My Top Ten Silent Movies
Who else likes silent movies? Judging by the numerous eyeballs looking at my review of The Melies Mystery (thanks heaps, all of you!) I’m guessing a lot. Silents can be so cool, right? They work a different part of the brain because for one thing, they can’t be watched with one eye on the smartphone. Not very much, anyway. It’s like listening to the radio as opposed to watching a show or a movie.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I came into the silent movie love not too long ago, very much due to the wonderful blogs, Movies Silently and Silent-ology, owned by my friends, Fritzi and Lea, respectively. I’m a little biased because I know these ladies, but they’ve got fun things going on their respective sites.
Anyway, since tomorrow is National Silent Movie Day, it seemed like a good time to list my favorites in no particular order. It was a hard choice because there are so many, but I finally whittled it down to ten. The underlined titles contain links to longer reviews on Taking Up Room if anyone’s interested. Off we go…
A Trip To the Moon (1902)
Melies is a must, of course, and so is A Trip To the Moon. It’s so much fun to see half a dozen guys in frock coats jet off to the remarkably lush moon, where strange mer-people come at them and pretty girls smile down at them. It all ends improbably but leaves us with a smile.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
We’ve talked about this one a little bit already but it bears repeating because it’s so awesome. While I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Caligari, it never fails to draw me in and I always notice something new.
Noah’s Ark (1929)
Noah and his famous ark are incidental to this tale of war, repentance, and crossed signals that’s directed by Michael Curtiz, stars Drew Barrymore’s grandmother Delores Costello and features one of the most dangerous flood scenes in film history. Making the movie wasn’t fun for anyone, but the finished product is a marvel.
The General (1927)
This movie is amazing. Not only do we see Buster Keaton at the height of his popularity, but there’s a scene on a train in which he leaps and rolls and uses various bars like trapezes all while the train is moving, and it’s filmed in one lonnnnng tracking shot. It’s quite the eye-opener.
Show People (1928)
Marion Davies could almost get her own list on Taking Up More Room, and maybe she will some day. However, if I had to pick a quintessential movie of hers it would have to be Show People. Not only does Davies get plenty of chances to flex her considerable comic muscles, but viewers can see a glimpse of MGM during the silent era.
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
Universal may have been where Lon Chaney made his classic horror films, but MGM is where he made everything else, and He Who Gets Slapped has the distinction of being MGM’s first official film after the Mayer, Goldwyn, and Metro studios merged. They really hit the ground running because this movie looks gorgeous.
The Cat and the Canary (1927)
A lovely, funny dark house comedy starring Laura La Plante and Creighton Hale, The Cat and the Canary follows the family of an eccentric uncle and what happens when the least likely relative inherits his estate. Among other mysterious occurences are hands coming out of walls and a scary-looking doctor.
Nosferatu (1922)
This is yet another classic that begs mentioning. It’s one of the OG vampire movies and what we might call a mockbuster nowadays because it draws enough from Bram Stoker’s novel to be recognizable, yet enough details were changed so the filmmakers could theoretically avoid copyright claims.
Peter Pan (1924)
Peter Pan is a great starter silent film, because it’s a familiar story, a ton of fun and the special effects are wonderful. Starring Betty Bronson as Peter, it’s based off of J.M. Barrie’s original play. This is a good one to watch with kids (or anyone else) who might be wanting to branch out from their usual film fare.
The Dumb Girl of Portici (1916)
“Dumb” in this instance refers to an inability to speak as opposed to intelligence, and Portici stars Anna Pavlova in one of her few screen roles. Although she never straps on her pointe shoes, she dances through her role as Fenella in this beautifully shot Lois Weber film.
Happy National Silent Movie Day!