Richard III (1912)

A superb looking Shakespeare adaptation, one of the oldest known surviving US feature films.

The hump-backed Duke of Gloucester (Frederick Warde) wants to be the King of England. Unlike the more sedate accessions these days, the Duke will rise to the throne with a trail of murder, treachery and scheming. 

However, things do not end well for the King of course, though when this film was made it was not even considered that the King would end up buried under a Leicester car park.

This isn't a filmed play though some of the actors think they are playing to an audience. The film looks pretty good throughout with no expense spared on sets or costumes, though the filming and direction is a bit static and basic. The main problem with a Shakespeare film adaptation from this time is that it is hard to portray the rich dialogue in a silent movie with occasional inter titles! Historical and interesting to watch, though probably only once.

Moonshine (1918)

Mountain folk engage in an endless series of feuds, but real trouble comes when a couple of government revenue inspectors (Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton) comes looking for an illegal still. Many strange antics follow.

This is a silent comedy that sends up the genre in many clever little ways (though not all of the attempts at humour work). The action is a little violent and crude at times but it doesn't take itself very seriously. Does it really work as a film though? 

The Rink (1916)

Charlie Chaplin is a waiter in a restaurant, though as you can imagine much slapstick mayhem ensues. In his lunch break he goes roller skating in the park. At the park Mr Stout (Eric Campbell) is making advances to an unwilling girl (Edna Purviance). 

After showing off his roller skating skills, Charlie poses as an aristocrat and is invited to a party at the girl's house. Mr Stout and his new partner also show up.

This is a fine enough film, the usual slapstick antics. The film is most notable for showing off Chaplin's excellent roller skating skills.

The Rounders (1914)

Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle play a couple of drunken gents in this early Chaplin comedy. The gents get drunk together amid much slapstick and end up passed out on the tables in a restaurant before getting thrown out and returned to their long-suffering wives (Phyllis Allen and Minta Durfee). 

This is all a bit rough and crude compared to the kind of film Chaplin would be making his name in in a few years. It is fine enough for what it is.

A Movie Star (1916)

A fine little silent comedy. A new Western starring Mack Swain is starting at the local movie theatre and a large crowd is assembling. To their delight the star of the film has turned up to see the film himself! As Mack and the audience watch his heroic antics on screen, Mack finds that not everyone in the audience is as enamoured as he is. 

This is a delightful early comedy, more understated and subtle than some of the slapstick of the time which has helped it not date as much as some films of the period, the parodying of the still young movie industry is superb.

The Count (1916)

A Charlie Chapin comedy short which is a decent satire on high society.

Charlie's boss, a tailor (Eric Campbell) finds an invitation to a party in a pair of trousers and goes to the party pretending to be an important Count so he can woo a rich young woman (Edna Purviance). Charlie also sneaks into the house, but so he can woo the cook! Of course Charlie ends up at the party as well and mayhem ensues, then the real Count (Leo White) turns up...

A fun little film, though it does include Charlie yet again either being mistaken or pretending to be someone more important which is a plot device he overused a bit. It is fine, if a bit over familiar.

Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)

The first feature-length comedy film and also Keystone's only feature film. It is also the final Charlie Chaplin film in which he did not write or direct. 

Charlie (Chaplin) is a womanising city man who meets Tillie (Marie Dressler) and wants her to elope with him as her father is rich! This is just the start of Tillie's troubles though as Charlie runs off with her money and another money and Tillie ends up in jail! 

OK so the story doesn't sound very promising but the comedy is good at times, though personally i think silent movie comedies work better in shorter doses. To be honest this is a film that is more important historically than being all that enjoyable to watch.

One A.M. (1916)

An early Charlie Chapin short comedy, the first in which he appears (mostly) alone.

A drunk (Chaplin) returns home from some sort of event which included booze, indeed a lot of booze as Charlie is very drunk indeed! After many awkward slapstick antics he manages to get out of his taxi allowing Albert Austin to finally drive off. Charlie's next job is to get into his house...

Well we have all been there! This is solo slapstick of the highest order as everything becomes a near insurmountable obstacle to negotiate past. A short and simple film which just about manages to not out live it's welcome. Don't ask why the film is called "One A.M." yet it is bright sunlight outside!

The Sentimental Bloke (1919)

An interesting if not that enthralling early Australian film.

Based on a poem, this film recounts the story of an ex-convict called Bill (Arthur Tauchert) and a good old normal Aussie bloke. His life is turned around when he meets Doreen (Lottie Lyell), a good woman. So, this film is basically about the romance and has plenty of Aussie stereotypes.

The film is rather hard to follow at time though the wordy inter-titles packed full of Aussie slang are a treat. It is certainly an unusual film, unfortunately not that interesting overall but the historic value can't be denied.

The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918)

A bio-pic made on an epic scale of the wartime prime minister (and hero), but never shown at the time and thought lost until discovered 75 years later and finally shown to the public.

