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Before Francis X. Bushman achieved fame as a silent movie star billed as “The Handsomest Man in the World”, he had already won a measure of success as a nude artist’s model and a wrestler. He went on to star in Romeo and Juliet, and drove a four-horse chariot to perfection as Messala in Ben-Hur. … Continued
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Explore Andy Blake’s 70 photos on Flickr!
Famed director Oliver Stone picks iconic films from the baby boomer generation.
The Plank , the original film made in the early sixties by Eric Sykes with Tommy Cooper and a whole host of famous British comedians/comedy actors of the time. A silent film but very funny.
I’ve been having some fun lately using GIFs from silent movies as metaphors for teaching life. Some are hits, some are misses. I’ll keep adding more to this list. I’d encou…
In his new book Room 1219, author Greg Merritt takes an exhaustively detailed and utterly fascinating look at what he calls “the scandal that changed Hollywood”: the Labor Day 1921 death of actress Virginia Rappe, and the trials (and ultimate ruin)…
Audicus discusses five silent films that can be watched regardless of hearing loss. For other movies, Audicus hearing aids can help you watch movies with sound.
The best (and perhaps worst) part of these classic films are the real stories behind them.
Baby Peggy made her film debut at 18 months. By 10, she was one of the biggest child stars in Hollywood. Then came the talkies – and obscurity. Ninety years on, she and other silent screen actors reveal what happened next
Vol. VII, No. 1. December 1914. Publisher: Cloud Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill. Missing pages 7-10. (Four consecutive issues were lacking pages 7-10, which...
If you were born on November 21st, you share a celebrity birthday with these famous people: Laurence Luckinbill (married Lucie Arnaz; ex of Robin Strasser) American actor of movies (The Boys in the Band; Such Good Friends; The Promise; Cocktail; Messenger of Death; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) and television (Frank Carver on The Secret … Continued
The Danish actor was a cinema pioneer and wildly popular all over the world. She is largely forgotten – discover her in a BFI season dedicated to her extraordinary talent
The Library of Congress has a fascinating series of vintage movie theatre “etiquette” posters from 1912. At the time, films were silent as movies with sound didn’t become p…
If you were born on October 14th, you share a celebrity birthday with these famous people: Ralph Lauren (nee Ralph Lifshitz; uncle of Greg Lauren) American businessman & fashion designer, Ralph Lauren Corporation founder, Ralph Lauren & Polo brands of fashion & fragrances creator, rare automobile collector, and philanthropist (Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer … Continued
Vintage fashion fans have been going crazy waiting for the Baz Luhrmann adaption of the 1925 novel by F Scott Fitzgerald... and the trailer is finally here! His production is the fourth cinematic version of this classic American book. The original (silent) film adaption was released a year after the book was published. A second adaption was filmed in 1949, with costumes designed by legendary Hollywood costumier Edith Head. Gene Tierney was originally lined up to play the role of Daisy Buchanan, but was dropped from production when the studio decided her beauty would be a distraction from the plot. Here's the evidence: In 1974 it was remade with the leading stars of the time, Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, from a screenplay written by Francis Ford Coppola (although Truman Capote was also lined up for the job). Despite the heavyweight names and sumptuous sets, the movie was not a success. Here is the trailer for Lurhmann's new movie, starring Leonardo di Caprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. It looks fantastic and although the Jay-Z soundtrack won't sit well with everyone, Luhrmann made Fatboy Slim work for Moulin Rouge back in 2001. The movie's costume designer is award-winning Catherine Martin - Lurhmann's wife and longtime collaborator. The fashion in the film had a strong influence on the Spring Summer 2012 runway shows, in particular the Ralph Lauren collection. We have got our hands on an original 1920s ivory ostrich feather cape, in fantastic condition. The cape won't be online for a few weeks but if you want to make an appointment for our studio, please get in touch. To give an idea of what it looks like, it's almost identical to the one from Ralph Lauren's SS12 show: But ours would have been worn to all those Jazz Age parties... if clothes could talk! To quote the book: 'They looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life'. A beautiful piece of fashion history. UPDATE: the ostrich feather cape sold earlier this year. Here is a photograph of our model wearing it with this dress:
"It's said that Chaplin wanted you to like him, but Keaton didn't care. I think he cared, but was too proud to ask." - Roger Ebert Source (I think)
It might be easier by now to lift an X-wing fighter single-handedly, with no help from...
See the surprising reasons so many old silent movies have completely disappeared -- leaving us to wonder what cinematic treasures have been lost to the ages.
Please see Part 2 of this series, which features multiple acting couples. This post was updated on Feb. 15, 2017, to note that Jeffrey Hayden, Shirley Temple Black and Joan Leslie had passed away …
Harold Lloyd and Ann Christy enjoy snacks at Coney Island in Speedy, 1928
Pictures that speak a thousand words
Ramon Novarro: his life and screen career and finally his tragic murder in a new and exclusive short story by John Bleasdale
by Ryan Smillie While 1923 saw the then-record-breaking release of Cecil B. DeMille’s original Ten Commandments , another Biblical drama found a much smaller audience, but today seems no less momentous a release. Alla Nazimova’s Salomé is by no means an epic - it runs a brisk 74 minutes a
