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By Fritzi Kramer on August 23, 2014 in Blog, Silent Movie Trivia Click here to view in lightbox. This Silent Movie Trivia Card concerns an 1916 apocalyptic western entitled Hell’s Hinges, which stars a very stern William S. Hart. While most writing on the film justly focuses on the famous end read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 19, 2014 in Blog, Fun Size Review Director Mel Brooks makes a silent movie about a director named Mel making a silent movie. Your enjoyment pretty much depends on your devotion to the Brooks brand of humor. Brooks regulars Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise are on hand as his read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 16, 2014 in Blog, Silent Movie Trivia Click to view in lightbox Here’s my second-ever silent movie trivia card with an intriguing tidbit from the 1922 swashbuckling adventure, The Prisoner of Zenda. If the title sounds familiar, it is because it has been famously fi read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 12, 2014 in Blog, Books Well, the full title is certainly enticing. Behind the Screen: The History and Techniques of the Motion Picture. The author, Kenneth MacGowan, was a respected producer behind such films as Lifeboat, Man Hunt and Lloyd’s of London. It may come read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 11, 2014 in Blog, GIF, Humor It has happened to all of us. We are going along, minding our own business when we accidentally step in it. What “it” is depends on who you are talking to. Maybe you expressed admiration for Chaplin in front of fans of that other c read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 9, 2014 in Blog, Humor Click to open in lightbox I am getting into the collectible business! Well, digital collectibles anyway. And since these are free, I guess it is really not much of a business. In any case, humor me. My point is that I thought it would be fun to deli read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 8, 2014 in Blog, Feature, Video, Video Review We’re heading back to Germany with something that often gets described as a carnival nightmare. I’m not sure if I would go so far but it is marvelously creepy and stylish. Paul Leni (The Cat and the Canary) design read more

By Fritzi Kramer on August 5, 2014 in Blog, Humor, Silent Movie Rules Life lessons from the people of silent film. Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any consequences you might suffer from actually following this advice. In our boring world, kidnapping is a serious crime and likely to land the pe read more

How’s about we play a little game of Silent Movie Bingo? Take this handy card with you and mark every time someone says a variation of one of these phrases. First one to get a Bingo wins a prize! (There is no prize.) I am not responsible for any odd looks you might get playing this in public. read more

By Fritzi Kramer on July 26, 2014 in About Silent Movies, Article, Blog, Feature Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. History is jam-packed with examples of this truism. From George Washington to Phineas Gage, a whole lot of what we know about the past does not stand up to close scru read more

Separated at Birth features are an ever-popular pop culture trope. “Why, these two celebrities DO look alike, when you squint and turn your head sideways.” Well, it seems Photoplay Magazine felt that it was its duty to point out certain celebrity resemblances in 1925 and here is the res read more

  I am in a historical mood today (for reasons which will soon be apparent) and so I was digging through a July 1914 issue of Motion Picture Magazine. See what I found? Mother Goose poems extolling the virtues of the movies. Some historical context: While movies did not have the seedy reputation th read more

Harrison Ford, Strong and Silent Movie StarTwo Stars, Same NameTwo stars on The Hollywood Walk of Fame What are your favorite Harrison Ford films? The Primitive Lover, Rubber Tires, Night Bride, Hell's Four Hundred, Food for Scandal, Lovers in Quarantine, Her Beloved Villain? Have you seen Who read more

By Fritzi Kramer on July 11, 2014 in Video Review 2 Available on DVD. A gender-reversed version of The Taming of the Shrew with feminist overtones and starring Pola Negri? Yes, please! This Roaring Twenties dramedy casts Pola as a chain-smoking, tattoo-getting, couture-wearing countess who takes a read more

By Fritzi Kramer on June 30, 2014 in Video Almost immediately after their invention, the movies began to used to demand social justice. This 1912 Thanhouser production shines the spotlight on the common and repugnant practice of child labor. The child workers are not actors, they are real employee read more

Here is a very charming curio from 1926. As noted in the caption, the map of Hollywood is consciously old fashioned and it is quite cute too, I might add. It is quite interesting to see who made the cut and got mentioned on the map by name. I live in California and I have never seen a leaping tuna. read more

I love vintage ads but there are times when they failed spectacularly. Take this magazine ad for Harold Lloyd’s comedies from 1925. I get that they are trying to say he is the king of comedy (and his movie’s profits certainly gave him legitimate claim to at least the title of prince) bu read more

By Fritzi Kramer on June 16, 2014 in Video Here is the 1911 version of Cinderella, produced by the Thanhouser motion picture company, one of the popular studios of the nickelodeon era. It stars Florence La Badie, who was a full-fledged movie star when she was killed in an automobile accident in 19 read more

Aww! Look at the little cuties! Little Joseph and Robert were soon to be embroiled in the bitter divorce of their parents but let’s take a moment to appreciate how darling they were, as pictured in Motion Picture Magazine. They are described as two of the loveliest children in the film colony read more

By Fritzi Kramer on May 27, 2014 in Video 4 Considered by many to be the first extreme close-up, The Big Swallow (1901) is also an excellent example of the glorious absurdity to be found in British film. It was directed by James Williamson. Note that the gentleman who objects to being filmed does read more