Silent Movie Reviews
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920
4/5
I caught this gem once many years ago in a special showing at a theater, but that was back in my teens and I didn't remember much of it. So I rented it and my son and I watched it yesterday. I have to say, despite distractingly weird sets, terrible overacting, and a very predictable plot that is about as shocking as "Psycho" is today, it is truly eerie and well worth seeing. What I really loved was the freedom of expression and the "innocence" of it all, if that makes any sense. Truly a timeless gem that should be seen by any film buff.
Of course, my next thought was that Tim Burton needs to be cut off from this movie, especially after "The Nightmare Before Christmas" which almost copies the sets verbatim! You can clearly see "Caligari's" influence in ALL his films, most notably "Edward Scissorhands", "Sleepy Hollow", and "Beetlejuice".
Clara Bow's "It" 1927
5/5
I have to say that with every silent movie I see, I enjoy the genre more and more. I rented this one because it came highly recommended for both story and acting, and was Clara Bow's breakout role (though her breakout sure didn't last long, I was sad to see when I read her bio on IMDb).
What a wonderful movie in every sense of the word! There was a couple of places where a bit more explanation and less editing would have helped, but it wasn't hard to catch the gist of the story and follow it. The cinematography was far advanced for that time, and when I wasn't too involved in the story I did notice that the camera work seemed very advanced. The long shots of the interior of the department store are just fascinating, and the sets used for Betty's street and flat are wonderfully done and dressed. The film has also been incredibly well restored, much better than any of the others I've seen.
I have to admit, I got so caught up in the movie that I didn't notice a lot more of the technical details! Clara Bow was just amazing and adorable in her role and didn't put a foot wrong, William Austin was very funny as put-up sidekick 'Monty' Montgomery, and Antonio Moreno had plenty of "it" (sex appeal) to be the leading man, Cyrus Waltham Jr. , although he didn't do much other than either look angry or longing.
The only thing that occasionally threw me was the men wearing eyeliner and lipstick, especially in the close-ups. I thought that Monty was a clown, and I mean a CIRCUS clown, in his first scene! And Clara's white face paint occasionally contrasted with her clearly flesh-colored neck, but they were only minor distractions.
I highly recommend this movie for anyone who loves a good romantic comedy and isn't put off by the format. It's only 77 minutes long, and I could have easily watched another hour.
The Mysterious Lady 1928
4/5
Although I've seen quite a few silent movies since I first discovered my interest in them five or so years ago, I hadn't yet seen a Greta Garbo until this one. I much prefer Buster Keaton/Clara Bow comedies or the Mary Pickford/Gish sisters dramas, and I knew that the Garbo films were much darker. But curiosity got the better of me and this is among Garbo's higher-rated early ones so I decided to watch it first.
"The Mysterious Lady" has a pretty straightforward plot: lady spy falls in love with the soldier she's betrayed, then makes everything right in the end. The plot holes are big enough to drive a six-in-hand through, but this movie is worth watching just for Garbo. Her every movement is mesmerizing, she clearly owns the screen and makes you watch her. She is just luminous and it's clear why she became such a huge star. In all the movies of all types that I've watched I've never seen a screen presence like Garbo--only Hedy Lamarr and Ingrid Bergman even come close--and don't think I ever will.
There were two downsides to this movie, however. One was the bad quality of the print; next to "Metropolis" this is the most damaged movie I've seen so far. The artifacts in the beginning are so bad in parts that you can barely make out what's going on, though the film does clean up nicely about 15 minutes in and is almost clear by the end. There are no missing scenes or title cards, though, which is a bonus. It does look like parts of this movie were nearly lost, and I'm glad they were able to save as much of it as they did even if it makes it a bit difficult to watch in the beginning.
Second was the absolutely awful and out-of-period music. It did NOT sound like a silent movie score at all, and really made it difficult to concentrate on the movie. Next to the alternate "New Age" soundtrack for "Nosferatu" this is the absolute worst music I've heard during a silent movie, and unfortunately there was no other soundtrack available for it. I would even consider listening to different music while the movie is playing, it's that bad.
