Showing posts with label 1920s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1920s. Show all posts

Sunday, February 11, 2024

Wings (1927)

Wings (1927)
Paramount
May 19, 1927
War Drama, Romance
DVD
C-


I'm not into silents or war movies, but Clara Bow is a cutie.  William A. Wellman and Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast co-directed.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Way Down East

Way Down East
United Artists
September 3, 1920
Drama
DVD
C


This must've felt hokily old-fashioned even at the time, but I did like the fashions, live animals, and of course the "eccentric" aunt (who's probably a benign lesbian).  Director D.W. Griffith co-adapted the play based on Lottie Blair Parker's novel.

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Shadows (1922)

Shadows (1922)
Preferred Pictures
November 10, 1922
Drama
DVD
D+

Chaney plays the most sympathetic character, but yes, it's a stereotypical "Chinaman."  Note that a completely different actor named Harrison Ford shows up close to the quarter hour.  Tom Forman directed.

Sunday, October 10, 2021

The Unknown (1927)

The Unknown (1927)
MGM
June 4, 1927
Horror?
DVD
D

Tod Browning + Lon Chaney + circus - arms = creepy.

Laugh, Clown, Laugh

Laugh, Clown, Laugh
MGM
April 14, 1928
Drama?
DVD
C-

With 15-year-old Loretta Young as the object of love for a count and her adoptive father, although I didn't get that far into the story.  Herbert Brenon directed.

The Ace of Hearts (1921)

The Ace of Hearts (1921)
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation
September 17, 1921
Crime Drama
DVD
C

This is on a Lon Chaney collection.  I'm not into silents, but I was mildly intrigued by the assassination committee and the love triangle.  This is now easily the oldest movie so far on this project, since previously that was a couple movies from 1925.  This one is based on Gouverneur Morris's novel The Purple Mask and directed by Wallace Worsley.

Saturday, March 6, 2021

The Ring (1927)

The Ring
British International Pictures
1 October 1927
Sports Drama
DVD
D

Gratuitous racism in this silent about boxing at a fair.

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
Gainsborough Pictures
14 February 1927
Crime Drama
DVD
D+

Everyone is talking about a murderer, but it's a silent, so we can't hear them.  I thought the policeman was going to turn out to be the killer, especially after his creepy (title-card) line about liking blondes as much as "the Avenger" does, but apparently not according to the Wikipedia synopsis.  I tuned out before Ivor Novello showed up as the lodger.  This is based on the novel (and play) by Marie Belloc Lowndes.

Blackmail

Blackmail
British International Pictures
28 July 1929
Crime Drama
DVD
D+

The first quarter hour of this early semi-talkie (which it looks like gets more violent and dramatic later) is mostly the dullest start to any Hitchcock movie I've ever seen, although I went up from a D because of, one, the cute Hitchcock cameo, and two, the joke about a movie-within-the-movie being directed by a criminal for authenticity.

Champagne

Champagne
British International Pictures
20 August 1928
Comedy
DVD
D+

A frivolous heiress, a then topical reference to Charles Lindbergh, and a sinister man in this silent.  I liked the fashions but not much else.

Thursday, March 4, 2021

The Manxman

The Manxman
British International Pictures
21 January 1929
Romance?
DVD
D+

Despite the date, still a silent.  Neither of the male leads is appealing, although their love interest is.  This is based on the novel by Hall Caine.

The Farmer's Wife

The Farmer's Wife
British International Pictures
2 March 1928
Comedy
DVD
C-

A housekeeper is in love with her employer, I think.  Also there's a comical drunk.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Lost World (1925)

The Lost World (1925 film) - WikipediaThe Lost World (1925)
First National Pictures
February 2, 1925
Sci-Fi
DVD
C

Although I'm not a silent-movie fan, I ended up watching two-thirds of the 68 minutes (in this edition), because I liked the sense of humor and was somewhat invested in the human characters, especially Bessie Love as Paula White.  But the too-long dinosaur battles, although very well done for their time, and the gratuitous blackface character (with "dialect" title cards), made me tune out.  This is based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle and directed by Harry O. Hoyt.

The Iron Mask

The Iron Mask - WikipediaThe Iron Mask
United Artists
February 21, 1929 (this version from 1952)
Historical Drama, Action
DVD
C-

Reissuing of the semi-silent movie, with narration by Junior.  The one-hundredth historical drama on this blog, it's a spin-off of the Musketeers novels by Dumas, and directed by Allan Dwan.  This is on a "Family Classics" DVD (which is why it's popping up in the F's), although I don't see what's particularly "family" about the four movies in the collection.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

The General (1926)

Image result for general buster keatonThe General (1926)
United Artists
January 2, 1927
Historical Comedy
DVD
C

While this started out promisingly, with a sly, whimsical sense of humor, about a poor schnook whose girlfriend pressures him to enlist in the Civil War, my attention wandered by the half-hour mark, when he was trying to keep the train going.  Keaton stars, co-directed (with Clyde Bruckman), and co-wrote, based on the William Pittenger book The Great Locomotive Chase.  

The Gold Rush

Image result for gold rush chaplinThe Gold Rush
United Artists
June 26, 1925
Comedy
DVD
C-

Chaplin wrote, directed, and stars as the Little Tramp, well, "The Lone Prospector" here.  This is from a "Classic Comedy" collection, which seems to go chronologically, and I'm not big on silents.  Hopefully, I'll like some of the talkies.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Battleship Potemkin

Image result for battleship potemkinBattleship Potemkin
Goskino
24 December 1925
Historical Drama
DVD
C-

Eisenstein directed and co-wrote this look back at a 1905 mutiny.  This film is of course critically acclaimed, but it's a silent about the military, so C- is about as high as I can go.  It is, for the moment, the oldest movie on this project, replacing Hitchcock's Easy Virtue (1928).

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Easy Virtue (1928)

Easy Virtue (1928)
Image result for Easy Virtue hitchcockGainsborough Pictures
5 March 1928
Drama
DVD
C-

I'm not big on silent films, mostly because my favorite thing about movies is spoken dialogue.  Still, this very early Hitchcock drama about a scandalous divorce wasn't bad in its first quarter hour.  This is based on a Noël Coward play (not technically a book, but certainly "literature").