In his nearly fifty film roles, Ernest Torrence perfectly exemplifies the unique skill set required to succeed as a character actor. A towering 6’4″ with a rugged, grizzled face, Torrence backed up his unique physicality with a rare mixture of humor and villainy. While he …
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Mary Pickford skyrocketed to international stardom in the 1910s playing plucky children in films such as Tess of the Storm Country and Fanchon the Cricket. Her popular juvenile image contrasted heavily with her position as one of the most powerful actors and producers in …
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I have a strange fascination with silent stars who never translated their careers successfully into the sound era. Last year I dove into David Stenn’s Clara Bow biography. This year I’ve already read and reviewed Tracy Gossel’s Douglas Fairbanks biography. Eve Golden’s John Gilbert: …
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One of the first silent films I ever watched was Douglas Fairbanks’ 1924 epic The Thief of Baghdad. A lavish costume drama inspired by Arabian night tales, the film’s imaginative tale and its star’s unique and energetic charm absolutely stunned an impressable young me. …
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This book review is part of the 2021 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge hosted by Raquel Stecher’s Out of the Past blog. Check out the list of the classic film books I am reviewing this summer and great reviews from others written so far.…
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Over the past twenty years, there has been a heightened interest in the hundreds of women who worked in the silent era and helped build the film industry into the global entertainment force it is today. Karen Ward Mahar’s Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood tells …
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