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La Boheme (1926) **UPGRADE – Improved print **
Directed by King Vidor and starring Lillian Gish, John Gilbert, Renee Adoree and Edward Everett Horton, this film has a runtime of 93 mins and the print quality is excellent. The film has English intertitles and Russian? Subtitles.
Plot: It is 1830 in Paris and the rent is due, but the money is not there. An article
here, a painting there and a monkey with a cup gives them enough money for the rent,
but not for food. Fortunately, Musette from downstairs has enough food for everyone
including Mimi -
Review: For those who love silent films, this film needs no introduction. For those
who know nothing about them and would like to begin your Silent Classics 101 class
or better yet your Lillian Gish 101 class, begin with this. Lillian Gish was a silent
screen star who also was a very successful movie star in talking pictures. But her
main contributions to film history are her silent pictures. She was also in The Wind,
The Scarlet Letter, Broken Blossoms, Orphans of the Storm, and in director D.W. Griffith's
The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, and Way Down East. All of them are essential
to a Lillian Gish 101 class.
But begin with La Boheme. It centers around tenants in
an apartment building, who are barely scraping by: John Gilbert who is a writer of
stories and plays, or at least hopes to be, and Lillian Gish who sews to make money.
They can barely make enough to pay for the rent. Gilbert at least has friends with
whom he is "poor but happy" with. But Lillian is alone and looks as petite as actresses
come. Their lives cross when he takes her in and feeds her out of pity and from thereon
he falls in love with her. Miss Gish's dark expressive eyes and fine distinctive
features only heighten her performance. She is heartbroken, when she has to give
her clothes away and gets very little for them. And throughout the film, she does
all she can to help the man she loves.
And the last 15 minutes is unforgettable as
she is at death's door, but makes her way through the village, back to John Gilbert,
hanging onto the back of trucks and literally dragging herself across the street.
If you haven't had a good cry lately, I recommend this and defy anyone to not break
down watching this. If you don't, then something is seriously wrong with you. What's
amazing also is that Miss Gish was already petite, but she lost even more weight
just for her final scenes to be believable. That is not makeup. The crew watching
and even John Gilbert thought she was actually dying. But, Miss Gish was that way;
she would do all for the sake of her work, as the true artist she was. This is in
my opinion her tour de force, and that's saying a lot, as she was always outstanding
in everything she ever did.
None of her other films really capture the intensity and
sensitivity of her talents as La Boheme does, with the exception of The Wind. Discover
Miss Lillian Gish and La Boheme and you may never want to go back to talking pictures….£7.49
Labios Sem Beijos aka Virgin Lips (1930) **UPGRADE – Now with English subtitles**
Directed by Humberto Mauro and starring Lelita Rosa, Paolo Morano, Didi Viana and Gina Cavalieri, this film has a runtime of 72 mins and the print quality is good to very good. This Brazilian silent has Portugese intertitles with hardcoded English subtitles.
Plot: Lelita is a wealthy and rebel young woman, who meets the stranger Paulo Morano in a cab, and after an initial resistance, she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, her younger sister Didi tells her that she has an infatuation with a man called Paulo. Lelita believes that Paulo is cheating her with her sister and she breaks with him. Later, she realizes that her sister is dating indeed a homonymous and she committed a mistake with her boyfriend.
Review: This movie is worth seeing if only to witness a Rio de Janeiro that truly
does not exist anymore. It was already a big city then, but it does not look that
way for us today, and the beaches are all changed, too. For us it might be a light
romantic comedy of some 70 years in the past. It is certainly a joy, and quite funny
at times, and easy to watch. But, in 1930, this movie was considered not suitable
for the ladies in Brazil. I guess I can understand.
The authorities probably figured
that, upon seeing these rich girls that seem to be doing nothing but flirt and go
to dancing parties all day long, women in Brazil would flock to Rio de Janeiro to
let it loose! In the end, it is your regular love story, but it does seem to condone
sex before marriage, as long as it is just a couple of days before the proposal!..£7.49
Labor’s Reward (1925)
Directed by John J.Manning this film has a runtime of 65 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.
Plot: A motherless family is thrown into crisis when the father is injured at work. With no workers' compensation to fall back on, the eldest daughter, Mary, has to work long hours for low wages until she collapses. As a result, her coworkers band together to unionize.…..£7.49
Labyrinth of Horror(1921) **UPGRADE – Improved print**
Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Lucy Doraine, Alphons Fryland, Max Devrient and Paul Askonas, this film has a runtime of 91 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent. This is an Austrian silent with French intertitles and hardcoded English subtitles.
Plot: Edward Stephenson, the son of a great industrialist, is due to marry the daughter of another prominent business leader. But the boy prefers a modest employee of the latter, Maud Hartley, whose brother is an impossible rascal, murderer of a police officer. Maud is spurned by Edward who wrongly assumes she is unfaithful. Later, the girl is victim of a railway accident and then throws herself headlong into the easy life. Will the couple reunite again, for better or worse?
Review: Alphons Fryland is the son of an industrialist. He is supposed to marry the
daughter of another factory owner, when he encounters Lucy Doraine, working at his
fiancee's home as a maid. She is forced to quit, and eventually goes at Fryland's
factory as his secretary. Her brother, Jean Ducret, steals her keys and robs the
factory's safe. She is fired, but to avoid scandal, is let go. Hard luck follows
her, and she becomes a debauchee.
It's 6,000 feet of hard luck for Miss Doraine, which
Michael Curtiz's movie insists i a matter of fate. At times I found the piling up
of bad breaks to be wearisome, and then Curtiz and his director of photography, Gustav
Ucicky, would offer an interesting shot: Miss Doraine lying in a hospital bed, hallucinating
of drown in a shower of flowers, or a stuntman climbing a tall factory smokestack.
There were also some great crowd scenes; by this stage in his career, Curtiz had
the ability to direct scenes of mass chaos. It's a talent he would use many times
in the coming years.…..£7.49
Ladies of Leisure (1926) **UPGRADE – Much improved print**
Directed by Tom Buckingham and starring Elaine Hammerstein, T.Roy Barnes, Robert Ellis and Gertrude Short, this film has a runtime of 58 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Plot: Rich, spoiled Marian pressures Eric to marry her.Her brother is in love with her friend Mamie, but a scheming ex husband tries to blackmail her. Mamie is saved from suicide by Eric, who's in a compromising position when he brings her home.
Review: Elaine Hammerstein and Gertrude Short play the ladies in two meandering story
lines here. Hammerstein plays Mamie, a paid companion to Short in a wealthy household
where she is being romanced by the handsome son (Robert Ellis). He presses for marriage
but she has a dark secret. She finally accepts a ring from him as a friendship ring
but goes into hiding when her "husband" (Jim Mason) appears on the scene. It seems
she was tricked into marrying him after her father was framed in a jewel robbery.
He expects her to help rob the house so she escapes.
Short plays Marian, a perky little
pest who's after a "confirmed bachelor" (T. Roy Barnes) who does everything he can
to avoid her. But no matter how he and his butler (Tom Ricketts) lie to her, she
always manages to sneak into his apartment. By today's standards,she a stalker.
The
two stories come together when Hammerstein decides a jump off the Brooklyn Bridge
is the only way out, but who should be driving by but Barnes. He talks her out of
jumping and taker her home. About the same time, a detective has traced Hammerstein
to Barnes' apartment, which sends Ellis into a fury since Barnes is his best friend.
Ellis
shows up and threatens Barnes if Hammerstein (dressed in a dry robe) is in the apartment.
But Short sneaks in again and bursts into the room (in a robe) and declares she is
married to Barnes. Ellis backs off and Short tells him Hammerstein is back at the
house waiting for him.
Ellis races home but what will he find? Barnes has been trapped
into marrying the pesty Short. Will they find wedded bliss?…..£7.49
Lads of the Village, The (1919)
Directed by Harry Lorraine and starring Bernard Dudley, Maudie Dunham and Jimmy Learmonth, this British silent film has a runtime of 76 mins and the print quality is very good.
Review: Everyone in the village has turned out, for Jimmy Learmouth and his pal Joe
Peterman have been demobbed, and Jimmy has won the V.C. He has no interest in hanging
around and making a speech, so his captain, H.J. Lord tells the tale, involving the
captain's girl, two German spies, dispatches, and Learmouth dressing up as a Turkish
magician.
It's based on a stage play co-
Lady, The (1925) **UPGRADE -
Directed by Frank Borzage and starring Norma Talmadge, Wallace MacDonald, Brandon Hurst, Alfred J.Goulding, Doris Lloyd, Margaret Seddon and George Hackathorne, this film has a runtime of 86 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Plot: A young woman marries the wastrel son of a British aristocrat. Her husband,
who has been disinherited by his father, loses what little money he has left gambling
in casinos and then dies, leaving her penniless and with an infant son. When her
former father-
Review: Norma Talmadge stars in a 'Madame X' story in which the lower-
Now normally I have little use for this
sort of tripe, but Miss Talmadge is simply wonderful in it. She is not tied down,
as she so often is, by wearing expensive clothes and exotic hair styles. Instead,
you get to see how beautiful she is and how she really inhabits a character and world
where she believes this. As a result, I found myself weeping intermittently throughout
the entire proceedings. …..£7.49
Lady and the Beard, The (1931)
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu, the film has a runtime of 75 mins and has a logo throughout. The print quality is good…..£7.49
Lady Hamilton (1921) **UPGRADE – Now with English subtitles**
Directed by Richard Oswald and starring Liane Haid, Conrad Veidt, Werner Krauss and Reinhold Schünzel this film has a runtime of 80 mins and the print quality is very good.The film is timecoded throughout and has Russian intertitles with English subtitles.
Plot: The dramatic story of Lady Hamilton's rise and fall in European society during the 1700s and early 1800s, including the romantic love story with Lord Nelson.
