WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[myrnaloyisdope]

drednm, I actually liked Vanity Fair better than Becky Sharp, which was a bit of a surprise because I'd read terrible reviews of Vanity Fair. I thought Loy was very good in it, it's a nice change to see her flex some her dramatic muscles. I wouldn't argue it's a great film, but like you said it's engrossing, and I liked how bleak it ended up.

As for Birth of a Nation, well that's a doozy. I think the movie is a masterpiece, but very difficult to watch. I remember being in tears at points, just due to the conflict I was feeling between this absolutely marvelous filmmaking, and the abhorrent nature of the story. I have no idea how to fully reconcile my feelings about the film, I just know I'm better having seen it.

[drednm]

Myrna.... I agree about VANITY FAIR.... not as bad as I'd read.... and BECKY SHARP, though I love Miriam Hopkins, always seems like it's truncated.

THE BIRTH OF A NATION is another topic altogether and one that gets people mad (me included). I think it's a masterpiece, historically important, and an emotional roller coaster.

There's an excellent book on the film by Melvyn Stokes, filled with incredible background information and history that really makes one think long and hard about Griffith, the film itself, and the almost "urban" legend that has grown up around it. I certainly disagreed with Stoke on many points, but the book is worth the read.

[Synnove]

Melvyn Stokes's book is really good, very thorough. I can also recommend D. W. Griffith: an American Life by Richard Schickel. There is a short autobiography available too, written by Griffith himself. He doesn't really go into the controversy surrounding BoaN, but talks a lot about his early life, which is also intriguing. And, there is a short prologue to BoaN filmed in 1930 where D. W. Griffith talks about the film. You can find it here:

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/?cid=134463

[Ann Harding]

I have been watching recently several Mary Pickford pictures.

The Little American (1917) by Cecil B. DeMille is a wartime melodrama with some propaganda slant obviously to promote the American involvement in WWI.
Angela (M. Pickford), a young American in love with an German-American, arrives in war-torn France after a dangerous Atlantic crossing. Soon, the castle she inherited from her aunt, is occupied by a group of rowdy German soldiers. Among them, she recognises her former fiancee...
Considering it was a wartime film, I found that the film wasn't as violently anti-German as it could have been. True, some German soldiers are presented as rapists. But, we are far away from the image displayed by an Erich von Stroheim in contemporary pictures! In the end, she escapes with her German fiancee who decides he cannot obey the sinister orders of his superiors. Mary gives a very good performance as Angela, bearing humiations with aplomb.

Little Annie Rooney (1925) by W. Beaudine is altogether a very different picture. Little Anny (Mary Pickford) is a rebelious and querrelous child in a rough NY neighborhood. She fights constantly with the Kellys. Her father is the local policeman. Her world is turned upside down when her father is killed....
The film starts like a comedy with a lot of ruffle and tumble. But suddenly a tragic note hit the screen turns it into a melodrama. The transition is actually really well done. Mary plays Annie with plenty of gusto, fighting like a boy. I also enjoyed the fact that the film showed all the various immigrants living the neighborhood: Greeks, Central European Jews, Blacks, Irish, Italians etc. They all seem to live well with each others (minus the kids' fighting!). It was amusing to spot William Haines as a young Irish crook.
Two very enjoyable and interesting features! Thanks Jeffrey!!!

[charliechaplinfan]

As for Birth of a Nation, well that's a doozy. I think the movie is a masterpiece, but very difficult to watch. I remember being in tears at points, just due to the conflict I was feeling between this absolutely marvelous filmmaking, and the abhorrent nature of the story. I have no idea how to fully reconcile my feelings about the film, I just know I'm better having seen it.

I couldn't have put it any better myself. Thanks for saying what I was trying to say

I followed up BOAN with Broken Blossoms to me this is a near perfect silent film. Lillian Gish displays all of her acting talents to bring to life this tortured 15 year old girl Lucy, she is so vulnerable and waif like. From looking at contemporary photos Lillian was about 5ft 5 or 6 so quite tall but in this film she appears so small and frail.

The love between the Yellow Man and Lucy is beautifully portrayed, the set decoration, the atomosphere, the music, all is absolutely perfect.

I said this was a near perfect film, my only little criticism is not using a Japanese or Chinese actor. Richard Barthelmess is excellent of course, it's just a pity that Hollywood of the time didn't employ oriental actors as widely as they could have.

[Gagman 66]

Christine,

A quick note, I managed to get THE MASQUERADER with Ronald Coleman this morning for you when it was on TCM. Though I have not burned it to DVD-R yet.

THE LITTLE AMERICAN is missing most of the footage aboard the ship that is attacked, and the footage that survives looks pretty rough. The rest of the movie is in fine shape in this Eastman House print. The broadcast is from the old American Movie Classics back in 1996.

LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY has always been a favorite since I first saw it at age 13 back in 1979. If you watched the Blackhawk version with the Bill Perry score it is the same one I have had for almost 30 years. The other copy is from an Image laser-disc released in the early 90's. I have only seen portions of that version with the Gaylord Carter score. I would love to see a nicely restored print released on DVD by Milestone one of these days. Although both of these are pretty good quality. The Blackhawk print is tinted, and framed a little better than the LD version. The Image version is monochrome, but might be a little bit sharper. I sent you a copy of each of these, as they both have there individual merits.

Alison,

What version of BROKEN BLOSSOMS did you see?

