WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[Robert Regan]

Wendy, I am so pleased that someone has even heard of Herbert Brenon, let alone seen some of his movies. I've seen very few, and Beau Geste is a favorite, as is also Wellman's remake (doesn't Donald O'Connor wish that he had grown up to look like Gary Cooper?). I have love Foreign Legion stories since I was a child, and one of my biggest disappointments at the movies was March or Die in the seventies. Even with a great cast, it somehow managed to be Boring!

[JackFavell]

It's hard to decide which Beau Geste I like better, I guess it depends on what mood I'm in or which I've seen more recently.

Brenon directed my favorite silent film, A Kiss for Cinderella. What's wonderful about him is how he could go from this film and Peter Pan to Laugh Clown Laugh and Beau Geste. I was probably pre-disposed to like him, since I read one of my sister's film books when I was a kid and was smitten with pictures from Peter Pan. I am quite sure there was an article about him in that book that led me to try to find out more about him and to see his movies. He may be the most under appreciated director of all time.

[JackFavell]

That's really wonderful, Robert, doing those retrospectives. I haven't seen The Saphead at all, but I absolutely agree with you about Buster's ability to act, to express YES emotion. The Great Stone Face is a real misnomer, because he's got so much going on behind that 'dead' pan. I find him so enjoyable mainly BECAUSE of that internal action. As fast as his body can move, his mind works faster.

[feaito]

Wendy, I am so pleased that someone has even heard of Herbert Brenon, let alone seen some of his movies. I've seen very few, and Beau Geste is a favorite, as is also Wellman's remake (doesn't Donald O'Connor wish that he had grown up to look like Gary Cooper?). I have love Foreign Legion stories since I was a child, and one of my biggest disappointments at the movies was March or Die in the seventies. Even with a great cast, it somehow managed to be Boring!

I wished more of his Silents were available. I'd also like to see "Girl of the Rio" (1932) with Dolores Del Río, because even so his talkies are not as good as his Silents, I bet it'd be a fun movie to watch.

[JackFavell]

Of the sound films, I've only seen Transgression, which was just OK.

Here are a few tidbits about Herbert Brenon, via Archive.org.

http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/pe ... ert-brenon

[feaito]

Thanks for posting that link WEN. I'll check it ASAP.

I also saw "Transgression" (1931) and it's interesting; I enjoyed it quite much due to Kay Francis' role and the bizarre plot. It was filmed in other languages as well (I think French and Spanish) with other directors I believe.

[JackFavell]

Well, I love Kay and Ricardo Cortez. The film is pretty wobbly as I recall, but maybe it's time for another look!

[feaito]

Well, I love Kay and Ricardo Cortez. The film is pretty wobbly as I recall, but maybe it's time for another look!

I remember liking its exoticism...although it may have also suffered from overacting, just like "Beau Ideal".

[Robert Regan]

Thanks, Wendy, for the link to the Brenon information. I must confess to spending much too much time pouring over Photoplay. Each issue has about a dozen possible candidates for Lost Women of Hollywood. What happened to all these people whom even folks like us have not heard of, let alone seen? Reassuring, though, to learn that Brenon smoked Luckies and that John Stahl approved of Lux, though it doesn't say if he used it himself. If it's not clear from the editorial content, the ads tell us whom the magazine was aimed at!

[charliechaplinfan]

Whilst The Saphead is a different kettle of fish to the other feature length Buster movies I do really like it for all the reasons you say Bob. He is a fine actor and he has a great chance for slapstick comedy and pratfalls. I don't think I've ever watched anything with Buster in and been bored and I've seen most of the MGM movies along with all his great talents he's got a rather winsome quality about him. I do like his voice, it wasn't what I expected, it was much better, a nice voice with depth and recorded well.

I like Herbert Brennon too.

[Robert Regan]

Alison, I am constantly impressed by how deeply you and most folks here have delved into the history of movies. If only some of my young friends on Mubi were to learn that the art of cinema did not begin with Stanley Kubrick!

[feaito]

Alison, I am constantly impressed by how deeply you and most folks here have delved into the history of movies. If only some of my young friends on Mubi were to learn that the art of cinema did not begin with Stanley Kubrick!

Ditto Robert. Young generations need to know that there are excellent films, directors, actors, cinematographers et al before the 1960s. I'm the other way round, I'm scarcely interested by any film made after 1965...My main focus are the 1920s and 1930s.

And the approach to Classic Films by general audiences in general has to change: There are other films and people other than "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz", "Casablanca", Marilyn Monroe, Hitchcock and James Dean.

[ChiO]

You poor guys must hang out with the wrong young people.

I'm convinced that the issue is exposure and availability, not attitude or out-and-out ignorance.

[feaito]

You have a point there Owen.

In the case of Chile the language barrier and the limited availabilty of Classic films with Spanish subs, does not help either. Besides, the DVDs and Blu-Rays imported from the USA are sold here at double or more of their list prices in the States.

[ChiO]

There are several possible factors (SPECULATION ALERT!):

Sometimes there are too many choices (not that I want to go backwards). Out of 200+ available channels, there's only one TCM. For many of us, we grew up with 3 to 6 channels, but most of them showed movies that predated us, albeit often late at night. Therefore, some of us became attuned to what seemed to be old movies because they were right there, whereas today it's just one of many, many choices.

Related to that, if one was a teenager in the '60s, there was 50-60 years of movie history. A teenager today has 100 years of movie history. Hitchcock may seem to be one of us because of when he was making his most popular movies, but he's to today's young people what Griffith and von Stroheim were to me -- ancient history. And it took me longer to get to them than it's taking young'uns today to get to Hitch. So I'll cut them some slack.

In the years of taking, and now teaching, film classes, my observation is that what films are appreciated and actually thought about critically is absolutely unrelated to age. Discussion with other film instructors confirms that observation. In fact, younger viewers with less exposure to older films are often more open to them because they have fewer preconceived notions about what a movie is supposed to be.

And, somewhat related, is that the audience with a deep and thoughtful love of cinema throughout its history is, after all, a niche market. But that niche, albeit seemingly relatively small, knows no age limitations and today's "art film started with Kubrick" kid will very likely grow into a fan of Vertov. It happens.

In the meantime, save me an aisle seat. (And will someone find me a proofreader!)