Category Archives: Silent Film

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 →

“The Circle,” a charming silent movie made by MGM in 1925, features Eleanor Boardman as Elizabeth, a woman contemplating running away with her husband’s best friend.  Her husband, Arnold, played by Creighton Hale, is a stuffy neat freak and general … Continue reading →

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) ran back to back silent Greta Garbo movies on Sunday night, April 1, 2012.  Garbo’s last silent film, “The Kiss,” made in 1929, features her as Irene Guarry, a Parisian woman having an affair with a … Continue reading →

I attended the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California to watch Abel Gance’s 1927 classic “Napoleon” on Sunday, March 25, 2012.  The Paramount showings, which include an orchestral score written by Carl Davis and performed by the Oakland-East Bay Symphony, continue … Continue reading →

Sometimes a film contains so many striking images that it seems impossible to turn away from it.  Silent movies demand more attention anyway, since they don’t rely on spoken dialogue to move  the plot along.  If you turn away, you … Continue reading →

If you want to see Greta Garbo at her absolute most-powerful best, I recommend a 1926 silent film called “The Temptress.”  Garbo plays Elena, a Parisian woman in a loveless marriage who becomes a mistress for a financier.  At a … Continue reading →

Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Little American,” made in 1917, stars Mary Pickford as Angela Moore, an American caught up in World War 1.  A Prussian named Karl Von Austreim proposes marriage to Angela  before leaving to join his German regiment … Continue reading →

“Kiki,” a movie made in 1926, stars Norma Talmadge as an ambitious singer who crashes a stage review, makes a nuisance of herself, and ends up falling in love with Monsieur Victor Renal, the theater manager (Ronald Coleman).  One normally … Continue reading →