I've been reading a TON of amazing books lately. Just devouring them! They're all on my GoodReads page if you're interested. I think I'm on too many social media accounts. I can't seem to keep up with all of them! Been reading about Bessie Love, Mabel, Roscoe, Marilyn Miller.... Just fabulous stuff. And the books are relatively cheap. Well, the Bessie Love and Marilyn Miller I paid a pretty penny for, but those two books are pretty rare. That's the nice thing about this silent/classic film obsession, it's reasonably priced!
The name Robert Harron kept coming up in the books that I've been reading. There were several tragedies in the twenties that authors bring up whenever they write about that time period. Rocoe, Mabel, William Desmond Taylor, Wallace Reid, Olive Thomas, Valentino....and sometimes(if they're very good) Bobby Harron. See, these tragedies were all firsts. They're actually quite fascinating because people were dealing with emotions for someone they felt close to that they didn't even really know, but felt they did. Sometimes the reactions were so violent you almost think the public felt like they owned these people. It still happens now. Look at the outpouring for Diana. But with these you almost get to watch society develop coping mechanisms to deal with this. With each one they learn. Or when they happened all at once, it just added fuel to the fire. Such passion.
I had heard of Bobby Harron before. I think my undying love for Lillian Gish lead me to him. So I knew his story when his name came up in my books. And y'all know my love of the ghoulish! So Bobby is kinda perfect for me. Young, handsome, dead. Except there's so little out there about him! I have this theory that unless a woman is involved somehow, well, the men just kinda fade into the background, no matter how big they were or how interesting or tragic their story is, if no woman is involved....yawn. See ladies, we're friggin riveting! Stories are boring without us!!
Bobby was a good Irish Catholic Boy. One of NINE children. He was a darling of DW Griffith, until he got too old, then Griffith tossed him for Richard Barthelmess. Griffith was fickle. Bobby's roles included working with Mae Marsh, Blanche Sweet, the Gish Sisters. It's even said that he was involved with Dorothy. Hmmm, for some reason I always thought the Gish Sisters were nuns and never dated. Gotta look into that one day. And of course, like everyone else in the whole world, he was in Birth of A Nation. Heck, even I was in Birth of A Nation! ;-)
So our darling Bobby was in New York promoting his new film Coincidence and accidentally shot himself in his hotel room. There was a gun in his suitcase and it fell on the floor. A bullet discharged hitting him in the chest and perforating his lung. At first he refused to go to the hospital. Seems like he didn't quite realize how bad his would was. In fact, he was making jokes about it. They finally convinced him to go the hospital. He didn't even want a stretcher! The wound was much worse than he thought and he died 4 days later. He was only 27 years old.
Many people were saying that it was a suicide attempt. Depression over being thrown over by Griffith. Friends rushed to dispute this(including Dorothy Gish) because he was a good Irish Catholic Boy. Mortal sin and all. Lots of Catholics kill themselves, so I look at the circumstances. Men don't try and kill themselves my shooting themselves in the chest. At least not without hitting the heart. They're violent beings, they shoot themselves in the head. Second, if he was trying to kill himself, he would have shot himself again when he realized he survived. Third, he wasn't upset when help came. He was like, "Boy, I got myself in to a pickle!" You don't get help when you want to die. Nor do you maintain your cool. Especially after losing all that blood. Not suicide. Accident.
So in reading all of my wonderful wonderful books and seeing his name a couple of times along with the films that he was in, I realized that I had several of them! Sooooo, this Silent Cinema Sunday is all for you Bobby!
First I watched A Romance of Happy Valley. It was only just over an hour. Short for Griffith! Very sweet love story, nothing too exceptional. Very cool twist at the end though. I do recommend you see it. You can get it for like 5 bucks. Well worth it. Lillian is always always always perfect and amazing. Even in "A Wedding" where she pretty much just lays there dead for most of the film, she's flawless. How I love this woman. And Bobby? How was Bobby, cause he's what I came here for. Won-der-ful! I'd only really paid attention to pictures of him. And I was like meh. But moving on the screen? He's too many things. Handsome and emotive. Really kept up with Gish. And that's hard. His character is wonderfully sensitive when it came to hers and it really showed. He was great in this role and I can see why Griffith loved him.
Next I watched Hoodoo Ann. Mae Marsh plays his leading lady in this one. She has such a wonderful face. So very very good. She's so good at conveying the scene without being cheesy. Not that I don't like cheesy, you kinda have to if you like silents. It goes with the territory. But too much cheese can burn me out and I just get bored. Mae does this. If you haven't see The White Rose, you GOTTA. GOTTA! And again, it's like 5 bucks. Mae stole this movie. She was just awesome. The ending was hysterical. Bobby was handsome and sweet in this role, but really, the film was about Mae. His character was just there to hold her up. Since that seemed to be his character's purpose, he did exactly what he was supposed to do.
I wish I could have fit in more Bobby movies today. I have several more, I just ran out of time! I'm glad I got to know him a bit better though. He really was a marvelous actor. I think that getting older would have done him good. He would have grown into his looks and certainly grown as an actor. That beautiful baby face would have aged so well. Such potential was there. Such a loss.
Love,
Olive
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Snub Pollard for Silent Cinema Sunday
I'm crabby today. Really crabby and nothing seems to be helping with my attitude. :-( I'm just not sleeping and have a whole bunch of crap going on in my head. Again, first world problems.
