News and Notes: An Archive of News & Articles on the Silent Era
Looking for the old News & Notes page? It can be found here, or, start your visit at the Blog, where you'll find comments, news, and other items of interest.
Silent No Longer: The Mighty Wurllitzer Pipe Organ Welcomes 2009 with Free Community Concert & Silent Film
Thanks to a $235,000 grant from theatre pipe organ expert Peter Crotty, the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse has had it's mighty Wurlitzer organ restored. It will make its debut (re-debut?) on January 18, with a rededication ceremony, concert, and showing of a silent "Laurel & Hardy" film. The press release has all the details.
The Queens of Comedy
This is a press release I got from UCLA back in 2003, on a series they were showing highlighting some of the silent era's, well, Queens of Comedy. This is one of three archived pages (which I just found hiding in the site), so I'm reposting them all because they're still interesting to read. This is the original posting from the old News & Notes site: The UCLA Film and Television Archive will be screening a terrific series of films. Entitled the Queens of Comedy, it will feature favorite actresses such as Mabel Normand, Colleen Moore, Constance Talmadge, Marion Davies, and more. Read more about the series, the films, and where to see them.
Another "forgotten" page is also from UCLA, this one on a series of showings of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu on the occasion of his centenary.
And finally, the last of the "forgotten" pages, also from 2003: Art from Nicole Steen, featuring the "faces" of the silent era. While quite a few have sold, there are still a few available, and happily the link is still good.
A 2003 article from USA Today on rediscovering Harold Lloyd, thanks to a retrospective on Turner Classic Movies.
New York Times "Critics Choice" DVD Review: Perils of the New Land, a look at early films set in New York. It features two features, Traffic in Souls, and The Italian, along with three shorts.
New article on the restoration of the Loew's Palace Theatre in the Bronx, New York.
UCLA Will Build TV, Film Archive in Santa Clarita
In a race against time, Turner Classic Movies seeks out veterans of the golden age of movies.
Drowned Out By a Silent Masterpiece: A review of Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra
Obituary: Margaret Booth, 104; Film Editor Had 70-Year Career
Margaret Booth began her career in silent films with D.W. Griffith and continued to edit films for 70 years
Yes, I'm only two years late...I received (way back when) an email regarding the restoration, scoring, and premiere of the Italian silent Caina. Mario, if you're reading this, my humblest apologies...
An article on computer-generated restoration, including my beloved Sunset Boulevard.
It looks as though this bit was from a column in the LA Times. I think it's from 2001, but I'm not sure. Anyway, an article on the ceremonies surrounding the anniversary of <sob> Valentino's death.
Two articles on a famous Hollywood site: The Hollywood sign that started off as a promo and ended up a landmark, now the subject of an intense turf battle.
There's already an article on The Cat's Meow in the News Archive, but this one is from waaay back when Peter Bogdonovich began filming. While the other article examines the film's ability to solve a decades-old crime, this article deals strictly with Bogdonovich and its filming.
A review of TCM's restored "Lost World" by TV critic (and personal favorite) Tom Shales of the Washington Post
Off-thread but a lot of fun: An look at locations in and around Hollywood where Oscar-winning features have been shot
Arson guts a landmark Hollywood building
Clara Bow's personal possessions go on the auction block
A museum dedicated to the life and work of Cecil B. DeMille
Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s papers are donated to the Motion Picture Academy
Family information on Mae Murray, originally posted in alt.movies.silent
AMC Unveils More Contemporary Slate, Extra Ads
Can Fiction Solve a Real Mystery? Thomas Ince and "The Cat's Meow"
Coming Soon: Rare Chaplin DVDs
Obit: Columbia's Lady With The Lamp
NFPF approves $200,000 for DVDs of rare pics
Hollywood Looks to Film Preservation
An article from Michael F. Blake on the stage version of "What Price Glory?"
TCM's reconstructed "Greed" news and rumors
An addendum to the Silent Facts from Bob Birchard
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., 1909-2000
Looking to buy a home in Wales? The childhood home of Ivor Novello is for sale!
Marceline Day, 1908-2000
The Birth of a Nation by Molly Haskell
Watching films at Pordenone
Lillian Gish by Kevin Brownlow
How Chaplin's film heroines were influenced by his mother
A MOMA retrospective that includes the work of Frances Marion written by her biographer, Cari Beauchamp
Mary Pickford, to commemorate a showing of her films
The recently found, 1912 version of Richard III
An article on the recently shown "Reel Models: The First Women of Film"
An interesting recent article on Bebe Daniels' famous ride, a commentary on justice in Orange County.
Larry Austin may be gone, but his Silent Movie Theatre has not been forgotten.
More on the DGA Griffith Award controversy.
Once again, Hollywood's hostility towards its past rears its ugly head, as another film resource is in danger of being lost. This time, it's Universal Studios Research Library.
Thanks to a award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Film Preservation Foundation has been given $500,000 for the preservation of silent films. For more information, read the press release, and be sure to visit the NFPF site for a complete list of the films to undergo preservation. According to the NFPF, the films should be available for sale to the public in the spring of 2000, so mark your calendars now!
Another interesting article from the Associated Press: Rare look at Nazi-era filmmaker: Retrospective examines Leni Riefenstahl's cinematic propaganda, other works .This controversial figure is currently the subject of a retrospective -- for the first time ever -- in her native Germany. Riefenstahl, a special guest at Cinefest last year, began her career in the silent era, but achieved infamy with her breathtaking propaganda film for Hitler, The Triumph of the Will.
Recently an article from the Associated Press detailed the work of the Women Film Pioneers Project, an exciting -- and long overdue -- resurrection of the work of the early film pioneers Lois Weber, Alice Guy-Blache, Dororthy Davenport Reid, and others.
HWY Productions, a Dutch group, is putting together a website to commemorate the upcoming 80th birthday of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Currently they are looking for all types of information and memorabilia; if you can help, please let them know. In the meantime, read more about their plans.
An article from April 1998 on the "upcoming" restoration project at the Egyptian theatre. A nice refresher for those unfamiliar with the historic theatre.
The announcement from the Directors Guild was brief and terse: the D.W. Griffith award is to be renamed, effective immediately.
It's the end of an era: a news article discussing the recent sale of the historic Warner Brothers Studios.
From a Liz Smith column last June: at long last, Garbo's ashes will be laid to rest. What is tragic is that there are a LOT of actors whose cremated remains are still unclaimed YEARS after their death. This list includes Thomas Mitchell and Ann Sheridan.
What many people don't realize is that the National History Museum in Los Angeles is home to the largest collection of pre-1940 movie memorabilia, including such items as Mary Pickford's curls, Chaney's makeup kit, and more. A wonderfully fascinating article!
An article announcing the 1999 AFI/NEA Challenge Grant Awards for film preservation includes such noteworthy projects as Eastman House's preservation of such films as Roadway Love (1918) with Lon Chaney and The Devil's Claim (1920) with Sessue Hayakawa.
An article by Michael F. Blake recently published in the LA Times discusses John Ford's amazing and successful stage revival of "What Price Glory?".
They're still buried in sand, but as they become exposed to the elements, the extremely fragile pieces that were the sets to DeMille's 1923 Ten Commandments rapidly deteriorate. An amazing story of film history and film preservation in the California desert.
You all know how much I love them -- the old movie palaces, the theatres that existed for the movie-going experience. Read more about how they're experiencing a renaissance, as more and more people become involved in their preservation and renewal.
Special thanks to Mike Blake for putting me on his distribution list and making sure I've got good stuff for my site...
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