Review: For many years, “Lady Hamilton” was considered a lost film – and it still
is, officially. But, unofficially there is an excellent copy from the Russian film
archive. The version is not complete, but it looks incredibly well, considering the
age. Conrad’s Major Nelson is amazing. Liane Haid is also very good as his lover,
Lady Hamilton. In comparison to the 1941-
Lady in the Library, The (1917)
Starring Jack Vosburgh and Vola Vale. Runtime: 45 mins…..£7.49
Lady of Chance, A (1928)
Starring Norma Shearer, Lowell Sherman, Johnny Mack Brown and Eugenie Besserer. Plot:
Dolly, alias "Angel Face," meets a naive young man at a hotel who appears to be rich.
Thinking she's found an easy mark, she marries him, only to find out that the plantation
he was bragging about belongs to a neighbor, and his fortune is more speculative
than real. In spite of herself, she falls in love with him. Review: Story of female
con artist who falls for her scam victim is just a backdrop for Shearer, who photographs
beautifully and shows a remarkable range without uttering a word (check out the "wedding
veil" scene, where she moves from mocking the idea of marriage to momentarily embracing
the idea, all within a few seconds of subtly-
Lady of the Camelias, The (1915)
Starring Francesco Bertini. Good print. Runtime 53 mins…..£7.49
Lady of the Dugout (1918)
Directed by W.S.Van Dyke and starring Al Jennings, Frank Jennings, Corinne Grant and Carl Stockdale, this film has a runtime of 64 mins and the print quality is very good.
Review: Pardoned criminals Al and Frank Jennings sit down with a couple men who want to know about their past. The men are fans of their stories in The Saturday Evening Post and want to know if there are any stories that haven't been published. Al then goes about telling of them robbing a bank and then running into a poor woman and her child who were abandoned by her husband. THE LADY OF THE DUGOUT is a pretty silly little story because the Jennings' try to make themselves look like good guys, which they certainly were not. One really has to get over that and just sit back and try to enjoy the picture. I will say that technically speaking this here is one of the best Westerns I've seen from this era. Director W.S. Van Dyke does a really good job at keeping the action going at a great pace and he also manages to make the film look very professional. I think the biggest problem with the movie is that the title cards seem to preach way too much and I also think they say way too much. Quite often they'll tell us something like "the kid is sleeping" and then we'll get a shot of him sleeping. It will read "they were mad" and then we see a scene of them mad. There really wasn't any need for the cards and other times scenes just dragged on including one flashback where we see the woman's early days. Still, the film contains some great action scenes that make it worth viewing and there's no question that there's something interesting hearing this made up story from two outlaws….£7.49
Lady of the Lake, The (1928)
A real rarity (or is that oddity?). IMDB shows the year as 1930 so possibly held back by the production company Fitzpatrick Pictures. Starring Percy Marmont and Benita Hume…..£7.49
Lady of the Night (1925)
Directed by Monta Bell and starring Norma Shearer, Malcolm McGregor, Dale Fuller, George K.Arthur and Fred Esmelton, this film has a runtime of 61 mins and the print quality is excellent. In addition Joan Crawford appears uncredited as a body double for Norma Shearer in some scenes.
Plot: Lady of the Night ~ the story of two baby girls, born near in proximity, but
worlds apart in life, -
Review: Norma Shearer is terrific playing a dual role in this well-
Lady of the Pavements (1929)
Directed by DW Griffith and starring Lupe Velez and Jetta Goudal. Very good print. Silent film with some sound sequences. Runtime: 86 mins…..£7.49
Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925)
Starring Ronald Colman and directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
Plot: Mrs Erlynne, the mother of Lady Windermere -
Review: At first it might not seem as if the combination of Ernst Lubitsch and Oscar
Wilde would work very well, but this silent-
Laila (1929)
Starring Mona Martenson. Runtime: 145 mins…..£7.49
Lamb, The (1915)
Starring Douglas Fairbanks. Review: Excellent movie! The movie is, overall, very enjoyable, as it contains much of the light humor and 1915 charm Douglas Fairbanks worked so well in his first feature film. The plot, of the rich coward (Fairbanks) who goes to great lengths to be more manly to please his fiance (Seena Owens), seems old and worn out, but this movie carries it off wonderfully well. However, the portrayal of the Indians in this movie is questionable as it is not quite politically correct…..£7.49
Land In Captivity aka Zemlya v Plenu (1928)
Directed by Fyodor Otsep and starring Anna Sten, the film has a runtime of 69 mins and has English and Russian intertitles. The print quality is good…..£7.49
Larry Semon Comedies
Four silent comedies from this almost forgotten comedian:
1/ Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs (1918) 2/The Grocery Clerk (1920) 3/ The Bell Hop (1922) 4/ The Four Wheeled Terror (1924)….£7.49
Land Unterm Kreuz(1927)
Directed by Ulrich Kayser, this German documentary film has a runtime of 66 mins and the print quality is very good. I has a logo throughout and German only intertitles.
Although the majority of voters in the 1921 referendum voted in favor of Upper Silesia
remaining in Germany, the industrialized eastern part of the province was given to
Poland by the Allies. In order to remind broad sections of the population of this
fate, the elaborate cultural and propaganda film LAND UNDER THE KREUZ was made in
1927 on the initiative of the authorities. It describes the historical development
of Upper Silesia, the serious consequences of the Versailles Treaty and the referendum
for the German population as a drama of loss of homeland and expulsion, hardship,
illness and inner turmoil. After LAND UNTERM KREUZ was initially banned, it premiered
in Gleiwitz in Upper Silesia on the “Voting Remembrance Day” in 1927 and led to massive
upsets in German-
Lash of the Law, The (1925)
Starring Bill Bailey. Runtime: 47 mins…..£7.49
Lash of the Whip (1926)
Directed by Francis Ford and starring Ashton Dearholt, Harry Dunkinson, Florence Gilbert, Francis Ford and Frank Baker, this film has a runtime of 45 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.
Plot: "Hurricane" Smith ( Francis Ford ), head of a steamship company, plots to keep the railroad from entering the city. The map of the proposed route becomes the instrument by which Blake ( Frank Baker ) and Florence ( Florence Gilbert ) are harassed by Smith's gang and repeatedly are rescued by "Pinto Pete," ( Ashton Dearholt ) who is adept with a whip.
Review: There's a prosperous, modern capitol city that the rail road wants to run
a spur to. To do that, they must find a way through Ghost Valley, but Francis Ford's
shipping company which controls all access to the city and is strangling it -
It all sounds pretty unlikely,
and that's the way director Francis Ford handles this comedy-
Last Berlin Taxi, The (1926)
**Now with English intertitles!!**
Starring Lupu Pick and Hedwig Wandel. Decent print. Runtime: 73 mins…..£7.49
Last Chance, The (1926)
Starring Bill Patton and Dorothy Donald.
Review: With so many silent westerns having been made, and so few of those having
survived, I'll watch pretty much any silent western I can find. This 1926 entry starring
Bill Patton is above average, and as a footnote was directed by Horace Carpenter,
of later fame as the mad doctor in Dwain Esper's 1934 sleaze classic MANIAC. The
plot here involves the standard "stolen payroll", and for the first ten minutes or
so things are played out in a solid but standard manner, but then when Patton decides
to infiltrate the gang, he does NOT do it by pretending to be a rough and tumble
criminal from some other part of the country, but does it as a greenhorn in mail-
Last Command, The (1928)
Featuring the performance that gave Emil Jannings the very first best actor oscar and directed by Josef Von Sternberg. Also starring William Powell.
Plot: A decorated, aristocratic Czarist General is reduced to penury after the collapse
of Imperial Russia. An old adversary, now a successful director hires the general
to re-
Review: Josef von Sternberg's "The Last Command" is probably his finest film. It is one of the only times that Sternberg was able to add story and acting to his preoccupation with the visual picture. The credit for the acting goes all to Jannings who gives a powerful performance as the General with a haunting past. He definitely deserved the first Best Actor Oscar that he did receive...£7.49
Last Days of Pompeii, The (1913)
Directed by Mario Caserini and Eleuterio Rodolfi and starring Fernanda Negri Pouget, Eugenia Tettoni Fior, Ubaldo Stefani and and Antonio Grisanti, this film has a runtime of 87 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent. This longer better quality print is now available with the original intertitles plus additional English subtitles.
Plot: Well respected Pompeiian Glaucus performs an act of kindness by buying Nidia, a blind slave being mistreated by her owner. Nidia falls in love with her new master, but he only has eyes for Jone. Jone in turn is lusted after by Arbace, an Egyptian high priest of Isis. When Nidia beseeches Isis for help in capturing Glaucus' heart, Arbace gives her a "love" potion, which really will affect his mind and not his heart, thus opening the way to Jone for himself. When Arbace's disciple is murdered Glaucus finds himself in hot water, shortly after which Mt. Vesuvius erupts.
Review: An evil Egyptian priest menaces a young Roman maiden while a blind slave
girl shows great courage in attempting to rescue her beloved master, during THE LAST
DAYS OF POMPEII.
Produced less than two decades after the birth of cinema, this silent
film is considered to be the first important historical epic filmed on a truly grand
scale. It also heralded the arrival of the Italian movie industry as a force to be
reckoned with, however briefly, in the halcyon days before World War One.
Produced
by prolific director Mario Caserini (1874-
The final twenty
minutes, when Vesuvius blows her top and destroys Pompeii, features special effects
which are still quite impressive. After more than an hour of silver toned film, the
abrupt switch to red tints at the instant of the eruption is a definite attention
grabber.
Much of the acting is very theatrical & overripe, but that was the style
back then and was probably much affected by grand opera. Two performers should be
noted -
The film's final moments embrace a mature sensitivity and
highlight the latent power of the cinematic image. …..£7.49
Last Days of Pompeii, The (1926)
Directed by Victor Varconi this Italian silent film with Italian only intertitles and a runtime of 175 mins is timecoded and the print quality is ok.
