Starring the German Mary Pickford, Ernst Lubitsch’s The Doll movie is a satirical fantasy featuring amusing art direction and jabs at the Catholic Church.
Amazing Tales from the Archives: SFSFF spotlights unusual movie audio system, pioneering female documentarian and memorably inventive comedy fantasies.
Made when American women were disenfranchised, Mothers of Men asks whether the female right to vote will destroy The American Family.
The first feature (co-)directed by Alf Sjöberg, The Strongest is a visually splendid Arctic adventure. On the downside, the narrative moves at glacial speed.
Mixing fantasy and tragedy, Fritz Lang’s two-part epic Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Kriemhild’s Revenge is a cinematic masterpiece.
L’Inhumaine: Marcel L’Herbier mixes sex melodrama with science fiction and Fernand Léger sets plus an early peek into Modern China.
African-American film ‘Bert Williams: Lime Kiln Club Field Day’ with Williams (in blackface) and Odessa Warren Grey: Early 20th century rarity.* Rare, early 20th-century African-American film among San Francisco Silent…
Charles Chaplin in ‘A Film Johnnie’ (1914). ‘A Night at the Cinema in 1914’: From The Great War to Charles Chaplin and Pearl White Imagine, if you will, that you…
Midnight Madness movie with Clive Brook and Jacqueline Logan. ‘Midnight Madness’ movie lacks both ‘midnight’ & ‘madness’ Screened at the 2014 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Midnight Madness has a…
The Canadian with Thomas Meighan. ‘The Canadian’: Thomas Meighan faces adversities in The Land of Promise Thomas Meighan is The Star of William Beaudine’s The Canadian (1926), which screened at…
Swampland race relations: Old indie mixes reactionary ideas about interracial love with vengeance and voodoo in tragic actress’ final little-seen film.
The Goose Woman with Louise Dresser and Jack Pickford. At the 2011 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, the Clarence Brown-directed 1925 Universal release The Goose Woman was introduced by author…
Huckleberry Finn movie: Lewis Sargent toplines sentimental William Desmond Taylor effort. Huckleberry Finn Movie: Sentimental Fare Directed by Eventual Murder Victim Directed by William Desmond Taylor, Huckleberry Finn stars a…
Blood and Sand with Rudolph Valentino and Nita Naldi Bullfighting has never appealed to me, so I approached Fred Niblo’s Blood and Sand with caution. Now that I’ve seen it,…
Beulah Bondi, Victor Moore, Make Way for Tomorrow The main conflict in Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow revolves around an elderly couple, Barkley and Lucy Cooper (Victor Moore and…
The Beast with a Million Eyes: Hardly truth in advertising as Roger Corman’s micro-budget sci-fi thriller is no “monster movie.” ‘The Beast with a Million Eyes’: Alien invasion movie predates…
Monique van Vooren, Joe Dallesandro, Flesh for Frankenstein The first time I saw Flesh for Frankenstein was during its theatrical release in 1973, when it was titled, Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein.…
Directed by schlock-master William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler), Shanks is a little-known curiosity piece, telling the story (written by Ranald Graham) of Malcolm Shanks, a deaf-mute puppeteer who leaves his abusive…
Boom! movie: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton critical and box office disaster is rediscovered and receives some belated cult classic appreciation.
Desert Nights: Enjoyable John Gilbert Sahara adventure dares to ask old philosophical question. Mary Nolan bathes naked and Ernest Torrence steals show.
In her first American film without the guidance of director Josef von Sternberg, Marlene Dietrich was definitely up to the acting challenge of Rouben Mamoulian’s The Song of Songs. Not…
La Habanera with Zarah Leander and Ferdinand Marian. First, I have to state that I watched Douglas Sirk’s La Habanera, not knowing what to expect. All I knew was the…
‘The Bubble’ movie: Too may dimensions? “THE BUBBLE IN 3-D. FILMED IN SPACE-VISION! IN 4th DIMENSIONAL LIVING COLOR”, so says the cover for the DVD release of this seldom seen…
7 Faces of Dr. Lao movie review: An excellent Tony Randall proves the point that things are not what they seem to be in George Pal Oscar-winning fantasy.
Noah’s Ark with George O’Brien, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, and Paul McAllister. Of all the films from that magical moment when silent movies merged into sound, nothing is as effective…
San Francisco Silent Film Festival highlights include hand-tinted color fantasies by Segundo de Chomón and Louis Feuillade in the days before Technicolor.
Autumn Crocus movie adaptation with Ivor Novello and Fay Compton: Summertime precursor. Ivor Novello last movie: ‘Autumn Crocus’ Can a naive, plain-looking, spinster school teacher ever find real love in…
Antarctic exploration with Sir Ernest Shackleton. Antarctic exploration ‘epic’: ‘South’ It was surprising to see the large crowd waiting to get into the 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival screening…
The Sadist with Arch Hall Jr. Say what you will about Arch Hall Jr. (and I know many people have), but he gives an outstanding performance in James Landis’ The Sadist…
The Love of Jeanne Ney with Uno Henning and Edith Jehanne. G.W. Pabst’s The Love of Jeanne Ney / Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney is a real mystery. And I mean…
The Whales of August with Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, and Ann Sothern. According to my math, the careers of the three leading ladies – Lillian Gish, Bette Davis,…
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg with Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer. The theme of a prince who gives up the girl he loves in order to fulfill his royal…