The Cat and the Canary (Paul Leni, 1927)

Silent Film

silent film

Scott Lord Silent Film: The Village Blacksmith (John Ford, 1922)

Once thought to be lost, without any surviving copies of the film, not all eight reels of the film "The Village Blacksmith" have been recovered, the print that now exists being incomplete. Within the world of Lost Films, Found Magazines, the film "The Courtship of poem titles and Miles Standish (Frederick M. Sullivan, 1923) is lost, but there are pages of full page advertisemens of Charles Ray and Enid Bennett in the periodical The Film Daily from the year of its first run. Seven reels in length, "The Wreck of the Hesperus", from 1927, is also a lost film. Directed Elmer Clifton, it was produced by Cecil B. de Mille and starred Virginia Bradford. The two silent film bersion of "The Village Blacksmith" have been mention as being among more than ten adaptations derived from the work of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Jan Christopher Hoak, in his paper American Literature and Silent Film, "All of these films capitalized on the well known poem titles and on certain plot elements from Longfellow. without however intending a faithful adaptation. The same could be said for John Greenleaf Whittier, whose civil war ballad 'Barbara Frietche' was filmed in 1908, 1915 and 1924."

It is of no consequence, but we drove past the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow house in Massachusetts this morning, in a taxi on the way to lunch. There is a nearby house that has a plaque that reads "Longfellow Beach"-if, straining, I read it correctly- that is still a complete mystery to me when driving by, but it is mere curiousity.

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Scott Lord Silent Film: Sunbeam (Griffith, Biograph, 1913)

Directed by D.W.Griffith and photograped by G.W. Bitzer in 1912, "Sunbeam" featured the talents of actress Kate Bruce.

Silent Film D.W. Griffith Biograph Film Company

Scott Lord Silent Film: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Worsley, 1923)

Prior to having directed Lon Chaney in the twelve reel silent film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Wallace Worsely had been behind the camera for the films “The Penalty” (1920” and “The Ace of Hearts” (1921), both films having feature the Man of a Thousand Faces.

Moving Picture World magazine during 1924 deemed "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" to be a "spectacle drama". Film Daily included the Cathedral in a photolayout espousing "The Value of Large Sets" during 1926, claiming that Universal had reproduced 20 blocks of medieval France while making the film.

Author Mark A Vieira, in Silent Protypes, a chapter in his volume Hollywood Horror, christens "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" as the "Birth of the Monster", the first film made in the genre. Suprisingly, Vieira follows Lon Chaney to the newly formed merger of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Irving Thalberg. Lon Chaney had starred with John Gilbert and Norma Shearer in the first feature made at M.G.M directed by Victor Seastrom, formerly known in Sweden as Victor Sjostrom. While author Robert Anderson, in his 1971 volume Faces, Forms, Films, the artistry of Lon Chaney, claims that "in most of the Browning-Chaney films the plot evolved from the characterization", author Mark A.Vieira also gives Chaney credit for creating a new and original character with each new manifestation of make-up; each new character is automatically placed in an entirely different narrative based on Chaney's physical appearance. Vieira follows Chaney back to Universal and The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian, 1925).

The novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo had previously been filmed during 1906. Director J. Gordon Edwards adapted the novel to the screen during 1917 in a six reel production titled "The Darling of Paris" for Fox Film Corporation starring actress Theda Bara. The film is presumed lost with no existing copies. The synopsis of "The Darling of Paris" given by the periodical Motography during 1917 prooves the film to be a faithful adaptation of the story of Esmerelda and Quasimodo. It reviewed the performance of Theda Bara in the lost film, "The part taken by Theda Bara in'The Darling of Paris' is one of the most interesting characters she has been called upon to interpret since she has been in the silent drama. It is an unusual one, dominating the story beginning to end. There are but few moments when she is not in the picture, which adds to the importance of the production." The periodical Moving Picture World described the film, "To anyone not familiar with the Hugo romance, the Fox screen version presents a well put together photoplay, rich in picturesque incident, strong character drawing, authentic reproduction of an age long past, dramatic situations in abundence, and a climav of thrilling worth."