For months I've been meaning to have a good old slapstick day. Since I'm crabby and have NO ATTENTION span again today....slapstick it is. Maybe it'll cheer me up. Prolly not though.
I have to be in the mood for slapstick, because let's face it, it's ridiculous. It's supposed to be. If I'm in a pissy mood or impatient, I can be too critical of it and just think it's stupid. Oooooo there's that pissy mood. However, one of the things I really like about slapstick is that it requires no concentration. Even if you lose track of the story line, which I'm guilty of all of the time even with talkies, you can still get a lot out of the film just based on the gags. The story lines are secondary. Oh yeah, and the films are short. Really short. Anyway today could go either way, so let's see!
I choose Snub Pollard today. I didn't know much about him other than the fact that he was Australian. I have a TON of his shorts. I bought all these silent "marathon" and " comedy collection" DVDs and he's all over them. So I've got a lot to choose from. Light, easy, cartoon comedy. Charley Chase and James Parrott are all over these too. Their presence kept distracting me. I've got to have a Charley Chase day.
The shorts don't have a lot of stunts. Not a lot of creative effects. Simple. Funny. I have to say nothing really unique. But I really liked Snub. There was something about him. I wanted to watch him and I wanted his character to succeed. I think that's where his skill lies. He was really likable.
I did so love his mustache too. Every comedian seemed to have something that identified them and for Snub it was his 'stache. In fact, later in his career, he ditched it to set himself apart from...himself? I guess that's the best way to say it.
A lot of the films were very Laurel and Hardy. Once I started reading up on him, I found out that they were supposed to be. He worked with Marvin Loback as a knock off Laurel and Hardy team. They directly copied them. I don't know how I feel about that... And Marvin's nickname was "Fat". I don't know how I feel about that either. He died quite young, only 41 but I couldn't find a cause of death. He and Snub actually had some pretty good chemistry. I just wish the copycat stuff wasn't there. It was irritating and distracting. I kept going, "Where have I seen this?" It was that close to Laurel and Hardy. In some scenes it looks like they were even in the same location!
The one that was really awesome was called "It's A Gift". You can find it on You Tube. Snub plays an inventor, and his inventions are just so clever. "An invention for every occasion." This short also features a magnet driven car. I'm sure we've all seen them in cartoons growing up. The character gets in a vehicle and hold up a huge magnet and gets pulled around that way. I'm sure this is the first appearance. Copied many times since! If you're going to see one Snub Pollard short, choose this one!
Snub had some pretty cool roles later in his career. He was in Miracle of 43th Street, AND the one I think is the coolest is Singing In The Rain. He was the guy that Gene Kelly gives his umbrella to at the end of the song after the cop stops him from dancing(stupid cop). Of course I had to go and watch it. You can't tell that it's Snub. Can't even see his face. I still think it's a fabulous cred! ;-)
Great Sunday! And yes, I'm not so crabby anymore! Thanks Snub!
Love,
Olive
For months I've been meaning to have a good old slapstick day. Since I'm crabby and have NO ATTENTION span again today....slapstick it is. Maybe it'll cheer me up. Prolly not though.
I have to be in the mood for slapstick, because let's face it, it's ridiculous. It's supposed to be. If I'm in a pissy mood or impatient, I can be too critical of it and just think it's stupid. Oooooo there's that pissy mood. However, one of the things I really like about slapstick is that it requires no concentration. Even if you lose track of the story line, which I'm guilty of all of the time even with talkies, you can still get a lot out of the film just based on the gags. The story lines are secondary. Oh yeah, and the films are short. Really short. Anyway today could go either way, so let's see!
I choose Snub Pollard today. I didn't know much about him other than the fact that he was Australian. I have a TON of his shorts. I bought all these silent "marathon" and " comedy collection" DVDs and he's all over them. So I've got a lot to choose from. Light, easy, cartoon comedy. Charley Chase and James Parrott are all over these too. Their presence kept distracting me. I've got to have a Charley Chase day.
The shorts don't have a lot of stunts. Not a lot of creative effects. Simple. Funny. I have to say nothing really unique. But I really liked Snub. There was something about him. I wanted to watch him and I wanted his character to succeed. I think that's where his skill lies. He was really likable.
I did so love his mustache too. Every comedian seemed to have something that identified them and for Snub it was his 'stache. In fact, later in his career, he ditched it to set himself apart from...himself? I guess that's the best way to say it.
A lot of the films were very Laurel and Hardy. Once I started reading up on him, I found out that they were supposed to be. He worked with Marvin Loback as a knock off Laurel and Hardy team. They directly copied them. I don't know how I feel about that... And Marvin's nickname was "Fat". I don't know how I feel about that either. He died quite young, only 41 but I couldn't find a cause of death. He and Snub actually had some pretty good chemistry. I just wish the copycat stuff wasn't there. It was irritating and distracting. I kept going, "Where have I seen this?" It was that close to Laurel and Hardy. In some scenes it looks like they were even in the same location!
The one that was really awesome was called "It's A Gift". You can find it on You Tube. Snub plays an inventor, and his inventions are just so clever. "An invention for every occasion." This short also features a magnet driven car. I'm sure we've all seen them in cartoons growing up. The character gets in a vehicle and hold up a huge magnet and gets pulled around that way. I'm sure this is the first appearance. Copied many times since! If you're going to see one Snub Pollard short, choose this one!
