Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 9, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 9, 2015 in Blog, Feature, News I have been experiencing some major site-wide issues since Monday. After several frustrating days dealing with some shoddy customer service, I am going to be taking drastic action. The vast majority of my subscribers used WordPress to sign   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 9, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 9, 2015 in Blog, Feature, News Okay, the technical issues are getting to the point that brute force is the only way to go. Over the next few days, you may experience a few outages, weird theme changes, etc. Just giving you fair warning that...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 8, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 8, 2015 in Blog, News Hi everyone. I have been having some technical difficulties with the site over the last few days and am going to have to deal with them. At the same time, I received some rather curt communication from readers who mistake...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 7, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 7, 2015 in Blog, Humor, Silent Movie Rules Tempest was one of many silent Hollywood romances set around the Russian Revolution. One of the most troubled productions of its day, the film had a revolving door for directors and leading ladies. The resulting film reveals...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 6, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 6, 2015 in Video 2 Videos are back! Well, one video. One video is back. Anyway, enjoy! This is meant to be a video companion to my pictorial essay Stolen Bravery. You see, the “damsel tied to the train tracks” trope is more than just...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 5, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 5, 2015 in Blog, GIF, Humor The “coat hug” scene from The Artist is yet another nod to a silent era film. Most people think that the idea of a woman imagining herself being hugged by the owner of a coat originated with Janet Gaynor...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 4, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 4, 2015 in Blog, Feature, Silent Movie Review Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance play a pair of immigrants fresh off the boat who are trying to make a go of it in the United States. Their obstacles: Snotty waiters, thieving fellow passengers and a very...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 3, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 3, 2015 in Blog, Silent Movie Trivia (click to view in lightbox) Joe May catches a lot of flak for this one. A lot of Fritz Lang fans have 20/20 hindsight and curse May for taking Lang off directing duties for this picture. First of...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 2, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 2, 2015 in Blog, Fun Size Review A dark, gritty and stylish tale of dishonesty, conscience and capital punishment directed by… Cecil B. DeMille? Yes, things are very dark indeed in the tidy little drama. It’s about a bookkeeper who fakes his own death after...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 2, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 2, 2015 in Blog, Theme Month Cinema began to cover social issues almost immediately after its invention and few issues were more pressing or controversial than immigration. The Unites States is a nation of immigrants and that reality was reflected in the movers and shake   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on January 1, 2015

By Fritzi Kramer on January 1, 2015 in Blog, Feature, The Lighter Side Welcome to a fun little quiz I whipped together. I hope to release an intermediate, advanced and maybe even a murderous level at some point. In the meantime, enjoy! How it works: Answer twenty questions and hit...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 31, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 31, 2014 in Blog, News Well, 2014 is almost gone so it’s time to take a look back at the year and share my plans for the coming year. These are the posts and articles that were most-read by my site’s visitors. Poor helpless men!...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 30, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 30, 2014 in After the Silents, Blog, Feature, Talkie Review Vanity Fair is one of the most enduring classics of English literature. It’s been a century and a half since it was published and readers have still not tired of the adventures of Becky Sharp....   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 29, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 29, 2014 in Blog, Humor, Silent Movie Rules Before sound movies revealed that, that, that voice*, Ronald Colman was a steady, likable (if unremarkable) lead in romantic comedies and dramas. In Her Night of Romance, Mr. Colman gets a snoot full and ends up returning...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 28, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 28, 2014 in Blog, Feature, Silent Movie Review Mary Pickford plays the title character in this wilderness curio. A wild youth living in a mining town with her father, the town drunk, M’Liss begins to appreciate civilization when she falls for the new schoolteacher   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 27, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 27, 2014 in Blog, Silent Movie Trivia (click to view in lightbox) There’s no use pretending that The Beloved Rogue is subtle. It isn’t. John Barrymore and Conrad Veidt (in his American debut) shamelessly mug their way through medieval Paris. However, what it   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 26, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 26, 2014 in Blog, GIF, Humor It’s true! I have published one thousand silent film posts on Movies Silently. Mary Pickford and I couldn’t be happier about the situation. Owen Moore isn’t sure but I wouldn’t put any stock in what he has to say....   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 24, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 24, 2014 in Blog, GIF, Humor I pay attention to the keywords that bring people to my site and they can often reveal a lot about what people think of silent movies. The keywords and terms also let me know about shortages on my site...   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 23, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 23, 2014 in Blog, Fun Size Review Cecil B. DeMille’s debut film is pretty rough going. Crude, stereotyped and more than a little confusing, it still boasts some strong ingredients. The California scenery is lovely, the likable performance of Red Wing as the wife o   read more

Movies Silently Posted by Fritzi Kramer on December 22, 2014

By Fritzi Kramer on December 22, 2014 in Blog, GIF, Humor The Wind is a complicated psychological puzzle of a film and thousands of words have been written examining its story and characters. Lillian Gish gives the performance of her career as a completely self-absorbed character who finds herself   read more