Eighty Silent Film Stars

Eighty Silent Film Stars
Author: George A. Katchmer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 1096
Release: 1991
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

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Eighty good-sized biographies of significant silent-era players hard to find in other reference works, and almost nowhere at this length. The villains and sidekicks of two-reelers (Jim Corey, Nelson McDowell), cowboy action stars (Jack Hoxie, Art Acord, Hoot Gibson, et al.), comedians, character actors, matinee idols and other talented and reliable performers.A comprehensive filmography (compiled for this book by Richard E. Braff and listing year, studio, director, screenplay, story or author, length and cast) accompanies each entry. The biographies are revised and edited versions of a series that ran in the film periodical Classic Images.

John Gilbert

John Gilbert
Author: Eve Golden
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2013-04-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 081314163X

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This revealing biography of the legendary silent film star chronicles his meteoric rise, famous romances, and tragic descent into obscurity. Known as “The Great Lover,” John Gilbert was among the world's most recognizable actors during the silent era. A swashbuckling figure on screen and off, he is best known today for his high-profile romances with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, his legendary conflicts with Louis B. Mayer, his four tumultuous marriages, and his swift decline after the introduction of talkies. Many myths have developed around the larger-than-life star in the eighty years since his untimely death, but this definitive biography sets the record straight. Eve Golden separates fact from fiction in John Gilbert, tracing the actor's life from his youth spent traveling with his mother in acting troupes to the peak of fame at MGM, where he starred opposite Mae Murray, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and others in popular films such as The Merry Widow, The Big Parade, Flesh and the Devil, and Love. Golden debunks some of the most pernicious rumors about Gilbert, including the oft-repeated myth that he had a high-pitched, squeaky voice that ruined his career. Meticulous, comprehensive, and generously illustrated, this book provides a behind-the-scenes look at one of the silent era's greatest stars and the glamorous yet brutal world in which he lived.

From Silents to Sound

From Silents to Sound
Author: Roy Liebman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1998
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

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Garbo talked, Gilbert self-destructed and Chaplin refused--that's about all many people know about silent film actors who faced the transition into talking pictures. Yes, Greta Garbo's talkie debut was successful, John Gilbert's was disastrous, and Charlie Chaplin did not deign to make one for over a decade. But there were many others--both stars and lesser lights--who also made the leap for at least one talking film. From Renee Adoree to Loretta Young, over 500 actors and actresses who made at least three silent films and had some starring or supporting roles in sound films are included in this reference work. For each performer, the place of birth, vital dates, nicknames if any, real name if different from stage name, and a source for filmographic data are included. This information is followed by capsule accounts of the performer's silent and sound careers, along with contemporary reviews of selected talkies in which they appeared.

The Men of Silent Films

The Men of Silent Films
Author: James H. Elias
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2015-10-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9781518795787

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The silent film era was the golden era of film - it showed the medium at its most distilled form, without color or diegetic sound, and focused on the performance of the actors. Take a trip down memory lane with this encyclopedia of noteworthy men from the silent film era, compiled by author James H. Elias.

A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses

A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses
Author: George A. Katchmer
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 489
Release: 2015-05-20
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476609055

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Long before sound became an essential part of motion pictures, Westerns were an established genre. The men and women who brought to life cowboys, cowgirls, villains, sidekicks, distressed damsels and outraged townspeople often continued with their film careers, finding success and fame well into the sound era--always knowing that it was in silent Westerns that their careers began. More than a thousand of these once-silent Western players are featured in this fully indexed encyclopedic work. Each entry includes a detailed biography, covering both personal and professional milestones and a complete Western filmography. A foreword is supplied by Diana Serra Cary (formerly the child star "Baby Peggy"), who performed with many of the actors herein.

Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema

Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema
Author: Christophe P. Jacobs
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 381
Release: 1999-09-30
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0313032173

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The latest offering from the Reference Guides to the World's Cinema series, this critical survey of key films, actors, directors, and screenwriters during the silent era of the American cinema offers a broad-ranging portrait of the motion picture production of silent film. Detailed but concise alphabetical entries include over 100 film titles and 150 personnel. An introductory chapter explores the early growth of the new silent medium while the final chapter of this encyclopedic study examines the sophistication of the silent cinema. These two chapters outline film history from its beginnings until the perfection of synchronized sound, and reflect upon the themes and techniques established with the silent cinema that continued into the sound era through modern times. The annotated entries, alphabetically arranged by film title or personnel, include brief bibliographies and filmographies. An appendix lists secondary but important movies and their creators. Film and popular culture scholars will appreciate the vast amount of information that has been culled from various sources and that builds upon the increased studies and research of the past ten years.