Snub had some pretty cool roles later in his career. He was in Miracle of 43th Street, AND the one I think is the coolest is Singing In The Rain. He was the guy that Gene Kelly gives his umbrella to at the end of the song after the cop stops him from dancing(stupid cop). Of course I had to go and watch it. You can't tell that it's Snub. Can't even see his face. I still think it's a fabulous cred! ;-)
Great Sunday! And yes, I'm not so crabby anymore! Thanks Snub!
Love,
Olive
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Eleanor Boardman for Silent Cinema Sunday
I so couldn't decide what to watch today. My focus has been off again lately. I have so many plans, then they just go all over the place and I get nothing done. I'm scattered. Ask me how many books I'm in the middle of reading right now....it's terrible!
King Vidor popped in my head this morning though, so I just jumped on it. Couple of months ago I scored a copy of The Crowd. I had to import it from Korea of all places! But it was only like 5 bucks! I was a bit worried about the intertitles. I imported a copy of The Adventures of Prince Achmed from Korea earlier this year and the intertitles were all in Korean. Ok I gotta take that intertitles thing back and be honest. The DEFAULT intertitles were in Korean. I didn't check the settings. And yes I watched it anyway, and yes I feel pretty stupid. When I find time, I'll watch it again properly. It was really pretty though. :-) If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Especially considering the skill it took to make it.
That is what I love about old films. People had to figure out how to do things. A computer didn't do it for them. You had to be skilled and smart and creative. I think people are losing that. No one has to figure out how to do anything anymore. It's making us stupid. We're all going to end up like those chubby lazy humans in WALL-E. ::::sigh:::: Rant done. Sorry, not sorry.
The Crowd was everything everyone has said about it. Beautifully shot. Particularly the scenes that show New York. Brilliant! Draws you into the story and really contextualizes it from the start. The ending does the same, pulls you out of the story and really conveys Vidor's message: we are not important and we have no control over anything.
James Murray is the star. He only had a few films. 2 of the ones that intrigue me the most are lost. I HATE THAT. Leaves my OCD completely unrequited. And of course, two of the lost ones are Lon Chaney films. I hate that even more. All of Lon's work should have been encased and preserved and shown on a daily basis. What I wouldn't give to see The Miracle Man.....
Vidor apparently spotted James Murray on the MGM lot and offered him the lead in The Crowd. He didn't show up to the audition and Vidor tracked him down. He really saw something in him and wanted him bad. He was right about Murray. His performance is amazing. Really conveys the complexity of his character. It really is a roller coaster ride of a role. So much is there. James Murray died by the age of 35. He was found drowned in the Hudson River. It was never decided if it was suicide or an accident. He had descended into alcoholism and was basically a vagrant. Interesting side note: he was begging on the street one day and Vidor passed him. Recognizing him, he offered him the role on Our Daily Bread, which is the sequel to The Crowd. Not wanting pity, Murray turned it down. He'd take money, but not a job? Strange bird.
Vidor seemed to be a very Baconian director. Yep, that's what I'm calling it. My blog, my rules. From what I've read, he just let things happen. Let the situation guide him to the conclusion. I suppose this is the same message that was coming out of The Crowd. If it was supposed to happen, it would. I'm sure that it stems from the fact that he was a Christian Scientist.
Eleanor Boardman was the leading lady. She was also Vidor's wife. This colored my opinion of her at first. The wife gets the good role and all that. BUT she was awesome! Almost too pretty for the role, she had a lot to prove. And she did. Particularly the scene where she tells Murray she's expecting. It's just wonderful.
So I got intrigued by Eleanor at this point and decided to watch The Circle. I dunno, maybe it's my short attention span, but I just couldn't get into this one. I loved that Joan Crawford was in the beginning. I love Joan. Really love Joan. She's too much. HA! That's about all I liked about this movie. I just didn't care what happened to the characters. Nothing pulled me into the story line. Maybe I'll give it another chance later when I'm a bit more focused. As for now, meh. Joan is awesome.
I had time for one more, so I picked Souls For Sale. It has a LOT of cameos in it. I like cameos. As I'm learning more and more about movies, cameos thrill me. Cause I know who people are now! I can't tell you how excited I was the last time I watched Sunset Blvd. I got every single reference to old actors. Sounds stupid, but it made me happy. I guess before I just glanced over the references and didn't pay any attention to them. And in Show People, the William S Hart cameo was my favorite part. So I had hope for this movie. Even if I didn't like it, the cameos would get me through! Turned out to be a wonderful movie though. Really really good. Eleanor is absolutely charming. Pulled me right into the plot. It did remind me a lot of Show People, only with like, a killer running around. And yes, I LOVED the cameos. Snitz Edwards! Gaaaa!
I was also interested to see a film with Lew Cody in it. I don't think I've ever seen one? Wait, I have, he was in Don't Change Your Husband. Guess he wasn't very memorable in it? Who is memorable next to Swanson though? Unless your Valetino, you gonna fade into the background baby and I won't even know you're there. I know Lew Cody from his marriage to Mabel Normand. I believe they got married on a drunken bet and stayed married until she died of TB(cough cough....drugs). That's an awesome reason to get married. I'm sorry, but it is. And they were friends, so who cares? Besides, it makes for a great story!
