San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2009
The Fall of the House of Usher (top); John Gilbert, Eleanor Boardman in Bardelys the Magnificent (middle); Douglas Fairbanks, Lupe Velez in The Gaucho (bottom)
Douglas Fairbanks, John Gilbert, and Lillian Gish are only a few of the superstars to be found at the 14th San Francisco Silent Film Festival, which will take place July 10-12 at the Castro Theatre. Among those scheduled to provide musical accompaniment to the on-screen action are the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Philip Carli, Stephen Horne, Dennis James, and Donald Sosin.
Among the San Francisco Silent Film Festival’s highlights are:
The Gaucho (1927), an adventure tale involving faith and redemption, starring Douglas Fairbanks and Lupe Velez in her first important film role.
"A daring departure," is how [...]
by Andre Soares | June 23, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Bardelys the Magnificent, Classic Movies, Douglas Fairbanks, Eleanor Boardman, Erotikon, Film Festivals, John Gilbert, King Vidor, Lillian Gish, San Francisco Silent Film Festival 2009, Silent Films, The Gaucho, Victor Sjöström
Best Films – 1928
Evelyn Brent, Emil Jannings in The Last Command
FILM
The Crowd
d: King Vidor; scr: King Vidor, James V. A. Weaver; titles: Joseph W. Farnham
The Docks of New York
d: Josef von Sternberg; scr: Jules Furthman; titles: Julian Johnson
The Last Command
d: Josef von Sternberg; scr: John F. Goodrich; titles: Herman J. Mankiewicz
Sadie Thompson
d & scr: Raoul Walsh; titles: C. Gardner Sullivan
Street Angel
d: Frank Borzage; scr: Marion Orth, Philip Klein & Henry Roberts Symonds; titles: H. H. Caldwell & Katherine Hilliker
The Wind
d: Victor Sjöström; scr: Frances Marion
L’Argent by Marcel L’Herbier
CHECK THESE OUT
L’Argent
d: Marcel L’Herbier; scr: Marcel L’Herbier & Arthur Bernède
The Patsy
d: King Vidor; scr: Agnes Christine Johnson; titles: Ralph Spence
Show People
d: King Vidor; scr: Laurence Stallings & Agnes Christine Johnson; titles: Ralph [...]
by Andre Soares | April 2, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: A Woman of Affairs, Agnes Christine Johnson, Bert Glennon, Best Films, Brigitte Helm, Carl Hoffman, Clarence Brown, Classic Movies, Drums of Love, Eleanor Boardman, Emil Jannings, Erich von Stroheim, Forbidden Hours, Frank Borzage, Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, Harold Rosson, Harry Carey, Janet Gaynor, Josef von Sternberg, Jules Furthman, King Vidor, L'Argent, Lars Hanson, Laurence Stallings, Lillian Gish, Marcel L'Herbier, Marion Davies, Olga Baclanova, Phyllis Haver, Pierre Alcover, Ramon Novarro, Raoul Walsh, Sadie Thompson, Sally O'Neil, Show People, Silent Films, Storm over Asia, Street Angel, The Cardboard Lover, The Crowd, The Docks of New York, The Last Command, The Patsy, The Trail of '98, The Wedding March, The Wind, Victor Sjöström
Best Films – 1926
Mary Pickford in Sparrows
FILM
Dancing Mothers
d: Herbert Brenon; scr: Forrest Halsey
Don Juan
d: Alan Crosland; scr: Bess Meredyth; titles: Walter Anthony, Maude Fulton
Kid Boots
d: Frank Tuttle; scr: Luther Reed, Tom Gibson; titles: George Marion Jr.
The Scarlet Letter
d: Victor Sjöström (aka Victor Seastrom); scr: Frances Marion
The Show
d: Tod Browning; scr: Waldemar Young; titles: Joseph W. Farnham
Sparrows
d: William Beaudine; scr: C. Gardner Sullivan; titles: George Marion Jr.