Lon Chaney

Lon Chaney

Scott Lord Silent Film: The Forbidden City (Sidney Franklin, 1918)

In 1918, the first feature films directed by Sidney Franklin appeared in theaters, among them those that were to star actress Norma Talmadge, "The Safety Curtain" (five reels), "Her Only Way" (six reels) and "The Forbidden City" (five reels). Previsously Franklin had directed childrens film for the Triangle Film Corporation at the behest of D.W. Griffith. "Her Only Way", made for the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation is presumed to be a lost film, with no surviving copies.

Sidney Franklin during 1919 directed Nornma Talmadge in the film "The Heart of Wetona" (six reels).

During 1918, Norma Talmadge had starred in the film "The Ghosts of Yesterday" directed by Charles Miller for the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation, a corporation active between 1917-1926. The film is presumed lost with no complete copies that have survivied. There is an account that the first four reels are housed in the Library of Congress as an incomplete film.

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Scott Lord Silent Film: The Duchess of Buffalo (Sidney Franklin, 1926)

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Directed by Sidney Franklin and photographed by Oliver T. Marsh, "The Duchess of Buffalo" (seven reels, 1926) starred actress Constance Taalmadge with Rose Dione.

Sidney Franklin had directed Costance Talmadge in 1923 in the seven reel lost film "Dulcy". There are no surviving cooies of the film exisiting.
Constance Talmadge Constance Talmadge

Scott Lord Silent Film: Rudolph Valentino in The Eagle (Brown,1925)

Director Clarence Brown paired Rudolph Valentino with actress Vilma Banky for the 1925 film "The Eagle".

DUring 1925 actress Vilma Banky also costarred with Ronald Colman in the film "Dark Angel", directed by George Fitzmaurice. The film is presumed lost, with no surviving cooies that exist.

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Rudolph Valentino
Scott Lord

Scott Lord

Scott Lord Silent Film: Blood and Sand (Niblo, 1922)

With a photoplay by June Mathis, "Blood and Sand", directed in 1922 by Fred Niblo, showcased Rudolph Valentino with Lila Lee, Nita Naldi and Rose Rosanova. Swedish Silent Film

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Silent Film Rudolph Valentino

Bodakingen, The Tyrrany of Hate (Gustaf Molander, 1920)

“The King Boda” (“Tyranny of Hate/Boda kungen”, 1920) was the first film to bear the name of Gustaf Molander as director, Molander having also scripted the photoplay. It was also the first film to be photographed by Adrian Bjurman. The film stars Egil Edie. Both Wanda Rothgardt and her mother, Edla Rothgardt appear in the film, as do acresses Winifred Westover and Hilda Castgren. Produced by Scandinavisk Filmcentral, the film can well be placed within the Golden Age of Swedish Silent Film.
Also appearing in the film "Bodakungen" was Franz Envall, Greta Garbo mentioned in a 1928 Photoplay magazine interview with Ruth Biery, "Then I met an actor...It was Franz Envall. He is dead now, but has a daughter in stage in Sweden. He asked me if they would let me try to get into the Dramatic School of the Dramatic School of the Royal Theater in Stockholm." Envall's daughter was in fact Signe Envall, who, after having appeared in "Gosta Berling's Saga" (Mauritz Stiller, 1924) and "The Kingdom of Rye" (Ivar Johnsson, 1929), was periodically featured in films from 1944 to 1968. Author Forsyth Hardy credits Gustaf Molander with having introduced actress Greta Garbo to director Mauritz Stiller.

1922 had been the year during which appeared the second film directed by Gustaf Molander, "Amatorfilmen", the first film in which actresses Elsa Ebben-Thorblad and Anna Wallin were each to appear, brought Mimi Pollack to Swedish Film audiences. Written by Bjorn Hodell and photographed by Bjorn Hodell, the film is presumed to be lost, with no surviving copies or fragments.
Gustaf Molander

Gustaf Molander would breifly remain in the shadow of Victor Sjostrom and Mauritz Stiller, again with photographer Adrian Bjurman, during 1922 by directing actress Vera Schmiterlow, who had first appeared on screen in a brief part in Molaner's film "Tyranny of Hate", in the film Thoma Graal's Ward (Thomas Graal's myndling)To modern American audiences and readers of extratextural discourse Schmiterlow may be more famous for being mentioned in biographies as a friend of Greta Garbo than for Molander having given her her first appearance as star of the film.
Scandinavian Silent Film

Swedish Silent Film

Scott Lord Swedish Silent Film: Thomas Graal's Best Film (Mauritz Stille...

