What's The Last Silent Movie You Watched? [2020]

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

An accidental find, MANHANDLED (1924) is a very brisk, funny film about a downtrodden shop assistant (Gloria Swanson), fed up with work and life in general who agrees to attend a party of the 'artistic' variety. Despite a number of embarrassments she is offered a job modelling for a sculptor who then claims the fault for his latest creation being a piece of junk is all hers! He then tries to seduce her, being rescued by fashion house owner Frank Morgan who wants someone to pose as a Russian countess to give his shop a bit of class. Alas, the genial-seeming fellow is also after One Thing...

Despite a not-too-good copy, MANHANDLED is consistently amusing and has the odd surprise as in Morgan's performance and even features Arthur Houseman in a sober role as the son of the department store owner, who also turns out to be a wolf, though not a very efficient wolf!

Directed by Allan Dwan, and a good example of how versatile a filmmaker he was.

[Big Silent Fan]

Last night, TCM premiered Too Many Kisses (1925) featuring Richard Dix, William Powell and even Harpo Marx.
Nice restoration, nice tinting, and music done in a somewhat 'Plaintive' style.

The fine story just didn't make an exciting experience for me. My, memories of watching are better than when I watched the hour long film.
Perhaps I remember it at a faster pace than what it actually was.

[boblipton]

A lot of Nitratevillains have been complaining about TCM's Silent Sundays on the grounds they aren't making many 95-year-old movies any more. Others have complained they can't get TCM. It's a classic bad-food-and-such-small-portions story. Just to confound them, Ed Lorusso has signed a deal to get his version of Little Old New York on the network, and the movie I recorded last night, identified as "Movie" turned out to be Too Many Kisses (1925). Well, it is a movie, no doubt of that.

Frank Currier is a mining engineer who has a huge worldwide operation. He spends his profits buying off women whom his son, Richard Dix, has captivated. To save some of the money, he ships Dix off to Basque country under the supervision of Joseph Burke. The Basque woman, Burke informs him, never have anything to do with non-Basque men. Unfortunately, no one has told Basque beauty Frances Howard, and the two are soon canoodling. This upsets policeman/bandit William Powell, who arranges for his death..... futilely as it turns out, because Dix is the star of this movie, and how deadly do you expect your thugs to be when one of them is Harpo Marx in a biretta instead of a battered top hat?

This movie has been sought for many years because of Harpo's appearance. It was listed confidently as 'lost' until it turned up in a 16mm. print in Irvin Willat's estate. The copy that played last night on Turner Classc Movies was in beautiful condition, alas, while the romantic parts are good, the comedy bits aren't that funny. Well, it's one to check off the list.

Bob

[Trueblood]

A lot of Nitratevillains have been complaining about TCM's Silent Sundays on the grounds they aren't making many 95-year-old movies any more. Others have complained they can't get TCM. It's a classic bad-food-and-such-small-portions story. Just to confound them, Ed Lorusso has signed a deal to get his version of Little Old New York on the network, and the movie I recorded last night, identified as "Movie" turned out to be Too Many Kisses (1925). Well, it is a movie, no doubt of that.

Frank Currier is a mining engineer who has a huge worldwide operation. He spends his profits buying off women whom his son, Richard Dix, has captivated. To save some of the money, he ships Dix off to Basque country under the supervision of Joseph Burke. The Basque woman, Burke informs him, never have anything to do with non-Basque men. Unfortunately, no one has told Basque beauty Frances Howard, and the two are soon canoodling. This upsets policeman/bandit William Powell, who arranges for his death..... futilely as it turns out, because Dix is the star of this movie, and how deadly do you expect your thugs to be when one of them is Harpo Marx in a biretta instead of a battered top hat?

This movie has been sought for many years because of Harpo's appearance. It was listed confidently as 'lost' until it turned up in a 16mm. print in Irvin Willat's estate. The copy that played last night on Turner Classc Movies was in beautiful condition, alas, while the romantic parts are good, the comedy bits aren't that funny. Well, it's one to check off the list.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. Even after recording it from TCM HD last night and not having yet watched it, I still just ordered the new Blu ray from the Film Preservation Society--https://filmpreservationsociety.org/. I love to support their work through annual donations and purchases like this one. David

[drednm]

No it's not a signed deal, but we basically agreed on terms..... paperwork to come.