Review: The last of the great silent Italian epics, The Last Days of Pompeii is as
lavish as anything produced by Hollywood at that time -
Last Edition, The (1925)
Directed by Emory Johnson and starring Ralph Lewis, Lila Leslie, Ray Hallor, Frances Teague and Rex Lease, this film has a runtime of 80 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Plot: The assistant foreman of the San Francisco Chronicle press-
Review: The Last Edition (1925) is a pleasant enough silent film. The main guy is
a old news paper man hoping to get his promotion after 20 years in waiting. But we
get a look into the office of the executives and his yes-
Last Indian Attack, The aka El Ultimo Malon (1917)
Directed by Alcides Greca. Runtime 61 mins…..£7.49
Last Laugh, The (1924)
Starring Emil Jannings.
Plot: The experienced doorman at the Atlantic Hotel is quite proud of his position,
his responsibilities, and his uniform. One busy, rainy night, he has to take a short
rest after lugging a heavy suitcase in from the rain. Unfortunately, his manager
comes by during the short time when he is not performing his duties. The next day,
when the doorman arrives for work, he learns that he has been replaced as doorman,
and has been re-
Last Night, The aka Revolutionshochzeit (1928)
Directed by A.W.Sandberg and starring Diomira Jacobini, Gosta Ekman, Karina Bell, Walter Rilla and Fritz Kortner, this film has a runtime of 96 mins and the print quality is very good. It has a discreet logo throughout.
Plot: The film evolves during the French Revolution. Alaine de l’Estelle (Diomira
Jacobini) and her maid Leontine (Karina Bell) try to flee Paris. Alaine is expected
by her fiance, Ernest de Tresailles (Walter Rilla), at the castle of Trionville.
Alaine and Leontine get unexpected help from Marc Aron (Ekman), lieutenant in the
revolutionary army. He is member of the Jacobines, who right after the marriage of
Ernest and Alaine occupy Trionville. For love of Alaine Marc tries to help Ernest
and by consequence is himself arrested and executed. The film premiered at the Berlin
Mozartsaal in 1928 and was an international success. In particular Ekman 's performance
was lauded. Still it took till 2010 for a print from Moscow to emerge at the film
archive of Toulouse, which was sent to the Filmmuseum Potsdam, where it was restored
and re-
Last of the Mohicans, The (1920)
Starring Wallace Beery and directed by Clarence Brown.
Review: As Alice and Cora Munro attempt to find their father, a British officer in
the French and Indian War, they are set upon by French soldiers and their cohorts,
Huron tribesmen led by the evil Magua. Fighting to rescue the women are Chingachgook
and his son Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe, and their white ally, the frontiersman
Natty Bumppo, known as Hawkeye. Keeping the storyline close to that of the original
novel, this is perhaps the best telling of the Cooper classic. Great photography,
and what for the time, must have been considered "under-
Last Outlaw, The (1927)
Starring Gary Cooper……£7.49
Last Performance, The (1927)
Starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin……£7.49
Last Round-
Silent western starring Bob Custer and Hazel Mills.
Plot: There is trouble on the Bar D ranch as cowhand Mile Ahead plans to rustle the herd. He starts a fire on the opposite side of the ranch to keep the hands busy and also kidnaps the new school teacher. Fighting the fire, Foreman Denver leans the cattle are gone and going after Mile Ahead, learns the teacher is a prisoner in the school and the fire that is now out of control is heading her way…..£7.49
Last Trail, The (1927)
Silent western starring Tom Mix.
Plot: The robberies on Jasper Carrol's stages have been so frequent that the stage line plans to hold a stagecoach race with the winner getting the new contract. Tom foils Cal Barker's attempt to kill him and gets a confession from him that Kurt Morley is behind the robberies. But first Tom must win the race for Carrol although Morley's stages have him greatly outnumbered…..£7.49
Last Victim, The aka L'ultima vittima aka A Victim of Vengeance (1913)
Directed by Roberto Roberti, who also stars alongside Antonietta Calderari, Giuseppe De Witten, Frederico Elvezi and Bice Valerian, this film has a runtime of 35 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent. This Italian silent has Italian intertitles with English subtitles and has a discreet logo throughout.
Review: Antonietta Calderari plays a sultry femme-
Last Volunteer, The (1914)
Directed by Oscar Apfel and starring Eleanor Woodruff, Paul Panzer, Robert Broderick and Irving Cummings, this film has a runtime of 65 mins and the print quality is very good.
Plot: Prince Ludwig of Saxe-
Last Warning, The (1929)
Directed by Paul Leni and starring Laura La Plante, Montagu Love, Margaret Livingston and John Boles, this film has a runtime 77 mins and the print quality is good.
Review: Paul Leni (The Cat and the Canary, The Man Who Laughs) directs this Universal
horror film, which has been forgotten over the years but if you've seen some of the
studios bigger pictures then you've can tell what all this film has influenced. A
popular show on Broadway, inside a creepy theatre, is closed down after the mysterious
murder of one of the actors. Years later the police reassemble the original cast
and bring them back to the theater to see if they can trap the murderer but it might
be a ghost they're dealing with. This film mixes elements of The Phantom of the Opera
with the old dark house themes of films like The Bat and delivers a terrific entertainment.
This film has never been officially released so I had to view it via what appears
to be a 16mm print and the quality was pretty bad throughout so if I get a chance
to see a pristine print then I'll probably bump my review up. The technical eye of
Leni, who died after this film, is untouched by nearly everyone as he's constantly
trying new and different things with the camera. I love how he'll have a medium shot
and then move the camera in to show some evidence before moving it back out to let
the action role. The film runs just under 80-
Late Mathias Pascal, The (1926) **UPGRADE – Improved print**
Directed by Marcel L’Herbier and starring Ivan Mozzkuhkin, Marcelle Pradot, Lois Moran and Pierre Batcheff, this film has a runtime of 172 mins and the print quality is excellent. This is a French silent film with French intertitles and English subtitles.
Plot: Mathias Pascal, only son of a once rich family, marries beautiful Romilde,
who has a terrible mother-
Review: The White Russian exile Ivan Mosjoukine was arguably the greatest male star
of the silent screen. Imagine an actor who combined the matinée idol looks of John
Barrymore with the smoldering sexual magnetism of Valentino, the deft physical comedy
of Chaplin with the dark Gothic creepiness of Lon Chaney. It sounds impossible, of
course -
Laughing at Danger (1924)
Starring Richard Talmadge. Review: A lovelorn man accidentally happens upon a missing piece of death ray machine, and becomes the target of criminals intent on using the machine.This silent action/comedy with science fiction elements (the death ray) has a fun idea at the center of it; our hero laughs at danger not because he's so brave, but because he believes he's in the middle of an elaborate practical joke set up by his father to raise his spirits after he is rejected by the woman he loves. Therefore, he never really believes he's in danger, and that is the joke of the situation. The movie is amusing enough, but it never really takes this premise to its ultimate possibilities….£7.49
Laughter and Tears (1921)
Directed by B.E.Doxat Pratt and starring Evelyn Brent, Adelqui Migliar, Dorothy Fane and Maudie Dunham, this film has a runtime of 69 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent. The film was a joint UK and Netherlands production and the screenplay was written by its male star Adelqui Migliar, based on his play.
Plot: Bohemian drama. A woman falls in love with a struggling artist, who later becomes famous and decides to leave Venice for a lucrative career.
Review: A British silent from 1921 you say? Can’t be much cop can it? Well, it’s
not a classic but it is very enjoyable not least for those glamorous backdrops but
also for the hints of Bright Young Thing hard-
She is the standout performer in the film as director B. E. Doxat-
Law And The Outlaw, The (1913)
Starring Tom Mix and Myrtle Stedman. Review: According to Blackhawk Films who distributed
the standard 8 format of this film, it originally(in 1914) was a 2 reeler, but at
least 5 years later as Mix's popularity began to soar it was combined with another
2 reeler to provide a near feature length film for his ever growing audience. It
still stayed true to the overall story, although the ending was altered somewhat.
The plot chiefly is fairly interesting and Mix's performance is good, but the abundance
of inter-
Lawine, Die (1923)
Directed by Michael Curtiz. This film is available only with French intertitles. Runtime 71 mins…..£7.49
Law’s Lash, The (1928)
Starring Klondike the Wonder Dog, this film has a runtime of 61 mins and the print quality is good…..£7.49
Lazybones (1925)
Starring Buck Jones and Madge Bellamy.
Review: Steve Tuttle (Charles Jones), the titular lazybones, takes on the responsibility
of raising a fatherless girl, causing a scandal in his small town. Many years later,
having returned from World War I, he discovers that he loves the grown-
Leap Year (1921)
Starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
Plot: A young man, heir to his misogynistic and millionaire uncle, and in love with a nurse, gets in trouble when he gives advice on marriage to his girlfriends.
Review: "Leap Year" was released shortly before the scandal that wrecked Roscoe Arbuckle's career. This film has a large production budget, some splendid location shots, and a witty script. "Leap Year" is excellent proof that Arbuckle was a major film star before his career came crashing down…..£7.49
Leaves From Satan’s Book (1921) aka Blade of Satan’s Bog
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and starring Helge Nissen. Plot: Carl Theodor Dreyer's classic silent film tells the tale of Satan's (Helge Nissen) banishment from heaven. In order to return, Satan must perform acts of temptation upon humanity with the stipulation that for every soul who yields, 100 years will be added to his time on Earth. For every soul who resists, 1000 years will be commuted from his judgment. The film follows Satan's path through the ages as an instigator during times of conflict……£7.49
Legong: Dance of the Virgins (1935)
This excellent print has a runtime of 56 mins…..£7.49
Leopard Woman, The (1920)
Starring Louise Glaum House Peters and Noble Johnson. Directed by Wesley Ruggles.
Plot outline: An epic of passion, intrigue, and espionage set in the African Jungle….£7.49
Leopardo, El (1926)
Directed by Alredo Llorente and starring Manuel Alvarez, Oriana Camila, Augusto Cassasús and Marcelo Derval, this film has a runtime of 42 mins and the print quality is good to very good. This silent film, produced in Chile has Spanish intertitles with hardcoded English subtitles.
Plot: The Leopard is a “western” type film where the “cowboys” are replaced by huasos who defend themselves against the misdeeds of a bandit who assaults the region with his excesses.