Bengt Forslund, in his article "Through a Glass Darkly, the silent era of Swedish Film", reminds us that Victor Sjostrom and Mauritz Stiller "made farces, comedies and melodramas, as well as medieval legends and romantic sagas, social films and realistic dramas." Interestingly enough Forslund tries to relate their affinity as having arisen not from a singleness of desire, or from a solidarity, but it having come rather from their disparity, from their having "little in common as individuals". This led to each learning the others technique of filmmaking. Peter Cowie, in his volume Scandinavian Cinema, sees the film as self-reflexive, writing "'Thomas Graal's Best Film' works primarily as a comedy of manners, but it also functions effectively as a satire on filmmaking, evene at this early stage of the industry's development. The implication is that cinema stands beyond reality, and as a medium attracts only the 'hammy' situation and the exagerrated personality." Peter Cowie notes that onscreen Victor Sjostrom and Karen Molander are the "ideal screen couple" and that Gustaf Molander, although only inevitably married to Karen Molander for eight years, wrote "scintillating" dialougue intertiles for her. Cowie points out that the film distinguishes Mauritz Stiller as one of the first directors to use a "film-within-a-film-format". Mauritz Stiller is particularly noted for having has directed Victor Sjostrom in two comedies for A.B Svenska, “Wanted A Film Actress” (“Thomas Graal’s Basta Film”, 1917) with actress Karin Molander and Jenny Tschernichin-Larsson and “Marriage ala mode” [“Thomas Graal’s First Child/ Thomas Graal’s Basta Barn”, 1918) also starring Karin Molander and Jenny Tschernichin-Larsson. The running time to the former, a film noted by Forsyth Hardy as one of the first comedies about filmmaking, was ninety minutes, the latter eighty nine minutes. Rune Carlsten and Henrik Jaenzon both appeared on screen in the film Thomas Graal’s Best Film, which was written under a pseudonym by Gustaf Molander. Molander continued as writer and director of “Thomas Graal’s Ward/ Thomas Graal’s mindling”, photographed by Adrian Bjurnman.


Silent Film

Victor Sjostrom

Victor Sjostrom

Scott Lord Swedish Silent Film: Karin Ingmarsdotter (Victor Sjöström, ...

While writing about the film "Wild Strawberries", Jorn Donner notes that Ingmar Bergman's film is in part a tribute to Victor Sjostrom the director. "Many scenes have a tie-in with Victor Sjostrom's work. A smashed watch plays a part in 'Karin Ingmarsdotter'." Author Peter Cowie, in his volume Scandinavian Cinema, points out the danger involved in the hazardous stunts, notably plunging into an icy river, that Victor Sjostrom employed while shooting the film.

Author Forsyth Hardy again defines the Golden Age of Swedish Silent Film by describing the several adaptations of the novel "Jerusalem", written by Selma Lagerlof, "These stories of peasant life had the qualities which had come to be expected in the Swedish films: a stern and exacting moral code, an expressive use of landscape, and a consciousness of the power of the elements...Her novels had their roots deep in the counntry's culture and in this, and in the breadth and sweep of their treatment they gave the directors what they needed."

With a photoplay scripted by director Victor Sjostrom, the six reel film was photographed by Julius Jaenzon.

Actress Tora Teje costars in the film as the title character with director Victor Sjostrom. Harriet Bosse, who was married to playwright August Strindberg between 1901-1904 and then actor Gunnar Wingard between 1908-1911, appears in a breif appearance during the film. She had previously appeared in the film "Ingmarssonerna", written and directed by Victor Sjostrom and photographed by Julius Jaenzon during 1919.
Victor Sjostrom Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: Anna Christie (John Griffith Wray, 1923)

Actresses Blanche Sweet and Eugenie Besserer starred in the 1923 version of "Anna Christie", adapted for the screen by Bradley King and directed by John Griffith Gray under the supervision of Thomas Ince. The periodical "Screen Opinions" of 1923 noted the photography of Henry Sharp as being "very good", the type of picture as being "sensational" with a "moral standard" of "average",

Greta Garbo Silent Film