I have no idea why the change at TCM and I didn't ask. Maybe their new fiscal year kicked in on October 1 as it did at the national lab I worked at.

[R Michael Pyle]

It's been a very long time since I last visited "Doomsday" (1928), but last night I put it in and watched a print that lasts as the IMDb says it does: 60 minutes. I mention that fact, because the last time I watched it, it was on a VHS tape that lasted 74 minutes, and it moved like molasses. Didn't care for it then; but - I enjoyed the show last night. Starring Florence Vidor and Gary Cooper, the other of any importance is Lawrence Grant, and a tad less, Charles Stevenson. For good measure Tom Ricketts and Frederick Sullivan have momentary parts. This is written as a parable, and it's a romantic one, so if you like romantic movies that you think you can figure out from the beginning, and you enjoy seeing them go from less than a joker's beginning to a trump card ending, this is for you. Otherwise, be aware that there are some philosophies in the film that will appear way out of date. The problem is - farming hasn't necessarily become any easier, though the machinery to make it work in the modern world has technologically advanced a great deal, but it still demands a certain kind of heart and mind to make it successful, especially for a married couple.

Cooper owns Doomsday House in England, a very old house with a fairly large amount of arable land. He gets up around 4:00 AM every day and works till the sun goes down - every day, day after day. He's lonely. He wants a woman who will be like he is, scrubbing and cooking, cleaning and baking, washing clothes and, and... He wants a woman to love, too. Vidor - who has the most captivating eyes - lives with her father, a former military person who is now becoming nearly invalid and needs looking after - constantly. She cooks and she cleans, and she boils the water and cleans the clothes. She works her fingers to the bone and is to the point she'd like to forgo this kind of life if she could.

Around the bend, so to speak, is Fream House, owned by the Fream descendent, played by Lawrence Grant, at his most icy, but unctuous towards Vidor. He wants to marry her so she can be like an ornament to the house and the name. It won't be for love, and she'll have all the THINGS that any woman could possibly want.

Vidor marries Grant. He's older and impotent, but he gives her anything and everything, any thing and every thing. But not love.

Vidor is involved in a parable, remember? You'll have to watch to learn the ending, but this 1928 film has a good message and is fun to watch - at the right fps speed(!). Coop really isn't up to snuff acting-wise in this one yet. He doesn't get there until next year's "The Virginian", but he's definitely watchable thanks to decent direction by Monta Bell and nice camera work by Henry W. Gerrard.

[FrankFay]

I too liked DOOMSDAY, though as I seem to recall Cooper's character had a backstory cut from the plot- a widower, he has a closed off room in the house which his wife had decorated & which contained her piano. The movie shifts focus from his character to Vidor's and I have no objection to that- Deeping can get pretty heavy when he wants to drive a point home. (I can only recall one Deeping story which is a straight comedy)

[R Michael Pyle]

I too liked DOOMSDAY, though as I seem to recall Cooper's character had a backstory cut from the plot- a widower, he has a closed off room in the house which his wife had decorated & which contained her piano. The movie shifts focus from his character to Vidor's and I have no objection to that- Deeping can get pretty heavy when he wants to drive a point home. (I can only recall one Deeping story which is a straight comedy)

I've never read a Deeping novel, and I didn't realize that a "back story" was missing. The film doesn't lead the viewer to suspect such a thing that I can see. But it's interesting to learn. I didn't realize how prolific a writer Deeping was! The only other work of his with which I'm familiar at all is "Sorrel and Son". Even then, I've never seen the films, just read about them.

[NotSoSilent]

Regarding Too Many Kisses:

The copy that played last night on Turner Classc Movies was in beautiful condition, alas, while the romantic parts are good, the comedy bits aren't that funny. Well, it's one to check off the list.

I thought it was slightly better than that. I guess I consider it more of a romantic film than a comedy, so the underwhelming comedy bits didn't bother me. It was a light film, that's for sure, but I found it enjoyable.

