Monthly Archives: November 2012

Kansas Silent Film Festival

Posted on November 29, 2012 by John Grant

The Kansas Silent Film Festival, which takes place in Topeka, Kansas (at Washburn University) on February 22 and February 23, 2013, announced its schedule: http://www.kssilentfilmfest.org/kssff2013/program.html The free festival’s feature films include “Sparrows (1926)” with Mary Pickford, “Three Ages (1923)” with … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Silent Film | Leave a comment

Bed of Roses

Posted on November 26, 2012 by John Grant

A wonderful pre-code film called “Bed of Roses” came out in 1933, and it concerns a prostitute named Lorry Evans, played by Constance Bennett, who lands in New Orleans after serving prison time.  There, she steals money from a cotton … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tail Spin

Posted on November 23, 2012 by John Grant

I couldn’t resist seeing both Alice Faye and Constance Bennett in a 1939 movie called “Tail Spin,” which tells the story of aviatrices flying in “powder puff” competitions.  Bennett, who plays a wealthy socialite named Gerry Lester, looks glamorous as … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Master of the House

Posted on November 20, 2012 by John Grant

Carl Theodor Dreyer directed “Master of the House” in 1925, and the Danish film became a box-office hit in France, the United States and other countries.  It tells the story about an ungrateful husband, Viktor, and his long-suffering wife, Ida.  When … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Silent Film | Leave a comment

Silent Winter 2013

Posted on November 17, 2012 by John Grant

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival announced its program for their winter silent film festival, which they call “Silent Winter 2013.”  All films will screen at the beautiful Castro Theater in San Francisco, California on Saturday, February 16, 2013.  Find … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements, Silent Film | Leave a comment

The Scarlet Letter

Posted on November 14, 2012 by John Grant

Colleen Moore plays Hester Prynne in the 1934 film version of “The Scarlet Letter,” the classic novel by William Hawthorne.  The producers (Larry Darmour Productions) made the film independently using the RKO Ranch in Sherman Oaks, California, while MGM provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Paths to Paradise

Posted on November 11, 2012 by John Grant

It’s been said (by Walter Kerr in “The Silent Clowns”) that Raymond Griffith is fifth in the pantheon of great silent film male comedians, after Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon.  After seeing a wonderful film called … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Silent Film | Leave a comment

The Wedding Night

Posted on November 8, 2012 by John Grant

My further investigation into the films of Anna Sten brought me to “The Wedding Night,” the picture she made in 1935 with Gary Cooper.  Cooper plays a fiction writer in New York City, Tony Barrett, whose latest novel is rejected … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Quality Street

Posted on November 5, 2012 by John Grant

After seeing Marion Davies in a terrific silent film called “The Patsy,” from 1928 (at the 2012 Pordenone Silent Film Festival), I eagerly awaited the arrival of an earlier film, “Quality Street,” from 1927, in my mailbox.  Davies stars in … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Silent Film | Leave a comment

Family Day

Posted on November 2, 2012 by John Grant

A German silent film comedy called “Familientag im Hause Prellstein,” from 1927, features a family feud over an inheritance.  When Sami Bambus learns that his gambling debts far exceed his fortune, he decides to fake his own death.  His plan takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Reviews, Silent Film | Leave a comment