Yearly Archives: 2011

“Shoes,” a 1916 drama directed by Lois Weber, tells the story of a poor girl working hard at a five and dime to support her family.  Her pay envelope barely keeps her family together and her father refuses to apply … Continue reading →

Marlene Dietrich plays the title role in “The Woman Men Yearn For,” a film directed in 1929 by Curtis Bernhardt.  Charles boards a train with his wife to their honeymoon destination, but spots Marlene Dietrich’s character (Stascha) and instantly falls … Continue reading →

Silent movies are not above having ridiculous plots, including ones that include mistaken identity.  In “Mr. Fix-It,” directed in 1918 by Allan Dwan, Douglas Fairbanks agrees to impersonate his Oxford University friend to his family.  The friend, who hasn’t seen his … Continue reading →

In “The Goose Woman,” from 1925, Louise Dresser plays a woman prone to drink. A famous opera singer in the past, Dresser’s character lost her voice and her considerable talents and following when she conceived a son.  She takes to … Continue reading →

“The Blizzard,” directed by Mauritz Stiller in 1923, features a man dragged through the Swedish Arctic by a reindeer.  The man, out in the wilderness to herd the reindeer towards a big payday (they are used for meat, hides, antlers, … Continue reading →

As a fan of impressionistic filmmaking, I watched both this year’s “The Tree of Life” and “Last Year at Marienbad” from 1961.  The Tree of Life, directed by Terrance Malick,  proved to be an incredible journey across time and generations, … Continue reading →

“The Great White Silence” (1924), a UK produced film that screened at this year’s San Francisco Silent Film Festival, contains wonderful footage from Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated attempt to reach and return from the South Pole.  When Scott arrived at … Continue reading →

Yasujiro Ozu made three outstanding films in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  Better known as the “Noriko Trilogy,” the films included “Late Spring,” from 1949, “Early Summer,” from 1951, and “Tokyo Story,” from 1953.  All three pictures include wonderful … Continue reading →

This month, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival screened the 1920 version of “Huckleberry Finn.”  Directed by William Desmond Taylor, the film presents a grittier version of Mark Twain’s story.  Huckleberry Finn, played by Lewis Sargent, projects the rough and … Continue reading →