Thanks, Bob. Even after recording it from TCM HD last night and not having yet watched it, I still just ordered the new Blu ray from the Film Preservation Society--https://filmpreservationsociety.org/. I love to support their work through annual donations and purchases like this one. David

I ordered it too. They are doing good work, something worthy of our support. I saw an example of their Biograph restoration work at the Kansas Silent Film Festival earlier this year - it looked incredible.

[Mike Gebert]

It's funny that the reaction to Too Many Kisses is so middling. I thought it was a lot of fun when I saw it at Capitolfest. Liking a comedy better because you're with an audience that's laughing along with you? Very possible.

[NotSoSilent]

It's funny that the reaction to Too Many Kisses is so middling. I thought it was a lot of fun when I saw it at Capitolfest. Liking a comedy better because you're with an audience that's laughing along with you? Very possible.

Some films certainly play better with an appreciative audience. It's easy to feed off of each other when everybody is laughing and enjoying themselves. I feel the same way about The Clinging Vine. I enjoyed it much more when I saw it at a festival. It's still a good film, but it played better with a crowd (at least to me).

[boblipton]

There's a thread about Yolanda (1924) here:

https://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php? ... da#p174303

Marion Davies is the Princess Mary of Burgundy. She likes to go into town via her secret passageway to her best friend's house, where she can win pigs; her father, though, is Charles the Bold as portrayed by Lynn Harding. He has other plans for her. He wants to invade Switzerland, and so he plans to wed her to the French Dauphin, mostly to have peace on that border. The problems are twofold. First, Marion objects to being married off to the simple-minded Charles the Simple. Second, she has already fallen in love incognito with Ralph Graves, the Duke of Styria, What's a girl to do?

Clearly Hearst liked the results of When Knighthood Was In Flower and used many of the same elements: same Marion, same tyrant Harding, same director Robert Vignola, and same art director, Joseph Urban. The sets are supposed to have been the largest ever built on the East Coast. The costumes are sumptuous. The poses are classic. And Miss Davies is forced to play this as an ordeal through to the happy ending. No more the light-hearted interlude.... that's finished off with the first scene and thereafter she must storm and rage and suffer. There's no real sense of pacing, no internal highs and lows. The closest one gets is to witness Leon Erroll as an innkeeper doing his 'rubber legs' dance. Then it's back todrowning Miss Davies in seed pearls.

As a pure photoplay, a series of images, its astonishing. Cinematographers Ira Morgan and George Barnes deserve praise for their work. As a story, though, Miss Davies is overwhelmed.

Bob

[R Michael Pyle]

"Upstage" (1926) is an early Norma Shearer starrer, with Oscar Shaw (wonderful dancer who only made 7 movies and who was a champion golfer, besides!), Tenen Holtz, Gwen Lee, Dorothy Phillips, Ward Crane, and others. Although not a comedy of the laughing sort, this one is listed as a "drama/romance", which is correct, but by the old-fashioned definition of comedy, or even comedy/drama, this actually fits the bill. Running at 76 minutes, this seems more like 56 minutes, and it gets through the material in very watchable way. One can easily see Norma Shearer being groomed through the press and coming out smooth and ready to be wrapped around some gritty and mega-star material very soon. Shearer begins the piece arriving in Pennsylvania Station fresh from the sticks where she's fresh from business college and she's fresh and ready to go. Fresh. Her snappy cockiness and hayseed naivete is both a boon and a bane. She goes to apply for a secretarial job, finds it's taken, runs into Vaudeville performer - a genuine trouper - Shaw - who takes her under his wing as his new partner, etc., etc., etc. However, she's a bit too naïve, a bit too cocky, a bit too egoistic - and certainly NOT a trouper - yet. She quits Shaw, goes with Crane, ruins the act by not being a trouper, being less than ready for the likes of anything higher than Vaudeville, etc., etc., etc. Guess who she gets back to? Yep. Oh, and by this time, with the intervening events, she's a trouper.

Very good show. For anyone interested in Shearer and her early career, this is a must. She's quite good. Fine scenes of 20's New York City, too, and those opening scenes in Pennsylvania Station are a treat. Filmed with some care, too. I liked this.

[FrankFay]

I've wanted to see this one since a clip was posted. There is a snappy tone to Norma Shearer in her silents that she seldom finds in later films. It is also nice to see Oscar Shaw as something other than the wet blanket of THE COCOANUTS.