Review: Straight-
Less Than The Dust (1915)
Starring Mary Pickford…..£7.49
Let Er Go Gallagher (1928)
Directed by Elmer Clifton and starring Frank Coghlan Jr, Harrison Ford, Elinor Fair, Wade Boteler, E.H.Calvert and Ivan Lebedeff, this film has a runtime of 59 mins and the print quality is good.
Plot: Young John Gallagher wants to be a newspaper reporter. One day he witnesses a murder committed by a mysterious man with only four fingers on one hand. He gives his account of the murder and a description of the killer to his hero, newsman Henry Callahan, resulting in his getting a job on the paper as an office boy. When circumstances arise that result in Callahan losing his job on the paper, he and Gallagher set out to discover the identity of the killer and help Callahan get his job back.
Review: Amusing trifle with jaunty Harrison Ford and intrepid Junior Coghlan capturing
hissable Ivan Lebedeff for the glories of newspaperdom and a front page headline:
this sort of thing used to infest pulp magazines until it was driven into the comic
books, but the charm of the stars -
Let’s Go (1923)
Starring Richard Talmadge……£7.49
Life For A Life, A aka Zhizn za zhizn (1916) **UPGRADE – Improved Print**
Directed by Yevgeny Bauer and starring Olga Rakhmanova, Lidiya Koreneva, Vera Kholodnaya and Vitold Polonsky, this film has a runtime of 67 mins and the print quality is good to very good.
Plot: Wealthy Mrs. Khromova has a natural daughter, Musya, and an adopted daughter,
Nata. The merchant Zhurov is in love with Nata, and hopes to marry her, but she is
non-
Review: Yevgeni Bauer's "Silent Witnesses" (or "Mute Witnesses") (1914) had at the
center of its story a love circle, as does this film, "A Life for a Life". The two
films also share the same aesthetic, as is visible in much of Bauer's work: that
is, the art of mise-
The story will do. The acting
isn't that remarkable, although Vera Kholodnaya, apparently a star in her day, is
lovely and has a fairly expressive face. Her major gift, however, is the white of
her eyes, which the camera can record from quite a distance. The sets are more interesting,
their design and the way they are filled to create depth and space. In one scene,
a curtain is used to unveil the truth. Bauer used curtains in other films for various
reasons, including to reference theatre. Lighting effects also add to the mise-
The
mise-
Some of it is simple (but very important),
such as cuts from establishing shots to medium shots and closer looks. There's some
mild crosscutting between the five characters. But, Bauer also displays an expert
knowledge of continuity editing; for example, when Nata stands up, angry with the
prince, the film cuts from the closer look to a long shot. This is common practice
nowadays, but not always in 1916, such as in those Italian spectacles, or Pathé film
d'art photoplays. Some of the cuts might be too quick, but that's a minor error.
Bauer's
most impressive editing in his films is the flow of shots that he sometimes attains.
There is a hint of it here, such as in the passionate meeting between Nata and the
Prince when her husband catches them. The editing-
Life of Dante aka Dante e Beatrice (1913)
Directed by Mario Caserini and starring Oreste Grandi, Fernanda Negri Pouget, Giovanni Enrico Vidali and Cesare Gani Carini, this film has a runtime of 44 mins and the print quality is excellent. This is an Italian silent film with English intertitles and Italian subtitles….£7.49
Life of Moliere, The (1910)
Directed by Leonce Perret and written by Abel Gance and Louis Feuillade, this film has a runtime of 20 mins and the print quality is excellent. The film has French and English intertitles.
Storyline: We first see Moliere at work in his father's shop, when a boy. All the
employees are busy at their appointed tasks, except the youthful playwright, who
snatches time to re-
Life of Buffalo Bill, The (1912)
Starring William F.Cody and featuring Pearl White in a minor role, this film has a runtime of 33 mins and the print quality is OK to Good.
Plot: While on a vacation, an elderly Buffalo Bill dreams of his adventures as a young man when he scouted for the cavalry, fought Indians and captured outlaws….£7.49
Life of the Jews in Palestine (1913)
This film is now available with English intertitles and has a runtime of 61 mins…..£7.49
Life of The Party, The (1920)
Directed by Joseph Hanabery and starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Winifred Greenwood, Roscoe Karns, Julia Faye and Frank Campeau, this film has a runtime of 54 mins and the print quality is excellent.The film also features uncredited parts for William Boyd and Lucien Littlefield.
Plot: Milly Hollister, the secretary for the Better Babies League, consults Judge Voris for advice in her fight against the milk trust, unaware that he is in collusion with the trust. The judge refers Milly to attorney Algernon Leary, whom he regards as an incompetent buffoon. The corpulent attorney is so smitten with Milly that, although impoverished, he tears up her check and accepts the case for nothing. When the case comes to trial under Judge Voris, he makes Leary appear ridiculous and throws him out of court. Angered, Leary denounces Voris, now a mayoral candidate, as a tool of the trust, and with the backing of Milly's organization decides to run for mayor himself. To discredit his opponent, Voris hires a notorious woman called French Kate to compromise Leary. The scandal alienates Milly, who announces her betrothal to Voris. After a series of misadventures, Leary is vindicated and wins both Milly and the election. —AFI
Review: "He gave up his seat on the trolley to three women."
Yes, he was known as
"Fatty" and his roles often played on or against his size and weight. But he really
was an actor, even if he didn't always get a chance to prove it.
"Life of the Party,"
probably an unfortunate title considering the event that ended his acting career,
gave him such a chance.
It was a sort-
Arbuckle was a large man but
with lots of physical abilities, some even say "acrobatic." He used everything in
"Life of the Party," including some serious facial expressions, to create quite believably
a young would-
None of his fellow cast members is known today except
Roscoe Karns, an excellent character actor of especially the 1930s, but all were
superbly worth watching….£7.49
Life Story of David Lloyd George, The (1918)
Directed Maurice Elvey….. £7.49
Life Story of John Lee, or The Man They Could No Hang, The (1921)
Directed by Arthur W.Sterry this film has a runtime of 81 mins and the print quality is decent…..£7.49
Lige Conley Short Films (1924-
3 short comedies from this forgotten silent comedian:
Air Pockets (1924) with Earl Montgomery, Sunshine Hart and Olive Borden. Battling Kangaroo (1928) with Mildred June, Al Kaufman and Sterling Holloway. Fast and Furious (1924)
Review: A not-
Light of Asia aka Prem Sanyas (1925)
This is an Indian/German co production starring Seeta Devi and Himansu Rai. Excellent print quality. Logo throughout…..£7.49
Light of Faith (1922)
Starring Lon Chaney this film has a runtime of 33 mins and the print quality is excellent…..£7.49
Lighthouse By The Sea, The (1924)
Starring Rin Tin Tin, William Collier Jr and Louise Fazenda.
Plot: A lighthouse keeper and his daughter are in trouble on two fronts-
Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter, The (1918)
Directed by Georg af Klercker and starring Mary Johnson, Manne Gothson and Agnes Onergsson this film has a runtime of 63 mins and the print quality is very good. This Swedish silent film has additional English and French intertitles.
Plot: The wealthy Frank Helmer travels to the seafront to forget a bitter love story. There he meets Awa, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, whom he falls in love with…..£7.49
Lightnin’ (1925)
Starring Madge Bellamy and directed by John Ford. A very good film considering it’s not well enough known to have even a user comment on IMDB. The story takes place in a hotel, one side of which is in California and the other in Nevada. There’s a lot of screen time for the husband and wife playing the elderly couple running the hotel (Jay Hunt and Edythe Chapman) the husband being an alcoholic who hides bottles from his wife. She wants to sell the hotel, but thanks to a solicitor friend (also in love with the daughter, Madge Bellamy) who knows the man trying to buy the hotel is a crook the husband won’t agree to sell, which leads them to the divorce courts. The court scene in the last part of the film is very sentimental (typical John Ford) but superbly done. Definitely worth watching, if you get the chance!.......£7.49
Lightning Bryce (1919)
Starring Jack Hoxie, Ann Little and Yakima Canutt. This is a 15 chapter serial on 3 disks…..£9.99
Lightning Hutch (1926)
Starring Charles Hutchinson and Edith Thornton. This is a 10 chapter serial on 2 disks. Runtime 230 mins…..£9.99
Lightnin’ Jack (1924)
Starring Jack Perrin, Josephinr Hill and Jack Richardson this film has a runtime of 62 mins and the print quality is ok/good. Plot: Wanted for a murder he didn't commit, Lightnin' Jack travels to Arizona where he gets a job on the Manning ranch. Two men are out to get the Manning ranch and see their chance when Manning decides to use Lightnin's horse in the big race. They get Manning to bet his ranch and then kidnap Lightnin' so he won't be there to ride…..£7.49
Lights of Old Broadway, The (1925) **UPGRADE – Much improved print**
Directed by Monta Bell and starring Marion Davies, Conrad Nagel, Frank Currier, George K.Arthur and Julia Swayne Gordon, this film has a runtime of 72 mins and the print quality is excellent.The colour sequences in the film are also still intact.
Plot: Lights of Old Broadway (1925) is a drama film directed by Monta Bell, produced
by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-
Review: "Lights of Old Broadway" (1925) stars Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel. Davies
plays twins whose mother dies on the way over to America on a ship, and now the twins
are separated by being given to two different families, one a very poor Irish immigrating
family and the other a very wealthy American banking family. Based on the stage play
"The Merry Wives of Gotham", this is told in rip-
Conrad Nagel
plays the son of banker Currier, and he falls madly in love with the poor squatter,
the Irish lass Fely O'Tandy. Of course this starts a rumpus which drives the wheels
of the film; that, and the fact that Currier wishes to drive off the squatters, all
the Irish and other immigrant souls who've squatted on a certain piece of land. Of
course, too, the O'Tandy's live on that land.
