May 15, 2009
by C.J. Ehrlich
Even though, yes, we had a TV, I watched loads of silent movies when I was a kid. Some were masterpieces; others not worth the nickel admission charged at their premieres, which at the time bought you a newsreel, cartoons, two feature films, popcorn and some dinner plates. But I digress. One day I realized I should share silent movies with my kids, maybe even get them to know and love some of the comedians and artistes from cinema’s infancy.
But where to begin? Multitaskers, hello? Can you make time for this flick without sound or color? Yes, it was made before the Hollywood sign went up, when Hollywood was a dusty suburb of nowhere. On the other hand, some of today’s children’s shows are of lower quality than the pioneering works of a studio system that churned out a two-reeler a day, recycled jokes like fountain water and considered scripts a wimpy affectation for those who couldn’t improvise.
After careful analysis and projection of the whining-to-eventual-pleasure ratio, I decided to make the effort. This required strategic planning. Not every movie created before the three-cent stamp will grab the MTV generation. I knew that showing the wrong Snub Pollard or Chester Conklin short, or a Gish sisters melodrama like “Orphans of the Storm” would set us back months.
But I was confident about the comedies. Some of the laughs in these movies are as fresh as the air in LA the day they were filmed. I honed in on the Big Three: Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton and, of course, Charlie Chaplin.
Charlie Chaplin, an obvious first choice
Chaplin made eighty shorts and features before finally singing on screen in “Modern Times” (1936, when talkies were already well-established). The shorts he made between 1914 and 1931 all offer some degree of amusement. Most of them feature his internationally popular character, “The Little Tramp,” in various escapades. “The Rink” (1916) features Charlie as a waiter cavorting on roller skates. “The Immigrant” (1917) has a more solid storyline, while still offering many slapstick and other gags.
“The Gold Rush” (1925) sends the Little Tramp to the Yukon, where he is as unfortunate in the fortune he seeks as in any other Chaplin film. There are draggy bits, but it is well worth sitting through this feature (with popcorn) to see Chaplin’s classic “dancing with rolls” routine, and the unforgettable scene where he is so hungry, he eats his shoe. A version that Chaplin re-edited in 1942 runs only 72 minutes, down from the original 82 minutes.
Chaplin appears in “Modern Times” (1936) as a “bolt tightener” in an ultra-high-tech factory, where the workers assemble gizmos of unspecified purpose, racing at the whim of the speeding conveyor belt. They eat from automated feeders and are supervised by giant, all-seeing video screens, even in the washrooms. This must-see “silent movie” is actually a hybrid; it has a full sound track but its star never speaks, except at the very end, to sing a nonsense song. (And then Chaplin retired the Little Tramp, who toddles off into the sunset in the last shot.) There are title cards, but spoken voices come through inanimate sources, like the video screens, emphasizing the theme of the dehumanization of society through technology. This classic could lead to a good discussion comparing today’s onslaught of technology to that of the 1930s.
Harold Lloyd, “Safety Last” indeed!
Though Chaplin may be the most famous silent star, Harold Lloyd was a revelation to my family. I’d always known two things about Lloyd: he did his own stunts, and he always wore gloves after blowing off two fingers while doing his own stunt in 1919. (A prop bomb exploded.) But I’d never seen a single Harold Lloyd movie. This may have been because Lloyd refused to allow any of the 200 comedies he made between 1914 and 1947 to be shown on TV during his lifetime; he thought commercial breaks would ruin them.
The Harold Lloyd Collection is available as a four-volume set of features and shorts, and each is a discovery and a gem. Lloyd was known for his “Glasses” look, but in each film he plays a different character, all quite endearing, as well as funny.
Most people are familiar with the iconic image of Lloyd hanging by the hands of a clock in his 1923 comedy, “Safety Last.” Having somehow shirked this classic myself, I thought we should plunge in as a family and discover it together. I expected to have to coax the kids though the hokey bits until we got to the good laughs. Au contraire. We enjoyed it from the start, as lowly department store clerk Lloyd tries to figure out how much of a delicious lunch he can afford on his meager salary. We followed avidly as Lloyd serves a scrum of demanding women at the fabrics counter, while trying to create the illusion for his girlfriend that’s he’s actually the store manager!
Harold Lloyd and his death-defying stunts
Knowing that Lloyd did his own stunts, we were riveted by the nail-biting sequence where, to earn $1000, Lloyd’s character climbs up the side of a 12-story skyscraper as a “human fly.” He is beset at every level by obstacles threatening to literally throw him over the edge. This was not special effects, although the filmmakers shot a building on a hill so the distances looked higher, and Lloyd actually “only” climbed three stories, but without net or harness, completely risking his life. Making comedies was a serious business in the ‘20s.
“The Freshman” (1925) is a delightful story of Harold going to college, trying to become popular and win the girl. The kids winced at, yet could identify with, his goofy efforts at fitting in. Parts of this movie remind me of characters that Adam Sandler has more recently (re)created.
