Silent Films

The Phantom Carriage was on last night, I watched it this morning, I thought the guy was dead, since the carriage had come for him, & its driver was telling him that he, having been the last to die on New Years' Eve, would be the driver for the current year, but--
at the end, it seemed more like the Ghost of Xmas yet to come & his visit to Scrooge! When the driver took the guy to the apartment where his estranged wife lived, they saw that she was preparing for murder/suicide; to poison their 2 daughters, then take her own life. The man who had lived a life of drunkenness and debauchery quickly fell to his knees & begged the driver to stop his wife. But the response was that he had no power over the living. The poor guy freaked-out! He went bonkers trying to convince the driver (of Death's carriage) to help him, crying out to God, that he himself be condemned to damnation, but that his family (whom he had not even thought about for a year) should be spared. All this time, the man and the driver, being spirits, were semi-transparent. Then, the driver said he now knew the guy had truly repented, and the scene changed to the place where the guy had apparently died. He then revived, hurried to the apartment, etc. :LOL: Up to that point, the film was rather creepy, but then it became tame; though I did find it rather enjoyable.
 
The Blue Bird (1918 film) was on TCM the other night, and I viewed it this morning. A boy and his sister go on a journey (in a shared dream) to find the BB of Happiness. I was rather surprised at the part where the kids went to visit the Happy Dead, where they met their grandparents, and their dead siblings. There were 5 of them, apparently younger than themselves, though no telling if they had been born before or after. I guess I am at a loss, having benefited from various inoculations and such, but to think that of 7 kids, only 2 survived (both of whom were under 12 years old, & thus unsure of reaching adulthood), and that death was an appropriate subject for young kids at that time. :cautious:
When I was a kid, death was simply not a part of anything family-friendly. I thought that the lack of various types of media way back then, would have made kids remain ignorant of such things until adolescence or at least nearly that. But the casual way the film handled the subject just floored me.
 
I was never a fan of Chapin. He is too Slap Stick but he did invent that style (without actualy inventing it???).
But I can g-tee, if i went back 35 years I'd be watching L&H on Good Friday at the young age of 10.
I never questioned 2 men in a bed but Morcambe & Wise did too and I never question that. It was a different time.
My all time favourite was Harold Lloyd.
Somehow he always ended up hanging off a clock hand 200ft above Manhattan.
 
It is a sad commentary on humans that we laugh at such things, especially when Lloyd supposedly REALLY WAS on that clock tower.
 
Oh, he absolutely, definitely REALLY WAS hanging there. He did all his own stunts. He was showing the film executives round the studios one day and lit what he thought was a fake bomb and blew his fingers off. In fact if you watch his movies at the end of his career you will see he always wears gloves.
 
I guess, that is the same was that B. Lee was killed, the guy thought the gun was loaded with blanks.

When I was young (& foolish), I thought I would through a firecracker into a concrete pipe that went under Connecticut Avenue, & the echo would be sooo cool. Lucky for me, the thing was loud but weak, because just like W. E. Coyote, when I would up to throw, it exploded. :cry::whistle:
 
Jeffbert said:
I guess, that is the same was that B. Lee was killed, the guy thought the gun was loaded with blanks.

When I was young (& foolish), I thought I would through a firecracker into a concrete pipe that went under Connecticut Avenue, & the echo would be sooo cool. Lucky for me, the thing was loud but weak, because just like W. E. Coyote, when I would up to throw, it exploded. :cry::whistle:
Click to expand...
Brandons death was a freak accident though. To save money the production crew emptied the gun powder out of live bullets. Unfortunately the one that "Got away" (so to speak) was the one next in the barrol.
God rest his soul.
 
I heard from a guy who acted as a villain on MIAMI VICE that even using blanks, the rule is to never actually aim at anyone, that they used camera angles and such to simulate that.
 
Oh, definitely, Metropolis' depictions of various futuristic elements were inspirational to more than a few filmmakers. The city's tall, imposing appearance & the workers as merely cogs in the machine are just two that come to mind. Charlie Chaplin did that film in which working while being fed by machine obviously seems inspired by it. Though, admittedly, I am unsure which was made 1st. As far as the city's appearance goes, there are just too many to mention. Even Batman cartoons use it.
 
