WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[charliechaplinfan]

The General is an exceptional film, I love Buster almost as much as I love Charlie but only discovered him myself 2 years ago. My other favorites are Our Hospitality and Sherlock Jnr. All of his movies are wonderful.

Glad you're a convert

[MichiganJ]

feaito,

I'm, not quite sure what you mean by not being a fan of "comedy per-se". You list many sub-categories of comedy that you do like, most of them, in fact, except, maybe "slapstick comedy", which, granted, many silent comedies would fall under. I'm not a great fan of pure slapstick comedy, either, although they come to life much better when viewed with an audience.

But most of the silent "big three's" features are really not slapstick comedies, although they may contain elements of slapstick in them. Keaton's The General is a good case in point, where there is really little slapstick (and considerably more plot than most silent comedies).

Since you liked The General, I agree with CCF that you may also like Our Hospitality. Obviously you already have Steamboat Bill, Jr, which is also very good (and has a terrific cyclone set-piece as a finale that is pretty awe-inspiring).

You mentioned not liking Lloyd, and I wonder if you've seen any of his features (many, if not most silent comedy shorts are very much slapstick). I see many of Lloyd's features akin to Chaplin's in that he often includes sentiment in his comedies (something Keaton never did--except as satire). I would recommend The Kid Brother as a place to start with Lloyd features, if you haven't seen one already.

Langdon is one of my favorites, and his use of minimalism, with all of the slapstick going on around him, is, understandably not everyone's cup-o-tea. Still, The Strong Man is a great film, and is also very funny (and Brownlow loves it, too!)

[feaito]

Hi Alison! Thanks for the recommendations.

Hi Michigan...sometimes I write in confusing ways, sorry Yes, I wanted to mean plain "slapstick comedy". And what I also wanted to mean is that not liking slapstick comedy I don't feel the need of watching films of the big comedians. I think I might be kind of prejudiced.

I haven't seen any of Lloyd's films, save for "The Milky Way", of which I watched excerpts. Haven't seen any silent comedy of Langdon either...But I did see him in "Hallelujah I'm a Bum" (1933) and I loved his cynical character. A Great film. Jolson's finest!!

[drednm]

Harold Lloyd's Safety Last is a must for every fan of silent films. Truly one of the great films, both funny and hair-raising. Of Lloyd's talkies, I like Movie Crazy the best. It seems to comes closest to capturing Lloyd's magic in silents and also boasts the beautiful Constance Cummings.

[movieman1957]

"Speedy" is another Loyd film to check out. Lloyd isn't always as innocent as Keaton but he does a have a charm about him. "Dr. Jack" gives a good sense of that.

[drednm]

and the very funny Girl Shy

[MichiganJ]

I also think Lloyd's Movie Crazy is his best talkie, but, in my opinion, none of the talkies the big three (or four, if you include Langdon) made, were anywhere near as good as their silent films. (Chaplin's later non-tramp talkies excepted, of course).

I'm making my way through the Keaton MGM talkies (again), and, while there are certainly moments, none of them are all that good and don't represent what Keaton did in his silents. I think sound, particularly in slapstick, really hurts comedies (hearing Keaton crash to the floor when he does one of his terrific pratfalls doesn't help, and Lloyd's revisiting of Safety Last in Feet First, and his yelling "Help, help" really hurts the comedy.) Cartoony sounds, ala the Three Stooges (of which I'm not much of a fan) helps to keep the slapstick less visceral and more comedic, but it's hard to envision the big three resorting to that.

Of course Safety Last, Speedy and Girl Shy come highly recommended, too. I can't think of a Lloyd silent feature I wouldn't recommend. Keaton either. (Well, keep The Saphead for last).

[drednm]

The Keaton talkies are ok but nothing special. In Free and Easy the only part of the film I really liked was Keaton singing and dancing (with an unknown woman in a hula skirt) to the title song. Even with his raspy singing voice, it's a special moment from a consummate performer. But then the number fades into puppet schtick and is ruined.

[feaito]

I'm taking notes. Thanks for all your valuable recommendations and feedback Michigan, Chris and Drednm.

[JackFavell]

I don't want to interrupt the comedy conversation here, especially because I am a huge Keaton fan. I have never been able to watch his talkies all the way through, because I cannot stand to see his immense talent going to waste. I recommend his silents, noting Our Hospitality, The Navigator, Sherlock Jr. - oh well just watch them all. Of his short films, my favorites are One Week, and Cops, and The Balloonatic.

