Carrying 20,000 feet of undeveloped film from Isfahan in central Persia across the Mediterranean to Paris, Merian Coldwell Cooper and Ernest Beaumont Schoedsack already knew what was missing from their picture. After 18 months trekking around Eurasia, they had found a nomadic tribe to follow and … [Read more...] about Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness
The Cat and the Canary
In the 1920s, European directors streamed into Hollywood, infusing American films with their artistic sensibilities. They often created masterpieces that were beloved by those who saw film as an art form but that were frequently ignored by audiences. Few of those directors were successful in … [Read more...] about The Cat and the Canary
Aelita Queen of Mars
Aelita abides. Rarely seen, it’s known mostly from photos featuring oddly-garbed women posing amid disorienting geometric shapes. Foreign distributors saddled it with the embarrassing subtitles “Queen of Mars” or “Revolt of the Robots.” In 1929, Aelita was described by the New York Times as “far … [Read more...] about Aelita Queen of Mars
Bardelys the Magnificent
Eighty years after Bardelys the Magnificent’s 1926 premiere, a cellar in France yielded a nearly complete print of John Gilbert’s final film with King Vidor. Considered lost, the film had come at the peak of the actor’s popularity. Prior to Bardelys the Magnificent, Gilbert had been one of the … [Read more...] about Bardelys the Magnificent