BLACHEFAN

The Last of the Mohicans (1920) French-born director Jacques Tourneur loosely adapted James Fenimore Cooper's novel about the culture clash between whites and Native Americans during the late 1700s, and turned it into a forbidden love story between a white woman (Barbara Bedford) and an Indian man, portrayed by white actor Alan Roscoe. Tourneur astutely balanced the romantic angle with plenty of action sequences, albeit often stereotypical and brutal. The film's greatest appeal lies in its interior scenes, beautifully composed by Tourneur and photographed by John van der Broek. Assistant director Clarence Brown, who was responsible for most of the film's exteriors, said of Tourneur's visual style, "He painted on the screen."

Humoresque (1920) Based on a story by Fannie Hurst, "Humoresque" presented to mainstream American audiences a sympathetic portrayal of immigrant Jewish life through its vivid details of street life and rituals, and a riveting performance by Yiddish Theatre actress Vera Gordon, "seemingly a character from life, living," rather than acting, as a New York Times reviewer observed. Although it was not the first film to dramatize the acculturation experiences of recent Jewish refugees from Russian massacres, "Humoresque" became a great screen success, inspiring Hollywood to produce many other films set in the Lower East Side's tenements during the ensuing decade. In this, his first hit film, director Frank Borzage sympathetically treated faith and love—in this case "mother love"—with the utmost solemnity, in a manner that admirer Martin Scorsese has commented "makes him so unfashionable now." Having solidly established its setting and characters through its many poignant and atmospheric touches, the film "touches the deep places of the heart," as one Variety reviewer wrote, and makes its audience believe that prayers are answered and that love can restore health.

Heroes All (1920) The Red Cross Bureau of Pictures produced more than 100 films, including "Heroes All," from 1917-1921, which are invaluable historical and visual records of the era with footage from World War I and its aftermath. "Heroes All" examines returning wounded WWI veterans and their treatment at Walter Reed Hospital, along with visits to iconic Washington, D.C., landmarks. Several Red Cross cinematographers achieved notable film careers, including Ernest Schoedsack and A. Farciot Edouart. The expanded essay below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/heroes_all.pdf

Daughter of Dawn (1920) Courtesy Milestone Films A fascinating example of the daringly unexpected topics and scope showcased by the best regional, independent filmmaking during the silent era, "Daughter of Dawn" features an all-Native-American cast of Comanches and Kiowas. Although it offers a fictional love-story narrative, the film presents a priceless record of Native-American customs, traditions and artifacts of the time. The Oklahoma Historical Society recently rediscovered and restored this film with a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Fuentes Family Home Movies Collection (1920s and 1930s) Longtime Corpus Christi, Texas, residents Antonio Rodríguez Fuentes (1895-1988) and Josefina Barrera Fuentes (1898-1993) were very active in their local Mexican-American community. Their collection of home movies — mostly from the 1920s and shot on 9.5 mm amateur film format — are among the earliest visual records of the Mexican-American community in Texas and among the first recorded by Mexican-American filmmakers. As with the best home movies, the images provide a priceless snapshot of time and place, including parades, holidays, fashions and the rituals of daily life. The beautiful images also reflect the traditionally fluid nature of the U.S.-Mexico border. The collection is a joint project between the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

A Virtuous Vamp (1919) Employing a title suggested by Irving Berlin, screenwriter Anita Loos, working with husband John Emerson, crafted this charming spoof on romance in the workplace that catapulted Constance Talmadge, the object of Berlin's unrequited affection, into stardom. During the silent era, women screenwriters, directors and producers often modified and poked fun at stereotypes of women that male filmmakers had drawn in harsher tones. The smiles of Loos' "virtuous vamp"—as embodied by Talmadge—lead to havoc in the office, but are not life-threatening, as were the hypnotizing stares of Theda Bara's iconic caricature that defined an earlier era. In this satire of male frailties, the knowing innocence of Loos' character captured the imagination of poet Vachel Lindsay, who deemed the film "a gem" and called Talmadge "a new sweetheart for America." The expanded essay is below the description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/virtuous_vamp2.pdf