“Speedy” (1928) was an unusual movie for the time, filmed largely on location in New York. Harold plays an ardent Yankees fan whose passion for baseball makes it hard for him to keep a job. The beautifully preserved, contemporary on-location shots of the New York subway, Coney Island/Luna Park amusement rides, and even Yankee stadium make this film a must-see.
Another of our favorites is “Ask Father” (1919), a 13-minute short in which Harold tries to woo the much-coveted daughter of a rich, impatient executive. Father’s office is so beset with salesmen and suitors that he booby-traps it with mechanisms to toss people out; Lloyd experiences them all. There is a sequence with a moving sidewalk activated inside the office that had us rolling with laughter.
Buster Keaton, the Great Stoneface
After Lloyd and Chaplin, with a detour for some Laurel and Hardy, I knew I couldn’t go wrong with Buster Keaton. Known as “the Great Stoneface,” Keaton’s character is usually found standing stoically without an umbrella as troubles fall on him like lemon drops. Keaton was also known for doing his own stunts – without special effects – which included running over the top of a moving train, being dragged behind a car, allowing a building to fall on (around) him, and dangling from a branch over a waterfall.
Every Buster Keaton movie has its own charm. In “Our Hospitality” (1923, 65 minutes), Buster becomes the unwitting victim of a Southern feud. His neighbors hunt him with revolvers, trying to kill him, unless he visits inside their home, where they must show him Southern hospitality! My youngest found it impossible to go to bed until Buster figured out how to outwit the bad guys. This movie has an amazing sequence where Buster is whisked down a river on a log, with many mishaps, and ends up suspended over a waterfall in a precarious position from which he must then save his girlfriend! All real stunts – Keaton needed first aid after swallowing large quantities of water during the shooting – and really suspenseful.
“The General” (1926) features Keaton as a railroad engineer during the Civil War who, for complicated reasons, finds himself alone on the wrong side of enemy lines with his train and his girl, whom he heroically saves. This film includes one of the most expensive stunts filmed at the time, the burning and collapse of a real bridge, not a model. “The General” has so many exciting scenes on a large scale, and with trains, that it deserves to be seen on a big screen.
If the plot of “Seven Chances” (1925) seems familiar, it’s because it was revisited in the recent comedy, “The Bachelor.” Buster plays Jimmie, who is almost broke, but suddenly learns he will inherit $7 million if he gets married by 7:00 p.m. on his 27th birthday –today! A misunderstanding with his sweetheart leads Jimmie to turn to seven other possibilities, but suddenly every woman in the country is after him. The movie winds up with a chase scene involving a mob of would-be brides, and other surprises.
“But Mom, there’s no sound!”
The first complaint you’re going to have to look squarely in the face is, “But there’s no sound!” Ah, but there is sound. Many silent films have really enjoyable soundtracks, and even sound effects that were added later. A few try too hard: while “Our Hospitality” is very funny, the re-engineered soundtrack reminded us more of Philip Glass than an old-time piano player. As far as the dialogue, you may have to read the title cards out loud, or, it can be a fun experience for a child to be the designated reader.
The second complaint you may get is, “But I’m allergic to black and white movies!” Choose films made after 1920 to avoid the melodramatic, operatic acting (I mean in the movie, not your kids) that was common before cameramen learned you could do more than just stand still and crank. The other remedy for this complaint is any Harold Lloyd movie.
Watching silent films is a little like taking a trip to a foreign country. People talk and move differently, and speak a different cinematic “language” than we’re comfortable with. But kids especially are going to quickly tap into the universal humor of these stories, and realize that even if they were made before your family came to America, lots of things are still the same. Have fun with the family adventure of experiencing silent films!
Where to find silent films
Where can you find silent films? It’s always better to watch movies in a cinema; the audience reactions and the big screen vastly improve the experience. If that option is not available, Turner Classic Films shows silent movies every Sunday night and occasionally they run on PBS. The Westchester Library System has many. Check out Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com (once in a post-holiday sale, I picked up a collection of eight Laurel and Hardy videos for a buck; we watched them all). To my utter astonishment I learned one can view entire silent movies online, which shows you that my kids have plenty to teach me, too. Searching YouTube and Google Video is a good way to start. You can also find entire B&W classics from the 1930s and 40s, but that’s another article.
Films mentioned in this article can be borrowed through the Westchester Library System.
“Modern Times” (Chaplin, 1936) is available on Google video in its entirety.
This clip on YouTube has a lively bluegrass soundtrack and shows a series of silent movie stunts that will impress your kids. These are not done with special effects, either!
This excerpt from Harold Lloyd’s “The Freshman” reminds me of an Adam Sandler movie:
And here’s a clip created by martial artist Jackie Chan, acknowledging his debt to the great silent comedians:
C.J. Ehrlich is a freelance writer and film buff. Her play “Secondhand Gifts” will appear in the Rapscallion Theatre Collective’s 3rd Annual “Salute UR Shorts” New Play Festival, to be performed May 28 through May 31 at the Access Theatre, 380 Broadway, NYC, smarttix.com. Her play “Homespun Webs” can be seen as part of The Women Artist’s Journey Festival at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center Theatre (www.wahcenter.net) this weekend and next.
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