Anyway, I just watched A Kiss For Cinderella, the most charming, delightful film I think I have ever seen, outside of Lubitsch. I have been waiting to see this movie since I was a young teen, after reading about it in a book listing the best silent films of all time. I must say it was well worth waiting for. Although the film and some scenes were quite mottled due to age and poor storage, the story and performances kept me entranced from beginning to end. I can only imagine some of the things I missed due to the degradation of the film. It's a shame - a real shame.

Herbert Brenon is a wonderful, unsung director. His version of the J.M. Barrie play moves lightly along, starting with an intimate prologue and segueing into a grand and gloriously surreal ballroom scene, in which the queen sits eating a banana, the throne platform rocks back and forth and has subway handles attached, and the prince is named Hard-to-Please. None of this takes away from the splendor of the ball itself. Cinderella's pumpkin coach and six white horses grow before our eyes, and drives right up through the clouds into the very ballroom itself! The scale of the scene is magnificent, with neverending marble floors, staircases and a huge cast dressed in lovely if somewhat odd costumes. I imagine that up until the Wizard of Oz, no more magical fairy tale had been filmed. Even the scenes in the more realistic, modern prologue have a Maxfield Parrish feeling to them, such as the poor orphans that our heroine rescues popping up out of their sugar crate beds, which are hung on the wall of her poor dwelling.

I cannot speak highly enough of Betty Bronson, whose performance really shone. Without cloying sentimentality, she created an ingenuous street urchin or waif character who won my heart completely. She allowed the film to elicit pathos, rather than trying to force that emotion. She was a brave and resolute little soul, with a touch of the kind of madness that we all wish we had... the ability to believe in fairy tales so strongly that her life is changed by it. Her Cinderella was charming and a bit saucy, and she made me want to give her a hug. Henry Vibart was a wonderful Mr. Bodie, all nervous energy and wistful in his old age. He seemed right at home dancing with the children and reminded me of Mr. Dick in David Copperfield, in that he seemed a bit off kilter, but in a good way. As the stoic and rather plodding English bobby, Tom Moore was charming..... his transformation from the ultra-serious and dull witted policeman (he actually writes the name Cinderella in his little notebook as a possible suspect!) to the love smitten, goodhearted whimsical man at the end of the film was wonderful. His reaction on finding out that the little waif was not a hardened criminal but instead a loving guardian to some war orphans was a lovely moment, underplayed nicely. I always like to see an actor who will look down modestly, instead of grandly emoting a tender scene.

If you can find a copy of this film, and can put up with the terrible disintegration of this small masterpiece, I highly recommend it.

[drednm]

Thanks for the review of A Kiss for Cinderella. I have this but have not watched it yet. I really like the whimsical Peter Pan, which was in great shape. Luckily I'm pretty tolerant about watching less-than-perfect silents. I'll try to get tot this one this coming weekend.

[JackFavell]

Drednm-

I hope you do, it really charmed me.... the subtitles at the beginning are really funny and create quite a mystery. I am assuming they are from the play, but who knows?

[charliechaplinfan]

I feel like you about Buster, JackFavell. So much talent, it's a shame MGM wasted a lot of what they got, I know it's more complicated but it's just a waste. The Cameraman and Spite Marriage were great films, I can understand MGM being nervous about one of their biggest stars doing the kind of stunts that Buster liked to do.

[phil noir]

I've just watched Grand Hotel (1932), and in the little ten minute documentary that was also on the disc, it said that Buster Keaton was originally scheduled to play the Lionel Barrymore part, i.e.: the downtrodden clerk who's told he has a fatal illness and wants to live it up before it's too late.

How wonderful Buster would have been in this role - and what a shame he was never given the opportunity. (Joan Crawford and Buster swanning out of the hotel lobby at the end of the film - there's a movie couple I would have liked to see!)

[drednm]

Wow that's a new one. Keaton in the Lionel Barrymore role? I can't believe MGM was ever that creative in its thinking. I have always thought the John Barrymore role would have been perfect for John Gilbert, but we all know why that would never have happened.... still a terrific film and still (I believe) the only film to win the Oscar for best film without having a single acting nomination!