Category Archives: Silent Film

Director Arthur Robison makes shadows real in a 1923 German film called “Warning Shadows.”  The film features a wealthy Count (Fritz Kortner) and Countess (Ruth Weyher) who host a party in a 19th century mansion for three gentlemen and a … Continue reading →

Lately, whenever I discuss silent movies, someone brings up “Battleship Potemkin,” the 1925 Soviet movie directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein.  Generally, people ask me about what I think of it, and I tell them that it’s an easily watchable great … Continue reading →

My 93 year-old neighbor, Charlie, tells me he fondly remembers seeing Mary Pickford in 1925 when she visited his hometown of Anaheim, California.  A huge crowd lined up to see her motorcade, and Charlie recalls the excitement of seeing Pickford … Continue reading →

“Faust,” the 1926 silent film shown at this year’s Silent Film Festival “Silent Winter,” stars Emil Jannings in an impressive performance as Mephisto (the Devil).  Faust, a learned alchemist, can do nothing after Mephisto delivers the plague to his village. … Continue reading →

Douglas Fairbank’s wonderful “The Thief of Bagdad,” released in 1924, played in front of an enthusiastic crowd today at the Castro Theater in San Francisco.  The movie features Fairbanks as the title character, Ahmed, a witty and athletic burglar, pickpocket and … Continue reading →

“The Crowd,” the 1928 silent film, stands as the quintessential King Vidor directed movie, with charming interludes of pure comedy mixed with genuine emotional depth.  Even though we can see the main character’s many flaws, we continue to route for him … Continue reading →

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 →