Aileen Pringle is in this one too. I looked at her IMDB and apparently I've seen a lot of her films, but only the ones where she had teeny tiny roles. I have to go back and watch for her again. I'm surprised I didn't notice her in them. She's quite striking. She was on board the Onieda when Thomas Ince died of heart failure(cough cough...was shot by WRH).
I can't help it I love rumors and gossip. Sue me.
Considering how much I liked The Crowd and Souls for Sale, I will be giving The Circle another shot. Everyone seems to love this movie, so there has to be something there, right? Maybe I was just throwing a moody. Or maybe I just because all about Joan and couldn't focus on anything else once she was gone. ::::shrug:::::
So that was my Silent Cinema Sunday!
Love,
Olive
King Vidor popped in my head this morning though, so I just jumped on it. Couple of months ago I scored a copy of The Crowd. I had to import it from Korea of all places! But it was only like 5 bucks! I was a bit worried about the intertitles. I imported a copy of The Adventures of Prince Achmed from Korea earlier this year and the intertitles were all in Korean. Ok I gotta take that intertitles thing back and be honest. The DEFAULT intertitles were in Korean. I didn't check the settings. And yes I watched it anyway, and yes I feel pretty stupid. When I find time, I'll watch it again properly. It was really pretty though. :-) If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Especially considering the skill it took to make it.
That is what I love about old films. People had to figure out how to do things. A computer didn't do it for them. You had to be skilled and smart and creative. I think people are losing that. No one has to figure out how to do anything anymore. It's making us stupid. We're all going to end up like those chubby lazy humans in WALL-E. ::::sigh:::: Rant done. Sorry, not sorry.
The Crowd was everything everyone has said about it. Beautifully shot. Particularly the scenes that show New York. Brilliant! Draws you into the story and really contextualizes it from the start. The ending does the same, pulls you out of the story and really conveys Vidor's message: we are not important and we have no control over anything.
James Murray is the star. He only had a few films. 2 of the ones that intrigue me the most are lost. I HATE THAT. Leaves my OCD completely unrequited. And of course, two of the lost ones are Lon Chaney films. I hate that even more. All of Lon's work should have been encased and preserved and shown on a daily basis. What I wouldn't give to see The Miracle Man.....
Vidor apparently spotted James Murray on the MGM lot and offered him the lead in The Crowd. He didn't show up to the audition and Vidor tracked him down. He really saw something in him and wanted him bad. He was right about Murray. His performance is amazing. Really conveys the complexity of his character. It really is a roller coaster ride of a role. So much is there. James Murray died by the age of 35. He was found drowned in the Hudson River. It was never decided if it was suicide or an accident. He had descended into alcoholism and was basically a vagrant. Interesting side note: he was begging on the street one day and Vidor passed him. Recognizing him, he offered him the role on Our Daily Bread, which is the sequel to The Crowd. Not wanting pity, Murray turned it down. He'd take money, but not a job? Strange bird.
Vidor seemed to be a very Baconian director. Yep, that's what I'm calling it. My blog, my rules. From what I've read, he just let things happen. Let the situation guide him to the conclusion. I suppose this is the same message that was coming out of The Crowd. If it was supposed to happen, it would. I'm sure that it stems from the fact that he was a Christian Scientist.
Eleanor Boardman was the leading lady. She was also Vidor's wife. This colored my opinion of her at first. The wife gets the good role and all that. BUT she was awesome! Almost too pretty for the role, she had a lot to prove. And she did. Particularly the scene where she tells Murray she's expecting. It's just wonderful.
So I got intrigued by Eleanor at this point and decided to watch The Circle. I dunno, maybe it's my short attention span, but I just couldn't get into this one. I loved that Joan Crawford was in the beginning. I love Joan. Really love Joan. She's too much. HA! That's about all I liked about this movie. I just didn't care what happened to the characters. Nothing pulled me into the story line. Maybe I'll give it another chance later when I'm a bit more focused. As for now, meh. Joan is awesome.
I had time for one more, so I picked Souls For Sale. It has a LOT of cameos in it. I like cameos. As I'm learning more and more about movies, cameos thrill me. Cause I know who people are now! I can't tell you how excited I was the last time I watched Sunset Blvd. I got every single reference to old actors. Sounds stupid, but it made me happy. I guess before I just glanced over the references and didn't pay any attention to them. And in Show People, the William S Hart cameo was my favorite part. So I had hope for this movie. Even if I didn't like it, the cameos would get me through! Turned out to be a wonderful movie though. Really really good. Eleanor is absolutely charming. Pulled me right into the plot. It did remind me a lot of Show People, only with like, a killer running around. And yes, I LOVED the cameos. Snitz Edwards! Gaaaa!
I was also interested to see a film with Lew Cody in it. I don't think I've ever seen one? Wait, I have, he was in Don't Change Your Husband. Guess he wasn't very memorable in it? Who is memorable next to Swanson though? Unless your Valetino, you gonna fade into the background baby and I won't even know you're there. I know Lew Cody from his marriage to Mabel Normand. I believe they got married on a drunken bet and stayed married until she died of TB(cough cough....drugs). That's an awesome reason to get married. I'm sorry, but it is. And they were friends, so who cares? Besides, it makes for a great story!
Aileen Pringle is in this one too. I looked at her IMDB and apparently I've seen a lot of her films, but only the ones where she had teeny tiny roles. I have to go back and watch for her again. I'm surprised I didn't notice her in them. She's quite striking. She was on board the Onieda when Thomas Ince died of heart failure(cough cough...was shot by WRH).