Wonderful bit of hokum! It's loads of
fun watching Davies and her Irish father, Charles McHugh, battle their way through
all of the plotting before them. This new release from Kino-
For the record, you'll
love seeing Teddy Roosevelt as a young boy, Tom Edison trying to market his "sound
machine", and all the references to lighting the streets of the downtown city with
electric arc lamps as opposed to gas. The last figures prominently in the plot of
the film. Tony Pastor and Weber and Fields are also integrated into the plot. If
you look closely, you'll see Karl Dane, George K. Arthur, and even Mary Gordon in
small or insignificant parts. Matthew Betz has one scene as the leader of a plot
against those who would move the squatters from their property.…..£7.49
Lilac Time (1928)
Starring Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper. Review: Colleen Moore at the height of her
stardom turned from flapper and comedy roles (like "Flaming Youth" and "Ella Cinders")
to a great WW I romance, Lilac Time. Moore plays a French village girl who falls
in love with a British flying ace (Gary Cooper). Not much happens, but it's a sweet
romance and was a big hit in its day. This film also established Cooper as a star.
Some OK dog fight footage helps enliven this war film, but it's the chemistry between
the stars that makes it special. Good special effects for its time, and a socko ending
with Moore being told Cooper has died of his wounds.... A real tear jerker but it
works. Among the co-
Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913)
Directed by T.Hayes Hunter and Edwin Middleton and starring Bert Williams, Odessa Warren Gray, Wes Jenkins and Tom Brown, this film has a runtime of 62 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Footage for this film was found among 900 cans of film in the collection of 1939 Iris Barry, founder of the film department at the Museum of Modern Art, who acquired 900 cans of film from the Actinograph Corp. Bronx Biograph studio and laboratory facilities, which was closing its film vault and planning to destroy all the film. Printing of some footage took place in 1976. In October 2014, MOMA presented the unedited film with a lecture about the film's background and reasons for it remaining unfinished.
Plot: Modeled after a popular collection of stories known as "Brother Gardener's Lime Kiln Club," the plot features three suitors vying to win the hand of the local beauty.
Review: This is the oldest surviving American film with an all black cast. What does
the title mean? According to Wikipedia -
In
1913 Biograph made this unfinished film with an all black cast featuring a black
middle class holiday in a kind of amusement park. Bert Williams, a Caribbean American
actor, is the star. He is shown on a date at the park with a lady played by Odessa
Warren Grey. They are featured eating ice cream at the concession stand, then riding
on a Merry Go Round and enjoying a lollipop while on the ride. The entire production,
as restored by MOMA, runs about an hour. What I saw of it was under ten minutes in
length.
There are no title cards in what I saw, but none are really necessary. Oddly
enough, in every scene, you can see part of the African American cast dancing in
the background. Williams wears blackface in this film and usually wore blackface
in his vaudeville acts because the white public would not tolerate an actual black
man in the lead of a movie or an act during the early 20th century. So by wearing
blackface he paid tribute to the ruse, thus allowing the rest of the cast to take
their roles unchallenged by anybody -
This film
actually does have one member of the cast who is white. There is a man walking about
on the ride who then jumps off, smokes a cigarette, and generally just loiters about
during the Merry Go Round scene, with his attention on the ride. He is probably supposed
to be the ride's operator.
This film has been restored by MOMA and is in excellent
condition. Youtube has a short introduction by a curator who explains a few things
about the film, if you are interested. What I liked was seeing the beautiful clothes
worn by everybody in the cast. They are even wearing gloves here! I wonder what they
would say about midways today with people wearing shorts, flip flops, and old tee
shirts to the fair?....£7.49
Limite (1931)
**Now with English intertitles!!**
Brazilian silent film directed by Mario Peixoto. Excellent print, logo throughout. Runtime: 116 mins…..£7.49
Linda (1929)
Starring Warner Baxter, Helen Foster and Noah Beery. Runtime: 75 mins……£7.49
Lion of the Moguls (1924) **UPGRADE – Better longer print**
Directed by Jean Epstein and starring Ivan Mozzhukin, this film has a runtime of 106 mins and the print quality is excellent. Please note that the film contains French only intertitles at the moment.
Plot: In the kingdom of the Moguls, Prince Roudghito-
Review: I was beaming with joy throughout -
This interests me doubly, triply, because I've been keeping track of
the Russian cinematic trail into Paris. Perhaps the single most important missing
link in this endeavor is L'angoissant Aventure, actually filmed on the run from the
Soviets over a period of months as the Ermolief troupe, the Russian cinematic aristocracy
before Eisenstein, was forced to relocate to Paris, where it made acquiantances with
the new generation coming into film. I have not been able to find that film, so if
any reader has information I would be grateful to know.
Thankfully we have this;
incidentally also about an aristocrat, a Mongol prince, forced into exile in France
and bumping into a film production en route there. No wonder Mozzhukhin wrote the
script. His next film would be for L'Herbier.
The joys in this are manifold. If you
are one of those who labor under the impression that silent film was all about pantomime,
theatric setups, simplified emotion and gross ahistoricity, you will have the chance
to smirk at the exotic movie Tibet portrayed here and the melodrama of forbidden
princely love, then have the rug pulled from under your feet as the film washes up
in France and turns unerringly modern. The acting is subdued, the camera captures
amazing views from a car in motion, a new geography unknown before the camera, the
relationship between prospective lovers is ambiguous. Epstein beautifully renders
the confrontation of the two cinematic worlds, as the furious Prince breaks up a
scene of the woman being strongarmed by a villain on the ship, acting honorably only
to be told they're shooting a movie so it's all make-
More cool stuff ahead.
So the Prince turns into an actor and starring in a movie as himself, presumably
a wild adventure like the opening of the actual film. Is this the first film about
a film being made in the history of the medium? If not, it's certainly the first
intelligent one, and perhaps the only one until Sternberg four years later.
See what
Epstein does. We know that the Prince was exiled and the throne usurped from him
by an impostor, passing as the king in the king's place, so we have an actor on that
end that looks like a movie but is supposed to be real calling the shots that produce
the chain of events. Back in France, we are among actors, our character one, and
spend time on the backlot of film sets.
So it's no surprise that the finale is an
actual marvel of cinematic deception, inside an upscale hotel, where police are waiting
for the Prince outside the glass facade with couples faintly seen dancing inside
the lobby as though projected on a movie screen. There is a ball masque where confetti
rains on our masked lovers, on par with anything Sternberg conceived and predating
him by a good number of years.
More clues; a one-
And something else. Music is of a high importance here,
all through the film we can see violinists accompanying the production -
So we have something invisible, in our case inaudible, that serves
only to cultivate the space around the normally fabricated art. Say a melodrama filmed
as a poem. This was Epstein's innovation, the music all in the roaming eye fiddling
across the world....£7.49
Little American, The (1917)
Starring Mary Pickford. Directed by Cecil B.DeMille (uncredited).
Plot: German-
Little Annie Rooney (1925)
Directed by William Beaudine and starring Mary Pickford, William Haines, Vola Vale and Francis X Bushman, this film has a runtime of 96 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Plot: Tough slum girl (Mary Pickford) faces a crisis of the heart when the boy she
loves (William Haines) is accused of shooting her cop father. Her brother stalks
the accused slayer and finally shoots him down in the street. Mary rushes to the
hospital and offers her blood for a life-
Review: Although the concept of a 32 year old woman portraying a 12 year old girl
might be a stretch for today's sophisticated audiences,in the 1920's this was what
the fans of Mary Pickford desired and expected from their favorite star. The opening
scene displays Annie's tomboyish character as the apparent leader of a multi-
Of course the
requisite "happy ending" is eventually achieved; the evildoers are apprehended with
the help of Annie's friends and rivals and she is last seen in the company of her
pals riding down a busy thoroughfare on a sunny day. Which is a good a way as any
for a Mary Pickford movie to end. . £7.49
Little Church Around The Corner (1923)
Starring Claire Windsor, Kenneth Harlan, Hobart Bosworth and Pauline Starke.
Plot: A wealthy minister in a mining town is something of an advocate for the miners' safety, but he doesn't really get involved in the issue. He is soon snapped out of that attitude, however, when his daughter is trapped underground in a mine explosion, along with the mine's owner….£7.49
Little Devil May Care aka The Devil in the Heart (1928)
**UPGRADE** Excellent print with English intertitles
Directed by Marcel L'Herbier and starring Betty Balfour this is an excellent print of the film with English intertitles and a runtime of 121 mins…..£7.49
Little Follies Girl, The aka Kleine Vom Variete, Die (1926)
Starring Ossi Oswalda. Runtime: 30 mins…..£7.49
Little Girl In A Big City, A (1923)
Directed by Burton L.King and starring Gladys Walton, Niles Welch, Mary Thurman and J.Barney Sherry, this film has a runtime of 54 mins and the print quality is good.
Plot: Small-
Review: The story behind the story is more interesting than the one that appears
on screen -
The story behind
the story is that Gladys Walton was Al Capone's girl friend -
Little House in Kolomna, The
Starring Ivan Mozzhukin, Praskovya Maksimova and Sofya Goslavskaya. Runtime 30 mins…..£7.49
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921) **UPGRADE – Improved Print **
Directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Mary Pickford, Claude Gillingwater, Joseph Dowling and James Marcus, this film has a runtime of 110 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent
Plot: Young Cedric Errol lives with his widowed mother in New York City. Cedric's late father was a son of the Earl of Dorincourt, but the Earl had objected strongly to his son's marriage, and thus has long been estranged from Cedric and his mother. But when the Earl's only surviving son dies in a riding accident, Cedric suddenly becomes Lord Fauntleroy, the Earl's heir. Cedric and his mother travel to England, where they must overcome the Earl's hard feelings about the past, as well as some unexpected obstacles.
Review: Just in itself, this is an entertaining version of the old-
Pickford's performance as the mother
'Dearest' is flawless, as she portrays her with elegance and grace, practically the
image of the character that you get from the story. As Cedric, Pickford certainly
gives the character a new look. There's nothing in the least to criticize about her
performance, yet it's impossible not to be reminded of Pollyanna, Rebecca, or Pickford's
other young girl roles. Even when she gives her character a rough-
The rest of the production
deserves plenty of credit as well. Several of the supporting characters are especially
good. Claude Gillingwater strikes just the right note as the old Earl, and there
is a trio of pleasant characters from Cedric's old neighborhood, who just have to
come on screen to be good for a smile. The settings and photography are nicely done,
never ostentatious but always providing an effective backdrop for the characters
and story. Perhaps most impressive of all is the special effects wizardry that makes
Pickford's dual performance work so well, frequently putting her two characters together
without the slightest snag.
