Feature

A Personal Tribute to the 2016 Silent Film Festival Award Winner David Robinson Back in the 1950s and ’60s, Liam O’Leary was one of the most significant figures in silent film preservation. Not only was he deputy curator at the British Film Institute’s National Film Archive, he was also mentor … [Read more...] about Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson

"An Opportunity to Vote for All Your Favorites and Do Them All Justice" With that announcement, the editors of Motion Picture magazine launched a new popularity contest for actors. They asked readers to vote for the best performers in twelve categories, creating a dream cast of the best stars. The … [Read more...] about The Great Cast Contest of 1915

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of L'Homme du Large at SFSFF 2019 The sea has exerted a tidal pull on filmmakers ever since cinema’s beginnings, offering a recognizable—if ever-shifting—thematic shorthand, suggesting, in turn, nature at its most savage and … [Read more...] about Down to the Sea in Films

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Good References at SFSFF 2018 Back in the silent era a woman didn’t have to be an actress to get the glamour treatment from the studio’s PR department. Witness the press on Dorothy Farnum who wrote the Constance Talmadge vehicle Good … [Read more...] about Dorothy Farnum: Advice from a Scenario Writer

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Mothers of Men at SFSFF 2016 Actress Dorothy Davenport traveled west with the Nestor film company just as the movie industry and the feature-length film was taking form in Hollywood. A prominent player when Nestor was absorbed by … [Read more...] about Dorothy Davenport’s Message Movies

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of Varieté at SFSFF 2016 Photos of actress Lya de Putti from the 1920s show a smoldering beauty with heavy-lidded eyes, bee-stung Clara Bow lips, and a severe black Louise Brooks bob. She rarely smiles. In one full-length portrait, … [Read more...] about The Divine Decadence of Lya de Putti

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of The Lost World at SFSFF 2017 In the annals of film history, Willis O’Brien is considered a visionary in the field of stop-motion animation, most famous for his state-of-the-art monsters in 1933’s King Kong. His experimentation with … [Read more...] about The Dinosaur Wars: Willis O’Brien, Herbert M. Dawley, and the Articulated Effigy

This feature was published in conjunction with the screening of L'Inferno at SFSFF 2019 From rollicking adventures to cinematic sermons, silent film portrayals of Hell and Satan sizzle with innovation, dark spectacle, and insight into the shadowy side of human nature. MERRY FROLICS OF … [Read more...] about Demonic Visions: When Silents Go to the Devil