This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Thief of Bagdad at Silent Winter 2013 “Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were a living proof of America’s belief in happy endings.” When Mary Pickford met Douglas Fairbanks in 1915, she was already “America’s Sweetheart,” … [Read more...] about Pickfair: Inventing Celebrity
Parla una spettatrice
This historical reprint was published in conjunction with the screening of Rapsodia Satanica and L'Inferno at SFSFF 2019 PARLA UNA SPETTATRICE In which the author addresses Italy's poets, novelists, and playwrights distressed by the lowbrow fare at the movies. I don’t deny that the novelist … [Read more...] about Parla una spettatrice
Ozu’s Costumed City
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of An Inn in Tokyo at SFSFF 2018 Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo is more than a setting. Like many actors in his films, it appears again and again, adopting different guises, enriching the story on screen. This is evident in his other earliest … [Read more...] about Ozu’s Costumed City
Our Actress in Berlin
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Italian Straw Hat at SFSFF 2016 The Mostly True Life of Olga Chekhova When historian Antony Beevor went looking for the truth behind the improbable life of Olga Chekhova, he was frustrated by her misleading autobiography, going so … [Read more...] about Our Actress in Berlin
Marie Dressler
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Patsy at SFSFF 2013 Marie Dressler had perhaps the most unexpected stardom in all of movie history. At the apex of her popularity during the Great Depression, she was well past 60 and overweight and described her careworn and … [Read more...] about Marie Dressler
Marguerite Clark: The Biggest and Littlest Lady in the Movies
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Snow White at Silent Winter 2013 “Her skin was as white as snow, her cheeks as rosy as blood, and her hair as black as ebony....” These words from “Little Snow White” (“Sneewittchen” in German), a story from Grimms’ collected fairy … [Read more...] about Marguerite Clark: The Biggest and Littlest Lady in the Movies
The Magic of the Magic Carpet
This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Thief of Bagdad at Silent Winter 2013 Among the wonders of The Thief of Bagdad are the mechanical and special effects created by Hampton Del Ruth and Coy Watson, under the supervision of the film’s technical director, Robert … [Read more...] about The Magic of the Magic Carpet
The Little Tramp at 100
On Saturday, January 11, 2014 the beautiful Castro Theatre was the site of our celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp Character. No human being is more responsible for cinema’s ascendance as the dominant form of art and entertainment in the 20th century than … [Read more...] about The Little Tramp at 100