Category: Silent Film

At the start of World War I, spoiled rich boy John Gilbert is encouraged by friends to enlist despite the misgivings of his family. While in France, he makes new friends, falls in love with a local girl, and witnesses firsthand the horrors of trench warfare. Obviously inspirational to later Great War epics, those other films tend to resonate with me more than this one does. As it might have been for those actually fighting, it quickly jumps in tone from the home front to the mundane life of privates to the brutal realities of warfare. This jump works better in some aspects than others. I preferred the camaraderie of the men as they face new challenges over the burgeoning romance that takes much of the focus even as it too must adjust to the approaching battle.   

After seeing many Faustian tales, I was obviously very familiar watching this version of the original story. The Devil Emil Jannings makes a bet with Archangel Werner Fuetterer that he can corrupt the soul of a righteous man, Gösta Ekman’s Faust. The overly expressive acting is about what is expected from the silent film era, but director F.W. Murnau knows how to use them to great effect and they are befitting of the tale he weaves. The special effects are captivating even when compared to today’s standards: Jannings spreading plague across the land, Faust travelling the world with his devilish companion, and Faust’s love stranded during a blizzard. Aladdin’s Prince Ali scene very obviously found inspiration here.      

Magician Conrad Veidt has been waiting for the 18th birthday of his young assistant Mary Philbin so they can marry. Before that happens, she falls in love with his new apprentice Fred MacKaye, a turn of events Veidt did not prepare himself for. The heartbreak, and the events that follow, remind me of the couple of Lon Chaney films I’ve seen. This film is interesting on its own, but is thoroughly anchored by Veidt’s magnetic performance. 

Lonely telephone operator Barbara Kent meets and falls in love with lonely factory worker Glenn Tryon when they each decide to join the throngs at Coney Island for the Fourth of July holiday. A very sweet romance emerges in the bustling amusement park with the same thrilling crowds threatening to pull them apart. A mostly silent film, the inclusion of three talking scenes does not add any value to the film though I do think the first one where they have their first conversation together could have maybe worked. On the other hand, the few colored scenes enhance the excitement of being in the park at night.  

This version of the well-known Robert Louis Stevenson story of a man who experiments in dividing himself into two distinct personalities is the earliest I have thus far seen. Being closer to the publication of the original story, it feels much less like a period and more a contemporary work. I had watched this to see John Barrymore’s portrayal and it really is a sight to behold. His gyrations and contortions, particularly during that first transformation are an incredible commitment to the craft.   

At a masquerade hosted by her lover, Greta Garbo has a brief dalliance with her husband’s friend Antonio Moreno who is visiting Paris from Argentina. After her lover’s suicide, she and her husband follow Moreno on his return to Argentina. All the men in the film fall in love with Garbo and somehow she is to blame for the actions they take because of this. There’s even a duel fought on her behalf, not with guns or knives but with whips. The ending sadly continues this theme. There are some great pre-Code scenes with the frenetic masquerade ball and everyone at a dinner table playing footsies with one another, plus Garbo is gorgeous throughout, but it’s hard to get on board with the morality the film is trying to sell.

Military captain Conrad Nagel falls in love with Russian spy Greta Garbo and must secretly travel to Serbia in order to exonerate himself from a treason charge. It’s a very bare bones espionage film, but Garbo is quite alluring as a spy. She’s great at being both seductive and stoic so that it’s not obvious whether she’s also in love or just doing her duty.   

When German soldier John Gilbert is sent away to Africa as punishment for killing Greta Garbo’s husband in a duel, his best friend Lars Hanson marries his love while he’s away. While it’s a bit disappointing to see Garbo blamed for the actions of all the men, the theme of friendship through the film is sweet, especially to the point where the characters regularly meet on an island they’ve dubbed the Isle of Friendship. For a silent era film, I was impressed by a number of the perspective choices through the film. There’s a hokey alternate ending that was included on the DVD that I’m really glad was not used in the actual release.