The Volga Boatman
d: Cecil B. DeMille; scr: Lenore J. Coffee
CHECK THESE OUT
You Never Know Women
d: William A. Wellman; scr: Benjamin Glazer
Old Ironsides
d: James Cruze; scr: Dorothy Arzner, Harry Carr, Walter Woods; titles: Rupert Hughes
Mare Nostrum
d: Rex Ingram; scr: Willis Goldbeck
Tell It to the Marines
d: George Hill; scr: Richard Schayer; titles: Joseph W. Farnham
ACTOR
John Barrymore
Don Juan
Eddie Cantor
Kid Boots
John Gilbert
The [...]
by Andre Soares | April 2, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Alan Crosland, Alice Terry, Best Films, Cecil B. DeMille, Classic Movies, Don Juan, Flesh and the Devil, Florence Vidor, Frances Marion, George Hill, Gertrude Astor, John Barrymore, John Gilbert, Kid Boots, Lillian Gish, Mare Nostrum, Mary Pickford, Renée Adorée, Rex Ingram, Silent Films, Sparrows, Tell It to the Marines, The Scarlet Letter, The Show, The Volga Boatman, Victor Sjöström
Best Films – 1919
Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess in Broken Blossoms
FILM
Broken Blossoms
d, scr: D. W. Griffith
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari / The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
d: Robert Wiene; scr: Carl Mayer, Hans Janowitz
The Hoodlum
d: Sidney Franklin; scr: Frances Marion
CHECK THESE OUT
The False Faces
d, scr: Irvin Willat
The Sentimental Bloke
d: Raymond Longford; scr: Raymond Longford and (possibly) Lottie Lyell
ACTOR
Richard Barthelmess
Broken Blossoms
Werner Krauss
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Thomas Meighan
Male and Female
Arthur Tauchert
The Sentimental Bloke
ACTRESS
Lillian Gish
Broken Blossoms
Lillian Gish
The Greatest Question
Mary Johnson
Herr Arnes pengar / Sir Arne’s Treasure
Mary Pickford
Heart o’ the Hills
Mary Pickford
The Hoodlum
Gloria Swanson
Male and Female
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Lon Chaney
Victory
Conrad Veidt
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Josephine Crowell
The Greatest Question
Lila Lee
Male and Female
Clarine Seymour
The Girl Who Stayed at Home
CINEMATOGRAPHY
G. W. Bitzer
Broken Blossoms
G. W. Bitzer
The Greatest Question
René [...]
by Andre Soares | April 1, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Best Films, Broken Blossoms, Carl Mayer, Charles Rosher, Classic Movies, D. W. Griffith, Daddy Long Legs, Frances Marion, G. W. Bitzer, Gloria Swanson, Heart o' the Hills, Irvin Willat, Josephine Crowell, Lila Lee, Lillian Gish, Lon Chaney, Male and Female, Mary Pickford, Raymond Longford, Richard Barthelmess, Robert Wiene, Sidney Franklin, Silent Films, The False Faces, The Greatest Question, The Hoodlum, The Sentimental Bloke, Thomas Meighan, Werner Krauss
Best Films – 1916
FILM
Sold for Marriage
d: Christy Cabanne; scr: William E. Wing
CHECK THESE OUT
His Picture in the Papers
d: John Emerson; scr: John Emerson, Anita Loos
Kärlek och journalistik / Love and Journalism
d: Mauritz Stiller; scr: Harriet Bloch
ACTOR
Richard Lund
Love and Journalism
Tully Marshall
The Devil’s Needle
ACTRESS
Lillian Gish
Sold for Marriage
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Frank Bennett
Sold for Marriage
George Fawcett
The Habit of Happiness
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Stina Berg
Love and Journalism
Norma Talmadge
The Devil’s Needle
CINEMATOGRAPHY
H. Lyman Broening
Snow White
Eugene Gaudio
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
"Best Films of …" Annual List
1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
1980 1981 1982 [...]
by Andre Soares | April 1, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Best Films, Christy Cabanne, Classic Movies, His Picture in the Papers, John Emerson, Lillian Gish, Mauritz Stiller, Norma Talmadge, Silent Films, Sold for Marriage, Tully Marshall
Best Films – 1915
In The Italian, George Beban plays an Italian immigrant whose dreams of riches in America quickly turn into a never-ending nightmare of poverty and despair.