[Trueblood]

May I ask how and where you saw UPSTAGE? I have seen the nice trailer at https://www.filmpreservation.org/preser ... ailer-1926# and read the information about this film. How did you two see this film? Thanks, David

[R Michael Pyle]

May I ask how and where you saw UPSTAGE? I have seen the nice trailer at https://www.filmpreservation.org/preser ... ailer-1926# and read the information about this film. How did you two see this film? Thanks, David

An acquaintance of mine burned a copy for me over ten years ago. This acquaintance put music on the film and sent me a DVD. I'd never watched it until last night, and it's a good thing I did. It's beginning to rot. Good film, though. I have no idea the origination where my old acquaintance found it. It's got to be out there somewhere. Evidently the original that my print came from had no music accompaniment.

[tslater]

The Broken Butterfly (Maurice Tourneur, 1919) Beautiful film, beautifully restored from a French copy showing now on The Criterion Channel. Even the intertitle cards are worth viewing, and Tourneur uses a symphony scene to significantly comment on snobby audiences who refuse to appreciate simple but beautiful work.

[R Michael Pyle]

"I Was Born, But..." (Original title: "Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo") (1932) is a Japanese silent directed by Yasujirô Ozu, and now has the distinction of being one of the most famous comedies of silent film world-wide. There are four main stars, the family comprised of the father, Yoshi, played by Tatsuo Saitô, the mother, Haha, played by Mitsuko Yoshikawa, and their two sons, ten year old Ryoichi, played by Hideo Sugawara, and his eight year old brother, Keiji, played by Tomio Aoki. The film is critiqued as light comedic/dramatic social satire, which it is; but as I watched, it became for me the simple revelation - which wasn't any revelation, really - that boys all over the world are, have been, have always been, and probably will remain, perhaps always, the same, no matter the culture; and that families are basically the same, too. Though there are several others in the film, and they add wonderfully to this very naturalistic telling, the family, especially the boys, make the story roll forward. Frankly, nothing's changed much. Boys still run into the neighborhood/school bully, they learn what social status is, they become ingrained in being part of the family social status, they imitate all around them, and brothers do what brothers do yet, behave at eight and ten both naively and naturally, usually trying to "fit in", by hook or by crook, possibly trying to be "top of the lot", but if that is not possible, at least "in the flow". The boys eventually join in what seems to be its own clique. School hasn't changed any, either, except most today do not have to dress in a school tunic of any sort, coat or hat. One of the boys in the school, Taro, played by Seichi Katô, always is dressed in a nice, rather formal, black suit, as he is the son of many of the boys' employer, Mr. Iwasaki, played by Takeshi Sakamoto. Station. Station. Station. Frankly, I felt as if I were back in grade school and junior high as I watched this. Also stated is the fact that "you boys will have a better chance if we raise you in the suburbs"; this, as opposed to the big city, Tokyo.

As I began to watch, it took me about five minutes to begin to really get into this thing. What kept me watching was the sets. All were genuine, nothing built for the film. It was very, very captivating. But as I got accustomed to the story, it not only began to be equally captivating, but it grabbed me, pulled me into it, and with a smile, to boot! It has some very funny moments, almost always charming moments, and some very realistic scenes of simply existing, or what it takes to exist in this world. Ozu has done this remarkably well. This film has been a classic for years. It certainly remains one. Highly recommended if you've never seen it.

I must add that the boys, Hideo Sugawara and Tomio Aoki are glorious actors. They seem like real brothers. Aoki is particularly noteworthy. They are among the very best child actors I've ever seen. Their father in the film, Tatsuo Saitô, has moments in the film where he appears to be so skinny that you'd think he was anorexic! That was actually a disturbing thing once in a while. Great film!

