FILM CLASS OVERVIEW: SILENT FILMS-SESSION ONE Spring 2024

 

My Spring Semester non-credit film class was called Silent Films- Session One, so labeled by our instructor, film critic and scholar Chuck Koplinski. I have to say this was one of the best classes I've taken. It wasn't just for the quality of the films we watched, but the discussions were livelier and more interesting than usual. Even your humble blogger, somewhat shy by nature, felt relaxed enough to participate more and ask questions. Not sure why that would be the case, but I'm not complaining. As usual, Chuck's pre- and post-film presentations were filled with valuable information and visuals. Chuck presented the films in chronological order, from 1916-1929.

1. Our first film was HELL'S HINGES (1916), starring William S. Hart and Clara Williams. This was my first time seeing Hart, one of the biggest stars of the early silent era. He plays Blaze Tracy, a gunman who is considered to be the most dangerous man in a wild, untamed frontier town. When a young minister and his sister come to town to try and establish a church, the local rowdies do everything they can to destroy the man and his plans to bring religion and order into the town. But Blaze finds faith and comes to the aid of the minister while also falling in love with the sister, whose name just happens to be Faith. (!!) There is plenty of action, but the film is also a morality play. The film was surprisingly pristine for its age and quite enjoyable. Hart would continue making movies until 1928 and pass away in 1946.

2. THE FRESHMAN (1925), starring Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. He plays Harold Lamb, a naive young man entering college. Lamb believes he can make friends and become popular by imitating his movie idol, a character known as The College Hero. Instead of winning friends, his efforts make him the butt of jokes and derision, although the clueless guy isn't aware of it. After a series of mishaps, Lamb somehow manages to become the campus football champion. I must admit I wasn't all that fond of the movie. Lloyd is an energetic and creative actor, but the endless sight gags and slapstick comedy got to be way too much. Still, this was a successful film and is considered a classic. Lloyd had begun making short films in 1913 and started full length features in 1921. Many of his films are lost. He also worked in the sound era, making his last feature, MAD WEDNESDAY, in 1950.

3. FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926), starring John Gilbert, Greta Garbo, Lars Hanson and Barbara Kent. Directed by Clarence Brown. Gilbert was the Number One leading man in Hollywood by this time. When his studio, MGM, paired him with the young, mysterious Garbo, in her third American film, the chemistry between the two ignited the screen. The story of a love triangle that shattered the lifelong friendship between two men was pure melodrama. But the sincere, emotional performances of Gilbert, Garbo and Hanson made it work. Miss Garbo and Mr. Gilbert would fall in love during the making of this picture and have a long relationship. They would make three more pictures together, including QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933) in the sound era. She would make a total of seven films with director Clarence Brown. I was surprised to learn that a few of my classmates had never seen a Garbo film, and one of them found her to be totally unimpressive. It's hard for me to understand that, as, for me, she is pure magic onscreen.

4. THE UNKNOWN (1927), starring Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry and Joan Crawford. Directed by Tod Browning. This is regarded as a masterpiece of the silent era, and the best of the ten films Chaney and Browning made together. It also features an excellent performance by the young Joan Crawford, making her an important star at MGM. Chaney plays Alonzo, an armless circus performer who uses his feet to throw knives at his partner, Nanon (Crawford). In truth, Alonzo is only pretending to be armless. But he is in love with Nanon, and when he learns she has a deadly fear of men's arms, he has his arms amputated in order to win her love. His actions lead to tragedy. This is an amazingly intense, and rather depressing film. And yet, I found it impossible to look away. Chaney's uncanny ability to transform himself physically in order to inhabit a characterization is on full display here. I've only begun to explore the films of Lon Chaney, and I look forward to seeing more of his work.

5. SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (1927), starring George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor and Margaret Livingston. Directed by F.W. Murnau, a German making his American film debut. This was truly the crown jewel of all the films shown to the class. If I had to choose one film to show to someone who had never experienced a silent picture, this is the one I would pick. The story is a morality play about love, temptation, sin and redemption. O'Brien lives a simple rural life with his faithful wife, Gaynor. But when he falls for the charms of a promiscuous woman from the city (Livingston), he decides to kill his wife and run off with the other woman. But he is unable to go through with it. His wife runs away from him and goes to the city. He follows her, winning her love and trust as they go on an adventure in the city together. This film was one of the first to use a soundtrack with music and effects, but it had no spoken dialogue. In fact, it also had very few dialogue cards. The story was conveyed by the movements and facial expressions of the actors. Murnau brought his method of German expressionism to the film, and the imagery is incredible. Miss Gaynor was the winner of the first Academy Award for Best Actress.

6. IT (1927), starring Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno. This was the film that brought Miss Bow to stardom and gave her the title of The "IT" Girl. The film was written by Elinor Glyn, based on her serialized novella of the same name. At the beginning of the film, "it" is defined the "quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force". In other words, sex appeal. Clara Bow became one of the most popular movie stars in the world after this film became a hit. The story, all about a shop girl who falls for her boss, even though she doesn't fit into his upper-class world, wasn't that original. But Bow was. I'd never seen hir in a silent film, only in one of the few films she made in the early sound era. I was really impressed with her beauty and talent. It's easy to see why the public fell in love with her.

7. SHOW PEOPLE (1928), starring Marion Davies and William Haines. Directed by King Vidor. This was another first for me, as I had never seen Marion Davies in a movie. She was quite enjoyable in this story of a young naive girl, Peggy Pepper, who goes to Hollywood determined to become a movie star. After a series of comical mishaps and misunderstandings, she finds success. This a good example of Hollywood taking a look at itself, and it works beautifully. This is another film that featured a synchronized soundtrack, but no spoken dialogue. The film features cameo appearances by some of the big stars of the day: John Gilbert, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and William S. Hart. Vidor also appears as himself, as does Davies in a scene with her onscreen character, Peggy. Chuck provided some interesting background on Davies' life and career, including her long relationship with the very powerful and very married William Randolph Hearst. Because of the film CITIZEN KANE (1941), which was based on Hearst, the real Davies has been unfairly compared to the tragic Susan Alexander, the no-talent opera singer played by Dorothy Comingore. In truth, Davies was a talented comedienne and a very successful film star well into the sound era.

8. PANDORA'S BOX (1929), starring Louise Brooks, Francis Lederer and Fritz Kortner. Directed by G.W. Pabst. An amazing German classic. American actress Brooks found enduring stardom playing the tragic Lulu in this surprisingly frank adaptation of two plays by Frank Wedekind. Lulu is a dancer, a free spirit, who is seemingly unaware of her sexual power over men and women. Or is she aware? Brooks, like Garbo, has the ability to convey everything with her eyes and her subtle movements. The story takes Lulu from man to man, from a state of high life to the lowest depths of despair, and to a tragic demise. The film was one of the first to show Lesbian attraction and was very sophisticated and adult in every way. Brooks would work for Pabst again that same year in DIARY OF A LOST GIRL, which I actually prefer over PANDORA'S BOX. There was a lot of detailed discussion about the life and career of Louise Brooks, one of the most fascinating true stories of a Hollywood actress reaching the pinnacle of fame and then falling into obscurity. But in the case of Louise Brooks, there was also a stunning rediscovery and a reemergence into the limelight years after her film career had ended. She is a talent worth studying and PANDORA'S BOX is a good starting point.

Chuck's Fall Semester class is going to continue with silent films. I can't wait! Let's get this long, hot Summer over with.