The Greene Murder Case (1929)

An early Philo Vance talkie.

The Greene family are that staple of interwar American families on screen: rich and hate each other! They live in the family ancestral pile and must live there for fifteen years otherwise they won't get a share of the late Mr Greene's wealth. 

After two of the family are killed within a few minutes of each other, Philo Vance (William Powell) is called in by the baffled police (Eugene Palette) to help, but even he is confused by the various possible suspects, though it helps that the possible suspects are being whittled down by being murdered too! 

A good film. Technically interesting especially with some of the camera angles in the final act and the peril on the roof. The story is good with some interesting psychological aspects to it. Although an early talkie the sound recording and acting isn't too bad.

Chinatown Nights (1929)

An enjoyable early talkie though chock full of dodgy stereotypes.

War between two rival gangs in Chinatown begins, one of the gangs being led by a white man - Chuck Riley (Wallace Beery). He also becomes mixed up with society girl Joan (Florence Vidor) and begins to wonder if a life of crime and gang warfare is the right path in life. Rival boss Boston Charley (Warner Oland) has other ideas though...

A transitional film, originally made as a silent movie and dubbed into a sound film (though Vidor did not want to return to dub her speaking parts so that was done by someone else!) Hence, the film has a mix of sometimes indifferent dialogue and silent movie physical acting. The sound scenes are often very static due to the microphones, other dubbed scenes are full of activity, this gives the film a bit of a disjointed feel.

It isn't a bad film, though the dated stereotypes also jar these days of course. Despite the shortcomings there is still plenty to enjoy from this film.

Show of Shows (1929)

It is 1929, sound films have quickly revolutionised the cinema industry and there is a hunger by audiences to hear as well as see the stars of the silver screen...

Warner Brothers created this film as a showcase of it's stars which isn't a film as such but a musical-comedy revue hosted by Frank Fay. We see top stars of the day like John Barrymore, also performances from Broadway acts and even Rin Tin Tin!

It is a lavish period piece, the comedy often falls a bit flat but the large scake spectacle is very impressive. It is worth watching for the historic value alone, but it is also pretty entertaining at times.

The Valiant (1929)

A dramatic early talkie as a man who has committed a terrible crime fights to hide his true identity.

After shooting another man, the killer goes to the police to give himself up. He gives the fake identity of James Dyke (Paul Muni) and refuses to give his real identity, even as he faces the death penalty. Mary (Marguerite Douglas) thinks the mysterious man could be her long-lost brother and heads to the prison to see him and see if she is right...

A decent enough, if at times a bit melodramatic, film which suffers from a little too much cardboard in the acting department, though Muni was very good (and indeed he was Oscar nominated for the role). Interestingly, this early sound film includes a few inter titles as well as sound. The film does not answer all of the questions posed, which is both refreshing and annoying.

Thunderbolt (1929)

A good early talkie with some tasty gangster nonsense.

Notorious gangster Thunderbolt (George Bancroft) is wanted by the police, they put the squeeze on his moll Ritzie (Fay Wray) but she won't give him up. In fact, she doesn't really care about him anymore, she is more interested in her her new, and law abiding, lover Bob (Richard Arlen). 

Eventually, Thunderbolt is captured by the police and faces the death penalty but Bob is also put in gaol after being framed, now Thunderbolt seeks to kill Bob while he has the chance...

Early talkies can often be a bit of a chore due to the awkwardness of the actors trying to adapt to the new style, there is a little bit of that here but overall the cast do a good job, Wray especially is excellent. There is a superb scene in a night club too with some decent singing and a bit of fighting. We also get a rather adorable performing dog. An enjoyable film.

The Unholy Night (1929)

An early talkie, and an early dark house mystery. 

After an attempt on the life of Lord Montague (Roland Young), he discovers that some of his former army comrades have been killed. He calls his other army comrades to his home, with the police overseeing, to try and find out who was behind the attacks. The daughter (Dorothy Sebastian) of a disgraced former officer turns up, warning of bad things going to happen and a big legacy. Bad things indeed do happen as the officers start to get bumped off one by one...

While the sound and dialogue can be awkward at times (like most early talkies), this is a fun little drama. It has plenty of sudden screams and a spooky atmosphere, Oriental mystery, plenty of odd goings on and Boris Karloff chewing the scenery as a sinister Turkish lawyer.

Dangerous Curves (1929)

An early talkie. Truthfully, its not that great but one of the few sound films the queen of the silent movie, Clara Bow, so is of course well worth a watch.