[R Michael Pyle]

"Too Many Kisses" (1925) stars Richard Dix and Frances Howard, though many will want to watch this to see a speaking (silent, of course(!), but nevertheless speaking) Harpo Marx. His character plays almost as it would in the future talkies he made, but he lacks a top hat - substitute a beret - and he's not quite as off-the-wall; well, almost not quite as... Others in this romantic comedy are William Powell - who easily gives the best performance as the nasty - Frank Currier, Joseph Burke, and Albert Tavernier, plus the henchmen and several others who fill out scenes. In a story that could only happen in the mind of film scenarists, this is about a man who can't avoid falling for women, making promises to them - such as a firm marriage - then being constantly sued for breach of promise, costing his father a fortune. His father is extremely wealthy, but the costs to pay off his son's suiters are beginning to take a toll, if not on his wealth necessarily, on his anxiety and health. SO - he sends his son off to the Basque country in the Pyrenees between France and Spain where the women only marry other Basque men...only other Basque men... Here, Dix meets Frances Howard, but he also meets her suiter, Powell, the chief of police, the capo di tuti capi, and an expert knife thrower, should the need - or the wish - arise. You can already see where this is going. It's pleasant going, beginning with a very mildly comedic engine rev-up. But the film progresses very incrementally, building and building quite well, with a mixture of comedy, drama, romance, and a good dollop of comedy/drama - with Harpo Marx served up as well. Dix is an actor who has a fine range, though narrow individual style of presenting that range. Known mostly as a tough character in sagas, nevertheless he began in a host of different types of films, from "The Ten Commandments" (1923) to rough-house comedies like "The Shock Punch" (1925), and originally served in a new takeover position after Wallace Reid died as a follow-up actor in Reid's type of film in things like "The Lucky Devil" (1925). He's best remembered now, perhaps, as the star in the series of films where he played "The Whistler" (1944-47).

This is on a new Blu-Ray from the Film Preservation Society, highly toned, with a few titles tinted, and a lovely musical score by Bill Marx, Harpo's son.

Just as a side note, I find it curious that I have five DVDs or Blu-Rays of Dix movies from 1925. Why so many from that year are available when he made so many films from as far back as 1917 seems odd to me. He's not an actor too many people remember anymore, though he certainly deserves to be better known. His output, though perhaps not in the "classic" category, with perhaps the exceptions of "The Ten Commandments" (1923) and the lesser "Cimarron" (1931), still are good watching today. Dix becomes a tad ripe after his silent days, but gets back into the swing of things with the really good "Whistler" series.

[comedyfilm]

Two days ago, I watched NEAR DUBLIN, a 1924 Stan Laurel short comedy. It takes place in Ireland.

[drednm]

The Railrodder (1965) is a short silent film starring Buster Keaton as a man in England who decides to see Canada, so he jumps in the Thames and walks out of the ocean onto Canadian soil. He then hops a railroad motorized handcar kind of thingy and speeds cross country doing lots of his schtick from the 1920s with blankets, clothing, food, maps, etc. All the props come out of a large red box on the thingy. While Buster does his thing, the Canadian countryside whizzes by in the background. The music is awful and the sound effects unnecessary. Yet even at 70, Keaton seems ageless.

[R Michael Pyle]

I finally had the stamina to get past the first ten minutes of "The Holy Mountain" (original title: "Der Heilige Berg") (1926), whose first ten minutes were, for me, so artsyphartsy (with the exception of the exceptional photography which was mesmerizing!) that it took the third try over a four day period to progress. The first ten minutes or so actually is entitled "Prologue". Starring Leni Riefenstahl, Luis Trenker, Ernst Petersen, and three other minor characters, plus a lot of participants in village scenes and ski race scenes, though these are the actors, the humans who make the story go - - - the genuine star of this film is the incredible photography of cinematographers Sepp Algeier, Albert Benitz, Helmar Lerski, and Hans Schneeberger. The story is wrapped in a literary framework exploring the supremacy of Nature, the nature of Supreme Beauty, and the fact that some humans, though they might embrace one of those two as supreme beliefs, nevertheless are wired as all humans to have nearly incomprehensible, inexorable, and overwhelming emotional reactions to human love. In other words, by the end, forget philosophy, all humans are animals that behave with instincts, emotions, and desires difficult to overcome and channel into one simple philosophical way of living. The two men, Trenker and Petersen, both fall for the same girl, Riefenstahl - who, not conveniently at all, falls for both men, though in one scene near the end we see her say, "Vigo (Petersen) is just a child", the implication being that she'll settle for Trenker...and we as viewers are going, "Really?"

