Yearly Archives: 2012

Little Toys

Posted on July 21, 2012 by John Grant

“Little Toys,” released in 1933, features the legendary actress Lingyu Ruan as Sister Ye, a talented toymaker in a small village in China.  This Chinese silent movie follows Sister Ye as she designs and makes toys in her family’s workshop. … Continue reading →

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The Docks of New York

Posted on July 18, 2012 by John Grant

Somewhere on the Paramount lot in 1928, Joseph von Sternberg filmed a wonderful silent picture called “The Docks of New York.”  It stars George Bancroft as Bill Roberts, a boat stoker who saves a women attempting to drown herself.  Betty … Continue reading →

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The Wonderful Lie of Nina Petrovna

Posted on July 15, 2012 by John Grant

In “The Wonderful Lie of Nina Petrovna,” Brigitte Helm plays the title character, a kept woman of a colonel in czarist St. Petersburg.  When Nina spots a handsome lieutenant at a nightclub, she risks her security and affluent life for … Continue reading →

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Wings

Posted on July 12, 2012 by John Grant

One couldn’t overestimate the importance of “Wings,” a silent movie made in 1927 by Paramount and director William A. Welman.  The massively successful motion picture broke visual barriers in filming aerial combat while successfully telling the story of two pilots … Continue reading →

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News: A New Banner Debuts

Posted on July 11, 2012 by John Grant

My movie blog now sports a new banner, designed by artist Mary Gow.  The banner recalls the art and artists of cinema, and features images of Gloria Swanson, Billy Wilder and Norma Talmadge.  The middle picture in the banner shows Harry … Continue reading →

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The Razor’s Edge

Posted on July 8, 2012 by John Grant

When Twentieth Century Fox and Darrell Zanuck made “The Razor’s Edge” in 1946, they spared no expense and put together a wonderful cast that includes Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, John Payne, Anne Baxter and Herbert Marshall.  Tyrone plays … Continue reading →

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Anna Christie

Posted on July 5, 2012 by John Grant

The German-language version of “Anna Christie,” the Greta Garbo movie filmed in 1931, shows the contrasting styles of European and American sensibilities.  Garbo became a sensation as the title character in the English-language version from 1930, directed by Clarence Brown. … Continue reading →

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Once Upon a Honeymoon

Posted on July 2, 2012 by John Grant

Leo McCarey directed Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers in a war propaganda film made in 1942 called “Once Upon a Honeymoon.”  Rogers plays a stripper named Kathie O’Hara who sails off to Austria to marry Baron Franz Von Luber (Walter … Continue reading →

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The Four Horsemen

Posted on June 30, 2012 by John Grant

Made in 1921, “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” tells the story of an Argentinian family trust into World War 1 (WW1).  The silent film starts out on an Argentine ranch, where a proud patriarch (Madariaga) with two daughters oversees a … Continue reading →

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The Mating Season

Posted on June 27, 2012 by John Grant

“The Mating Season,” directed by Mitchell Leisen in 1951, features Thelma Ritter as a woman who owns a hamburger joint in New Jersey. When the local bank forecloses her business, she heads off to live with her newly-married son (John … Continue reading →

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