I can't help it I love rumors and gossip. Sue me.
Considering how much I liked The Crowd and Souls for Sale, I will be giving The Circle another shot. Everyone seems to love this movie, so there has to be something there, right? Maybe I was just throwing a moody. Or maybe I just because all about Joan and couldn't focus on anything else once she was gone. ::::shrug:::::
So that was my Silent Cinema Sunday!
Love,
Olive
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Spent Silent Cinema Sunday In Wild Adventure Land!
So I hurt my knee last night. I was trying to kill a spider on the ceiling and tried climbing into my chaise lounge, which promptly moved and I twisted my knee. It's a weak knee. I've hurt it before. Same exact pain, so all I can do is stay off it and take Aleve. :::sigh:::: I had a frigging broom in my hand, why did I feel the need to get closer? Karma for trying to kill something. Whatever.
Since I'm stuck to the couch today, I figured I would watch people that weren't. ADVENTURE DAY!
First movie I choose was 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. I knew very very little about this story line before watching this. The only exposure I've had is from the film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Don't judge. Someday I'll read all the classics...or at least the Wiki on them. Anyway, this film is almost a hundred years old. Filmed in 1916. It's really a marvel because of all of the underwater scenes. There are a lot of them. Cause it was cool. You never got to see anything like that. I was a bit worried about sticking this one out. I have a very tiny attention span(TINY TINY TINY Really!!), and this movie was almost two hours long. It was wonderful though. Exciting story line. Really kept me engaged. And the underwater scenes. Spectacular. Not sure how he did it, but it was fascinating. Very obvious that the director was showing off. There were several scenes with men in deep sea diving suits. I couldn't figure out if they were real or puppets. They kinda moved like puppets and had very strange figures, but then one of them would grab onto another. So I don't know. Gotta look that up.
Up next was Robinson Crusoe. This story I kinda knew. Especially when Friday showed up. This seems to be a very typical "stranded on a desert island" film. Full of stereotypes and grass skirts. You HAVE to get over this stuff if you are going to watch old movies! It happened. Deal with it. I didn't quite get Robinson's attire. What was up with the hat? Really strange. Movie was entertaining overall, Nothing really special. Kept me busy though.
The lead in the movie is a guy named Marmaduke Wetherell. This the same name as the guy who was involved in that really famous Loch Ness Monster picture/foot print hoax. I don't think they're the same person, but how many Marmaduke Wetherells can there be?? He was calling himself a "Big Game Hunter" during the Nessie thing, maybe he thinks he's all that because of Robinson Crusoe? Hmmm. Didn't look much more into it, but there it is.
Anyway, I'm off to ice my knee some more. It was a very different Silent Cinema Sunday! Nice to switch things up a bit!
Love,
Olive
Since I'm stuck to the couch today, I figured I would watch people that weren't. ADVENTURE DAY!
First movie I choose was 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. I knew very very little about this story line before watching this. The only exposure I've had is from the film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Don't judge. Someday I'll read all the classics...or at least the Wiki on them. Anyway, this film is almost a hundred years old. Filmed in 1916. It's really a marvel because of all of the underwater scenes. There are a lot of them. Cause it was cool. You never got to see anything like that. I was a bit worried about sticking this one out. I have a very tiny attention span(TINY TINY TINY Really!!), and this movie was almost two hours long. It was wonderful though. Exciting story line. Really kept me engaged. And the underwater scenes. Spectacular. Not sure how he did it, but it was fascinating. Very obvious that the director was showing off. There were several scenes with men in deep sea diving suits. I couldn't figure out if they were real or puppets. They kinda moved like puppets and had very strange figures, but then one of them would grab onto another. So I don't know. Gotta look that up.
Up next was Robinson Crusoe. This story I kinda knew. Especially when Friday showed up. This seems to be a very typical "stranded on a desert island" film. Full of stereotypes and grass skirts. You HAVE to get over this stuff if you are going to watch old movies! It happened. Deal with it. I didn't quite get Robinson's attire. What was up with the hat? Really strange. Movie was entertaining overall, Nothing really special. Kept me busy though.
The lead in the movie is a guy named Marmaduke Wetherell. This the same name as the guy who was involved in that really famous Loch Ness Monster picture/foot print hoax. I don't think they're the same person, but how many Marmaduke Wetherells can there be?? He was calling himself a "Big Game Hunter" during the Nessie thing, maybe he thinks he's all that because of Robinson Crusoe? Hmmm. Didn't look much more into it, but there it is.
Anyway, I'm off to ice my knee some more. It was a very different Silent Cinema Sunday! Nice to switch things up a bit!
Love,
Olive
Sunday, April 12, 2015
More Wally For Silent Cinema Sunday
Talking about Wally so much last week really sparked a craving for more! SOOOO Wallace Reid Silent Cinema Sunday!
Not that I'm a Wallace Reid expert, I haven't even cracked that book I bought about him, but on top of being a wonderful romantic lead, like in The Affairs of Anatol and Carmen, he's known for his adventure/racing movies. So I'm now up for exploring his dashing adventure side a bit! I chose Excuse My Dust and The Roaring Road.
