flickerknickers

Some of you may want to check out "The Sexiest" folder which has oodles of great suggestions for the most handsome, sexiest and charismatic of actors. These faves range from B-Actors like Tom Neal, Buster Crabbe to the usual suspects like Sean Connery and Josh Hartnett. By the way, this folder also features the gals, too, like Clara Bow, Kay Francis and everyone's favorite blonde, Marilyn Monroe.

I would gladly make an exception, Harold, to silent historical films for a chance to glimpse "Cleopatra." Theda was so over the top in "A Fool There Was," that I can just imagine her chewing up the scenery in "Cleo." By the way, you named one of my all time silent faves, "Bare Knees," with the adorable Virginia Lee Corbin. I thought she embodied the innocent, flirty, mischevous Jazz Baby beautifully in "Knees." Especially the way she would put her hand under her chin and wriggle her fingers. I reviewed the film on Amazon.Com or somewhere and her brother or nephew sent me a charming note. I believe she died tragically young. But what a charmer!

Theda Bara's "Cleopatra" is one lost film I'd love to have a copy of. Everything I've read about this movie, from the location shooting in the desert to Bara's costumes, makes it a must see. Anyone whose interested in the silents but hasn't yet gotten into them might want to start off with l927's "The Jazz Singer." It has a great musical score and it's filmed as part-talkie and part-silent. Another beginner goodie is 1928's "Our Dancing Daughters." Joan Crawford became a full-fledged star as the jazz-mad flapper chick. I never liked the silent historical dramas. I love to see the Jazz Age as reflected in the movies made at that time. I see most of my silents courtesy of our public library here in NYC. Doesn't cost a penny to watch them. I've brought a few through Grapevine Video but they're closing shop in a month or two. Oh, one more lost movie, I'd love to see is "Beyond the Rocks" with Gloria Swanson and Valentino. Whew, what a beautiful pair of movie gods!

"Humoresque" is one of my all time faves! The final sequence when the Helen Wright character (Joan Crawford) wanders out to the beach and kills herself is one of the great sequences of all time--at least it is to me. I've wondered if the figure of Helen Wright walking along the shore is really Joan or her double? She was never all that fond of the movie. Maybe Garfield didn't give her a tumble although they did have a positive relationship in making the movie. A bit of trivia: "Humoresque" was so popular in Mexico that it played in one theater there for years. For some reason, it was retitled "Tears of my Soul." Garfield was so ahead of his time. He was doing method acting long before Clift, Brando and Dean came on the scene. Don't all of you think he would have made a terrific Howard Roark in King Vidor's l948 "The Fountainhead"? Vidor wanted him badly but author Ayn Rand nixed it. She wanted a much too old Gary Cooper for the role and he ruined the whole movie.

Yeaaaa, the Pre-Code era is definitely a must era. These flicks were so much fun and sexy and daring! Women had such fabulous roles back then--I'm thinking especially of Alice Brady in last night's TCM telecast of the l932 "Stage Mother." These movies were aimed at adults who enjoyed great wardrobes and mature actors who really had talent. Warren William was a perfect Pre-Code champ. No wonder his career slid after the Code went into effect in l934. It was sayanora to fun, sexy movies and hello blandness.

I would definitely pick the 1913-1920 era. The silent movies I like so much and that are available are always from l914-1915. Great movies like "Regeneration", "The Cheat," and others that are amazing in their concepts, acting and technical advances. But the 1912-1913 is also memorable because of the brilliant Thanhouser Films that concentrated on sentimental themes of children, animals and Victorian holdovers like the plight of old people.

Two must-see silents that I watch repeatedly are the l914 "The Cheat," starring the fabulous Fannie Ward and directed by Cecil B. Demille. And the l920 Louise Glaum movie, "Sex." "The Cheat" moves along at break-neck pace as it recounts how a 'social butterfly,' Ward, steals $10,000 from a charity and she goes to sexy Sessue Hayakawa who gives her the money--but he later brands her when she reneges the role of mistress. She shoots him but her husband takes the blame and goes to trial.There's a sensational trial and Fannie is a knockout. "Sex," is terrific fun. Glaum was a Theda Bara clone but she had her own style of glamour. The movie features beautiful costumes, sets, photography and lighting. Glaum has charisma galore. She plays a fast-living dancer and plays around but at the end, she learns humility. Both movies are fun,great to look at a chance to see what the best-dressed film actresses of the silents wore!

Jack Carson! I was re-watching "Mildred Pierce" last night and thought how sexy, huggable and likable this big teddybear was in all his pics. Are there any other Jack Carson fans out there? He made a slew of musicals with Dennis Morgan but getting back to "Mildred." I always wondered why Joan Crawford didn't marry Carson's 'Wally' character. He would have been a heck of a lot more funt than that oily, snarky Zachary Scott!

I'm watching the Haines/Chaney goodie this weekend since it's supposed to be another rained out event. I would love to have watched Billy and Lon during breaks of "Tell It To the Marines." I've read where Billy found Lon Chaney extremely handsome and sexy. Lon reportedly had a few personal quirks of his own. I rewatched Billy in "West Point" again last weekend and just loved it. I'm also re-reading "Wisecracker" the bio on Haines. He must have been the Hollywood party boy to end all partyboys!

