Yesterday we watched a Victorian-era woman undress without every getting anywhere near being clothes free. Today’s ancient peek into voyerisum, early-20th century style, consists of something even less revealing. It’s a short clip of three women thinking about disrobing. So little happens in this piece of film that must have
Continuing this little survey of sword fights in movies that we began yesterday, I thought it might put things in context to look at what is generally considered the first great sword fight in movie history–Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in ‘The Mark Of Zorro’ (1920). There probably were sword fights in
‘Angora Love’ (1929) was Laurel and Hardy’s last silent film and, was, in fact, the last silent film released by MGM. (Garbo’s ‘The Kiss’ was the last silent feature the studio released, one month prior to this film). Shot in March of 1929, the release was inexplicably delayed until all
The Finishing Touch was filmed in November and December 1927 in an area undergoing real estate development ; its wide open spaces provide a sense of a more pastoral Los Angeles that would soon vanish as more structures filled it in. We are on location in the neighborhood of Cheviot Hills, Los
How I love ‘lost films’. Especially when they resurface! There’s something so ghostly, so other-worldly, about a vanished movie that is, in fact, waiting patiently somewhere bizarre to be rediscovered. Many lost films turn up in New Zealand of all places. That’s because that was the last stop for prints
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgGhc2PglO0 ‘Habeus Ciorpus’ co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott was filmed on July 16–24 and 30–31, 1928. Since the jerk-offf who posted the film disabled the sharing of it on other websites you’ll have to click the above ‘watch on Youtube’ link to see it. It’s worth the not
“Two Tars” (1928) is, for my money, the teams greatest silent film and requires two viewings. To that end, I’ve posted two different versions of ‘Two Tars’. The above is of lesser picture quality but uses the original synchronized score/effects track which is far superior to the re-do on the
“Hats Off”, a silent 1927 Laurel and Hardy comedy, is a lost film. It was last seen in Germany in 1930, where it presumably retired itself to the countryside and hopefully didn’t wind up a victim of the coming war. Why the film vanished is a mystery–there are no other
Let’s close this autumnal week with some madcap 1920s dancing featuring Joan Crawford. Above and below I’ve posted a few minutes from ‘Our Dancing Daughters’, the 1928 silent vehicle that officially launched Crawford’s career and world wide fame. Actually, calling the film ‘silent’ isn’t quite accurate as it was released
I just found this interview with the then 66 year old Gloria Swanson, made for French television in 1965. In many ways its real value is to show what a truly deep character actress she was. I say this because the real Swanson could not be less like Norma Desmond,