This is the kind of old-
Little Mary Sunshine (1916)
Starring “Baby” Marie Osborne. Review: A precocious child brings a man and his estranged
fiancée back together in this sentimental but extremely popular comedy-
Little Match Girl, The (1928)
Starring Catherine Hessling and directed by Jean Renoir. Runtime 34 mins……£7.49
Little Minister, The (1921)
Starring Betty Compson and George Hackathorne this film was directed by Penrhyn Stanlaws and was based on the play of the same name by J.M.Barrie.
Plot: In 1840 Scotland, a young lass named Babbie revels in the country life and frolics with the locals, simple weavers whose livelihood is threatened by increasing industrialization. When Lord Rintoul attempts to rout the rebellious weavers, Babbie always manages to send word in time to prevent their being taken by surprise. Gavin, new minister to the town, falls in love with Babbie, and his relationship with the young gypsy almost costs him his position. But what Gavin and his parishioners do not know is that Babbie is actually Lady Babbie, ward of Lord Rintoul.
Review: Betty Compson stars as the Gypsy girl known as Babbie. She incurs the wrath of Lord Rintoul when it's suspected she has warned the riotous weavers that the police have been called. The local weavers are incensed that Rintoul has lowered their wages. The innocent new minister (George Hackathorne) gets involved after meeting Babbie by chance in the woods where he is writing his sermon. His infatuation with the wild beauty incurs the wrath of the local town council but he refuses to help entrap her. Will love prevail? Long thought lost, a print was found in a European archive and its intertitles have been translated into English. This was an important starring film for Betty Compson. It's interesting to see the role reversal with Compson playing the disguised hero and Hackathorne the young innocent. Compson is, as always, fascinating to watch….£7.49
Little Miss Hoover (1918)
Starring Marguerite Clark…..£7.49
Little Orphant Annie (1918)
Starring a very young Colleen Moore. Plot: Surrounded by a group of children poet, James Whitcomb Riley narrates the story of Little Orphant Annie, who loses her mother at an early age and is sent to an orphanage. Annie (Colleen Moore) charms the other children with her stories of goblins and elves…….£7.49
The Little Princess (1917)
Starring Mary Pickford. Plot: Little Sara Crewe is placed in a boarding school by her father when he goes off to war, but he does not understand that the headmistress is a cruel, spiteful woman who makes life miserable for Sara. Review: This simple but pleasant story is mostly worthwhile as a vehicle for Mary Pickford to play the kind of role that made her popular. Here, she is a young heiress trying to get used to her new surroundings at a school for girls, when a sudden tragedy changes everything. There isn't a lot to the plot, and so much of the screen time is simply used to show how charming young Sara (Pickford) can be. Pickford, of course, knows just how to make her character sympathetic. Most of the other characters are simply stock figures, except for a young Zasu Pitts, who gets a lot of screen time as Sara's friend. It's not one of Pickford's more memorable films, but it's a pleasant way to pass an hour…….£7.49
Little Robinson Crusoe (1924)
Directed by Edward F.Cline and starring Jackie Coogan, Daniel J.O’Brien, Will Walling and Tom Santschi, this film has a runtime of 73 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.
Plot: A boy struggles to survive after being shipwrecked on a deserted island.
Review: Following his performance in Chaplin's 'The Kid', Jackie Coogan became an
astonishingly popular silent-
'Little
Robinson Crusoe' is one of Jackie's star vehicles. Young Mickey Hogan is the orphan
cabin boy on a ship commanded by cruel Captain Dynes. Mickey's only friend is the
ship's cat, named Man Friday. (The cat is black: clearly a racial reference.) A storm
at sea (featuring some very bad miniatures, and unconvincing lightning) finds Mickey
and Man Friday clinging to the wreckage. But a convenient island heaves into view.
The
prospect of a small boy alone on a remote island could be frightening, but this movie
plays for comedy. So we get some antics with monkeys hoying coconuts. There are also
some African-
The island next-
There's a good
performance by character actor Clarence Wilson, and a few clever sequences with animals.
Most of the 'island' footage looks like it was filmed in Griffith Park. Jackie Coogan's
starring films were geared for both adult and child audiences, so the boy hero here
is never in any real danger. The racial stereotyping in this movie is very distasteful,
but not any more so than in many other films from this period ... and quite a few
films from this time are much worse with it. Child actor Coogan shows real comedic
talent, and I'll rate this movie 7 out of 10. Pass the coconuts!....£7.49
Little Toys aka Xiao Wanyi (1933)
Directed by Sun Yu and starring Ruan Lingyu, this is a Chinese film with additional English intertitles. It has a runtime of 103 mins and the print quality is good.
Review: Small Toys tells the story of a gifted artisan toy maker, played by Ruan
Lingyu, who crafts small toys from clay and bamboo that her husband then sells in
a nearby town. Ye's daughter, after the story moves forward ten years to 1931, is
played by Li Lili, another famous actress in both silent and sound films. It is perhaps
not the best film of either of these great Chinese actresses, but like many films
from the period, are important for historical reasons as well as for mere entertainment
value.
SPOILERS AHEAD Many catastrophes then strike one after the other: Ye's husband
dies and her little son disappears, warlords destroy the village, cheap modern toys
begin to outsell the handmade works Ye and her equally gifted daughter create. The
family move then to the outskirts of Shanghai and the story moves forward ten years.
In 1932, the Japanese attack Shanghai and bring further disaster to the family. Finally
mistaking New Year firecrackers for bombs, Ye, driven to madness, urges those around
her to take up arms against the imaginary enemies. SPOILERS END
This movie was made
after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and these events play a pivotal role in
the action as well as the spirit of the film, especially its frequent and undisguised
nationalistic appeals, including one directly to the audience! As for the title,
apart from indicating the nature of the main character's business, as the plot moves
forward, it seems to suggest that the characters themselves are mere toys in the
hands of Fate…..£7.49
Live Wire, The (1925)
Starring Johnny Hines. Runtime: 85 mins…..£7.49
Living Corpse, The (1929)
Starring Vsevolod Pudovkin and directed by Fyodor Otsep. Runtime: 120 mins……£7.49
Livingstone (1925)
A British silent film, written, directed by and starring M.A.Wetherell. The story of Samuel Livingstone and his work to stop slavery and educate the people of Africa. Beautifully photographed on location…..£7.49
The Lodger (1926) **UPGRADE – Improved longer print **
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp and Molcolm Keen, this film has a runtime of 89 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.
Plot: A serial killer known as "The Avenger" is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Bunting's daughter is a blonde model and is seeing one of the detectives assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect he may be the avenger.
Trivia: The movie is based on the book of the same name. It was the first book to offer a solution to the Jack The Ripper killings. The book is supposedly based on an anecdote told to the painter Walter Sickert by the landlady when renting a room; she said that the previous tenant had been Jack the Ripper.
Review: In a quiet British town, a serial killer known as The Avenger is on the loose.
Noted for his partiality for blondes, The Avenger has killed seven women-
Ivor Novello, as the title character, is a quiet and mysterious
man who appears at a boarding house soon after the seventh murder is committed. The
landlady reluctantly allows him to stay in an upstairs room, but becomes suspicious
when she notices the young man turning over all the portraits of blonde-
Although The Lodger isn't Hitchcock's first feature, it most certainly
is the film that launched his career as the "Master of Suspense." Noticeable Hitchcock
trademarks are apparent here-
Loosely
based on the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper, this silent thriller is fast-
Lonesome (1928)
Starring Glenn Tryon. Logo throughout. Very good print. Now available with English intertitles!! Runtime 64 mins…..£7.49
Long Pants (1927)
Starring Harry Langdon. Runtime: 58 mins…..£7.49
Lookout Girl, The (1928)
Starring Jacqueline Logan and Ian Keith. Runtime: 55 mins…..£7.49
Looping the Loop aka Die Todesschleife (1928)
Directed by Arthur Robison and starring Werner Krauss, Jenny Juno, Warwick Bond, Gina Manès, Sig Arno and Lydia Pochetina, this film has a runtime of 128 mins and the print quality is excellent. This is a German silent with German intertitles and hardcoded English subtitles.
Plot: Botto, a world-
Review: Recently restored, a story of a clown and how women can't love a men that laughs. Knowing this comes from late 1920s silent German cinema, with prominent actors, and takes place at the circus, you know the quality is going to be high. And while it's mainly a troubled love affair, the attention to visual detail and all the layers of emotion thrown into this romance, this is a very welcome restoration. A movie well deserving of a wider audience and one that fans of silent movies will love. I sure did!....£7.49
Lorna Doone (1922)
Starring Madge Bellamy.
Review: I've seen 4 versions of this story and this silent classic starring John Bowers and Madge Bellamy is by far the best, much more poignant than the modern A+E version! The action is great, the romantic characters obtain your sympathy immediately, and the cinematography for a 1922 film is outstanding. This must have been a real epic in its day... £7.49
Lorraine of the Lions (1925) **UPGRADE – Improved print**
Directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Norman Kerry, Patsy Ruth Miller and Fred Humes, this film has a runtime of 68 mins and the print quality is good.
Plot: A ship carrying a touring circus troupe sinks at sea, and Lorraine, a young girl, is washed up on a deserted island. Her only companion is a gorilla from the circus, Bimi, who raises her as its own. Several years later Lorraine's wealthy grandfather, who has hired a psychic to help find her, is led by the psychic to Lorraine's island, and she and Bimi are taken back to "civiliation" in San Francisco, but things don't work out exactly as planned.
Review: Odd mix of adventure, the occult, and broad comedy make for unsure viewing.
