Scott Lord Silent Film: Lon Chaney in Outside the Law (Tod Browning, 1920)

"Outside the Law" (eight reels), directed by Tod Browning during 1920, was coscripted by Browning with Gardner Bradford and Lucien Hubbard and photographed by William Fildew. The films stars Lon Chaney and actress Priscilla Dean. Advertisements placed in the periodical Motion Picture News annouced Leo McCarey as first executive assistant to Tod Browning, whom it credited with not only being the film's director but its "Author". The Film Daily reviewed its direction as being "uniformly excellent" but its story as lacking stregnth although lifted by its actors Lon Chaney and Pricilla Dean.

The later film, "Outside the Law" was directed by Tod Browning during 1930 but has different characters than the earlier film, his having coscripted the film with Garret Fort. The film was photographed by Roy Overbaugh and starred actress Mary Nolan. Lon Chaney Lon Chaney Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: Lon Chaney in The Penalty (Wallace Worsely, 1920)

After having directed he seven reel silent Film “The Penalty” In 1920, Wallace Worsely would direct Lon Chaney in “The Ace of Hearts” and “Voices of the City”,costarring Leatrice Joy during 1921.

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Scott Lord Silent Film: Mary Pickford in Suds (Dillon, 1920)

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John Francis Dillon directed Mary Pickford in the film "Suds" (six reels) for the Mary Pickford Company during 1920.
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Scott Lord Swedish Silent Film: The Wild Bird (En Vindfagel, Brunius, 1...

Swedish Silent Film director John W. Brunius during 1921 directed acresses Pauline Brunius, Renee Bjorling and Jenny Tschernichin-Larsson in the film "The Wild Bird" ("En Vindfagel"). Photographed by Hugo Edlund, the film was co-scripted by Brunius with screenwriter Sam Ask. The film was shown in the United States as "Give Me My Son". During its first run the periodical Moving Picture World subtitled its review with "Feature That Will Please Whenever Naturalness Is Appreciated". It provided the "exploitation angle" of "Get interest in it chiefly because it is foreign." The periodical The Film Daily wrote, "Its gets away from the conventional happy ending. It is not tragic, but unexpected, and not what you think it will be. The denoument is particularly well handled." Under the "story" section, it wrote, "Involved, but maintains the quality of coherence and stands out as unusual" and under the "direction" section it wrote, "handles more dramatic moments effectively but otherwise is average." Scandinavian Silent Film Silent Film

Scott Lord Silent Film: Iron Wills (Hårda viljor, John Brunius, 1923)

Swedish Silent Film director John W. Brunius during 1923 directed actresses Karin Alexandersson and Linnea Hillberg with beautiful Norwegian actress Lilla Bye in her only Swedish Fim "Iron Wills" (Harda Viljor). Cowritten by Brunius and Sam Ask, the film was photographed by cinematographer Hugo Edlund. Silent Film John Brunius

The Haunted House (Buster Keaton, Edward Cline, 1921)

Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline began the decade by directing two reel comedies, including The High Sign", "The Boat", "The Playhouse" and "Hard Luck" during 1921. silent film

Scott Lord Silent Film: Lili Dagover in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Rob...

Arthur Knight, in his volume The Liveliest Art, views "The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari" as one of the most famous silent films ever made. Knight explains, "Two things distinguished 'Caligari' as a film: the daring of the story-within-a-story and the startling originality of its decor." Knight implies the thematic elements are articulated in the mise-en-scene of the film, remarking upon its "obviously 'artistic' settings (related nith to the stage work of the expressionists and to the experiments of the cubist painters". Leo Braudy, in his volume The World in a Frame, gives The Cabinet of Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene during 1921, as an example of a "closed film", where the director creates his own space, a unique and specific diegetic backdrop, as opposed to an "open film" where the story finds it own enviornment in which events are to take place. Not only is characterization what allows narrativity, but where the stage us set allows theme and mood to carry the storyline. Silent Horror Film Silent Horror Film Silent Horror Film Movie Posters

Scott Lord Silent Film: Tale of Two Cities (Frank Lloyd, 1917)

Already a remake of a 1911 Tale of Two Cities directed by Charles Kent, the seven reel 1917 film adaptation directed by Frank Llyod for the Fox Film Corporation starred William Farnum in a dual role.

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