Overall not the best silent I've seen, but well worth watching for Garbo despite the problems with print and soundtrack and highly recommended for silent movie fans.
Sally of the Sawdust 1925
5/5
As silents go, this one is a tad long at 1:53 (it is a D.W Griffith, which explains the length) but well worth taking the time to watch it.
W.C. Fields and Carol Dempster, as the adoptive father and orphaned girl, have a wonderful chemistry that lights up the screen when they're both on it. Sally doesn't know that McGargle isn't her real father, and the scenes where she spiritedly defends his gambling and other shady dealings are just a delight. She embodies the bright, spirited, and strong (without being too shrill) type of female character often also portrayed by Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, and the Gish sisters in these early movies. Although the story seems straightforward, there are a couple of interesting plot twists that kept my interest.
Fields shines here as the shady carnival barker with a heart of gold when it comes to Sally but not the most honest person on the planet. Dempster does, in certain scenes (most notably in the courtroom) seem a bit old for this part, but she's so charming that it's easy to ignore that.
This film, like many of Griffith's others, is a bit light on dialog cards but I got so engrossed in the story that I barely noticed and had no trouble following it. There are some unusual scene cuts and editing, where it seems like they cut the film to go back several seconds before the previous scene ended, but luckily there aren't a lot of those.
One thing that I did notice is that there are several African-Americans featured as supporting characters, one as a shopkeeper who helps chase down the escaped Sally, and they weren't treated as bumbling comic relief or by white men in blackface--something notable in a movie of this era. Overall, a truly wonderful silent that shouldn't be missed by a fan of the genre.
The Navigator 1924
4/5
Yet another wonderful Keaton silent, and though while not one of his best it's certainly worth seeing for Keaton and/or silent movie fans. A cute if improbable story that is well-acted by both leads; since it's mostly just the two of them, they have to carry the movie and do a fine job of it. Very interesting cinematography and underwater photography for the time, although I still don't know how our "heroes" knew that the spear-shaking natives were cannibals from half a mile away! I also recommend watching both short films at the end, again not Keaton's best but well worth seeing.
Tess of the Storm Country 1922
4/5
First of all, do let me note that this movie has a quite strong religious theme running through it that I didn't expect. That said, this is a wonderful silent film, with the usual outstanding acting from Mary Pickford and both great laughs and tear-inducing lows in the usual rags-to-riches story so prevalent in the 1920s. Mary's portrayal of Tess is just incredible, from her wild-child opening scenes to watching her mature into a lovely young woman accepting responsibility. The subplots regarding the hilltopper sister and her "embarrassing problem" (which I didn't get at first even after running the movie back to watch the attempted suicide scene again) was very modern for its day.
If you like silents, I highly recommend this one, you won't regret it even if the constant preaching may get a bit old after while.
Seven Chances 1925
5/5
Although Keaton's "The General" is still my favorite of his movies and Clara Bow's "It" is my favorite of all silent films, this one is definitely a close third. Take the time to sit through the slow beginning because you won't regret it at all; the laughs come hard and fast once the brides head for the church. An absolutely adorable Keaton with lots of the amazing stunts he was famous for doing himself. I also watched both shorts; the first was cute and worth seeing but the second is forgettable. If you like silents in general and Keaton in particular, you won't want to miss "Seven Chances".
Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley 1918
4/5
One of the better silents I've seen despite a lack of dialog cards which can be confusing if you're not used to silents. Quite a bit of dialog happens without being explained although I had no problem following what was going on. The print was not one of the better ones with quite a bit of jumpiness and artifacts--but the movie was so intriguing and Mary Pickford as Amarilly so engaging that I barely noticed it after a few minutes. It's a good story that isn't completely predictable with excellent acting from all and better sets than often found in movies of this time.
The short, The Dream (1911), was interesting to see that time period though nowhere near as good as the feature. Still, worth a look though I still wonder, what was the deal with the drapes over the door??
The General 1927
5/5
Silent or not, this is simply a great movie. It's even more amazing when you realize how much it must have cost to make it and how some of the stunts were done back then. Most of the stars did their own stunt work and Keaton especially. The slapstick in this film is the best I've ever seen, but that's not all there is to the movie. The story is great, the acting is outstanding, and the comedy has you laughing your hind end off. The way the plot twists and turns will have you roaring in appreciation. This is one that I've got to own.