I didn't do much research before popping these in the DVD player, so I accidentally watched them out of order. :-/ Of course! It didn't matter much. It's not like they were very deep movies where you needed a background story. I didn't even realize it until I was well into The Roaring Road and saw he was courting the girl who was his wife in Excuse My Dust. ;-)
I really loved these movies though. They were fun and light. Perfect for a simple Silent Cinema Sunday. Wally's character's name was Toodles. Yep, Toodles.
The Roaring Road was one of the first films shot after the famous train wreak in 1919 while filming Valley of the Giants, so he was already hooked on morphine. See, while filming Valley of the Giants, Wally was injured in a train wreak. Instead of postponing production and letting him heal, the studio had him prescribed morphine to keep him going. This turned into a terrible addiction that eventually lead to his death. There was no such thing as drug rehab or even a real understanding of the dangers of addiction. His wife, Dorothy Davenport, spent the rest of her life going by the name "Mrs Wallace Reid" and trying to educate people about the dangers of addiction. I've got to look into her more.... Anyway, it was still early enough in his addiction that you couldn't tell by his performance and it wasn't affecting his looks yet. I didn't even notice any hindrance in his movements. Sorry, this is he stuff that intrigues me, so this is the stuff I write about.
He was perfectly charming in both movies. I really actually liked him better in these than The Affairs of Anatol and Carmen. I think the character of Toodles suited him better. A dashing risk taking bad boy. He makes you want to cheer for him. And these movies were just so much fun! Very cool racing scenes and beautiful shots of the countryside. And his son was in Excuse My Dust, so we get to see Wallace Reid Jr! I did just buy The Racing Strain, as soon as it gets here I'm going to watch the son follow his father's footsteps. ;-)
It's interesting, I don't like racing movies. I don't even like action movies. No way would I sit through some crap like Fast and Furious(the new one, not the awesome Franchot Tone/Ann Southern movie). Silent movies I tend to give more of a chance. I would never watch a modern western, or even Bonanza(unless it's an episode with Ramon Novarro...sigh), but I watched Hell's Hinges because my favorite blogger recommended it and now I'm a full blown William S Hart fan. Go figure!
I do tend to watch the films because of the actors, so maybe that's why I'm more open minded when it comes to silents. The actors were just so much more interesting and then I *want* to see their work. See what they did and what they were capable of. I'm glad that I'm like this, it's helping me learn a lot and opening a lot of doors for me. ;-)
Love,
Olive
Not that I'm a Wallace Reid expert, I haven't even cracked that book I bought about him, but on top of being a wonderful romantic lead, like in The Affairs of Anatol and Carmen, he's known for his adventure/racing movies. So I'm now up for exploring his dashing adventure side a bit! I chose Excuse My Dust and The Roaring Road.
I didn't do much research before popping these in the DVD player, so I accidentally watched them out of order. :-/ Of course! It didn't matter much. It's not like they were very deep movies where you needed a background story. I didn't even realize it until I was well into The Roaring Road and saw he was courting the girl who was his wife in Excuse My Dust. ;-)
I really loved these movies though. They were fun and light. Perfect for a simple Silent Cinema Sunday. Wally's character's name was Toodles. Yep, Toodles.
The Roaring Road was one of the first films shot after the famous train wreak in 1919 while filming Valley of the Giants, so he was already hooked on morphine. See, while filming Valley of the Giants, Wally was injured in a train wreak. Instead of postponing production and letting him heal, the studio had him prescribed morphine to keep him going. This turned into a terrible addiction that eventually lead to his death. There was no such thing as drug rehab or even a real understanding of the dangers of addiction. His wife, Dorothy Davenport, spent the rest of her life going by the name "Mrs Wallace Reid" and trying to educate people about the dangers of addiction. I've got to look into her more.... Anyway, it was still early enough in his addiction that you couldn't tell by his performance and it wasn't affecting his looks yet. I didn't even notice any hindrance in his movements. Sorry, this is he stuff that intrigues me, so this is the stuff I write about.
He was perfectly charming in both movies. I really actually liked him better in these than The Affairs of Anatol and Carmen. I think the character of Toodles suited him better. A dashing risk taking bad boy. He makes you want to cheer for him. And these movies were just so much fun! Very cool racing scenes and beautiful shots of the countryside. And his son was in Excuse My Dust, so we get to see Wallace Reid Jr! I did just buy The Racing Strain, as soon as it gets here I'm going to watch the son follow his father's footsteps. ;-)
It's interesting, I don't like racing movies. I don't even like action movies. No way would I sit through some crap like Fast and Furious(the new one, not the awesome Franchot Tone/Ann Southern movie). Silent movies I tend to give more of a chance. I would never watch a modern western, or even Bonanza(unless it's an episode with Ramon Novarro...sigh), but I watched Hell's Hinges because my favorite blogger recommended it and now I'm a full blown William S Hart fan. Go figure!
I do tend to watch the films because of the actors, so maybe that's why I'm more open minded when it comes to silents. The actors were just so much more interesting and then I *want* to see their work. See what they did and what they were capable of. I'm glad that I'm like this, it's helping me learn a lot and opening a lot of doors for me. ;-)
Love,
Olive
Sunday, April 5, 2015
I spent this Silent Cinema Sunday with Carmen!
Wallace Reid fascinates me. I'm very intrigued by his life and his addiction. I'm a ghoul. I've told you I'm a ghoul. Can't help it. I did pick up Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story. Robert Osborne did the intro. Someday I'll have time to read it. Someday. My undiagnosed whatever has made my attention span null, so I have a hard time focusing all the way through a book. If it's a book full of short essays no problem! A whole book at the moment is out of the question. I keep buying them though!