The Merry Widow (1925) directed by E. Von Stroheim, about a dancer whom two princes desire to marry. But, since she is not a noble, both are denied, until she marries the richest guy in the nation, who conveniently croaks on the wedding night.

I also had EVS' Greed on my DVR, but I also had too much, so I deleted it.
 
I watched The Red Turtle (2016) recently, which was pretty much a silent film. Here's what I said about it in The Red Turtle thread:
AlexH said:
I watched this today and thought it was beautiful - the animation (the simplicity worked really well for me), sound, everything. It lost its way for a bit around the middle, but aside from that I was captivated throughout.
Click to expand...
 
The Show (1927)The performers in a side-show have conflicts with each other L. Barymore is the antagonist, the Greek, while John Gilbert is the protagonist, Cock Robin, the side-show barker, who also performs as a beheaded John the Baptist. Both have eyes for the same woman. I have no memory of the name John Gilbert, & suppose he did not make many films after the advent of sound.

The woman, known as Salome, is the daughter of an elderly blind man, who seemingly loathes her, because she is female, comparing her to his son, whom he believes is a war hero. Apparently, the man has denied his daughter male companions or perhaps, had a thing against Robin, who was in her room, attempting to silently avoid the man in the small room. But the father takes Robin as his son.
but the son is in reality, a convicted murderer, who is soon to be hanged. The girl had been writing fake letters from the son, & reading them to him. When a religious parade is in town, the father imagines his son is returning, and is about to enter the home. Robin is with the woman, and the blind man mistakes him for his son, who is seen through the window on the gallows, rope around his neck. Very sad! So ,the old man dies of gladness, because his son has finally returned from the war, after so many years. just as the son drops through the trapdoor.

There is more to the film than that, but that was the part that got me.
 
Jeffbert said:
The Merry Widow (1925) directed by E. Von Stroheim, about a dancer whom two princes desire to marry. But, since she is not a noble, both are denied, until she marries the richest guy in the nation, who conveniently croaks on the wedding night.

I also had EVS' Greed on my DVR, but I also had too much, so I deleted it.
Click to expand...

As to Greed , it was based on the Novel McTeague by Frank Norris , Erich von Stroheim tired to film the entire book. The movie originally topped out about 10 hours long. Louie B. Meyer took the film away from From Stroheim and had it cu down it don to about 2 hours. Needless to say Von Stroheimwas livid about this but there was nothing he could and Meyer knew that no audience would sit through som long a film. Erich Von Stroheim was perfectionist and an artist , He would get on a project and he keep on filming a films, He didn't care where the film was commercially viable or not to the studios. The situation with Greed was pretty much the beginning of his end as a director, He ceased directing in the early 1930's but he continued as an for years afterward. One his monst memorable performance was Max In Sunset Blvd with Gloria Swanson.
 
Robin Hood (1922)

Garden variety histrionics from the cast with much leaping about from Fairbanks, although some of his stunts are amazing. But the real stars are the gorgeous cinematography and production design. This is the Hollywood backlot at its finest.
 
"Don't you worry, never fear, Robin Hood will soon be here." I would like to see that 1922 version!

BTW, is that avatar The King Fisher?

The Three Musketeers (1921) d'Artagnan (Douglas Fairbanks) goes to the big city to join the king's Musketeers, & in this, & later versions, ends up offending all three of the title characters, each of whom challenge him to a duel to the death. :giggle:

Of the three, only one name is familiar to me, Aramis (Eugene Pallette; he is lacking without his gravel voice). As I recall Ben M. said that DF had been instructed by a fencing pro for weeks before filming began, but forgot everything as soon as 'Action' was said. Only one other actor in the list on Wiki is familiar, Adolphe Menjou as Louis XIII.

Good film!
 
Jeffbert said:
I would like to see that 1922 version!
Click to expand...

Be sure to settle in. It's 2h 23min.

The avatar is Black Manta, Aquaman's arch-nemesis. I used it on other forums years ago because it looked cool, was obscure, and DC would never do one of its big, goofy movies about Aqu...oh, wait.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
P Silent Hill: Ascension Game Discussions 0
Snicklefritz Silent Owl flight Science & Nature 2
P Silent Hill Game Discussions 0
Rodders Silent Eye General TV Discussion 0
P Silent Hill Game Discussions 0

Similar threads


Back
Top