Un Homme de Tetes (The Four Troublesome Heads) 1898 Melies

Dream Of A Rarebit Fiend (1906)

This is an Edwin S. Porter film produced for the Edison Studio.  It is based on the then famed cartoon by Winsor McCay, whose strip ran with bizarre dreams with no recurring characters...unless you count the Welsh Rarebit as a recurring character!!  (Welsh Rarebit is a kind of cheesy toast, sometimes called Welsh Rabbit).  This film was not produced in 1903, and couldn't have; McCay's strip didn't even begin until 1904. The film actually dates from 1906.  In early film cinema, that might as well be the same thing as comparing a film from 1980 to one of the early CGI 2000's.  I have election poll training tomorrow....I might just be feeling like this 24 hours from now... Happy Election Season!

La Diable Noir (The Black Imp) 1905

A Melies Film.  You might want to think twice about staying in this Hotel!

The Ghost Train (1903)

This is a "real life trick photo film" that was produced by the American Mutoscope & Biograph Co., the filmmakers working for them who shot this were neither never "credited" or those names were lost to history long before the 1920's.  The was made with a simple reverse negative process to turn an "actualities film" into something spooky.  By some standards it represents an example of American avant-garde in early cinema.

La Manoir du Diable (1896)

This is largely considered to the very first horror film, and, of course, it was made by the trickester himself:  George Melies!  I love the bat.

The Haunted House (1908)

If this looks like a Meliésé film...it's not.  It is a film by early Spanish "trick" film maker Segundo de Chomon, who, though is was influenced by Meliésé, was actually innovative in the field of set design all on his own.  And, to give him credit, he was much more narrative in his films than was Meliésé.  Happy Halloween!!

The Haunted House (1929)

Welcome to the first post for the Countdown To Halloween here on Wierdness!  Please take some time to check out other bloggers on the Countdown by clicking the icons to the left!  Happy Spooks!!

Scare Me On Fridays: Random Hitchcock: The Farmer's Wife (1928)

Scare Me On Fridays: Random Hitchcock: The Farmer's Wife (1928): An Oldie to be sure, this was a directorial project handed over to Hitchcock to fix up, it's screenplay was adapted from a popular Lo...

Home schooling and home business has kept me from blogging much at all this year here or over at my Native Food spot New World Food I have kept up with blogging at my Friday Fright spot; this week's theme are random Hitchcock movies from a grab bag.  Hitchcock's silent work that has survived is not well known, aside from, perhaps, The Lodger.  So, we're viewing The Farmer's Wife from 1929 (and my cats, who hate silent film, really want to kill me right now...).  And (!) with the school year winding down, I am absolutely going to be blogging here much more often!  Because I just love writing about silent film!  Happy Spring!  Happy Mother's Day too!

Extra, Extra!: The Artist Wins The Oscar!!

Scare Me On Fridays: Sunrise (1927)

Scare Me On Fridays: Sunrise (1927): OK, this is listed at the very first Best Picture Oscar awarded, but there a little history here that reveals a strange Academy Award fac...