Showing posts with label Films Of The 1920's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Films Of The 1920's. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Back over the summer I was privileged to participate in a blogathon in which I wrote up my feelings on Cesare in this film, post can be found here.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Born Today September 3: Wally Albright
Wally Albright 1925-1999
Born Walton Algernon Albright, he was a child actor in the late silent era and was a member of the Our Gang cast, more popularly known later on as "The Little Rascals," where he was billed as "Wally Albright." He appeared in 6 Little Rascals. He was one of the very first well recognized child actors of the end of the silent era. He also worked as a child/teen actor in various talking roles, right up through the 1940's. His last two acting credits are from the 1950's as an adult. He was sometimes billed as Wally Albright Jr. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.
He served in World War II and later in life went on to found a very successful trucking company. He was also a well known water sportsman .
Silents And Early Talkies
Going Ga-Ga 1929 (this is a partially lost film--exists in fragments only)
The Case Of Lena Smith 1929 (exists in one fragment only)
Scandal 1929 (partial talkie)
Thunder 1929 (early talkie Western Electric) [Lost Film]
Wonder Of Women 1929 (partial talkie)
The Single Standard 1929 (this Garbo partial talkie, was one of the first films to feature it's own composed soundtrack, written especially for the silent parts of the movie.)
His "Our Gang" credits date from 1934
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Born Today September 2: Queen Liliuokalani (Not So Silent edition)
Queen Lilioukalani 1838-1917
Born Lydia Lili'u Walania Wewehi Kamaka'eha on September 2 1838, she was also known as Lydia Kamaka'eha Paki, her married name was Lydia K. Dominis, with Liliuokalani being her chosen royal name (that's a lot of names!!). She was the last sovereign monarch of the united Hawaiian islands. So you might ask what she is doing on a silent film blog--probably assuming that there is documented archival film footage of her, and there well may be--but none that I have discovered so far. Interestingly she is here for credit writing one of the most famous songs from the islands Aloha 'Oe. It has been used, according to IMDb dozens upon dozens of times in movies since 1927. Okay, so if this is a soundtrack entry, why is it on a blog about silent film? Well, because in the silent era, there were a number of sound film experiments and the first credit for this song being used in a movie was just that sort of film. It's what I like to call "Not So Silent Wierdness" That film was Modern Song And Syncopation. The sound was by Vitaphone, who had a history of experimental sound films prior to 1927. I have not found any evidence that the film has survived unfortunately--I love this sort of stuff. You can listen to the song below. Interestingly she shares as birthday with actor Keanu Reeves who is also of Hawaiian Native ancestry. She is interred in Hawai'i's Royal Mausoleum in Honolulu, along with other members of the royal house of the United Islands.
Experimental Sound Films & Earliest Talkies
Modern Song And Syncopation 1927
Alibi 1929 (early talkie MovieTone sound)
Jungle Rhythm 1929 (Mickey Mouse animation, Powers Cinephone Sound System)
The Bishop Murder Case 1930 (talkie, Western Electric System sound)
The Unholy Three 1930 (talkie, Western Electric Sound System) [this was a talkie that featured silent acting god Lon Chaney Sr.]
Feet First 1930 (a Harold Lloyd talkie, Western Electric]
Wikipedia
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Born Today September 1: Johnny Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown 1904-1974
Arguably the first true sports film star, he was a star football player (American football, of course) at the University of Alabama, where he was known as "The Dothan Antelope" (strange nickname for a sports player from the south). He went on to help get his team to the 1925 Rose Bowl, which they won over the heavily favored Washington Huskies. Here in the south, it became known as "the game that changed the south." After being noticed by Hollywood in a box of Wheaties, he was approached to make films. Unsurprisingly his first films were sports related dramas. It is ironic that his film debut came in a baseball picture: MGM's Slide, Kelly, Slide in 1927. He would not be in another starring role, until he played the lead opposite Marion Davies (yes, that Marion Davies) in another sports film, this time centered around basketball--women's that is. The role as the coach of women's college basketball team in The Fair Co-Ed would be his last silent sports film. He was then moved into leading man roles in romances of various sorts (even playing opposite Joan Crawford in the film that made her a star Our Dancing Daughters); he was even type-cast a bit as a southerner, despite that there was no spoken dialog. His first all sound (talkie) picture came in a supporting role in the Paul Muni "death row drama" The Valiant. His southerner background was furthered in RKO's Jazz Heaven, released in November of 1929. Later in his acting career he was more known for his roles in westerns. His start in the genre came in the quite strange little MGM musical western Montana Moon in 1930; again, opposite Crawford--although the film was released in March of 1930, MGM actually released a silent version (not quite sure how "silent musicals" would be a thing....) Brown's last role was in Apache Uprising in 1965 before retirement. He passed away in Los Angeles on the 14th of November at the age of 70. His ashes are interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, along with those of one of his daughters. He has been inducted in a number of Halls of Fame as disparate from each other as the College Football Hall of Fame to the World Cowboy Gunspinning Hall of Fame.
List Of His Silent/Partial Silent Films
Monday, October 27, 2014
Silent Horror Still Post Of Day
From Kurutta ippeji, a Japanese horror film dating from the year 1926. Happy Halloween.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
Silent Horror Image Of The Day
From Haxan a Swedish "documentary" that dates from 1922, but was not released until 1929.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Another Horror Still
From the 1928 short The Fall Of The House Of Usher, not to be confused with the feature length film of the same name and year.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Horror Movie Still Of The Day
Over at the Scare Me On Friday blog we are devoting one of the Countdown days to a Jewish/Hebraic theme. Judaism is filled with it's own set of unique monsters and spirits, one of which is the Golem. The above image comes from Der Golem, the 1925 remake of the film that still survives in good condition. The original, much shorter film, from 1915 is famously lost.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Horror Still Of The Day
Over at the Scare Me blog we are celebrating this 8th day of the Countdown To Halloween by passing the time with films from one of my all time favorite directors: Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock actually started in the motion picture business in his native Britain in the early 1920's and completed several silent films, of which the most famous--and most menacing--it The Lodger: A Story Of The London Fog, loosely based the Jack The Ripper killings. Which is where this still comes from.
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| Hitchcock on the set of The Lodger |
Monday, October 6, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Friday, October 25, 2013
Nosteratu (1922) Stills
Black and White Stills:
Gold Tone Sepia Prints:
Blue Toned Prints
Rose Tone Prints
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