Author Archives: chipkaufmann

I approached this second Douglas Fairbanks double feature Blu-Ray from the Cohen Media Group with some trepidation. Earlier this year (2023) they released a Blu-Ray of DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS IN ROBIN HOOD and THE BLACK PIRATE which, while definitely worth having, came up short when compared to Cohen’s previous efforts (those shortcomings are detailed in myContinue reading “Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature 2: This Time Cohen Media Group Does It Right”

THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD of 1926 joins the ever growing list of once lost Fox silent films (we’re talking pre-20th Century Fox) that have not only recently been found, but have been restored so that they can be enjoyed once more. Most people are unaware of the fact that virtually all of Fox’s silent film outputContinue reading “THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD (1926): A Much Needed Restoration Of A Forgotten Fox Film”

Back in 1988, Paramount released a handful of their classic silent film titles on VHS. Of the 8 titles made available, only one, Erich von Stroheim’s THE WEDDING MARCH, has yet to make it to DVD or Blu-Ray. In that 1988 set was the W.C. Fields comedy RUNNING WILD from 1927. Fields made 8 silent filmsContinue reading “IT’S THE OLD ARMY GAME (1926): Silent W.C. Fields Comedy With Louise Brooks”

Although I have been a silent film enthusiast for over 60 years and a silent film historian for over 30, I am consistently surprised at how many silent movies I am not familiar with. I am also pleasantly surprised at how many of those titles are now being rediscovered and restored. Such is the caseContinue reading “THE SPANISH DANCER (1923): Pola Negri Shines In This Lavish Historical Spectacle”

In 1927 Hai Roach made 14 short comedies that featured Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. When these films started out, they were simply in the cast and were not working as a comedy duo. By the end of the year, they got top billing in the last two comedies and were on their way toContinue reading “LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR ONE – THE 1927 SHORTS”

In 1953, at the height of the original 3-D craze, there were two sci-fi movies that were released within a month of each other. They had as their main plot device, a young boy’s dream of an alien invasion. One of them, INVADERS FROM MARS, which was successful, has become a cult classic. The other,Continue reading “ROBOT MONSTER (1953): The Film & The Restoration Are Truly Remarkable Achievements”

I first came across this movie in 2003 under its American title of MR TOAD’S WILD RIDE. I purchased it for my then 9 year old daughter who became very much taken with it. The movie served as her introduction to the MONTY PYTHON performers and to actors Steve Coogan and Stephen Fry. She still very muchContinue reading “THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS (1997): Kenneth Grahame Meets MONTY PYTHON”

When I first saw that these two Douglas Fairbanks movies were going to be issued as a double feature Blu-Ray, I was looking forward to it in a big way. Although a driving force in the Hollywood of the 1920s and a co-founder of United Artists along with Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin,and D.W. Griffith, FairbanksContinue reading “New Douglas Fairbanks Double Feature Blu-Ray Disappoints”

2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Watner Brothers which today is one of the largest multimedia conglomerates with the ownership of an incredible back catalog of movies from companies that they have outlived (RKO, MGM, United Artists, Allied Artists to name a few of the better known ones). But it was aContinue reading “Rin-Tin-Tin: The Dog That Made Warner Brothers Possible”

VCI Entertainment in partnership with the Mary Pickford Foundation has released their second collaborative effort. The first was Pickford’s Gothic masterpiece SPARROWS which dates from 1926. JOHANNA ENLISTS  is from 8 years earlier and was made to capitalize on America’s entry into World War I. Pickford was 25 at the time and was already identifiedContinue reading “JOHANNA ENLISTS (1918): OK Mary Pickford Film In A First Class Restoration”