THE RAVEN – Henry B. Walthall – d: Charles Brabin
The Raven (1915)
Direction: Charles Brabin
Screenplay: Charles Brabin; from George Cochran Hazelton’s novel and play The Raven: The Love Story of Edgar Allan Poe
Cast: Henry B. Walthall, Warda Howard
Starring Henry B. Walthall, The Raven is an Essanay feature depicting the life of Edgar Allan Poe, starting with his childhood and going all the way to his marriage to his cousin (played by the little-known Warda Howard).
Charles Brabin’s direction is uneven: At some points it’s stagy and rudimentary; at other points, Brabin creates some remarkably striking and eerie visual effects, including a bravura scene for Walthall in which he descends further and further into madness following the death of his wife. Brabin visualizes this with a barrage [...]
by James Bazen | November 2, 2009
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Tags: Charles Brabin, Cinesation 2009, Classic Movies, Edgar Allan Poe, Film Reviews, George Cochran Hazelton, Henry B. Walthall, Silent Films, The Raven
PILLARS OF SOCIETY – Henry B. Walthall – d: Raoul Walsh
Pillars of Society (1916)
Direction: Raoul Walsh
Screenplay: From a novel by Henrik Ibsen
Cast: Henry B. Walthall, Mary Alden, Juanita Archer, George Beranger, Josephine Crowell, Olga Grey
Pillars of Society is a film about hypocrisy, having its basis on a story by Ibsen. The Birth of a Nation hero Henry B. Walthall (right) plays the son of a Norwegian shipping company; in his youth, he goes to Paris to study and has an affair with a married Bohemian actress. However, his brother-in-law is falsely accused of having said affair with the actress; he protects Walthall by accepting the blame and leaving for America.
Years later, the brother-in-law returns and demands that Walthall clear his name. Fearing that if the [...]
by James Bazen | October 29, 2009
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Tags: Cinesation 2009, Classic Movies, Henrik Ibsen, Henry B. Walthall, Mary Alden, Pillars of Society, Raoul Walsh, Silent Films
A TALE OF TWO CITIES d: Jack Conway
A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
Direction: Jack Conway
Screenplay: W. P. Lipscomb and S. N. Behrman; from Charles Dickens’ novel
Cast: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, Donald Woods, Lucille La Verne, Henry B. Walthall, H. B. Warner, Walter Catlett, Fritz Leiber, Isabel Jewell, Tully Marshall, Mitchell Lewis, Robert Warwick
Although not as widely known as other big Old Hollywood productions, David O. Selznick’s film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, set during the time of the French Revolution, is far, far better than most of the other period dramas made during the studio era.
Starring former silent-screen heartthrob Ronald Colman; featuring respected supporting players such as Edna May Oliver, [...]
by Andre Soares | April 16, 2009
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Tags: A Tale of Two Cities, Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, Cedric Gibbons, Charles Dickens, Classic Movies, Conrad A. Nervig, David O. Selznick, Donald Woods, Edna May Oliver, Elizabeth Allan, Five-Star Movies, Five-Star Oscar Nominees, French Revolution, Fritz Leiber, H. B. Warner, Henry B. Walthall, Herbert Stothart, Isabel Jewell, Jack Conway, Lucille La Verne, Mitchell Lewis, Oliver T. Marsh, Oscar 1935, Oscar Movies, Period Movies, Reginald Owen, Robert Warwick, Romantic Movies, Ronald Colman, S. N. Behrman, Tully Marshall, W. P. Lipscomb, Walter Catlett
