2005

“To those who add a glamour to living — to those whose beauty is more than that of other women — to those who command our laughter, our tears, our dreams — to actresses!” — Title card from Stage Struck Early in Stage Struck, the hero makes this toast, which could describe Gloria Swanson herself … [Read more...] about Stage Struck

Even before the term “B-movie” was coined, theaters relied on a steady stream of cheaply produced films like The Sideshow. While city movie palaces could bank on a Charlie Chaplin feature filling its seats for a month or more, neighborhood theaters would change “programmers” three or more times … [Read more...] about The Sideshow

When MGM signed Lillian Gish to a contract in 1925, it was a coup for both the studio and the star. MGM had been formed the previous year and needed an actress of Gish’s stature to help bring money through the gates. The studio gave Gish the creative control she wanted, plus $800,000 a year, whether … [Read more...] about The Scarlet Letter

By the time Brazilian director Humberto Mauro began making films in the mid-I 920s, the early heyday of Brazil's golden age of cinema had already faded into oblivion. The Bela Época of Brazilian Cinema began in 1908 with the true crime dramas of Antônio Leal — his film Os Estranguladores (The … [Read more...] about Sangue Mineiro

“Prince Siddhartha styled on earth — Lord Buddha — In Earth and Heavens and Hells Incomparable, All-honored, Wisest, Best, most Pitiful; The Teacher of Nirvana and the Law. Thus came he to be born again for men” — Preface, The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold Prem Sanyas (The Light of Asia) … [Read more...] about Prem Sanyas

You can read the program essay for our 2001 screening of It here Clara Bow is the quintessence of what the term “Flapper” signifies as a definite description: pretty, impudent, superbly assured, as worldly-wise, briefly-clad and “hard-berled” as possible. — F. Scott Fitzgerald Made at the … [Read more...] about It