Patsy Ruth Miller stars as the heiress who is shipwrecked as a child while traveling
with her parents and a circus. The child and many animals wash up on a jungle island
where she grows to adulthood.
Meanwhile, he rich grandfather in San Francisco spends
12 years seeking news from a bunch of phony mediums about the fate of his granddaughter,
until one day he meets a fellow occultist (Norman Kerry) who is able to break through
the spirit world and find out where Lorraine is.
Meanwhile, the old man's distant
relative and his shady lawyer are trying to bilk the old man and keep him from finding
the proper heir so they can collect the estate.
They all set off in the old man's
yacht and find the wild child, who is protected from harm by a loyal gorilla (Fred
Humes). Kerry and Miller hit it off right away, and they all sail back to San Francisco
with the gorilla.
The granddaughter is introduced to society but the gorilla goes
berserk and causes pandemonium amongst the refined types.
Patsy Ruth Miller and Norman
Kerry are wasted in cardboard roles, and the production values are pretty cheap.
Fred Humes plays the gorilla and would soon embark on a minor career as a cowboy
star at Universal. …..£7.49
Lost Batallion (1919)
World War 1 battle reconstruction with the parts played by survivors from the actual battle. Runtime: 67 mins
Lost Treasure aka Tesouro Perdido (1927)
Directed by and starring Humberto Mauro and also featuring Lola Lys, Bruno Mauro, Alzir Arruda and Pascoal Ciodaro, this film has a runtime of 80 mins. The print quality of this film is Poor at worst and below par at best. I have added English subtitles to the Potuguese intertitles of this Brazilian silent for anyone who wishes to see it in spite of it being in bad shape.
Plot: A group of bandits look for a treasure map.
Lost World, The (1925)
Starring Wallace Beery and featuring, for the day some terrific special effects.
Plot: Explorer Professor Challenger is taking quite a beating in the London press
thanks to his claim that living dinosaurs exist in the far reaches of the Amazon.
Newspaper reporter Edward Malone learns that this claim originates from a diary given
to him by fellow explorer Maple White's daughter, Paula. Malone's paper funds an
expedition to rescue Maple White, who has been marooned at the top of a high plateau.
Joined by renowned hunter John Roxton, and others, the group goes to South America,
where they do indeed find a plateau inhabited by pre-
Lost Express, The (1926)
Starring Helen Holmes.
Review: During the teens, Helen Holmes was a star of serials in the Pearl White/Perils
of Pauline vein, having a series called THE HAZARDS OF HELEN. She made a number of
"railroad action" films during her starring period, which ended in the late 1920's.
When this film was made in 1926, we should remember that she would have been well-
Lottery Man, The (1916)
Starring Oliver Hardy, the film has a runtime of 65 mins and the print quality is good…..£7.49
Love (1927) **Improved Print**
Directed by Edmund Goulding and John Gilbert and starring Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Geoge Fawcett, Emily Fitzroy, Brandon Hurst and Phillippe De Lacy, this film based on the Leo Tolstoy novel Anna Karenina, has a runtime of 82 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.
Plot: In Czarist Russia, Anna Karenina falls in love with the dashing military officer Count Vronsky and abandons her husband and child to become Vronsky's mistress. Tragedy ensues when Vronsky chooses his military career over Anna
Review: Did you know Greta Garbo played Anna Karenina twice? I didn't know, but once
I found out, I rented the silent version at once. It's not the greatest story out
there, but it is a classic, and for some reason, I watch every version I can get
my hands on.
This one has a different title, and for good reason: it's quite different.
It's contemporary-
Love And Burglars (1921)
Directed by Lau Lauritzen and starring Aage Bendixen, Osvald Helmuth, Axel Hultman and Harry Komdrup, this film has a runtime of 30 mins and the print quality is excellent. This Swedish silent film has English intertitles.
Plot: The merchant Blomberg is out in the countryside with his daughters and housekeeper
when the idyll is suddenly shattered. The daughters head off to have fun with two
young guys from Copenhagen who are on a road trip, and the vagabonds Pat and Patachon
seize the chance to interfere for their own gain. The preserved material is the original
Swedish version titled ‘Landsvägsriddare’, translated to ‘Tyvepak’ in Danish. The
film was a huge economic success to the then Swedish owned production company Palladium.
It is the first film, in which Pat and Patachon appear as a team, although not in
their final constellation: As always, Pat is played by Carl Schenstrøm, whereas Patachon
is embodied by Aage Bendixen instead of Harald Madsen. There is another ‘Tyvepak’
from 1915, which is directed by Lau Lauritzen Sr. as well. This film is a heavily
revised version of the 1915-
Love And Duty (1931)
Starring Lingyu Ruan, the film has a runtime of 151 mins and English intertitles, The print quality is not great, but watchable…..£7.49
Love and Journalism aka Kärlek och journalistic (1916)
Directed by Mauritz Stiller, the film has a runtime of 40 mins and has English intertitles. The print quality is very good…..£7.49
Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em (1926)
Starring Evelyn Brent and Louise Brooks.
Review: Well, it's a movie with Louise Brooks, so we're supposed to talk about Louise Brooks. She plays a major supporting role as Evelyn Brent's sister, lifting the money from the dance fund for a flyer on the horses and, like most of her roles in this period, sleepwalks through the part, at least until she gets to the dance, where she does a few seconds of a fast Charleston and smiles. Wham! Lord, the camera loves her. It's a masquerade party, so she's dressed like a showgirl, while all the other women wear long skirts. She always seems out of place in these roles. I spend my time looking at her and wondering why she isn't on a chorus line or some fat millionaire's arm. Ah, the joys of miscasting. Evelyn Brent is wonderful, but she is only the star of the movie and she is certainly photographed to her benefit. Still, the difference in acting styles is absolutely clear: Miss Brent knows how to show her character's emotions on the screen, while Louise Brooks comes off as no more than a party girl….£7.49
Love Everlasting (1913)
Starring Lyda Borelli this is an excellent print of the film with English intertitles and a runtime of 77 mins…..£7.49
Love Expert, The (1920)
Starring Constance Talmadge and Natalie Talmadge……£7.49
Love Flower, The (1920) **UPGRADE – Improved print**
Directed by DW Griffith and starring Richard Barthelmess, Carol Dempster, George MacQuarrie, Anders Randolf, Florence Short and Crauford Kent, this film has a runtime of 104 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Plot: A man murders his wife's lovers, escapes with his daughter to the South Pacific. A detective pursues him, joined by a young man who eventually falls in love with the daughter. Review: "The Love Flower" kept me on the edge of my seat with suspense. What a great film! Miss Dempster was very enigmatic and strangely intoxicating as the young daughter who is willing to kill the police detective who is after her father for murder. They hide out on a South Sea island for years, but the detective pursues them to the end.
Review: "The Love Flower" kept me on the edge of my seat with suspense. What a great
film! Miss Dempster was very enigmatic and strangely intoxicating as the young daughter
who is willing to kill the police detective who is after her father for murder. They
hide out on a South Sea island for years, but the detective pursues them to the end.
Richard
Barthelmess was a delight to watch as the young sailor who is tricked into bringing
the detective to the island. Richard's face was literally gorgeous. No wonder Griffith
preferred him over other male actors in his stock company. Griffith's personal attraction
to Miss Dempster was also apparent, especially in the beach and water scenes with
her scantily dressed outfits revealing ... well, I'll leave you guessing there.
If
you are a fan of D.W. Griffith's work don't miss this film! It is his most contemporary
and one of his most fascinating movie projects. ...£7.49
Love Gamble, The (1925)
Starring Lilian Rich. Very good print. Runtime 74 mins…..£7.49
Love Light, The (1921)
Starring Mary Pickford.
Plot: Angela maintains a coastal lighthouse in Italy, where she awaits the return of her brothers from the war. She learns they are casualties and takes solace in the arms of an American sailor washed ashore. However, the sailor turns out to be a German spy, and she is torn between her love for him and her realization that he is part of the enemy force that has destroyed her family.
Review: With her love off to war, a young woman operates the lighthouse near her
home on the coast of Italy. One day, finding an American seaman washed up on the
shore, she takes him home & nurses him. Romance blossoms and they marry. But little
does she know that THE LOVE LIGHT she beams to him from atop her tower every midnight
will have tragic consequences she cannot begin to imagine... While traveling in Italy
with her husband, Frances Marion met a woman whose story during The Great War was
so compelling that she knew at once it would make a great movie. Marion was a screenwriter
on the ascendant and her best friend was motion picture star Mary Pickford. Little
Mary, who liked the idea, not only had Frances write it, but direct the film as well.
It turned out beautifully, with Pickford -
Love Me And The World is Mine (1927)**Danish only intertitles**
Directed by Ewald Andre DuPont and starring Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Betty Compson and Henry B.Walthall, this film has a runtime of 81 mins and the print quality is very good to excellent.
The film has Danish only intertitles.
Plot: In Old Vienna in the days prior to The Great War, a beautiful woman, Hannerl,
has her choice of two men. The first is a dashing young army officer who can provide
blazing romance and little long-
Review: Last Kerry-
Love Never Dies (1921)
Starring Madge Bellamy.
Plot: John and Tilly's happy marriage is ruined when Tilly's father finds out about
the scandalous past of John's mother. John, unaware of his father-
Review: This may not be one of the best silent films ever made, nor is it one of the best made by the great King Vidor, but it is still vastly entertaining and visually exciting. Lloyd Hughes is the hero, and he's an amazingly beautiful man. He's the son of a prostitute and hides this from his girlfriend, the sweet Madge Bellamy. But after they get married... 7.49
The Love of Jeanne Ney (1927)
Excellent German silent directed by GW Pabst.
Plot: In the Crimea, the Reds and the Whites aren't done fighting, and Jeanne discovers that the man she loves is a Bolshevik (when he kills her father). Penniless, she returns to Paris where she works for her uncle. Soon after, her lover Andreas is in France to organize the sailors in Toulon. So also is a thief, traitor, and libertine, Khalibiev, who wants to seduce Jeanne. His schemes, Jeanne and Andreas's naivete, and a lost diamond bring the lovers to the brink of tragedy... £7.49
Love of Maria Bonde, The (1918) **UPGRADE – Now With English Subtitles**
Directed by Emmerich Hanus and starring Martha Novelly, this film has a runtime of 48 mins and boasts a very good tinted print. The film has German intertitles with English subtitles.