Circus performer and trapeze artist Larry (Richard Arden) is involved with the vampish fellow performer Zara (Kay Francis) but he is also falling for stunt horse rider Pat (Clara Bow). Zara is cheating on Larry and dumps him when he has an accident. Pat tries to persuade the circus owner to take the injured Larry back, but she needs to think up a new act for them...

Clara shines, unlike many silent movie stars she took to talkies pretty well (this being her second, so with still an occasional hitch) but was let down by indifferent material. The film is OK, interesting without being exceptional. Both of the female leads steal the show but with entirely different styles.

The Voice of the City (1929)

An uneven early talkie.

Convicted cop killer Bobby Doyle (Robert Ames) escapes prison and goes on the run. He protests that he was framed by the mob. He was helped by Johnny (Clark Marshall) and is hidden by his girlfriend (Sylvia Field) and sister (Duane Thompson) Detective Myers (Willard Mack) is tasked with catching Bobby and putting him back in the nick...

Not a bad film with some enjoyable scenes, though the film is also padded out with some awkward extended dialogues scenes and the staging is pretty static most of the time. Some of the actors also struggle a bit with the change from silent movie style movement and physical emoting to dialogue, but that is the fun of transitional films.

One interesting thing to note is that this was the film Al Capone was watching when he was arrested in Philadelphia in 1929!

Noah's Ark (1928)

An epic tale which links the Biblical story with the harrowing incidents of the First World War.

A mixed group of people are travelling on the Orient Express in 1914 including a couple of American tourists Al (Guinn Williams) and Travis (George O'Brien) and a German girl Marie (Dolores Costello). The story switches to 1917, by now Al and Travis are American soldiers on the Western Front. They save Marie from being shot as a spy... but what has all this got to do with Noah's Ark?

The story switches to the time of Akkad, whose King has defied God who sends a flood to wipe out mankind, though Noah is tasked with building a big boat. An epic part of the film (though the flood scene was maybe a little too epic, three extras died in the filming and dozens more were injured, Costello also caught pneumonia!) The film has a strong anti-war message, unfortunately the message was unheeded just over ten years later...

The film is a transitional silent film with some sound scenes. Unfortunately, the dialogue does not add a great deal to the film. The film is a solid watch, the flood scenes (basically an extended dream sequence) are compelling, though what a price was paid.

The Sea Lion (1921)

Hard bitten old sea dog yarn, that handles the nautical scenes pretty well.

The captain (Hobart Bosworth) is a bitter old sea dog, who hasn't gotten over his wife and child leaving him while he was at sea many years before. On his next voyage he has a new seaman Tom (Emory Johnson), a fresh faced novice who soon becomes the butt of all of the crew's jokes. However, the voyage runs into trouble with a near mutiny. Then the ship arrives at a remote island where the survivors of an old ship wreck live.

One of the survivors is a young girl, Blossom (Bessie Love) who falls in love with Tom, which causes conflict with the captain. Though there is a bit surprise in store here...

A decent enough film though sometimes hard to follow, this isn't helped by the flashbacks which sometimes contradict each other! The scenes at sea are pretty well done.

One Week (1920)

An early example of Buster Keaton's work, a taste of the greatness to come.

Buster and Sybil Seely have just got married. One of their wedding gifts is a prefabricated house which they have to build themselves. What could go wrong?! A love rival is out to sabotage things though, and switches the part numbers around so the resulting house, after many mishaps, is a bit odd...

Its a bit frenetic, maybe a little too much slap stick is squeezed in at times but this is a fun watch with a lot of sight gags.

Tempest (1928)

A classic late 1920s silent movie.

This film follows the story of Ivan Markov (John Barrymore), a soldier in the final days of Tsarist Russia. Despite heavy opposition, low born Markov rises through the ranks to the officer corps. 

He falls in love with the Princess Tamara (Camilla Horn) though she spurns his advances, however when he is found drunk in her quarters Markov's enemies have their chance to dispose of him. He is kicked out of the army and send to prison. 

However, the old regime soon falls and Markov has a new important role with the Communists who release him, will Markov seek revenge on the now non-aristocratic Tamara?

A fine film with plenty of drama and emotion and some great camera work, though some performances are a bit wooden and spoil things a bit. Barrymore is great though, the perfect silent movie hero. 

The Return of Boston Blackie (1927)

Before the highly successful Chester Morris series of Boston Blackie films in the 1940s there were a number of other adaptations of the character in the silent movie era, this was the last "silent" Boston Blackie film before the series returned with sound in the 1940s.

Boston Blackie (Raymond Glenn) has just spent two years in jail, He makes a vow to go straight but ends up involved with Sylvia (Corliss Palmer) who has stolen a necklace from a dancer. 

It turns out the jewels belong to Sylvia's father (who was having a bit on the side with the dancer). Blackie agrees to break into the father's safe to put the jewel's back.

