In 1915, Charlie Chaplin struck up a deal with the Essanay Film Company, a small film company based out of Chicago, IL with another location in California. Through Essanay, Chaplin directed and starred in 14 films in 1915 (there was at least one later film patched together by the studio of Chaplin outtakes during his … Continue reading Charlie Chaplin’s Essanay Shorts
classic
3 Bad Men
3 Bad Men (1926) Director: John Ford Early cinema was filled with the Western archetype and its accompanying tropes: trains, cowboys, stagecoaches, Indians, covered wagons, and so on. Audiences were enthralled by the American pioneering spirit. However, by the late 1920s and early 1930s, Western films had become a box office dud. John Ford, the … Continue reading 3 Bad Men
Octyabr
Octyabr (1927) Director: Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Aleksandrov In English the film is called "October: Ten Days That Shook the World". The addition of the 'ten days that shook the world' was only part of the release in English for the popular John Reed book of the same name. He was an American Soviet sympathizer who … Continue reading Octyabr
La Chienne
La Chienne (1931) Director: Jean Renoir La Chienne (sometimes called "The Bitch") is the second sound film of the great Jean Renoir's career, son of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It was later remade by Fritz Lang as Scarlet Street in 1945. Michel Simon, the lead actor, is best remembered for his roles in other films: Boudu Saved From Drowning and L'Atalante by Jean Vigo. … Continue reading La Chienne
The Freshman
The Freshman (1925) Director: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor The Freshman is the original college satire film. It was Harold Lloyd's second big hit comedy film after Safety Last! in 1923. The film was shot at a variety of California college campuses, including USC and the sports teams at the close of the film were actually Stanford and UC … Continue reading The Freshman
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Man On The Flying Trapeze (1935) Director: Clyde Bruckman Starring W.C. Fields, Man on the Flying Trapeze is a hilarious film. It is actually a loose remake of a film called Running Wild originally made in 1927, also starring W.C. Fields. It tells the story of Ambrose Wolfinger a "memory expert" for a woolen manufacturer - a memory … Continue reading Man on the Flying Trapeze
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Director: Alfred Hitchcock When Francois Truffaut famously interviewed Alfred Hitchcock (published in 1967), Hitchcock remarked that The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) was merely the work of an amateur. He later went on to create his own remake in 1956, which he much preferred. The film holds nothing in … Continue reading The Man Who Knew Too Much
Dr. Mabuse The Gambler
Dr. Mabuse The Gambler (1922) Director: Fritz Lang Clocking in at over 4 and 1/2 hours, this silent film is masterfully produced. Dr. Mabuse was directed by the famous German director, Fritz Lang - who also directed such masterpieces as M and Metropolis. In German, the film was titled Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (note the word "spieler" can mean … Continue reading Dr. Mabuse The Gambler
Tarzan The Ape Man
Tarzan The Ape Man (1932) Director: W.S. Van Dyke Based on the famous novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, this 1932 film is a little odd and at times awkward. Nevertheless, MGM later released two remakes of the film. Among other studios, it was the first of 12 Tarzan films. There were also several silent era Tarzan … Continue reading Tarzan The Ape Man
The Old Dark House
The Old Dark House (1932) Director: James Whale James Whale was the successful horror film director of great repute in the 1930s, directing films like Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). His production, The Old Dark House (1932) was based on J.B. Priestly's 1927 novel Benighted and it starred the great Boris Karloff, among others. It is a loopy cult-classic, … Continue reading The Old Dark House