The Dragon Painter (1919) After becoming Hollywood's first Asian star, Japanese-born Sessue Hayakawa, like many leading film actors of the time, formed his own production company—Haworth Pictures (combining his name with that of director William Worthington)—to gain more control over his films. "The Dragon Painter," one of more than 20 feature films his company produced between 1918 and 1922, teamed Hayakawa and his wife Tsuru Aoki in the story of an obsessed, untutored painter who loses his artistic powers after he finds and marries the supposed "dragon princess." His passion and earlier pursuit of her had consumed him with the urge to create. Reviewers of the time praised the film for its seemingly authentic Japanese atmosphere, including the city of Hakone and its Shinto gates, built in Yosemite Valley, California. The expanded essay is below the description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/dragon_painter.pdf

Broken Blossoms (1919) Most associated with epics such as "Intolerance" and "The Birth of a Nation," D.W. Griffith also helmed smaller films that struck a chord with silent era audiences. "Broken Blossoms," Griffith's first title for his newly formed United Artists, is one example. Set in the slums of London, it concerns an abused 15-year-old girl, Lucy, portrayed by Lillian Gish and the former missionary turned shopkeeper Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess) who rescues her from her brutal father. More than a tender but chaste love story, "Broken Blossoms" entreats audiences to denounce racism and poverty.

The Blue Bird (1918) Maurice Tourneur's beautiful expressionist adaptation of Maurice Maeterlink's play remains one of the most aesthetically pleasing films. The film is a sumptuously composed pictorial entrance into a fantasy world, which tries to teach us not to overlook the beauty of what is close and familiar. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/blue_bird.pdf

The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918) Having virtually established animation as a viable medium through films such as "Little Nemo" (1911) and "Gertie the Dinosaur" (1914), newspaper cartoonist Winsor McCay produced this propaganda short (combining animation, editorial cartoon and live-action documentary techniques) to stir Americans into action after a German submarine sank the British liner RMS Lusitania in 1915, killing 1,198 passengers and crew, including 128 Americans. McCay was upset with the isolationist sentiment present in the country and at his employer, the Hearst newspapers chain. It took McCay nearly two years working on his own to produce the film, debuting a year after America entered the war. Nevertheless, this is a significant film historically and a notable early example of animation being used for a purpose other than comedy. In his seminal "American Silent Film," William K. Everson called the film "a wartime film that was both anti-German propaganda and an attempt to provide a documentary reconstruction of a major news event not covered by regular newsreel cameramen. The incredibly detailed drawings of the Lusitania, intercut with inserts of newspaper headlines relative to the notable victims, and strongly-worded editorializing sub-titles concerning the bestiality of the Hun, make this a fascinating and seldom-repeated experiment."

Wild and Woolly (1917) An Eastern railroad heir (Douglas Fairbanks) indulges his passion for the Wild West by traveling to Arizona at the behest of his father. The locals attempt to indulge his fantasy and, unbeknownst to Fairbanks, stage fake gun fights and Indian raids. But the joke''s on the townsfolk when Fairbanks thwarts real criminals and saves the day. Lacking the sensational antics of his later pictures, Fairbanks still manages to entertain and shows brief flashes of the derring-do that will become his trademark. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/wild_woolly.pdf

Unmasked (1917) At the time "Unmasked" was released, Grace Cunard rivaled daredevils Pearl White ("The Perils of Pauline") and Helen Holmes ("The Hazards of Helen") as America's Serial Queen. In the film, Cunard is a jewel thief pursuing the same wealthy marks as another thief played by Francis Ford, brother of director John Ford and himself a director and character actor. Cunard, in the mode of many women filmmakers of that era, not only starred in the film, but also wrote its script and parlayed her contributions into a directorial role as well. Produced at Universal Studios, the epicenter of female directors during the silent era, "Unmasked" reflected a style associated with European filmmakers of the time: artful and sophisticated cinematography comprised of complex camera movements and contrasting depths of field. With a plot rich in female initiative and problem-solving, Cunard fashioned a strong character who does not fit the image of traditional womanhood: she relishes her heists, performs unladylike physical exploits, manipulates court evidence, carries on with a man who is not her husband and yet survives the film without punishment. In essence, the character Cunard created echoed the woman behind the camera. Today, "Unmasked" serves as a succinct but illustrative example of the role of women in film history, as depicted in fact and fiction.

Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) In this film directed by Maurice Tourneur from a script by Frances Marion, Mary Pickford portrays a waif neglected by her parents. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/poor_little_rich_girl.pdf

The Immigrant (1917) Directed by, written by, and starring Charles Chaplin, "The Immigrant" features Chaplin's Tramp persona as an immigrant making his way to America on a steamship. While on board, he meets a young immigrant woman (Edna Purviance), with whom he reunites later when both are struggling to make a life for themselves in their new home. "The Immigrant" was one of the twelve short films Chaplin made for Mutual Film Corporation between 1916 and 1917. While the film explores the uniquely American immigrant experience in both a sympathetic and optimistic light, a scene in which Chaplin's character kicks an immigration officer was cited as evidence of Chaplin's anti-Americanism in the 1950s, leading to his exile. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/immigrant.pdf

The Girl Without a Soul (1917) Courtesy of George Eastman Museum George Eastman Museum founding film curator James Card was a passionate devotee of silent film director John H. Collins' work. It is through his influence that the museum is the principal repository of the director's few extant films. As the expert on Collins' legacy, the museum said he is "one of the great 'What if…?' figures of American cinema—a brilliantly creative filmmaker who went from being a costume department assistant to a major director within four short years, before dying at the age of 31 in the 1918 influenza pandemic. Collins' films show both a subtle understanding of human nature and often breathtakingly daring cinematography and editing. The 'Girl Without a Soul' stars Viola Dana (to whom Collins was married) in a dual role as twin sisters, one of whom is a gifted violinist, and the other, a deeply troubled girl jealous of her sister's abilities and the love bestowed upon her by their violinmaker father. This jealousy and the violinist sister's unworldliness lead both into turbulent moral conflict, which takes considerable fortitude from both to overcome." "The Girl Without a Soul" has been preserved by George Eastman Museum.

Where Are My Children? (1916) Written and directed by Lois Weber, this dramatization of the moral and legal dilemmas associated with contraception and abortion is said to have been inspired by birth control advocate Margaret Sanger and her 1914 indictment for obscenity. Though Weber's style may appear heavy-handed and stilted by modern standards, she creates a thought-provoking film that forthrightly addresses an assortment of taboo subjects that rankled censors. Such "message dramas" were not uncommon at this point in the evolution of silent film, nor were women directors and writers, and Weber was among the most popular and commercially astute. The expanded essay is below this description. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/where_children_2.pdf

Shoes (1916) Renowned silent era writer-director Lois Weber drew on her experiences as a missionary to create "Shoes," a masterfully crafted melodrama heightened by Weber's intent to create, as she noted in an interview, "a slice out of real life." Weber's camera empathetically documents the suffering her central character, an underpaid shopgirl struggling to support her family, endures daily—standing all day behind a shop counter, walking in winter weather in shoes that provided no protection, stepping on a nail that pierces her flesh. Combining a Progressive era reformer's zeal to document social problems with a vivid flair for visual storytelling, Weber details Eva's growing desire for the pair of luxurious shoes she passes each day in a shop window, her self-examination in a cracked mirror after she agrees to go out with a cabaret tout to acquire the shoes, her repugnance as the man puts his hands on her body, and her shame as she breaks down in tears while displaying her newly acquired goods to her mother. The film, which opens with pages from social worker Jane Addams's sociological study of prostitution, was acclaimed by "Variety" as "a vision of life as it actually is ... devoid of theatricalism."

Intolerance (1916) A sprawling epic that traverses time and space, D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance," whose full title has alternately been listed as "Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages" and "Intolerance: A Sun-Play of the Ages," tells the stories of men and women throughout history, specifically a woman in Ancient Babylon, a group in Judea, a Huguenot couple in 1572 France, and a woman in modern times, all of whom encounter some form of intolerance. Griffith made "Intolerance" as a direct response to the negative public reaction to the overt racism depicted in "The Birth of a Nation," which was released a year earlier. Notable for its elaborate, expansive sets and complex story structure, which was achieved through crosscutting, "Intolerance" is considered one of the masterpieces of the silent era. As with "The Birth of a Nation," Griffith introduced new cinematic techniques in "Intolerance" that are now considered commonplace in today's motion picture industry.

Hell's Hinges (1916) William S. Hart was one of the most popular of the silent Western stars. Unlike most of the early film cowboys, Hart's characters were ambiguous -- no stereotype men in white hats. They could be crooks or killers just as easily as honorable lawmen or hard-working ranchers. Here he his a self-described killer seeking retribution on behalf of the devout sister of a rather pathetic minister. Performances by Hart and Clara Williams as the aptly-named Faith are confident and comparatively restrained for their day. The cinematography by Joseph August, who would work with masters such as John Ford and Howard Hawks, is equally confident and adds a level of sophistication to the production.

