Author Archives: chipkaufmann

I have been a fan of silent movies since 1962 but not until the release of this DVD have I had a chance to see Norma Talmadge in action. I’ve known about her for years and have seen numerous pictures of her without ever having seen her pictures. I knew her sister Constance from herContinue reading “NORMA TALMADGE DOUBLE FEATURE”

THE LODGER was Alfred Hitchcock’s first big success and set the pattern for many of his future films. It also marks the first of his cameo appearances (there are two). Up until now, at least in the U.S., there have been no decent copies of THE LODGER available to see. It has been lovingly restoredContinue reading “THE LODGER (1927): The 2009 MGM Restoration Of Hitchcock’s First Big Success”

It has taken forever for the Janet Gaynor/Charles Farrell silent classics 7TH HEAVEN and STREET ANGEL to make it to DVD but here they are as part of a monumental 12 DVD package devoted to Frank Borzage and F.W. Murnau and the films they made for William Fox before he lost control of his studioContinue reading “MURNAU / BORZAGE BOX SET Is Well Done But It’s Too Much Of A Good Thing”

One of the participants in my silent film course at the local college told me about this set which is the first time I had heard of it. I knew that Jean Renoir had begun his career in the silent era but I didn’t know if any of those films still existed. They do andContinue reading “JEAN RENOIR BOX SET: Fascinating Collection Includes Rare Jean Renoir Silents”

Dorothy Davenport Reid (1895-1977) was one of the most important women producer/directors during the 1920s. She came from a distinguished theatrical family. Her father Harry Davenport is best remembered as Dr. Meade in GONE WITH THE WIND. She was married to early matinee idol Wallace Reid hence her being known as Mrs Wallace Reid. WhenContinue reading “THE RED KIMONA (1925): An Important Work From A Forgotten Female Film Pioneer”

Alice Guy-Blache’ (1873-1968) was not only the world’s first woman film director but quite possibly the first film director period. Her work As Alice Guy for Gaumont predates Georges Melies by several months although her earliest film LA FEE AUX CHOUX/THE CABBAGE FAIRY (1896) no longer survives. After coming to America in 1907 with herContinue reading “THE OCEAN WAIF (1916): A Tantalizing Tidbit From Alice Guy-Blache’”

Kino’s new set HOUDINI: THE MOVIE STAR is a three disc collection of just about everything that Houdini did which still survives. HH made 5 films over a 5 year period (1919-1923). His first effort THE MASTER MYSTERY is a serial which survives mostly intact. It’s also a rare opportunity to see Mae Marsh’s olderContinue reading “HOUDINI-THE MOVIE STAR: Harry Houdini Returns…On Home Video”

THE HARRY LANGDON COLLECTION: LOST AND FOUND is one of those rare opportunities where a cinematic wrong gets to be righted and cinematic history gets to be rewritten. This amazing compilation not only traces the evolution of Harry Langdon’s screen character before his entry into feature films but shows us what Mack Sennett comedies fromContinue reading “THE HARRY LANGDON COLLECTION: LOST & FOUND: Absolutely Essential For Fans Of Silent Comedy”

JOHN FORD’S SILENT EPICS which is part of the much larger FORD AT FOX collection is a most welcome addition to the catalogue of available DVDs and fortuntaely for silent film fans you don’t have to buy the entire set. Of the 5 films in this set THE IRON HORSE is the most famous andContinue reading “JOHN FORD’S SILENT EPICS: Thank You Fox For Doing Silent Film Fans A Favor”

Unless you are a silent film enthusiast or an aficionado of Westerns then you are probably unfamiliar with THE IRON HORSE although the phrase describing locomotives is well known. It was made in 1924 by the Fox Film Corporation hoping to cash in on the success of Paramount’s THE COVERED WAGON from the year before.Continue reading “THE IRON HORSE In Two Different Versions”