The new biography of Rudolph Valentino, Dark Lover, by Emily Leider, is a must have for any addict of the silent movie days. The author spent years of research and it shows. There's all kind of goodies that have never been revealed. He really was America's first pin-up boy and eagerly appeared in nothing but tights for many photo shoots when Hollywood was still ambilavent about showing the male body. Now, I've got to go out and find all of Rudy's movies on DVD that I can. Another fun read is "The Women of Warner Brothers," by Daniel Bubbeo. The jacket features a beautiful Glenda Farrell, one of Warner's workhorses. Everybody from Kay Francis, Priscilla Lane to Andrea King are featured. Fun and juicy.

you are soooooo right, alix! the old board was so much fun. The way it was set up just seemed to make it irrisistible not to jump in and gossip. I hate this new board. it's so akward and tedious and sometimes i can't in for a day or two. i want the good ole days back!

punkkitten, I, too, absolutely love "My Best Friend" with Mary Pickford and her future husband, Buddy Rogers. He simply knocked me out the first time I saw him in this sparkling gem. To me he symbolized that clean-cut All-American young guy from the Jazz Age. I wish he had gone further in movies. You might really enjoy Clara Bow's movies, especially "The Wild Party", which is among her first talkies. Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino were both love gods of the Silents. I've seen several of them at revival houses here in NYC, along with big symphony orchestras and these glamorous stars of old simply thrilled everyone at these revival showings. On the big screen, you can really understand how they became our first 'Love Gods' because their millions of fans literally worshipped them, as if they were real deities.

There's already a folder called "Scandals and Tragedies" or something that has lots of juicy input on all of Hollywood's old scandals. There's another related folder called "Fallen Stars," that also mentions these scandals of old. There's many, many messages contained in these folders from over the past two years from us die-hard silent loving, pre-code addicts.

"Young Romance", starring Edith Taliaferro, is the added feature on a terrific DVD restoration of Raoul Walsh's masterpiece, the l914 "Regeneration." Edith and company are delightful. "Regeneration" starring the incredible Rockliffe Fellowes and the stunning Anna Q. Nilsson, is a must-have. I got my DVD version through either Buy.com or Amazon. Rockliffe looks incredibly modern--a real, brooding hunk, of the Montgomery Clift school. Edith Storey was in the Thomas Edison compilation of First Ladies of the Screen. I adore her in "A Florida Enchantment." I'd love to see Marie Doro, too! I've seen many black and white pics of her but never a film. I watched "Affairs of Anatol" (1921), made by Cecil B. DeMille and was knocked out by Wanda Hawley! She stole the movie from gorgeous Gloria Swanson and Wallace Reid. No one has even heard of her today. What a tragedy! I want to find more Fannie Ward's works. Her "The Cheat" (1915) is one of my all-time fave movies.

Buster Crabbe as Tarzan is a sight never to be forgotten. Wooo, those blonde curls, that glorious bod and his natural charm. Clara Bow in "Parisian Love" is another stunning vision who takes your breath away. Garbo in "Mata Hari" and as "Queen Christina" are also images that have burned themselves into my feverish little mind. There's one more: Don 'Red' Barry in 'Adventures of Red Ryder,' a Republic serial in l2 chapters, takes my breath away. Even though this serial was made in l940, that handsome Barry blazes across the screen, his two six shooters killing all the bad guys.

Fans of Clara Bow, Gloria Swanson, Fatty Arbuckle, etc. rejoice! Kino International has released a whole bunch of beautifully restored DVD's, starring some of our silent faves. One must-have double-feature is Clara Bow in both her very first movie, l922's "Down to the Sea in Ships" and the very rare "Parisian Love," l925. Bow is an absolute joy in both. As Dot, in "Down to..." she's a tomboy who stows away on a ship. But her magical image is already there. Also fascinating about this movie is the on-location shooting in New Bedford, Maine and the recreation of whale hunting. "Parisian Love," made just three years later was long considered lost until a print was found five years ago. Bow is fabulous in this one. She looks gorgeous, her charisma and charm are red-hot and the movie is total fun. Bow looks amazingly mod, with her page-boy hair-do, her make-up. Gloria Swanson can be seen in yet another beautifully restored classic, the l921 "Affairs of Anatol." The restored hand-tinting, stencils, is a knock-out. Wallace Reid, the 'Adonis' of the Roaring Twenties, is her co-star but the gal who really steals the show is the forgotten flapper, Wanda Hawley. She's cute, charming, natural but today nobody knows her. She reportedly ended up a call-girl in San Francisco. Kino also has a whole series of Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand comedies on DVD. Go to their website: www.kinointernational.com and rejoice.