So I was reading my favorite blog and they reviewed Chaplin's Burlesque on Carmen and recommended watching the silent version of Carmen and then Burlesque on Carmen to fully appreciate it. A day of Wallace Reid and Chaplin? DONE!
I've had Carmen for a while. I went on a binge(yes again) and bought all the Wallace Reid movies I could find. Plus, the idea of a silent opera intrigued me. How do you do *that*? We'll they did, and it was FABULOUS! I'm pretty familiar with the story of Carmen, so that probably helped. The soundtrack on the DVD was from the opera, so that probably helped too. And looking at Wallace Reid makes everything fabulous.... Wallace Reid was excellent, and he made those wonderful handsome Wally faces of his. The best part though? Geraldine Farrar's death scene. Really really good. I'm a mean person, so most of the movie I was thinking that she wasn't pretty enough to play Carmen and was focusing on that. I'm mean. I try not to be, but I am. She steals it with that last scene though. I have to watch it again now, with greater appreciation and maybe a little less focus on Wally. ;-) If I can help it.
Burlesque on Carmen was typical Chaplin. Warm, gentle, easy humor. At least that's the impression that I always walk away from a Chaplin film with. So do you really do have to watch Carmen first to fully appreciate it? Chaplin is always funny regardless, but seeing Carmen does help you get the jokes better. Honestly, the brilliance of Chaplin means it doesn't need to be contextualized to enjoy this. Cause Carmen is hard to come by, and it's expensive! I think you all can tell I buy A LOT, so I'm always looking for a deal.
Another great Silent Cinema Sunday!
Love,
Olive
So I was reading my favorite blog and they reviewed Chaplin's Burlesque on Carmen and recommended watching the silent version of Carmen and then Burlesque on Carmen to fully appreciate it. A day of Wallace Reid and Chaplin? DONE!
I've had Carmen for a while. I went on a binge(yes again) and bought all the Wallace Reid movies I could find. Plus, the idea of a silent opera intrigued me. How do you do *that*? We'll they did, and it was FABULOUS! I'm pretty familiar with the story of Carmen, so that probably helped. The soundtrack on the DVD was from the opera, so that probably helped too. And looking at Wallace Reid makes everything fabulous.... Wallace Reid was excellent, and he made those wonderful handsome Wally faces of his. The best part though? Geraldine Farrar's death scene. Really really good. I'm a mean person, so most of the movie I was thinking that she wasn't pretty enough to play Carmen and was focusing on that. I'm mean. I try not to be, but I am. She steals it with that last scene though. I have to watch it again now, with greater appreciation and maybe a little less focus on Wally. ;-) If I can help it.
Burlesque on Carmen was typical Chaplin. Warm, gentle, easy humor. At least that's the impression that I always walk away from a Chaplin film with. So do you really do have to watch Carmen first to fully appreciate it? Chaplin is always funny regardless, but seeing Carmen does help you get the jokes better. Honestly, the brilliance of Chaplin means it doesn't need to be contextualized to enjoy this. Cause Carmen is hard to come by, and it's expensive! I think you all can tell I buy A LOT, so I'm always looking for a deal.
Another great Silent Cinema Sunday!
Love,
Olive
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Gloria Swanson For Silent Cinema Sunday
So as I've said, writing is good for me. And I need practice. So does my brain. I'm going to just go then. Not going to make this stressful and all organized, just write and publish. Done. So don't judge me if there are errors or if things don't make sense. I'm hoping with each one that it will get better. And if it doesn't, it doesn't.
I love my silent Sundays. One day a week I get to do what I want. I often feel oogie at the end of the day from sitting around so much, but the rest of my week goes so much better with my one day of vegetable state!
That being said, I have a hard time picking what to watch on my one day! I start thinking of one thing and it gets bigger and bigger and more detailed an more overwhelming.... Then BAH! I probably have some undiagnosed something or other, but doesn't everyone? ;-)
So Friday was Gloria Swanson's 116th birthday. Yay! Silent Cinema Sunday decision made! But which movies? A few weeks ago I was on a Cecil B DeMille binge and picked up Don't Change Your Husband and Why Change Your Wife? Then of course, I found out it was a trilogy that started with Old Wives For New.... Sigh. So I had to get that one too. I didn't get a chance to watch them while I was on my DeMille binge, so today is the perfect time, right? Course, because it is a trilogy and I have my undiagnosed something or other, I had to start with Old Wives For New, even if Swanson isn't in it. See how hard my life is?
Swanson has always confused me a bit. I love love love her on screen, but when she's interviewed? Blah. Preachy, boring, no sense of humor. In her roles she's so fierce and beautiful and lush. I guess that shows she really was an amazing actress. And she has profile like a Barrymore. I cannot look at it enough. Just unique gorgeousness!
All three movies were wonderful. Each one better than the last. Each one had some lesson. Was Cecil hanging with D.W. Griffith around this time or what?
Lessons Learned:
Old Wives for New: Don't get old and fat or your husband will replace you, and rightfully so!
Don't Change Your Husband: It's good to change your husband, cause if you do, he'll change!
Why Change You Wife?: Again, if you change your wife, your wife will change!
So many beautiful costumes and sets. I do so love De Mille, and Gloria was always such a perfect pairing with him. Great way to spend a Sunday!