The story gets going after the first ten minutes. It develops very nicely; but after a half hour or so, it revs up in skiing scenes to a hot point. THEN, it really gets moving. The ski scenes are wonderfully done, but, again, it's the cinematography that is riveting, not necessarily the story. THEN, THEN...the story for about just short of an hour till end is heart-racing and a thriller. Extremely well done at this point, the human story is ever as gripping as the photography. Finally, the direction under Arnold Fanck and Leni Riefenstahl herself has immersed itself in its job of storytelling, still wrapped in beautiful photography, but minus the artsyphartsy goo that's been cramping the film's style.

This is the first of Riefenstahl and Fanck's supposed "mountain" films. In its own way it's a masterpiece, but I must tell you - for me, it was a challenge to get into this thing. I'm very glad I did, because the ensuing tragedy is Shakespearean, if not Sophoclean - with a caveat... The very ending - a small group of intertitles - is a great let-down, in my opinion, because the fact that Fanck makes the story suddenly ONLY about loyalty sounds a good deal like a call to personal nature needing to be politically sacrosanct to all things in life - a loyalty to what all humans must believe, in loyalty. Well, loyalty to what? I believe the film in its overall telling ends on a vague note about the issue. We've seen a sort of loyalty suddenly unleashed in saving the life of the best friend Trenker has where just beforehand he'd betrayed him by taking that best friend up the dangerous face of a mountain during a horrific storm - this, to see if he'll make it or not - jealousy being the motive. But the intertitles at the end aren't referencing that segment of the film necessarily, but seem to imply a bigger, perhaps, political message. I saw a very ambiguous take-away when I finished watching.

The "friends" and their love, Leni, may have to answer to a higher power when they get past the veil - based on story in the film.

This is a Kino Video release from 2002.

[R Michael Pyle]

"The Look Out Girl" (1928) is an example of cheap on the prowl, out looking (no intent of a pun on the name) for patrons to see if "sucker" really can be applied every minute, as a certain showman once said. The film is not difficult to watch. It's a lot like some early television where, when somebody got home from work and was dazed from the day, that person would sit down; read the paper; eat dinner in a haze; then turn on the TV, watch with glazed eyes something about as interesting as watching strands of vegetable matter turn into straw material which becomes hay at some future time; then fall asleep with the TV still on.

Starring a very nice looking Jacqueline Logan, with Ian Keith, Gladden James, Lee Moran, William H. Tooker, Jimmy Aubrey, and others, my copy is not tinted, is in ratty, but a watchable state. Logan's the "look out girl" for a gang of robbers, but she wants to get out from under such conditions of being a "moll". This Victorian style, dime novel story has her marrying the man who saves her from what amounts to being an attempted suicide; marrying him so quickly after he quickly falls in love with her - that it's ridiculous; but, okay, the story's watchable, and I'm not glazed over enough to fall asleep, so I'll just continue watching this automatonistically told story as if I were an automaton, too.

There, if you wish to watch it, you won't be disappointed, believe it or not. Besides, it's just 55 minutes long, and you'll appreciate that Jacqueline Logan's really good looking and could at least act to the directions of a director. Oh, by the way, the director's Dallas M. Fitzgerald, and he directs about as well as I could - not. Have at it.

[Frame Rate]

I just viewed Outside the Law (1920) -- Kino's recent DVD re-release, now with razor-sharp 35mm restoration, a fine new score and Anthony Slide's authoritative commentary, plus excerpts believed to be from the 1926 theatrical re-issue as it survives in a 16mm Show-at-Home print. In the commentary, likely recorded before Kino's decision to include as "extras" a side-by-side comparison of the continuous use of alternate takes plus a drastically changed ending in the final reel, Slide refers to the lack of available information regarding alterations done by Universal for the re-issue -- yet that is clearly on display in this supplementary footage:

The extremely brutal, destructive and protracted fight sequence in the Chinatown curio shop appears to have been totally excised from the re-issue, and the concluding sequence of that version consists of previously unseen (in the 35mm restoration) footage depicting the reformed-from-a-life-of-crime romantic leads facing a happy future together at home and planning to have a child.