I've also stopped even checking to see what AMC is playing these days but I was intrigued when they showed and showed and showed "Rose Mary's Baby"--as if it were one of the biggest movie telecasts of the year. Well, I've watched this one many a time on my video tape, I've seen it in revival houses here in NYC and I wanted to see if AMC would censor it. They DID! I noticed several cuts here and there but the one that really made me scream out loud was when the end comes and Rose Mary goes to the rocking cradle to see what the devil of a baby is in there. In the original movie, a brief close-up of a demon's face with yellow eyes and snake-like pupils and devil features are shown on the screen. In this dismal telecast, those images were completely deleted. I assume the AMC executives decided that those l978 images were simply too horrific for today's tragically ultra-sensitive viewers. As if they've never seen true horror in MTV's Jackass episodes.

Yes, yes, we demand that 20th Century Fox release all of Betty Grable's great Technicolor delites on DVD! My first picks would definitely be "Moon Over Miami" and "The Dolly Sisters." I have worn my video tapes of these two goodies out. But Betty made such a great stream of incredibly beautiful Technicolored marvels: "Coney Island," "Pin-up Girl," "Springtime in the Rockies"--and all those fantastic costumes! Carmen Miranda was a perfect parter for la Grable.

"Citizen Kane" is a great movie but that an even greater one predates it by nearly ten years. This is Universal's l934 masterpiece, "The Black Cat." Cameraman John Mescall does a magnificent job lighting and photograhing all the bizarre proceedings in the Art Deco castle of Boris Karloff. Director Edgar G. Ulmer also uses his camera like a real person--it glides and peeks and captures everything in magnificent black and white. One curious factoid: before Orson Welles died, he told one of his votaries that there was one silent film that he watched repeatedly before shooting Citizen Kane. The silent movie? Louise Glaum's fabulous "Sex", made in l920 and featuring stunning photography by Charles Stumar with knockout sets, costumes, lighting and an amazing use of shadows and lights. Louise, by the way, is a knockout. I brought my copy through Grapevine Video and watch it regularly.

"Bride of Frankenstein" is a real delight but I love "The Black Cat" (1934) even better in some ways. All that great art deco in that huge mausoleum of a castle where Lugosi lives. I believe the decor and furnishings is known as "Bauhaus," a German name given sharp, gleaming lines, glistening floors and walls and minimalist furnishings. Another great goodie is the l942 classic, "Night Monster," starring some Hollywood's greatest B actors. The musical score is great, too. It's a combination of the original Paul Sawtell, H.J. Salter and Charles Previn score for "The Wolf Man" and Frank Skinner's score from "Son of Frankenstein." You'd love it!

Harold, I would do anything to get my hands on anything with the fantastic Edith Storey in it. I've also got compilation of famous early movie actresses with Storey in "Atalanta." And there's another short I've seen of her playing an Egyptian princess. I was totally enchanted with her in "A Florida Enchantment." She was natural, adorable, charismatic. No wonder she was Mary Pickford's biggest competitor back in those early silents!

I loved Pert in "Bed of Roses" but I've read where in real life, her personal life was anything but. Although she was a successful vaudeville star and made lots of Pre-Code flickers, she was blackballed in late 40s and early 50s by the McCarthy Hearings. Director/ Snitch Elia Kazan gave her name as being one of Hollywood's most active communists--which was later proven to be absolute and total bull. She lost numerous roles and opportunities to continue on in movies and on stage, the same fate suffered by Gale Sondergarrd, Larry Parks, etc. Pert managed to squeeze in a comeback of sorts in the 60s with "Music Man" but she died Oct. 30, 1968. "Bed of Roses"? Not for the adorable Pert!

I've got a l932 "Motion Picture" mag that shows this sexy, sultry spread of Pert Kelton as the "up and coming challenger to Jean Harlow." She does look like a hot little dish, with wet looking lips and half-closed eyes and provovative clothes. What a chance of pace--going from a prostitute in "Bed of Roses" in l932/33to American Grandma in "The Music Man" l962.

Nick, Lee Tracy can be seen in color and at his peak in Warner Brother's terrific fright-fest, "Doctor X," l933, starring the gorgous Fay Wray at her screaming peak. The movie is filmed in beautiful two-strip Technicolor and gives the fright scenes a dream-like fantasy quality. In one early scene, he goes into a brothel to make a telephone call. Hard-talking Mae Busch--what a shock--swivels through the room in an open robe, her hair bleached white, and she deadpans: "Hey, didn't I know you in Havana?" This must have been a familiar code word to audiences back then and probably got lots of yuks from the knowing public since Havana at that time was famed for its bordellos. Lee does his famous double-take and nasal laugh. I've got to admit, though. He became a little tiresome as the forever wise-cracking reporter in this one.

Zeker, "Lady in a Cage" is a terrific movie that gets better with each passing year. AT the time, it was ignored because it was released during a deluge of "Old Actresses Playing Horror Roles" flicks like Joan Crawford in "Trog" and Talullah Bankhead in "Die, Die My Darling." I think the ambiance of this movie is unforgettable: the sterile, stuffy house, that dripping air-conditioner, the crowded streets. Olivia De Havilland was great as the paralyzed victim. And that last scene of James Caan getting it in the eyes--whew! A real black and white masterpiece!