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Reblogged from Silver Screenings: We're so excited we can hardly sit still. Our friend Dorian Tenore-Bartilucci (she of the fab blog Tales of the Easily Distracted) has asked us to co-host The Mary Astor Blogathon May 3-10, 2013. This is a VERY big deal because this year marks Ms. Astor's 107 birth read more

Welcome to the theme for April 2013 here at Movies Silently. It’s time to celebrate the gallant Silent Swashbucklers. Throughout the month, I am going to be reviewing some of the most famous and best silent swashbucklers. I will also be covering the novels that inspired them as well as the ta read more

Rudolf (Lewis Stone) is an Englishman on holiday in the unstable European kingdom of Ruritania. It turns out that he is a dead ringer for the soon-to-be-crowned king (also Lewis Stone). This comes in handy when the king is kidnapped by his evil brother and Rudolf must take his place to save the ki read more

Douglas Fairbanks plays Zorro as a trickster who is not above playing a joke or two on the boisterous Sgt. Gonzalez (Noah Beery). In this case, Zorro takes the opportunity to slice Gonzalez in the pants — but it’s the hapless henchman who gets the blame! read more

Here is a little photo quiz Photoplay ran back in 1927. Most of the stars pictured are still pretty well-known among silent films fans today. Have fun! Page 1, click to enlarge… Page 2, click to enlarge… Ready for the answers? Here is the key: read more

Marguerite De La Motte is not pleased with Douglas Fairbanks and his wooing. In all fairness, pretty girls do not expect suitors to put on puppet shows for them. Little does she know that Doug is really the mysterious Zorro. In any case, he is deemed a fish and Miss De La Motte’s mother look read more

Admit it, the poster makes you want to see it too… Men of Steel (1926) Status: Unknown Sorry, this is not a Superman movie. However, it just may be even better. Milton Sills’s character study is set in a steel mill, an angle that is heavily exploited by the First National marketing depa read more

In addition to being an excellent actor, Ramon Novarro was a talented singer and pianist. His singing skills ensured a smooth talkie transition and the craze for musicals kept Novarro busy. Here he is singing the (then) oldie but goodie Long Ago in Alcala in 1930. Download: RamonNovarro-LongAgoInAl read more

One of the most prominent and influential defenders of silent film… Lillian Gish (1893-1993) Country of birth: USA The basics: Deserted by their father at a young age, Lillian Gish and her sister Dorothy were supported by their mother’s acting. The girls soon joined their mother’s read more

He may have been, um, distracting as a professor… Milton Sills (1882-1930) Country of birth: USA The basics: Milton Sills was born in Chicago into a well-to-do family. He received a college scholarship, earned a post as a professor and was working toward his doctorate when, in 1905, he decide read more

Puppets (1926) Status: Unknown The plot concerns Nicki (Milton Sills), an violently temperamental Italian puppet master living in New York. He serves in World War One and loses his hearing due to shell-shock but it too proud to admit it. His wife (Gertrude Olmsted), believing him dead, has begun an read more

Gibson’s romantic illustrations enhance the tale… Up until now I have focused on books about silent films themselves and the men and women who made them. For a change, I am going to cover some books that inspired silent films. Let’s start with the quintessential swashbuckler, The read more

This is the afternath of a scene in which Rupert of Henztau (Ramon Novarro) gets a little too assertive in his wooing and Antoinette (Barbara La Marr) retaliates. Poor Novarro had to spend an entire afternoon being slapped (La Marr felt awful about having to do it) as director Rex Ingram perfected read more

Most fans have a particular year they can point to that marked an actor’s turning point from performer to star. Most can even name a specific film that accomplished this. For Ramon Novarro fans, we can point to a particular scene. In 1922′s The Prisoner of Zenda, Novarro flicks his mon read more

Bessie Love needs to be rediscovered… Bessie Love (1898-1986) Country of Birth: USA Birth Name: Juanita Horton The basics: Bessie Love was born in Texas but her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was a teenager. While still a high school student, Love found work as an extra in D.W. Grif read more

Bessie Love and Anita Page duet in the song Boy Friend from Broadway Melody. Bessie takes the lead. Download: BessieLoveAnitaPage-TheBoyFriend1929.mp3 Popular Tags1920 1921 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 About Silent Movies Action Adventure Actor Article Biography Book Ce read more

Click on the player to hear Pola Negri sing the title song of the 1937 film Tango Notturno. Download: PolaNegriRudolphValentino-TangoNotturno.mp3 Popular Tags1920 1921 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 About Silent Movies Action Adventure Actor Article Biography Book Cecil B read more

The cover of my copy. Quite snappy. Today I am going to review yet another volume from the New York Institute of Photography’s silent movie how-to series. This book is a little different from the other works reviewed. While the previous books in the series focused on a specific skill (acting, read more

Pola Negri stars as Rischka, the wildcat of the title. She is the leader of a gang of bandits. Their latest victim is Alexis, a caddish military officer on his way to his new post. Rischka and Alexis embark on a mad courtship leaving chaos in their wake. Director Ernst Lubitsch creates onscreen ha read more

Pola Negri’s bandit girl leads her men on a raid but they end up completely wasted on stolen wine. Being a resourceful girl, Pola is determined to bring them all home again. Taken from the 1921 film The Wildcat. read more