This feature was published to celebrate the site of SFSFF’s 27th festival The Palace of Fine Arts lay just west of the central block of eight primary exhibition palaces built for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE), which was held in 1915—about six months into the Great War in Europe … [Read more...] about Palace of Fine Arts: An Origin Story
James Cruze: The Signature Above the Title
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Red Mark at SFSFF 2024 Frank Capra famously defined his aspiration as a Hollywood director to be just not another name in the opening credits but “the name above the title.” An even more rarified position was the director who … [Read more...] about James Cruze: The Signature Above the Title
The Guy in the Gorilla Suit
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Gorilla at SFSFF 2024 From acting to stunt work to selling hot dogs outside a studio gate, there was more than one way to make a living in Hollywood. So Charles Gemora reasoned: why not carve out his own super-specialized niche? … [Read more...] about The Guy in the Gorilla Suit
Gentlemen Gone Rogue
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Sea Hawk at SFSFF 2024 Few characters are more beloved in adventure films than the aristocrat taking a walk on the wild side. As W.S. Gilbert put it, “They are no members of the common throng; They are all noblemen who have gone … [Read more...] about Gentlemen Gone Rogue
Becoming Norma
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Lady at SFSFF 2024 In an era when the movie industry churned through stars, Norma Talmadge had remarkable staying power. Beginning at the time of nickelodeons, she later rose to stardom in the late 1910s and then superstardom in … [Read more...] about Becoming Norma
Charlie Murray: “The Famous Irish Comedian”
This feature was published in conjunction with the screenings of Dancing Mothers (with The Pill Pounder) and The Gorilla at SFSFF 2024 Although overlooked today, Charlie Murray appeared in a touch fewer than three hundred films from 1912 to 1940, making one- and two-reel comedies at Biograph, … [Read more...] about Charlie Murray: “The Famous Irish Comedian”
Joyce Unconfined
This feature was presented in conjunction with the screening of Dancing Mothers at SFSFF 2024 “I haven’t enjoyed myself so much in years as I have recently, grandly rejecting parts,” Alice Joyce declared in 1924. After marrying the affluent James Regan Jr., Joyce could choose her roles carefully. … [Read more...] about Joyce Unconfined
Vampyr, the Score
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Vampyr on January 12, 2024 Ever since he saw Vampyr back in the mid-1980s, composer and conductor Timothy Brock has wanted to play the score live. He had been impressed in particular with the “fragility of the strings” and how German … [Read more...] about Vampyr, the Score