Silent Films | Hollywood Yesterday

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Mary Pickford!

April 8, 2023 By Joi

Mary Pickford, Suds

The beautiful, talented, and absolutely iconic Mary Pickford was BOTD in Toronto in 1892. Pickford was an extraordinary woman, author, and pioneer in addition to being an extraordinary actress.

“I left the screen because I didn’t want what happened to Chaplin (Charles Chaplin) to happen to me. The little girl made me. I wasn’t waiting for the little girl to kill me. I’d already been pigeonholed. I know I’m an artist, and that’s not being arrogant, because talent comes from God. My career was planned, there was never anything accidental about it. It was planned, it was painful, it was purposeful. I’m not exactly satisfied, but I’m grateful.” ~ Mary Pickford

The beautiful picture at the top is a promotional pic for Mary Pickford’s 1920 silent film Suds (directed by John Francis Dillon).

Louise Brooks, Pandora’s Box (1929): A MUST SEE Performance and Silent Film

November 16, 2022 By Joi

Louise Brooks

Pandora’s Box director Georg Wilhelm Pabst really stirred the hornet’s nest when he cast American beauty Louise Brooks in the role of Lulu. The role was considered to be quintessentially German and Louise was very much the American.

Fortunately she was very much the talented actress… with enough charisma and sex appeal for 100 actresses. These facts silenced her critics beautifully.
You can find Pandora’s Box on dvd (Amazon link).

Lon Chaney Promotional Pictures for He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

October 14, 2022 By Joi

Lon Chaney, He Who Gets Slapped

Promotional pictures for Lon Chaney’s 1924 film He Who Gets Slapped (directed by Victor Sjöström). This exceptional silent film also stars Norma Shearer and John Gilbert.

You can find He Who Gets Slapped on dvd (Amazon link).

Lon Chaney

Fay Wray and Gary Cooper, The Legion of the Condemned

September 22, 2022 By Joi

Fay Wray and Gary Cooper

The Legion of the Condemned (1928) is, sadly, a lost film. The silent drama was directed by William A. Wellman and the cast included Fay Wray, Gary Cooper, and Barry Norton. While I save words such as “tragic” for the loss of human life, it is an especially sad thing that the work of director William A. Wellman, the writers, the crew, and the cast can’t be enjoyed and appreciated by film fans.

Of course, there’s always hope that a copy will be found in someone’s attic, basement, hope chest, or even storage unity. Wouldn’t that be amazing?! Imagine, being able to see a film that had been lost for so long?

Almost too wonderful to think about!

Clara Bow and Clive Brook in Hula (1927)

February 1, 2022 By Joi

Clara Bow and Clive Brook in Hula

Clara Bow and Clive Brook star in the 1927 romantic drama Hula (directed by Victor Fleming). Lovely Clara plays Hula, the daughter of a Hawaiian pineapple plantation owner who sets her sights on a married English engineer, played by Clive Brook.

Clara and Clive (sounds like great names for twin babies) have wonderful chemistry but apparently she had even more with director Victor Fleming as they were reportedly involved for a few months.

Clara Bow is an uncommonly fascinating star to read about… she was one in a billion and one and about as bold as they come. I highly recommend you get to know her better!

Clara Bow Biography by David Stenn:

Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild

Clara Bow as Hula in the Movie of the Same Name

Beautiful Clara Bow, Wings Promotional Photo

November 20, 2020 By Joi

Clara Bow, Wings

Wings (1927) was the very first winner of the category of Best Picture (then called “Best Production”) at the VERY 1st Annual Academy Awards on May 16, 1929.

The historical film was lost for decades until a copy was discovered in the Cinematheque Francaise film archive in Paris, France. This is why those of us who grieve over lost movies still hold on to hope – happy endings sometimes actually happen!

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, Haunted Spooks Lobby Cards

October 20, 2020 By Joi

Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, Haunted Spooks

Shortly after making the 1920 silent short film Haunted Spooks, the film’s stars, Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, were married. It was a union that STUCK, as they were husband and wife until her death in 1969.

In far less upbeat news, Harold Lloyd had a horrible injury to his hand while making Haunted Spooks. While posing for publicity photos, a prop bomb exploded in his hand. His face was badly burned and he was temporarily blinded. Even worse, he lost two fingers due to the horrific accident.

In future films, he is always seen wearing a prosthetic glove on his injured hand.

In spite of this, however, he (remarkably!) always insisted on doing his own stunts.

Clara Bow and the Cast of the Lost Silent Film Wine

September 30, 2020 By Joi

Clara Bow, Robert Agnew, and the Cast of Wine

As I’ve bemoaned before, it is incredibly frustrating when you come across films for favorite stars that are now considered “lost.” It happens fairly often with really early silent films and it always feels like a punch in the spleen.

I want to see them all!

Wine (1924) is one of the Clara Bow films listed as lost. When I look at the promotional photos (here are a few more), it drives me nuts… I want to see this one! Seriously, look at the pictures here… what could be going on?

Clara Bow, Robert Agnew, and Others from Wine

Clara Bow in Wine (1924)

September 12, 2020 By Joi

Clara Bow, Wine (1924)

One of the most frustrating things about loving silent films is living with the fact that so many of them are now lost. When you love so many of the stars from this era, you can’t help but feel that you’ve lost something precious. My personal favorite silent era stars are Clara Bow, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Georgia Hale, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford. I want to see everything they ever did!

Wine (1924) is one of the Clara Bow films listed as lost. The promotional photos make me even more anxious to see it!

Clara Bow and Robert Agnew, Wine

Louise Brooks: Pandora’s Box

September 10, 2020 By Joi

Louise Brooks

Today’s pictures of the day are of the lovely Louise Brooks from the silent film Pandora’s Box (1929). The original title was Die Büchse der Pandora.

Although they were very different actresses, I often think of Clara Bow and Louise Brooks along the same lines. Both were similarly beautiful and highly unique. People often tend to prefer one over the other (much as they do Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin), but… as far as I’m concerned… it’s best to just love them all!

If you aren’t familiar with Louise Brooks, I hope you’ll look up her films (a special edition of Pandora’s Box is available on dvd on Amazon). She truly was a remarkable actress with a “reach up and grab you by the lapels” screen presence.