jackpickford1 Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 It looks like there is a faithful following of silent film fans here. There are still silents by major stars that need to be played from the library as well as obscure stars. Come on, TCM, throw us a bone! I'll watch them even if there is no musical score! Just show them! We need Joan Crawford, Lillian Gish, William Haines, and how about Exit Smiling with Bea Lillie and Jack Pickford? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
path40a Posted January 28, 2004 Share Posted January 28, 2004 I could be wrong, but it seems that there are a lot of silents (relatively speaking;- ) scheduled in April: http://turnerclassicmovies.com/Schedule/Print/0,,04-2004|0|,00.html Including a Harold Lloyd day - 4/20 and a Private Screenings day - 4/14 (O.K., no silents here, just thought it was worth mentioning;- ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicsfan1119 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 And, a "Request" might be better received than a "Demand" (wink). Now that I'm looking for Silents, I'm not having any trouble finding them, even when the usual scheduling is interrupted for a while. I do agree with you, however, that if TCM is actually sitting on Silents we could be seeing because they don't yet have a musical score, then they really should get moving about getting them scored. One per year isn't going to cut it. Any ideas on what they might be doing to solve this problem, aside from showing them without a musical soundtrack of some kind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flickerknickers Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 I discovered a new silent and a new obsession last weekend, one I've already raved about on other folders here. "The Man Who Laughed", the l928 masterpiece made by Universal Studios, is one of the most amazing silents I've ever seen. I watched the restored version on Kino International DVD and it was simply stunning. Incredible photography, performances by Conrad Vedit, Olga Baclanova (what a diva!), Mary Philbin--and a great synchronized sound track. Don't miss this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombi6422 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Yes, Chaplin is star of the month in March; so, many silents will be played. Harold Lloyd's 111th birthday on April 20th. So many silents along with 2 or 3 newly restored and scored shorts. The April 14th day of private screenings all day is for TCM's 10th Anniversary as a network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flickerknickers Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 Isn't it time to give Chaplin a brief vacation and let two other comedy geniuses share the spotlight as well: Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand? These two geniuses of comedy are nearly forgotten today. Their great movies are never seen. They were equally great in their own way as Chaplin. This also goes to Ben Turpin and John Bunny--America's first comedic genius whose name doesn't even ring a bell except for the most avid film buff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpickford1 Posted February 1, 2004 Author Share Posted February 1, 2004 Well, it still doesn't work for me. Never was a Chaplin fan at all. It would be great to see Mabel Normand, but they would have to strike a deal with a museum or archive for her stuff. I think Mabel only has four full length pictures left to her name. There are still the Arbuckle/Normand shorts, but I don't know how many are left in all. I would love it if TCM helped work with archives more. Throw in some money to restore and release films. I would love to see TCM give the Library of Congress money to restore Mary Miles Minter films for example. Maybe they could help restore many surviving silent prints in places like Russia because no more U.S. prints of certain titles exists. I would love to see a TCM special presententation of Mabel Normand "Molly O" restored from the only known Russian print. It would beat that cruddy bootleg tape floating around. How about restoring perhaps the only known Elsie Ferguson silent from Russia. Just A LOT of wishful thinking I believe it COULD be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinemetal Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 patypancake, I've been requesting The Man Who Laughs since I registered at these boards. It's one of my top 10 films of all time, and perhaps the only film I would actually try to remake someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaneboop Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 You bet. It would be great to see Mary Miles Minter films.She is an actress who never got her due. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexisbanning Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I'm definitely in favor of more silents, especially in prime time. But wouldn't it be interesting to see more part-talkies? Now that's a part of movie history that's overlooked. Saw "Weary River" a couple of years ago and thought it was good. Ditto for "The Singing Fool". Also, would like to see talking pictures featuring silent actors and actresses who did not have long careers in movies after sound came in --- like Vilma Banky or Laura LaPlante. And speaking of such people, I must say that John Gilbert did not have the best voice for sound, but it's not bad! In fact, from the two or three talkies I've seen, he's a pretty good actor! In "Phantom of Paris" he plays two roles (in one he has to impersonate Ian Keith, and does it perfectly!). Lon Chaney would have made this had he not died -- it's perfect for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harlowkeatongirl Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 They're doing Harold Lloyd in April? (Marks mah calendar with dark red marker.) And after that, I think it's time for Buster Keaton day. They've got my girl Jean covered... they did a day of her movies not long ago, and on my day off, no less!! > Yes, Chaplin is star of the month in March; so, many > silents will be played. > > Harold Lloyd's 111th birthday on April 20th. So many > silents along with 2 or 3 newly restored and scored > shorts. > > The April 14th day of private screenings all day is > for TCM's 10th Anniversary as a network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddysprimadonna Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Hiya JackPickford,it's Olive, tell Mary hello-LOL, I just had to do that:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
professorecho Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Considering that no other network on television is showing any silent films, I think we should appreciate the fact that TCM shows as many of them as they do. Yes, I too would like to see many of them that I've never seen, but I can't imagine that TCM does great ratings numbers when they're showing more obscure titles, or even when they're showing popular silent titles, and after all, they are a business, not a museum. Thus I feel the DEMAND in the title of this thread is a little unfair. As another poster replied, a REQUEST would seem more appropriate and less ungrateful. Other places to bring your support and requests would be KINO and IMAGE, both of whom have a very healthy roster of silent films on DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classicsfan1119 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 I'll tell you what. Since this tread was started, I have taped a bunch of Silents that I've never seen before, and I'm totally amazed that every single one of them has seemed to be to be better than the one the week before! For sure, I would never be able to say that TCM is not making every attempt to show us the Silents, and also the best of them. In the time that I've been watching TCM and posting at this site (less than a year), I have seen an entire series of Harold Lloyd's films, and also Lon Chaney's (including documentaries!), and this month I'm getting Charlie Chaplin....all of this first time viewings for me! I sincerely wish that TCM could get Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy for us, but I can't be grateful enough for the Silents we are seeing on "Silent Sunday's". This coming Sunday evening we will be shown "Intolerance" (1916) with Lillian Gish, which is yet another one that ranks among the best ever filmed. I'm sorry, but I fail to see what there is to complain about, Jackpickford1. ML Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackpickford1 Posted March 29, 2004 Author Share Posted March 29, 2004 Classicsfan and Professorecho, Enjoy your overplayed Chaplin and Keaton. They will be keeping us company for a long time. I see nothing wrong about complaining (or should I say "demanding") to see the product that is sitting on the shelf and not getting any attention. I take it that you two are probably TCM employees planted on the board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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