Still

Still
Author: David S. Shields
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2013-06-18
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 022601343X

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The success of movies like The Artist and Hugo recreated the wonder and magic of silent film for modern audiences, many of whom might never have experienced a movie without sound. But while the American silent movie was one of the most significant popular art forms of the modern age, it is also one that is largely lost to us, as more than eighty percent of silent films have disappeared, the victims of age, disaster, and neglect. We now know about many of these cinematic masterpieces only from the collections of still portraits and production photographs that were originally created for publicity and reference. Capturing the beauty, horror, and moodiness of silent motion pictures, these images are remarkable pieces of art in their own right. In the first history of still camera work generated by the American silent motion picture industry, David S. Shields chronicles the evolution of silent film aesthetics, glamour, and publicity, and provides unparalleled insight into this influential body of popular imagery. Exploring the work of over sixty camera artists, Still recovers the stories of the photographers who descended on early Hollywood and the stars and starlets who sat for them between 1908 and 1928. Focusing on the most culturally influential types of photographs—the performer portrait and the scene still—Shields follows photographers such as Albert Witzel and W. F. Seely as they devised the poses that newspapers and magazines would bring to Americans, who mimicked the sultry stares and dangerous glances of silent stars. He uncovers scene shots of unprecedented splendor—visions that would ignite the popular imagination. And he details how still photographs changed the film industry, whose growing preoccupation with artistry in imagery caused directors and stars to hire celebrated stage photographers and transformed cameramen into bankable names. Reproducing over one hundred and fifty of these gorgeous black-and-white photographs, Still brings to life an entire long-lost visual culture that a century later still has the power to enchant.

Silent Serial Sensations

Silent Serial Sensations
Author: Barbara Tepa Lupack
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2020-04-15
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1501748203

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The first book-length study of pioneering and prolific filmmakers Ted and Leo Wharton, Silent Serial Sensations offers a fascinating account of the dynamic early film industry. As Barbara Tepa Lupack demonstrates, the Wharton brothers were behind some of the most profitable and influential productions of the era, including The Exploits of Elaine and The Mysteries of Myra, which starred such popular performers as Pearl White, Irene Castle, Francis X. Bushman, and Lionel Barrymore. Working from the independent film studio they established in Ithaca, New York, Ted and Leo turned their adopted town into "Hollywood on Cayuga." By interweaving contemporary events and incorporating technological and scientific innovations, the Whartons expanded the possibilities of the popular serial motion picture and defined many of its conventions. A number of the sensational techniques and character types they introduced are still being employed by directors and producers a century later.

Stars at War

Stars at War
Author: Marvin D. Pipher
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2022-11-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1685708196

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This book outlines the lives and achievements of one hundred entertainers and athletes, mostly Americans, who served their nations well, both in times of war and in times of peace. It spans the period from the Spanish American War, 1898, up to 2020, but concentrates most heavily on World War II. The book was initiated in response to an apparent difference noted between the reactions of entertainers and athletes to the events of September 11, 2001, and those following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It began as an effort to understand who those earlier people were, what they did, and why; to identify the one hundred who did the most during World War II; and to rank them in accordance with their achievements. This proved to be an impossible task since there was no way to identify the one hundred, and there was no common basis for comparison: some were truly heroic, some were wounded and some killed, while others simply served to the best of their abilities. The best that could be done was to categorize the men and women selected and subjectively rank them with their peers. Over time, this effort expanded to be more inclusive: touching lightly upon the Spanish American War, World War I, the Korean War, Vietnam, the war on terror, and upon more recent events. Some of those presented herein served before becoming famous, some after; some volunteered and some were drafted, while others served as civilians in their chosen fields. Two became presidents of the United States. Three won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Aside from their service, however, these were truly remarkable men and women whose stories deserve to be told if for no other reason than to give us a glimpse into the kinds of people who made the United States the greatest nation in the history of the world.