume | Super Villain | Heroine | Lady Detective | Based On Play | Surprise Ending
Genres: Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.
A Modern Musketeer - 1917
A young man grows restless living in a small Kansas town, dreaming of the adventures of the Three Musketeers. So in hopes of becoming a modern D'Artagnan, he mounts his steed (a Model T Ford) and sets out across the West in search of excitement and adventure.
Director: Allan Dwan
Writers: Allan Dwan (photoplay), F.R. Lyle Jr. (story)
Stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Marjorie Daw and Kathleen Kirkham
Greed - 1924
Greed (1924, USA) is a dramatic silent film. It was directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Joan Standing and Jack Curtis.
The plot follows a dentist whose wife wins a lottery ticket, only to become obsessed with money. When her former lover betrays the dentist as a fraud, all of their lives are destroyed. The movie was adapted by von Stroheim (shooting screenplay) and Joseph Farnham (titles) from the 1899 novel McTeague by Frank Norris. (The onscreen writing credit for June Mathis was strictly a contractual obligation to her on the part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (the parent studio), as she was not actually involved in the production.) Originally over ten hours long, Greed was ultimately edited against von Stroheim's permission to about two and a half hours, and the full-length version is a lost film.
Director: Erich von Stroheim
Writers: June Mathis (screen adaptation and dialogue), Frank Norris (novel)
Stars: Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts and Jean Hersholt
Pollyanna - 1920
Pollyanna is a 1920 American melodrama/comedy film starring Mary Pickford, directed by Paul Powell, and based upon an Eleanor H. Porter novel. It was Pickford's first motion picture for United Artists. It became a major success and would be regarded as one of Pickford's most defining pictures. The film grossed $1.1 million (the equivalent of more than $100 million in 2008).
Director: Paul Powell
Writers: Eleanor H. Porter (novel), Catherine Chisholm Cushing (play)
Stars: Mary Pickford, Wharton James and Katherine Griffith
Stella Maris - 1918
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Marshall Neilan
Writers: William J. Locke (novel), Frances Marion (photoplay)
Stars: Mary Pickford, Ida Waterman and Herbert Standing
Release Date: 21 January 1918 (USA)
Filming Locations: Busch Gardens - S. Grove Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA
Production Co: Pickford Film
Runtime: 84 min (alternate version)
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Orphan | Alcoholic | Poverty | Imprisonment | Uncle | Murder | Marriage | Unrequited Love | Dual Role | Disillusionment | Nobility | Adoption
Marital Separation | Suicide | Dog | Aunt | Battered Child | Innocent | London England | Starvation | Invalid | Self Sacrifice | Sailing | Paralysis | Housemaid |
Surgery | Class Distinction | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title
Genres: Drama
Stella Maris is a beautiful, crippled girl, who is cared for by a rich family. They shield her from the harsh realities of the world, so that she has no idea of the cruel things that some people do. Unity Blake is a poor orphan all too familiar with the harsh realities of the real world. These two young women both fall in love with John, love which is complicated by the fact that he is still married to (though separated from) a bad wife.
The Affairs Of Anatol - 1921
The Affairs of Anatol is a 1921 drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Socialite Anatol Spencer (Wallace Reid), finding his relationship with his wife (Gloria Swanson) lackluster, goes in search of excitement. After bumping into old flame Emilie (Wanda Hawley), he lets an apartment for her only to find that she cheats on him. He is subsequently robbed, conned, and booted from pillar to post. He decides to return to his wife and discovers her carousing with his best friend Max (Elliott Dexter).
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Writers: Arthur Schnitzler (suggested by play of the same name), Jeanie Macpherson
Stars: Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson and Wanda Hawley
Tigre reale - 1916
Italian movie. Also known as The Royal Tiger
Director: Giovanni Pastrone
Writers: Giovanni Verga (novel), Giovanni Verga (screenplay)
Stars: Pina Menichelli, Alberto Nepoti and Febo Mari
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