Despite the well-known example of the same studio (Universal, with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) calling cast members back, half a decade later, to shoot substantial new material for a re-issue, it still seems highly unlikely that Priscilla Dean and Wheeler Oakman, neither one still contracted to Universal, would have been re-hired after five years for so brief a concluding shot.

Instead, I suspect the "happy couple" shot was taken from an alternate cut of the 1920 film that did not survive preview screenings -- and that the spectacular fight sequence was a last-minute addition to "pep up" the original release. Supporting this theory is the critic's review Slide quotes from which expresses strong revulsion to the extremely violent and bloody melee and suggests it be dropped from the film. Universal brass may have had "second thoughts" about its inclusion in the re-issue -- if that critic's disdain turned out to have been widespread.

Also, there is a dialogue title in the 1920 version which describes the head of the criminal gang (Lon Chaney) as having been "trapped" and bound to be out of commission for "twenty years," shortly before the gang (with Chaney somehow still at large!) suddenly descends upon the curio shop and battles the (reformed) ex-members plus a squad of San Francisco police, in pursuit of stolen jewels that the conscience-stricken ex-members intend to return to the rightful owner.

Since that very same dialogue title also occurs in the re-issue, the deletion of the over-the-top fight sequence causes no noticeable gap in the narrative, the crucial plot threads (regarding Confucius-inspired "reformation") are wrapped up anyway, and the reinstatement of the long-discarded, sentimental concluding shot just helps to reinforce the film's change-of-heart message.

[Frame Rate]

He's best remembered now, perhaps, as the star in the series of films where he played "The Whistler" (1944-47).

An insightful review, Michael, and I too am an admirer of Dix's extended on-screen career. something many of his contemporaries of comparable star power failed to achieve after they became, as you said, a bit "ripe". But I must object to one minor point -- in comparison to some other long-term, screen survivors such as Warner Baxter, who kept the paychecks coming by portraying THE CRIME DOCTOR and Chester Morris, who did the same as BOSTON BLACKIE.

Dix, on the other hand, did not portray the omniscient, unseen, ultra-cynical, titular narrator known as THE WHISTLER. Instead, Dix appeared in each film as a different character, with each of them functioning as a brand-new, wearied and worried target for the combined, reap-the-whirlwind forces of fate and bad choices.

The pattern paralleled a similar B-mystery/suspense series of the 1940s, the INNER SANCTUM films, whererin (most definitely "ripe" but never as big a star) Lon Chaney, Jr. also kept re-appearing in differently identified, central-character roles.

[R Michael Pyle]

He's best remembered now, perhaps, as the star in the series of films where he played "The Whistler" (1944-47).

An insightful review, Michael, and I too am an admirer of Dix's extended on-screen career. something many of his contemporaries of comparable star power failed to achieve after they became, as you said, a bit "ripe". But I must object to one minor point -- in comparison to some other long-term, screen survivors such as Warner Baxter, who kept the paychecks coming by portraying THE CRIME DOCTOR and Chester Morris, who did the same as BOSTON BLACKIE.

Dix, on the other hand, did not portray the omniscient, unseen, ultra-cynical, titular narrator known as THE WHISTLER. Instead, Dix appeared in each film as a different character, with each of them functioning as a brand-new, wearied and worried target for the combined, reap-the-whirlwind forces of fate and bad choices.

The pattern paralleled a similar B-mystery/suspense series of the 1940s, the INNER SANCTUM films, whererin (most definitely "ripe" but never as big a star) Lon Chaney, Jr. also kept re-appearing in differently identified, central-character roles.