As both a Civil War and a budding silent film buff, this movie worked on all levels for me. Considering it was made about 70 years after the war, there were certainly people still alive who remembered it, and I kept thinking about that as I watched. I wonder if we might not have heard the REAL rebel yell (not the yee-haw one) that has been lost to time if we'd had sound in this movie?
If you're interested in silent films but haven't seen any, I'd say see "It" with Clara Bow, then this one. If you're a Civil War buff but don't care for silents, still see this one. Last but not least, if you're familiar with silent but haven't seen this one yet, trust me, there's good reason that it was Keaton's personal favorite.
(Later note: I saw this on the big screen at Detroit’s 1920s-era Redford Theater with live organ music accompaniment and it was even better.)
Go West 1925
3/5
I haven't watched a silent film in a while despite it being one of my favorite genres, and figured that one of the few Buster Keatons that I haven't seen was just the thing. Although I enjoy Arbuckle/Chaplin and the like, Keaton rules for me; his landmark film "The General" is my favorite silent movie side-by-side with Clara Bow's "It".
But his movies, even the better pre-MGM ones, are hit-and-miss and, I'm sad to say, this one is at least 50% miss. It has its moments, that much is for certain, but out of the 10-12 Keaton films I've seen it's probably around #7 or 8 just barely above the blackface ones. Like "Seven Chances", this one is very slow to start but once it gets going it's more amusing than not, and did have plenty of LOL parts even if they seemed to be far between. Runtime isn't bad at 1:09, although with the two shorts the entire disk runs 1:48.
The base story is that a hapless and luckless young man by the likely name of Friendless sells all his belongings in Illinois and hops a train to make a name for himself Out West. After some mildly amusing adventures he stumbles onto a large ranch that happens to be short a hand, but Friendless is a city boy and when told to milk a cow, he puts the bucket beneath its udders and sits on a stool at its head and waits for something to happen (this technique, BTW, works better on the chickens). One Jersey cow, Brown Eyes--very noticeable against the Herefords and Texas Longhorns!--has a rock in its foot and when Friendless removes it, Brown Eyes becomes his pal and the two manage to have some, er, interesting adventures around the ranch.
But Brown Eyes is due for slaughter since she's stopped giving milk and it's up to Friendless to save her--and get the rest of the boss' cattle to market on top of it after the train they're on is stopped by outlaws. The ending, which is LOL funny, does feature Keaton in a red devil costume running through the streets of L.A. (clearly a backlot) leading the cattle to the stockyards. Geez that man could RUN, LMTY!
The only thing I found a bit odd during the stampede scenes were that the townspeople acted like the cattle were some type of vicious predator; I kept yelling at the TV, "They're just COWS, people, they won't EAT YOU!" But it does make for some good slapstick moments I have to admit, esp. the reaction when the steer licks the shaving cream off of the dozing barber shop customer.
As I said this movie has its moments, such as when Friendless ties a set of whitetail deer antlers on Brown Eyes so she can defend herself from bovine bullies, the rope ladder on the mule's saddle, the cow being parked and then riding in the car, and the various scenes of Friendless getting into trouble with or defending Brown Eyes. I'm not quite sure what they did to get that cow to follow Keaton around like a puppy but I sure bought that they were best friends.
There are two early shorts on the disk as well, "The Scarecrow" (1920) and "The Paleface" (1922), both co-starring Fatty Arbuckle. I highly recommend the former, which is a hysterically funny story about two bachelors competing for the same girl, but the latter is a sadly outdated stereotypical look at Indians--not recommended at all. I could barely sit through five minutes before I had to turn it off.
Overall, "Go West" is a silent more for the serious fan of this genre or a film student; this isn't really one for the casual viewer. I'd recommend many of Keaton's other films before this one: The General, The Navigator, Steamboat Bill Jr., Seven Chances, College, and The Boat (short) among others. But if you've seen all of those, this one is worth watching too for those amazing Keaton stunt moments and that dour face that no one did half as well ever again.
