Category Archives: Silent Film

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 →

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 →

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 →

Raymond Griffith, one of the forgotten comedy stars of the silent era, starred in a 1926 film called “Hands Up!”, a funny comedy about a Confederate spy working to steal Nevada gold before the Union gets it.  The gags come … Continue reading →

Who knew that Moscow had a room shortage in 1927?  That’s when Boris Barnet made “The Girl With the Hatbox,” a Soviet silent film that features Anna Sten as Natasha, a milliner who travels to Moscow to sell her hats. … Continue reading →

Under the program title, “The Canon Revisited,” the Pordenone Silent Film Festival presented “Die Weber (The Weavers),” a 1927 German film directed by Frederik Zelnik.  The story concerns a revolt by the mistreated weavers at a factory in a small … Continue reading →

I saw three versions of “Oliver Twist” on the big screen at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival, but I liked the one with Jackie Coogan the best.  Several countries produced filmed versions of the Charles Dickens’ novel, including an English … Continue reading →

A short Anna Sten film from 1928 called “Moi Syn (My Son)” surfaced recently at the Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken, and the curators at the museum made a quick DVD copy to present at the 2012 Pordenone Silent … Continue reading →