[MichiganJ]

I think Little Annie Rooney is one of Pickford’s best films. As Ann Harding said,there is a good mix of comedy and melodrama, and I think the sequence where the tone of the films shifts is one of Pickford’s best acting scenes. While I’m loath to compare actors, I think in many ways, Pickford is at least the equal to Lillian Gish, and may be even better. I can’t think of any film where Gish does comedy nearly as well as Pickford, but I think there are plenty of films where Pickford’s dramatic performances are every bit as powerful as those by Gish. Little Annie Rooney is a case where Pickford gets to show off both her comedic chops, and still gives an amazingly powerful dramatic performance.

It’s interesting that, at least in regards to film, both Pickford and Gish started with Griffith, and yet their styles are rather different. I can’t imagine Pickford ever doing the “kissing-the-doves” thing, that Griffith so loved his actresses to do (and which Gish pulled off remarkable well). While Gish has a number of memorable performances in Griffith films (most notably Broken Blossoms and Way Down East), I think her best silent film acting came later in The Wind and The Scarlet Letter (Can you imagine Pickford in The Wind? Me neither!).

In regards to literature on Birth of a Nation, I agree with Synnove’s recommendation on Schickel’s Griffith biography as well as Stoke’s D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation: A History of the Most Controversial Motion Picture Of All Time. I might also recommend the book of the screenplay (simply called The Birth of a Nation), edited by Robert Lang and put out by Rutgers University Press. Along with the printed script (which reads very well, actually), there are a number of fascinating, and thought-provoking scholarly essays.

[silentscreen]

Birth of a Nation is a historically important film, but it is difficult to get through. One upbeat aspect is that we can see how far we have come as a nation from the time the film depicts. Even when the film was made, no one would have imagined having an African American president! I don't think I would have wanted to hear what Griffith would have thought about it all though. However, on the other hand, it would be fun to shoot him down!

[drednm]

THE LITTLE AMERICAN is missing footage? I didn't really notice. The "Lusitania" scene was quite good, with Mary standing up and yelling at that nasty German captain....only Pickford could get away with a scene like that!

LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY is a fun film and was a hugely important film for William Haines.

[drednm]

I had also gotten Billy Bitzer's unfinished autobiography. I thought this book would have some fascinating info on the making of THE BIRTH OF A NATION, INTOLERANCE, BROKEN BLOSSOMS, WAY DOWN EAST and others, but Bitzer was not a good writer and the book apparently was published after his death (with little editing). His stories aren't all that interesting since they dealt with the technical side of film and cameras (interesting up to a point).

[drednm]

Speaking of Griffith, I just got SCARLET DAYS, a western Griffith made in 1919 with Richard Barthelmess, Carol Dempster, and Clarine Seymour. Griffith had almost hired a young actor named Rudolph Valentino for the lead but decided Rudy was too "ethnic." Of course the character Barthelmess plays is a Mexican bandit!

[Gagman 66]

Everyone,

While all of this is very interesting, is anyone voting for THE BIG PARADE DVD release??? Sorry to say that many people are quite angry with me for all the multiple posts on the TCM forums about voting for this film. I have never done this before. Other folks have, but not me. Stunned over the numbers, I did so last night in an impulsive attempt to drum up some quick votes, My sincere apology to anyone, and everyone who was annoyed by these actions.

I know very well that there is in reality a much greater demand for this movie than the current numbers on the TCM Movie Data Base would reflect. Many people just don't bother to vote, others I am increasingly finding have no idea even how to go about it. So thanks Midge for your detailed instructons. Some people consider the vote to be completely worthless. They figure the studios pay very little or no attention. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt with regard to these matters. Voting certainly can't hurt the cause any.

Even more so than the lack of a DVD issue. It's vital that we likewise request, nay demand that the movie to be shown on TCM again. Request a movie is not the same thing as voting for the DVD. In-fact I am constantly being asked by people why TCM never runs this film? Once more, they used to, but not since May 2004. I know dozens of people who have never seen the film before, and are very frustrated. Many of the people probably did not have TCM when it was last broadcast in any form by them. Something to consider.

Again, thank you one and all for your gracious time and support concerning this matter. You are the best!

[Ann Harding]

THE LITTLE AMERICAN is missing most of the footage aboard the ship that is attacked, and the footage that survives looks pretty rough. The rest of the movie is in fine shape in this Eastman House print. The broadcast is from the old American Movie Classics back in 1996.

Thanks for mentioning that, Jeffrey! Because as I watched it, I remembered a clip from the Brownlow documentary on DeMille and I was puzzled not to see that particular scene.... So AMC didn't show a complete print!
But next April 2009, the French Cinémathèque has a DeMille retrospective coming. Hopefully, I'll be able to see the rest of the film.

[charliechaplinfan]

Jeffrey, this is the copy I saw. Eureka DVDs are excellent quality,sometimes they licence Kino' work. The score is the original score.

http://www.eurekavideo.co.uk/classics/broken-blossoms/

Little Annie Rooney is one of my favorite Mary Pickford films. As a performer I think Mary Pickford was one of the greatest. By the time she made Sparrows she was 33 yet convincingly played a child. I've never once been bored watching her. I think of her performance as Unity Blake in Stella Maris and it brings me to tears.

[drednm]

CCfan I agree with you. I've liked every Pickford film I've seen. And while I love her comedies I also think her STELLA MARIS is an amazing performance in an underrated film.

As we've said a hundreds times about Pickford: what a shame her talkie career didn't go better.