The Curse of Quon Gwon (1916-17) Long thought lost, "The Curse of Quon Gwon," is the earliest known Chinese-American feature and one of the first films directed by a woman, and was recently restored by the Academy Film Archive. The two surviving reels were brought to the attention of filmmaker Arthur Dong while researching his "Hollywood Chinese" documentary. Its timely rediscovery shows us that the history of ethnic filmmaking in the United States goes back much further than earlier thought.

Civilization (1916) Contemporary audiences know director Thomas Ince not for his body of work, but for his infamously mysterious death in 1924 aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht. Ince was, in fact, an accomplished and prolific producer-director who made more than 150 films in 1913 alone. In his film "Civilization," a once hawkish count betrays his war-mongering king by suddenly embracing pacifism and drowning himself as a sacrifice to peace. Furious, the king orders his scientists to resurrect the count, but is instead met by Christ, who now inhabits the count's body. Christ horrifies the king with graphic visions of war's carnage, and the repentant monarch vows to devote his life to peace. By 1916, most Americans no longer favored isolationism, however, and audiences sentenced the film to death at the box office.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) Directed by Stuart Paton, the film was touted as "the first submarine photoplay." Universal spent freely on location, shooting in the Bahamas and building life-size props, including the submarine, and taking two years to film. J. E. Williamson's "photosphere," an underwater chamber connected to an iron tube on the surface of the water, enabled Paton to film underwater scenes up to depths of 150 feet. The film is based on Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and to a lesser extent, "The Mysterious Island." The real star of the film is its special effects. Although they may seem primitive by today's standards, 100 years ago they dazzled contemporary audiences. It was the first time the public had an opportunity to see reefs, various types of marine life and men mingling with sharks. It was also World War I, and submarine warfare was very much in the public consciousness, so the life-size submarine gave the film an added dimension of reality. The film was immensely popular with audiences and critics.

Regeneration (1915) The film's director Raoul Walsh called "Regeneration" the first feature film about gangsters, although the crime-centric film deals more with individual spiritual growth and redeption and very little with organized gangs or kingpins. Adapted from an autobiography and subsequent play by a reformer named Owen Kildare, the film starred Rockcliffe Fellowes and seasoned actress Anna Q. Nilsson. It depicts an assortment of crimes, but shows the perpetrator to be more misguided than inherently evil. The triumph of filmmaker Walsh, who had worked with D.W. Griffith and reflected his influence, was its naturalistic edginess aided by masterful use of close ups.

The Italian (1915) Produced and co-written by Thomas Ince and directed by Reginald Barker, "The Italian" stars George Beban, a celebrated theatrical actor known for his portrayals of Italian characters, as an immigrant whose experience falls far short of the American Dream. Beban's stage experience and personal appeal translated well to the screen, and he mastered the nuances of film acting better than many of his contemporaries. Characteristic of Ince's film style, "The Italian" is an epic production of opulent sets and costumes expertly and inventively photographed. Ince's influence on cinema also surfaces in the film's less structured, less rigid technique, a counterpoint to the more formal "classical" style employed by directors such as D.W. Griffith.

A Fool There Was (1915) The phenomenal success of "A Fool There Was"—based on a Rudyard Kipling poem and a subsequent play—set off a publicity campaign unparalleled at the time centering on its star, an unknown actress bearing the exotic name of Theda Bara. Bara was promoted as "the woman with the most beautifully wicked face in the world" and became filmdom's quintessential "vamp," enticing male pillars of society to relinquish family, career, respectable society, and even life itself, while yearning to remain under her entrancing spell. With such ego-shattering commands as "Kiss me, my fool," Bara's destructive powers appealed to women as well as men. "Women are my greatest fans," Bara stated, "because they see in my vampire the impersonal vengeance of all their unavenged wrongs." Bara retired from the screen four years later after starring in some 40 films, establishing a new genre, and helping Fox studios become an industry leader. Only one other film from her heyday is known to exist as well as two she made during an attempted comeback in the mid-1920s. The film has been preserved by Museum of Modern Art Department of Film.