I'm aware he didn't "play" the Whistler. I certainly phrased that incorrectly. Yes, sorry! I love the Whistler movies, and I've watched all of them even in the last year and a half again. I also have watched all the Crime Doctor films again, too. And you'll find this very coincidental, but, no kidding, my wife and I are in the midst of all the Boston Blackie films again even at present, and we'll probably finish up with them in the middle of February. We watch one about every ten days or so. I also have to admit, I've been slightly disappointed in the Blackie series this time, as some of the humor provided by his sidekick is just a tad over the top for me this time. My wife, I think, has already had enough. We've watched the Blackie movies - all of them - several times in the past. I really like Morris, but I prefer him now in other things. The Inner Sanctum films I can take or leave. Some of them are okay and some of them aren't - for me. For me, of the four series, number one is Crime Doctor, number one and a half is Whistler, number three is Boston Blackie, and last is Inner Sanctum. A couple of series I never tire of, though the actors weren't necessarily "ripe", are the Saint and the Falcon series. My favorite "series" of all is William Powell as Philo Vance. I also greatly enjoy Warren William as Perry Mason, although several others essayed the part, too. For that matter, several others essayed Vance, too: I've seen them all. At my age I've probably seen most of the series that were filmed in sound. I'm always looking for silent entries to the sound films, too, even if they're not portrayed by the same actors as appeared later. Oh, and of course, if I had to pick a series that I think tops all of them, even the Vance series when I think about it: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. Just my opinion.

If I may be allowed a coda to all this: Last year we watched again all the Edna May Oliver and Jimmy Gleason films that were a fine series, even the extra one with ZaSu Pitts, though it wasn't as good. One series I literally detest - while others just love it to death - is the Blondie series. I don't mind Blondie, but Dagwood - no way! And that series with Guy Kibbee - it has its moments, and it has its not moments... Lots of the different crime series are just okay. Some of them almost don't even serve as mediocre programmers. Once in a while, one is a wham-bam! But only once in a while. I'm hoping - probably against hope - that some other series will be released on DVD in future. I'm looking for a few of them that have never even showed up on AMC, TNT or TCM. The Chans, Motos, and the Wongs have been handled in the last twenty years, but there are plenty more. Not sure we could put up with Weavers and such anymore, though. The complete Lone Wolf, even going back to the silent ones would be a welcome addition. And not all of the Michael Shaynes with Lloyd Nolan have been released, either, just a volume 1. Where's 2? And Dick Tracy while I'm thinking about it. Stupid movies, but fun to watch anyway... Okay, I've left off many...

Lord, I forgot the Thin Man series! Shame on me!

[Dave Pitts]

Are Parents People? (1925 Para.) was a title I'd owned for years but didn't watch 'til last night. It was a disappointment, with a prosaic story that didn't live up to its snappy title. I expected a Jazz Age sensibility, but even with the first rate talent involved (Mal St. Clair directing Adolph Menjou, Florence Vidor, and Betty Bronson), there's not enough sparkle. The central situation (daughter with divorced parents) offers some interesting plot choices, but the film is too earnest. Everson admired it, citing a few sequences where Bronson's posture reveals her emotions, and an extended scene where a ham actor demonstrates how to act for the movies. I would've appreciated these more if the intertitles and plot points showed more wit. Bronson is written as a naive boarding school student, not the flapper I thought she would be. Menjou and Vidor could have handled any amount of sly comedy, but it's not there in the scenario. Watchable but not that entertaining. I'd compare it to a friend putting on a Jean Harlow comedy for you, but you get Wife Vs. Secretary instead of Bombshell.

[FrankFay]

I somewhat agree with you- enjoyable but very slight, though it wants you to think of DeMille. - I thought George Beranger playing a goofy actor was the best thing in the film. It gets overrated because there are so few Betty Bronson films that people grasp at the few available. Problem is, it's a classic example of Paramount having an actor with a special quality and having no clue how to use them. Same thing with Pola Negri, and W. C. Fields (until talkies)

[Dave Pitts]

And to be fair about it, divorce is no longer a scintillating and 'illicit' topic -- it's impossible for us to be shocked about it, the way we might have been in '25. (Among other reasons, that's why it was way past dumb to remake The Women in 2008 .)

[Frame Rate]

And that series with Guy Kibbee - it has its moments, and it has its not moments...

I assume you mean the SCATTERGOOD BAINES series, originally released by RKO but financed and owned by others, hence not included in the C&C Movietime library and thus never shown on TNT or TCM. The few that I've managed to track down are, to my taste, both amusing and fairly faithful to the small-town/self-reliance sentiments of the character's highly prolific creator, Clarence Buddington Kelland. At present there don't appear to be any of the features in authorized circulation, and only a few bait-and-switch clips are on YT. Of all the non-western "series-character" B's from the first two decades of talkies, these seem to be the rarest.