WHAT SILENTS & PRE-CODES HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[JackFavell]

I had to look up Vertov....

[ChiO]

See...I'm wrong again....

You kids today. There's no talkin' to ya.

[JackFavell]

I did recognize who he was after I looked him up....

[charliechaplinfan]

My movie loving started with old movies on one of our 2 or 3 channels, without them I might not have found my way.

[Robert Regan]

By the way, folks, I recently learned that Dziga Vertov (not his real name) was the brother of the great cinematographer Boris Kaufman wo shot all of Jean Vigo's films, On the Waterfront, and Buster Keaton's late Samuel Beckett short, Film. Among, as they say, many others.

[JackFavell]

That's cool, Robert! I love it when these weird bits of forgotten history pop up.

So Maven, did you watch The Racket? It's not my favorite silent, but it has it's moments. It's very slight, but Marie Prevost makes the movie for me. Love the slang in the titles. My favorite scene is at the end when the kid reporter asks Marie if he can give her a lift, and she replies, "Sorry, kid. Ain't going your way." It's a double entendre and a rather sweet moment that Prevost throws away nicely. She really isn't from the same background, knows he's a good kid and is on a far different path in life than her seamier track. She's tossing that little fish back into the river, gently.

[Robert Regan]

Wendy, they say that everything we have ever experienced or learned is stored away somewhere in the brain. Though I am sure that there is plenty locked away in mine that I am much happier not remembering, I really like it when something that has some relevance to a discussion pops out. Incidentally, Vertov (or Denis as Boris and their mother called him) has never been a favorite of mine, although they absolutely adore him in film classes. Like many filmmakers today, he had impressive technique, but could he tell a story?

I haven't seen The Racket for quite a while, but I think I will take another look very soon. On the whole I liked it better than the remake, even with Robert Ryan, Robert Mitchum, and Lizabeth Scott. Lewis Milestone has always been a mystery to me. His few high points were very high, but how could a director follow a gem like The Strange Love of Martha Ivers with one of the dullest movies ever, even though he had Bergman, Boyer, and Laughton?

[JackFavell]

I haven't actually seen any of Vertov, though I have Man With a Movie Camera somewhere close to the top in my queue at Netflix. Now that you've mentioned it's strengths and weaknesses, I am more prone to go and watch it...it's always nice on the message boards to be inspired by something that has previously been just a title and a critics' favorite to me.

I know exactly what you mean about Milestone. I feel the same way, he's done some incredibly great films, so high up, and then there are these other, lackluster films in his canon. It's like he's an auteur for a couple of films, rising to greatness, and a journeyman director for all the others. Weird.

[CineMaven]

I recorded "THE RACKET" and watched most of it, but fell asleep. I plan to revvvv up the ol' dvr, and watch the movie in its entirety. I will say that I was struck by one scene, and called out your name Wendy. When they had the shoot out in the street, shots of the rooftop, passers-by, traffic...I instantly yelled out "GANGSTER SQUAD"!!! Wow. 1928. My dad was one years old. I'll give it a proper watching very very soon. Louis Wollheim seems very modern to me. I'll check it out good 'n proper-like! It didn't feel hurdy gurdy and Keystone-coppish.

[JackFavell]

Oh wow, I didn't even think about that scene being almost replayed in Gangster Squad! You did it again. I love that nighttime scene, it's so dramatic, and I love how it's shot.

Louis Wolheim was a MARVELOUS actor. In this movie, it's hard not to like him better than Tommy Meighan, though Meighan delivers a pretty great performance as a vanilla good guy. He doesn't fade into the woodwork. He was THE most popular leading man at the time, especially with the ladies... I'm not sure why, since he's not particularly good looking. He died of cancer at age 55, in 1936.

It's a shame Wolheim also died so young. I think he would have had a tremendous career. And as good as he was, he wanted very much to be just a leading man. Can you imagine? I'd rather be Louis Wolheim than Philips Holmes any day.

[charliechaplinfan]

I like Louis Wolheim and Thomas Meighan. Something I remember about Thomas Meighan is that he raised the bail to get Valentino out of jail when he was put there on bigamy charges. He didn't know him either. He sounded like an all round good guy.

[Robert Regan]

Wendy, you summed up Milestone perfectly. Seeing his name and Vertov's coming up so closely, has got me wondering if maybe there is something about a Russian sensibility that usually keeps me at a distance from their films and filmmakers. There are very few that, or whom, I really like. For example, I've seen just about all of Eisenstein and been impressed, but do not have any desire to see any of them again. Of Andrei Tarkovsky, the only one I like, and very much, is Andrei Rubelev. Then there is Evgeny Bauer who made a couple dozen films in Russia between 1913 and 1917 before dying quite young. I have seen three of them on a disc from Netflix called Mad Love. They tend toward a morbidity that I would not want a steady diet of, but as an artist, he was very much on a level with Griffith and Sjostrom. But that's about it for Russian movies and me.

Marie Prevost was indeed a delight, and I want to see more.

[feaito]

For example, I've seen just about all of Eisenstein and been impressed, but do not have any desire to see any of them again.

I agree 100% with you on this point. I saw the beautiful Blu-Ray release of "Potemkin" and it's definitely an excellent film which I wouldn't like to revisit. It's devoid of heart and soul. It may sound corny, but I feel that way about it. The only Soviet film that I'd like to see beforehand is "Alexander Nevsky".

Then there is Evgeny Bauer who made a couple dozen films in Russia between 1913 and 1917 before dying quite young. I have seen three of them on a disc from Netflix called Mad Love. They tend toward a morbidity that I would not want a steady diet of, but as an artist, he was very much on a level with Griffith and Sjostrom. But that's about it for Russian movies and me.

A friend recommended to me this DVD collection and she spoke about the difference of Russian cinema (Pre-1918) and Soviet Cinema. I have enjoyed watching two of the films of this collection.

[CineMaven]

Oh wow, I didn't even think about that scene being almost replayed in Gangster Squad! You did it again. I love that nighttime scene, it's so dramatic, and I love how it's shot.

That scene seemed like something out of the mid-30's than the tail end of the Silents.

Louis Wolheim was a MARVELOUS actor. In this movie, it's hard not to like him better than Tommy Meighan, though Meighan delivers a pretty great performance as a vanilla good guy. He doesn't fade into the woodwork. He was THE most popular leading man at the time, especially with the ladies... I'm not sure why, since he's not particularly good looking. He died of cancer at age 55, in 1936.

There were a lot of average looking guys back in the early movie days - in general. The Valentinos, Gilbertitos and Ramons were the delicious exceptions, not the vanilla rule.

It's a shame Wolheim also died so young. I think he would have had a tremendous career. And as good as he was, he wanted very much to be just a leading man. Can you imagine? I'd rather be Louis Wolheim than Philips Holmes any day.

Ha!!!! Oh brother. I can't quite imagine that. But you know, seeing this pix with him and Mary, on second thought, I change my mind. I think Louis could have been a character leading man, like Wally Beery or Barton MacLane or Victor McLaglen...or that other big guy, dark ( the warden in "Each Dawn I Die." ) I love those big bears. I'd feel very protected wrapped in Louis' arms. Philips is in the Leslie Howard / Gene Raymond mold.

[Robert Regan]

Anyone making a gangster movie in '28 would be influenced by Sternberg's Underworld from the previous year.

Philips Holmes just might have been the wimpiest actor ever.