Plot: Maria Bonde is the object of affection of baron Fedja Bronikow from Sofia, Bulgaria. However, Maria is actually in love with her sister’s fiancé, Martin Steinert, who reciprocates her feelings. Her sister Gunne is a circus rider like her fiancé and very ill. After a breakdown, Maria performs instead of her sister with Martin at the circus Panelli. He confesses his love to her and they elope. When Gunne discovers this betrayal, she dies brokenhearted. After giving birth to her first child, Maria is in bad health. When her younger sister Anella begins to practice the circus act with Martin, she worries that history will repeat itself...£7.49
The Love of Sunya (1927)
Starring Gloria Swanson.
Plot: In ancient Egypt, an evil priest drove a pure maiden to suicide. In today's reincarnation, to free himself the priest must find and help the maiden...now a young American singing student, Sunya Ashling, who is torn between pursuing a career in European opera, going to South America with fiancée Paul, or saving her father from financial ruin by marrying wealthy Robert Goring. The ancient priest, reincarnated as a gypsy vagabond, grants her visions of her future life if she should follow each of the three roads. Does each have a fatal drawback?...£7.49
Love One Another aka Gezeichneten, Die (1922) **UPGRADE** Now with English intertitles
Directed by Carl Dreyer. This is an excellent print of the film and is now available with English intertitles and has a runtime of 96 mins
Plot: Based on the 1918 novel 'Elsker hverandre' by Aage Madelung, the film follows various lives, one of which is Jewish girl Hanne Liebe, as she grows up, and experiences the pains of living as a Jew in Russia, leading to a revolution. …..£7.49
Love Or Justice? (1917)
Directed by Walter Edwards, written by Lambert Hillyer and starring Louise Glaum, Charles Gunn, Jack Richardson and J.Barney Sherry, this film has a runtime of 64 mins and the print quality is excellent.
Plot: Promising young lawyer Jack Dunn,, becomes a victim of drugs and loses his standing in the legal world. He passes his idle hours in the slums where he meets Nan Bishop, an underworld figure. Nan's influence helps to make a man out of Dunn and with her help he breaks his dependence on drugs and is successful in obtaining a position as a criminal lawyer. Years later, they meet again in a courtroom. Nan has been falsely accused of murder and Dunn is the prosecuting attorney. Learning that Dunn's professional future depends on his winning the case, Nan pleads guilty, but, at the last minute, the real criminal is discovered and Nan is cleared of the crime. She then accepts Dunn's offer of marriage and together they look forward to a happy future.
Review: Louise Glaum is a tough egg, a leading light of the underworld. Charles Gunn
-
It's a potboiler from Thomas Ince Productions,
with a script by Lambert Hillyer -
Love Story of Ann ThomasThe Maid of Cefn Ydfa, The (1914)
Directed by William Haggar and starring Will Fyffe, Will Haggar Jr and Jenny Haggar, this film has a runtime of 34 mins and the print quality is very good.
Review: This film was made in 1912/13 by William Haggar and his son Will Haggar Junior, using Will Junior's theatrical company, including Will's wife, Jenny Lindon, as Ann Thomas (the Maid), Will Junior as her lover, Will Hopkins, Will Fyffe, the future Music Hall star, as Lewis Bach, and Jennie Haggar as Ann's maid Gwenny. The film was made entirely out of doors, in locations at and near Pontardulais. It was given its first performance in Aberdare in December 1914. It is an excellent record of an Edwardian theatrical company performing its party piece, in silence, but taking advantage of the extra dimension of film. Last reviewed in Cardiff in 1938, the film was put away in a family cupboard, rediscovered in 1984, and conserved. 38 minutes out of its original 50 minutes survives.
Info: The traditional Welsh folk tale of the thwarted romance between a thatcher
and an heiress in 17th-
Love's Crucible aka Vem Dömer (1922)
Directed by Victor Sjostrom and starring Jenny Hasselqvist, Ivan Hedqvist, Tore Svennberg and Gosta Ekman, this film has a runtime of 87 mins and the print quality is good to very good. This is a Swedish silent with Swedish intertitles and English subtitles.
Review: Vem Dömer was Victor Sjöström’s follow up to The Phantom Carriage and was
a lavish production premiered on New Year’s Day in 1922 accompanied by the Red Kvarn
Orchestra and a publicity campaign including an illustrated book of Hjalmar Bergman’s
story. Sjöström co-
I’ve raved about Jenny Hassselqvist before and she gives a great performance here
with her ballet dancer’s physicality under-
The film is in dark contrast to Sjöström’s al fresco classics and is largely studio-
Loves of Carmen, The (1927)
Starring Dolores Del Rio and Victor McLaglen……£7.49
Love’s Prisoner (1919)
Starring Olive Thomas, this film has a runtime of 46 mins and the print quality is scratchy but ok…..£7.49
Lowland Cinderella, A (1920)
Starring Joan Morgan. Excellent print quality. Runtime: 63 mins
Lucky Boy (1928)
Starring George Jessel and Gwen Lee. Excellent print clarity but will some mottling in places. This is a part silent film with quite a lot of dialogue and songs. Runtime: 78 mins…..£7.49
Lucky Devil, The (1925)
Directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Richard Dix, Esther Ralston, Edna May Oliver and Thomas Findley, this film has a runtime of 53 mins and the print quality is good to very good.
Review: I watched a thoroughly enjoyable Richard Dix silent today, "The Lucky Devil"
(1925), with Esther Ralston and Edna May Oliver. If one looks at the story of the
rise of Dix in pictures, it comes with the death of Wallace Reid, the most popular
of all matinée idols of the teens and first couple of years of the twenties. Reid's
forte was making fast moving shows usually about fast moving automobiles. These were
good comedies usually with a good dollop of drama and adventure and some thrills
thrown in for good measure. Dix took over the reins of such films and made several,
meanwhile expanding his repertoire to include such silent masterpieces as "The Ten
Commandments" (1923), directed by Cecil B. De Mille and "The Vanishing American"
(1925). "The Lucky Devil" could almost be a follow-
Good show with all the ingredients of gentle comedy mixed with some rough-
Lucky Lady, The (1926)
Starring Greta Nissen and Lionel Barrymore…..£7.49
Lucky Star (1929)
Starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, directed by Frank Borzage.
Review: This is one of the most perfectly crafted of all silent masterpieces, and a further evidence that sound was unnecessary to produce such poignant and moving images. I was amazed how extremely haunting and luminous this movie was. There is no greater degree of luminosity; each scene is a lush, radiant extension of a romantic painting. The brief war scenes alone surpass those in "7th Heaven" and the ethereal romantic moments between Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor match theirs in "Street Angel". I love that scene in which Farrel tells Gaynor why he's on the wheelchair. The photography and story may owe a lot to Murnau's epochal "Sunrise" but most of the material is Borzage's own....£7.49
Lucretia Lombard (1923)
Starring Norma Shearer and Monte Blue……£7.49
Lucrezia Borgia (1922)
Starring Conrad Veidt. Very good print. Runtime 129 mins…..£7.49
Ludwig II, King of Bavaria (1930)
Directed by William Dieterle. Runtime: 111 mins…..£7.49
Lure of Crooning Water, The (1920)
This British silent film starring Guy Newall and Ivy Duke has a runtime of 104 mins and the print quality is good to very good. Plot: A London actress collapses on stage and is sent by her doctor to stay in the country with a farmer and his wife. But when she starts an affair with the farmer, the idyllic life at "Crooning Water" is threatened with tragedy
Review: Ivy Duke is a minx! Here she plays an actress who is stressing out due to
over-
She ingratiates herself
with his wife and teaches his four-
Ivy
and Guy, as ever, are a winning combo and some of their love scenes are startlingly
erotic -
There's an interesting flashback
scene where she's plucked out of a milliner's shop by a theatrical agent and put
on the stage, which apparently is an explanation of her shenanigans with Guy. As
the doctor tells her "You'd flirt with the shadows of men outside a tobacconist's
window". She has to give him up in the end, of course, he being wed and all, but
there are plenty of other men sniffing around...
If you thought British films were
lacking in emotion then think again……£7.49
Lure of Drink, The (1915)
Directed by and starring A.E.Coleby and also starring Blanche Forsythe, Roy Travers and Maud Yates, this British silent film has a runtime of 37 mins and the print quality is very good.
Review: Early American film-
By the early 1910s, both national
markets expanded for greater profits, but remnants of earlier attitudes remained,
and this one definitely offers that message, with its posters on the wall proclaiming
that Britain needs volunteers for the War and the ruinous effect on home and health
of drink. Travers definitely overacts in the throes of delirium tremens, as does
Blanche Forsythe. As Goldwyn was said to have said, if you want to send a message,
use Western Union, and this four-
Lure of the Circus (1918)
Starring Eddie Pollo, this film has a runtime of 51 mins and the print quality is ok…..£7.49
Lure of The Range (1924)
Starring Dick Hatton…..£7.49
Luther (1928)
With Hans Kyser & Eugen Klopfer. Excellent print. Narration. Runtime: 75 mins…..£7.49
Ready to buy? Email your choices to silentfilmdvd@gmail.com and we will send you a paypal invoice. We also accept payment by cheque within the UK.
Prices including p&p are as follows:
Within UK
1 disk £7.49
3 disks £20.00
5 disks £30.00
10 disks £50.00
10 + disks £5.00 per disk
Outside UK
1 disk £8.99
3 disks £20.00
5 disks £30.00
10 disks £50.00
10+ disks £5.00 per disk
File transfer
£5.00 per title
If you want more information on any of the titles then please email us, we'll be happy to help.
Please remember if you need a film to be NTSC to make this clear when ordering
Marion Davies
Silent Films L
Clara Kimball Young
Email: silentfilmdvd@gmail.com