The star of the film though is Blackie's dog Strongheart who gets top billing! The film is fine enough, nothing at all like the later talkies. A pleasant if not exceptional watch.

Alice's Egg Plant (1925)

The Alice series were early Walt Disney live action / animation hybrids. 

Alice (Anne Shirley) and Julius the cat are the owners of an egg factory. Unfortunately, the hens are a bit lazy so Julius has to keep them hard at it. Then a new hen arrives, Little Red Henski from Moscow who is going to try and bring communism to the egg plant!

An unexpectedly political little film, we were only a few years into the Russian Revolution. Whether kids would get it though is a good question.

The Blacksmith (1922)

Buster Keaton is working in a blacksmithing shop with plenty of mayhem of course. Buster ends up in a fight with the actual blacksmith (Joe Roberts) which ends up the blacksmith being in jail. Buster takes it on himself to serve the blacksmith's customers which involves him shoeing various horses and destroying a Rolls Royce!

This is a fine little silent comedy by one of the all-time greats though maybe a little more slapstick than usual. Not his best but still pretty good.

All Lit Up (1920)

Snub Pollard is a dandy who is hanging around a park chasing butterflies in a net. After some flirting (with girls not butterflies) he ends up in a jazz cafe and more mayhem ensues. Snub finally ends up in jail in this short piece of slapstick. A decent enough silent comedy though without making much sense or being that subtle. 

Fine for what it is but not really in the first division of silent movie comedies. Ernest Morrison plays a good role as one of the children Snub ends up having to look after at one stage.

Her First Flame (1920)

A curious comedy short. We are in the year 1950 (though looks remarkably like 1920 still!) and men and women have switched roles. Unfortunately, those roles are rather stereotyped and quite dated. Women are now strong and forthright while men mostly stand around giggling and do domestic chores...

Lizzie Hap (Gale Henry) wins election as the town's fire chief, by cheating Minnie Fish (Phyllis Allen) using a variety of disguises. Lizzie now forms an all-girl fire brigade. Naturally when there actually is a fire things do not go very smoothly but Lizzie manages to save her love Willie (Milburn Morante).

Not the greatest silent comedy ever, the staging is often as dated as the attitudes, but does some decent visual gags.

The Bees' Buzz (1929)

A surreal and highly strange (and amusing) comedy that has to be seen to be believed!

Andy (Andy Clyde) is announcing the engagement of his daughter Peggy (Barbara Leonard) to the rich oil man Homer (Harry Gribbon). However, Peggy is in love with Tyler (Tyler Brooke) instead and she elopes with him. Andy and Homer head off in pursuit which sparks a series of bizarre antics including car chases, people in cow suits and angry bees stinging everyone on the bum!

This is a rather strange little film which wouldn't seem out of place a few decades later in a psychedelic pop video. Highlights include a justice of the peace running around a golf course still in his sauna box and a man trying to get out of a barrel of water which falls apart drenching everyone. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever and can't be considered high art but it is very funny and does the job.

It (1927)

The film that turned Clara Bow into a superstar and created the concept of the "It girl", but is it any good?

What is "It"? A concept beyond beauty, a quality that draws people to them, a charisma that people find irresistible. 

Shop girl Betty (Bow) has a crush on her handsome boss Cyrus (Antonio Moreno). Unfortunately Cyrus is engaged to Adela (Jacqueline Gadson) who is in his social class while Betty is not of course. Betty finally gets Cyrus to take her on a date, to the joys of Coney Island! Cyrus falls in love with Betty (who has It!) but circumstances throw some hefty obstacles in the way of true love...

So, an important film and it is indeed very enjoyable, after all Clara Bow was the It girl and had a magnetic quality on screen. The story is light and fast paced, the comedy is fine if a little too cute at times. Without Clara the film probably wouldn't have worked quite as well but thats why some are stars and most are not.

A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor (1923)

While the Jazz Singer in 1927 became the first full-length feature film to have lip-synched sound and music, there were earlier films released experimenting with sound and this is one of the earliest.

The Phonofilm method of recording sound onto film was developed in the early 1920s and used to make a number of short demonstration films. Ultimately however, Hollywood chose other methods for recording sound (Vitaphone being used for the Jazz Singer) and Phonofilm faded into obscurity. Two hundred films were made and like this one are now of considerable historical value and interest.

This film was recorded in early 1923 and includes vaudeville performer Eddie Cantor who would go on to having a long career on the stage, radio and appear in quite a few films (even some TV at the end). In this film he tells some jokes and sings a couple of songs. There isn't much to it, he just stands there and performs but its a fine and fascinating short film.