Thread: Silent Movies

When I was a young kid, maybe 10 or 11, I read a book called "Classics Of the Silent Screen." I talked with my mom about it and she told me about some of the movies and stars of her early years. At the time it seemed hopeless that I would ever get to see any of them. Now I have a collection of the great silents on DVD or VHS. Films with Lon Chaney Sr, Douglas Fairbanks Sr, Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton for example. So I was excited to read an article about some newly discovered silents here in the NY Times and even more excited to find this website linked in the article here where you can watch William S Hart in Hell's Hinges online. Any other fans of the silent screen out there ?

Great stuff Jimmy. If you ever get a chance to see it, there is an old Victor Hugo story called "The Man Who Laughs" starring Conrad Veidt.

This is a brilliant movie.

Also, I have quite a few of the old silent horror flicks as well. The Lon Chaney Sr stuff is great. So is Max Shreck's Nosferatu.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Max Shreck's Nosferatu.

YES! Perhaps the easiest way to scare the crap out of yourself for the night! That shot of Nosferatu in the doorway still haunts me in my sleep.

Harold Lloyd always makes me laugh, even if I've seen his movies about a dozen times. The same with Laurel and Hardy.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Great stuff Jimmy. If you ever get a chance to see it, there is an old Victor Hugo story called "The Man Who Laughs" starring Conrad Veidt.

This is a brilliant movie.

Also, I have quite a few of the old silent horror flicks as well. The Lon Chaney Sr stuff is great. So is Max Shreck's Nosferatu.

Yes I've got it and I agree it is great. The Cabinet Of Dr Caligri is also a great Veidt film. The two films I'm hoping come out on DVD are He Who Gets Slapped with Lon Chaney and Greed. I've got Greed on VHS but unfortunately my VHS player is on the fritz and I'd rather have the convenience of DVD.

I saw He Who Gets Slapped on PBS in the '70s and I've never forgotten how much I was impressed by Chaney in that role. I've gotten a number of his films on DVD but not all of them.

Did you read in the article what they are spending to bring these films to the USA ? It said it will cost $500,000 !!!

Does "Silent Movie" by Mel Brooks count?

Jimmy: Your post reminded me of something I had not thought about in years. When I was about 16 an elderly man moved across the street from my family and he and I became fast friends. He often talked about Mary Pickford and his favorite actor William S. Hart. I think Willilam S. Hart was to his generation what Steve McQueen was to mine. That old man was something else. He was a big man, wore a hat like Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove, drank Rye whiskey, chewed Black Maria chewing tobacco, carried a big Smith & Wesson under his coat and shaved with a huge staight razor. To all us young men in the neighborhood he was our local John Wayne. Thanks for reminding me.

dewayne

Originally Posted by BingoBango

YES! Perhaps the easiest way to scare the crap out of yourself for the night! That shot of Nosferatu in the doorway still haunts me in my sleep.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, one of the true classics. It's amazing it still exists. After Stoker's widow sued the film maker, the court ordered all copies to be destroyed. An interesting note on the film: Count Orlock played by Max Schrek (whose name litteraly means 'ultimate horror') was the first vampire to be destroyed by sunlight. In Bram Stoker's novel, the vampire only lost his power when the sun went down.

Originally Posted by d. m. ellington

Jimmy: Your post reminded me of something I had not thought about in years. When I was about 16 an elderly man moved across the street from my family and he and I became fast friends. He often talked about Mary Pickford and his favorite actor William S. Hart. I think Willilam S. Hart was to his generation what Steve McQueen was to mine. That old man was something else. He was a big man, wore a hat like Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove, drank Rye whiskey, chewed Black Maria chewing tobacco, carried a big Smith & Wesson under his coat and shaved with a huge staight razor. To all us young men in the neighborhood he was our local John Wayne. Thanks for reminding me.

dewayne

I would have liked him!