FILM
The Italian
d: Reginald Barker; scr: Thomas H. Ince and C. Gardner Sullivan
Little Pal
d: James Kirkwood; scr: Marshall Neilan
CHECK THESE OUT
Carmen
d: Cecil B. DeMille; scr: William C. de Mille
ACTOR
George Beban
The Italian
Theda Bara in A Fool There Was
ACTRESS
Theda Bara
A Fool There Was
Geraldine Farrar
Carmen
Lillian Gish
Enoch Arden
Mary Pickford
Little Pal
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Clara Williams
The Italian
"Best Films of …" Annual List
1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965
1970 [...]
by Andre Soares | April 1, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: A Fool There Was, Best Films, Carmen, Cecil B. DeMille, Clara Williams, Classic Movies, Enoch Arden, George Beban, Geraldine Farrar, James Kirkwood, Lillian Gish, Marshall Neilan, Mary Pickford, Reginald Barker, Silent Films, The Italian, Theda Bara
Best Films – 1913
At the time of its release, Traffic in Souls became a huge moneymaker. This melodrama about the white slave trade remains watchable chiefly because of director George Loane Tucker’s sure touch. Tucker became a major name in the 1910s, but had his career cut short by illness. He died in 1921 at the age of 49. Most of his films are now lost. Traffic in Souls stars Ethel Grandin and Matt Moore, both of whom were quite popular in the 1910s.
CHECK THESE OUT
Traffic in Souls
d: George Loane Tucker; scr: Walter MacNamara
ACTRESS
Lillian Gish
The Mothering Heart
"Best Films of …" Annual List
1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 [...]
by Andre Soares | April 1, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Best Films, Classic Movies, Ethel Grandin, George Loane Tucker, Lillian Gish, Matt Moore, Silent Films, The Mothering Heart, Traffic in Souls, White Slave Trade
SOLD FOR MARRIAGE – Lillian Gish
Sold for Marriage (1916)
Direction: Christy Cabanne
Screenplay: William E. Wing
Cast: Lillian Gish, Frank Bennett, Walter Long, Allan Sears, Pearl Elmore, Curt Rehfeld
Though all but completely forgotten today, Christy Cabanne (at times billed as William Christy Cabanne) was a respected name in the 1910s and 1920s. Among his credits are the1916 Douglas Fairbanks vehicle The Mystery of the Leaping Fish, considered by some Fairbanks’ best film of the 1910s; the highly successful 1925 actioner The Midshipman, which helped to seal Ramon Novarro’s stardom; and several key scenes in the mammoth 1925 version of Ben-Hur, also starring Novarro.
An apprentice to D. W. Griffith, Cabanne seems to have not only learned a good deal from the (now all but insufferable) Master, but [...]
by Andre Soares | March 24, 2009
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Arranged Marriages, Christy Cabanne, Classic Movies, D. W. Griffith, Film Reviews, Frank Bennett, Immigration, Lillian Gish, Ramon Novarro, Silent Films, Socially Conscious Movies, Sold for Marriage, Three-Star Movies, William E. Wing
Griffith Masterworks 2: WAY DOWN EAST, THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE
It may not have been terribly original of Kino to include in their 2005 Griffith Masterworks boxed set the only four D. W. Griffith features that most people could name (let alone claim to have seen), but it would have been downright perverse to pass over The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms, and Orphans of the Storm (the fifth and sixth discs were made up of several Biograph shorts).
With their second set, Griffith Masterworks 2, released this month, Kino has selected some genuine curiosities; each of the five films on offer here has novelty value in addition to being the work of cinema’s first genius.
Way Down East (1920), the first film [...]
by Dan Erdman | December 21, 2008
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: Classic Movies, D. W. Griffith, DVDs, Edgar Allan Poe, Kino International, Lillian Gish, Silent Films, The Avenging Conscience, Way Down East