Love,
Olive
I love my silent Sundays. One day a week I get to do what I want. I often feel oogie at the end of the day from sitting around so much, but the rest of my week goes so much better with my one day of vegetable state!
That being said, I have a hard time picking what to watch on my one day! I start thinking of one thing and it gets bigger and bigger and more detailed an more overwhelming.... Then BAH! I probably have some undiagnosed something or other, but doesn't everyone? ;-)
So Friday was Gloria Swanson's 116th birthday. Yay! Silent Cinema Sunday decision made! But which movies? A few weeks ago I was on a Cecil B DeMille binge and picked up Don't Change Your Husband and Why Change Your Wife? Then of course, I found out it was a trilogy that started with Old Wives For New.... Sigh. So I had to get that one too. I didn't get a chance to watch them while I was on my DeMille binge, so today is the perfect time, right? Course, because it is a trilogy and I have my undiagnosed something or other, I had to start with Old Wives For New, even if Swanson isn't in it. See how hard my life is?
Swanson has always confused me a bit. I love love love her on screen, but when she's interviewed? Blah. Preachy, boring, no sense of humor. In her roles she's so fierce and beautiful and lush. I guess that shows she really was an amazing actress. And she has profile like a Barrymore. I cannot look at it enough. Just unique gorgeousness!
All three movies were wonderful. Each one better than the last. Each one had some lesson. Was Cecil hanging with D.W. Griffith around this time or what?
Lessons Learned:
Old Wives for New: Don't get old and fat or your husband will replace you, and rightfully so!
Don't Change Your Husband: It's good to change your husband, cause if you do, he'll change!
Why Change You Wife?: Again, if you change your wife, your wife will change!
So many beautiful costumes and sets. I do so love De Mille, and Gloria was always such a perfect pairing with him. Great way to spend a Sunday!
Love,
Olive
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Get Back On That Horse Ollie!!!
I can't believe how long it has been since I've written here! August? My goodness!
I started this as a place to put all the stuff I learned about. I've been lazy! It's just too easy to use Tumblr or Twitter or Facebook or Google+. But even looking at my efforts on those, it's been pretty lazy. Not good. So why did I stop?
First, I started to feel weird pressure in doing this. Like it was an obligation and that made it no fun. I kept thinking "Gotta write this down and organize it and put it in your blog." Stupid. Especially since I don't think anyone is reading this. It's really just me. And I'm fine with that. This is not some weird attention seeking thing that I'm trying to do. It's something that I want to do. No other purpose than "want to".
Second, I realized that my blogging was VERY VERY irresponsible. I'm spreading rumors. I know that. I like rumors though. And as I've said, I really do think lots of them are true. Or have some truth. And I love juicy tidbits. I can't help it. I am all too familiar with checking primary source material, and I know that I haven't been. I'm not necessarily trying to add my dialog to the Silent Film Community, I'm just screwing around. But I guess if felt a little guilty?
Third, I used to be writer. I really really used to be a writer. A published author. I stopped writing for years. Like 15 years, and I've lost it. Being able to write is a gift, but it's also a skill. If you've got it, please don't neglect it. Writing is like reading. It's not innate. It's a skill that you have to hone. People who say they can't get through a whole book don't realize this. They expect to be able to just sit down and do it. Then they get frustrated and give up. Reading is hard. To follow a long story line and remember characters is a skill. It's really not an easy thing that your brain is doing. I was never great with grammar or anything like that(yeah, I'm still not), but boy could I tell a story. I had great tone in my writing too. Looking at my blog I could see that I'd lost it. I think I can get it back though. So I'm going to try really hard to post here. It's healthy. It's good for my brain.
Love,
Olive
I started this as a place to put all the stuff I learned about. I've been lazy! It's just too easy to use Tumblr or Twitter or Facebook or Google+. But even looking at my efforts on those, it's been pretty lazy. Not good. So why did I stop?
First, I started to feel weird pressure in doing this. Like it was an obligation and that made it no fun. I kept thinking "Gotta write this down and organize it and put it in your blog." Stupid. Especially since I don't think anyone is reading this. It's really just me. And I'm fine with that. This is not some weird attention seeking thing that I'm trying to do. It's something that I want to do. No other purpose than "want to".
Second, I realized that my blogging was VERY VERY irresponsible. I'm spreading rumors. I know that. I like rumors though. And as I've said, I really do think lots of them are true. Or have some truth. And I love juicy tidbits. I can't help it. I am all too familiar with checking primary source material, and I know that I haven't been. I'm not necessarily trying to add my dialog to the Silent Film Community, I'm just screwing around. But I guess if felt a little guilty?
Third, I used to be writer. I really really used to be a writer. A published author. I stopped writing for years. Like 15 years, and I've lost it. Being able to write is a gift, but it's also a skill. If you've got it, please don't neglect it. Writing is like reading. It's not innate. It's a skill that you have to hone. People who say they can't get through a whole book don't realize this. They expect to be able to just sit down and do it. Then they get frustrated and give up. Reading is hard. To follow a long story line and remember characters is a skill. It's really not an easy thing that your brain is doing. I was never great with grammar or anything like that(yeah, I'm still not), but boy could I tell a story. I had great tone in my writing too. Looking at my blog I could see that I'd lost it. I think I can get it back though. So I'm going to try really hard to post here. It's healthy. It's good for my brain.
Love,
Olive
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