This film had the blessing of Lloyd George and his family, it starts off with photos of his birth certificate and him as a baby! We see the actual house he grew up in and various scenes from his life are dramatised by actors. Some scenes are on a massive scale with thousands of extras!

The film is quite propaganda-ish in feel at times (despite that the Liberal Party had the film suppressed for fear of harming Lloyd George before the election). Obviously being a silent movie quite a lot of the impact of various dramatic speeches he made are lost! The film is a remarkable achievement, though watchable mostly due to it's historic value and novelty more than anything else.

A Night in the Show (1915)

Charlie Chaplin goes to the theatre, obviously mayhem ensues. Firstly he has trouble getting a seat he likes, and of course causes a lot of disruption changing it. Finally he gets into a fight with the conductor and is thrown out! 

Meanwhile in the cheap seats is a tramp, who looks rather like Chaplin's future iconic character, who causes even more trouble. When a fire eater is on stage he thinks the building is on fire and starts to hose down the stage... and the audience!

The film is of it's time, violent slapstick without any real story or meaning. Chaplin at this stage was randomly punching people for laughs, which in itself is sometimes funny though something better was yet to come.

Fatty Joins the Force (1913)

Fatty Arbuckle thinks joining the police will sort him with his beau.

Fatty's girlfriend Dot Farley likes a man in uniform. When a child falls into the lake she encourages Fatty to save it, by pushing him in after it! Happily Fatty does save the child after much splashing about and it turns out that the child is the daughter of the Police Commissioner (George Nichols). Fatty is rewarded by being made a police officer. However, he soon finds out that being a police officer and tackling criminal types isn't that much fun...

A perfectly fine if unexceptional little slapstick comedy film. Not all the gags work but Arbuckle does a decent job with the material he is given.

The Lesser Evil (1912)

A neat little drama.

A young woman (Blanche Sweet) goes to meet her sweetheart, a fisherman (Edwin August). Unfortunately the meeting point is where a gang of smugglers led by (Alfred Paget) store their wares. The woman is kidnapped by the smugglers who take to their boat. While her sweetheart tries to raise the alarm and get help, trouble is brewing on the boat. The crew are now boozed up and seeking to have "fun" with the woman, she considers death would be preferable, the lesser evil...

While not a masterpiece the film is decent in most ways including the naturalistic acting.

His New Profession (1914)

An early Charlie Chaplin short comedy. An interesting if not especially brilliant stepping stone on the road to greatness.

Courting couple Charlie Chase and Peggy Page are having their date ruined by a crippled uncle (Jess Dandy) they are supposed to be looking after. They see Charlie and decide that of course that he would be the perfect person to outsource their care for uncle to! 

Much antics follow, including Charlie taking advantage of the uncle to beg for some money and gets into a fight over a girl...

Chaplin was still learning the ropes and also his Tramp character was still in it's very early days. It is by no means the best Chaplin film, the main character is a bit too mean and aggressive. A fine historical piece nonetheless.

L' Orgie Romaine (1911)

The hedonistic lives of the Roman Emperors (at least in popular imagination) have always been a rich subject for film. In this early film we follow the notorious Heliogabalus (Jean Aymé) as he indulges himself with a harem of women, boys and also lions!

Heliogabalus comes to a sticky end though when the Pretorian Guard finally tire of his cruelty and deviance. Live by the orgy, die by the sword as they probably never said.

A luscious film that certainly had no shortage of extras and fancy costumes. The camera is rather static and the acting frequently over dramatic but a good story is told none the less.

A Woman (1915)

An intriguing Charlie Chaplin film where he dresses as a woman in order to be near a woman.

While his wife (Marta Golden) and daughter (Edna Purviance) snooze in the park, Father (Charles Inslee) gets bored/horny and starts chasing after a young woman (Margie Reiger). However, the arrival of Charlie throws all of Father's wooing up in the air, and into the lake to be exact. The two sleeping ladies awake and both fall for Charlie though of course Father forbids it. Charlie resorts to dressing as a woman in order to continue his wooing of the daughter. Unfortunately Father quite fancies this new "lady" who has come to the house...

Not the best Charlie Chaplin short comedy of the decade, the comedy style was still evolving, but certainly well worth watching. Chaplin makes a rather convincing female it has to be said.

The Pawnshop (1916)

More Charlie Chaplin mayhem, this time in a pawnshop where Charlie works.

Charlie causes a mess at the shop while "cleaning" (including destroying his feather duster in an electric fan). This enrages his fellow shop assistant (John Rand) with whom Charlie seems to have a hate-hate relationship. More trouble comes though when a customer (Albert Austin) brings in a clock for examination which Charlie destroys...

The usual antics and slapstick. Chaplin hadn't quite perfected his comedy short formula though was getting there. This one is a fine viewing though had a little too much pointless slap and not quite enough story explaining why.

How Men Propose (1913)

An interesting short feature. Three men propose to the same woman (Margarita Fischer) - without realising. When they finally realise it they go to see the woman and discover that she was just researching for an article she was writing on how men propose for a magazine!

There isn't much to the film though it has some historic and curiosity value.