The Silent Film Companion: A Recovered and Expanded History
The Silent Film Companion: A Recovered and Expanded History
edited by Liz Clarke and Martin L. Johnson contributions by Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa, Coraline Refort, Grant Wiedenfeld, Shane Denson, Sabrina Negri, Richard Abel, Victoria Duckett, Constance Balides, Shawn Shimpach, Pamela Hutchinson, Yiman Wang, Susan Potter, Anna Kovalova, Oksana Chefranova, Shelley Stamp, Jerry White, Randolph Jordan, Tanner Benson, Jonah Horwitz, Andrea Comiskey, Brian R. Johnson, Dan Streible, Veronica Johnson, Gunnar Iversen, Jennifer L. Jenkins, Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, Scott Curtis, Anu Thapa, Jeffrey Hinkelman, Frank Scheide, Yair Solan, Roxanne Hearn, Kiki Loveday, Mark Lynn Anderson, F. Booth Wilson, Kendra Preston Leonard, Jennifer Lynn Peterson, Katerina Korola, Charlene Regester, Lance Lomax, Katharina Loew, Fabio Andrade, Allyson Nadia Field, Scott MacKenzie, Anna Stenport, Kathleen Cummins, Doron Galili, Priyadarshini Shanker, Catherine Munroe Hotes, Joanne Bernardi, Mariana Johnson, Mateus Nagime, Ling Zhang, Wyatt D. Phillips, Sony Jalarajan Raj, Adith K. Suresh, Xin Peng, Liz Clarke, Martin L. Johnson, Leslie H. Abramson, Amanda Shubert and Joshua A. Mitchell
Silent film is more than just a cinema of firsts, greats, or classics. It is a cinema of experimentation, ambition, and connection. To watch a silent film is to be transported into another world. A Silent Film Companion seeks to broaden the silent film canon by focusing on compelling non-canonical films from around the globe to provide a fresh perspective and new view of silent cinema. With over 50 films discussed, this volume captures just a sliver of the many delights silent cinema has to offer. The book encourages discovery, and rediscovery, of the world of silent cinema: one where the movies were still young, full of possibility, eager to entice others to take part in a wonderful adventure. Films covered are from fourteen countries, including Brazil, Mexico, China, Cuba, India, Italy, and Russia, and representing a diversity of subjects. Chapters provide historical and cultural context to each film, the filmmakers, and a concise analysis of each film. A Silent Film Companion is a guidebook to the many pleasures of silent cinema, allowing you to see and understand diverse perspectives. It is a must read for students and fans of silent cinema interested in seeing a side of silent cinema that is rarely explored.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
LIZ CLARKE is an associate professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture, and Film at Brock University in Canada. She is the author of The American Girl Goes to War: Women and National Identity in US Film, 1908-1918 (Rutgers University Press).
MARTIN L. JOHNSON is an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of Main Street Movies: The History of Local Film in the United States.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Liz Clarke and Martin L. Johnson
1 “Dickson Greeting,” early Edison camera test (1891)
Brian R. Jacobson
2 Serpentine Dance (1892)
Roxanne Hearn
3 Something Good—Negro Kiss (1898)
Allyson Nadia Field
4 Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel (1900)
W.D. Phillips
5 Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901)
Leslie H. Abramson
6 What is Seen Through a Keyhole (1901)
Amanda Shubert
7 Charleston Chain Gang (1902)
Joshua A. Mitchell
8 Consequences of Feminism (1906)
Benjamín Schultz-Figueroa
9 Madam’s cravings/Madame a des envies (1906)
Coraline Refort
10 The Colonel’s Account (1907)
Grant Wiedenfeld
11 Frankenstein (1910)
Shane Denson
12 Marriage in the Moon/Un matrimonio interplanetario (1910)
Sabrina Negri
13 The Sergeant (1910)
Richard Abel
14 Terror Stricken (1911)
Victoria Duckett
15 Children Who Labor (1912)
Constance Balides
16 Onésime, Clockmaker/Onésime horloger (1912)
Shawn Shimpach
17 Suspense (1913)
Pamela Hutchinson
18 Death Mask (1914)/Redskin Duel (1919)
Yiman Wang
19 Filibus (1915)
Susan Potter
20 The Woman of Tomorrow (1915)
Anna Kovalova
21 The Dying Swan (1916)
Oksana Chefranova
22 Eleanor’s Catch (1916)
Shelley Stamp
23 Sinn Féin Rebels (1916) and Ulster’s Parliament Assembles (1922)
Jerry White
24 When Little Lindy Sang (1916)
Randolph Jordan
25 Tepeyac (1917)
Tanner Benson
26 Terje Vigen (1917)
Jonah Horwitz and Andrea Comiskey
27 Unmasked (1917)
Dan Streible
28 Knocknagow (1918)
Veronica Johnson
29 A Trip to Mars (1918)
Gunnar Iversen
30 Las Banda del automóvil gris (1919)
Jennifer L. Jenkins
31 The Craving (1919)
Kathy Fuller-Seeley
32 How the Telephone Talks (1919)
Scott Curtis
33 Kaliya Mardan (1919)
Anu Thapa
34 Symbol of the Unconquered (1920)
Jeffrey Hinkelman
35 The Daughter of Dawn (1920)
Frank Scheide
36 Manhatta (1921)
Yair Solan
37 Sappho (1921)/Mad Love (1923)
Kiki Loveday
38 Drifting (1923)
Mark Lynn Anderson
39 Aelita (1924)
F. Booth Wilson
40 The Hands of Orlac (1924)
Kendra Preston Leonard
41 The Hawaiian Islands (1924)
Jennifer Lynn Peterson
42 Wunder der Schöpfung (1925)
Katerina Korola
43 The Flying Ace (1925)
Charlene Regester
44 A Page of Madness (1926)
Lance Lomax
45 The Adventures of Prince Achmed/Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926)
Katharina Loew
46 Rien que les Heures (1926)
Fabio Andrade
47 With Dogsled Through Alaska (1927)
Scott MacKenzie and Anna Stenport
48 Women of Ryazan (1927)
Kathleen Cummins
49 The Last Command (1928)
Doron Galili
50 A Throw of Dice/Prapancha Pash (1929)
Priyadarshini Shanker
51 The Black Cat (1929)
Catherine Munroe Hotes
52 A Straightforward Boy/Tokkan Kozo (1929)
Joanne Bernardi
53 The Virgin of Charity (1930
Mariana Johnson
54 Limite (1931)
Mateus Nagime
55 Little Toys/Xiaowanyi (1933)
Ling Zhang
56 Marthanda Varma (1933)
Sony Jalarajan Raj and Adith K. Suresh
57 The Goddess/Shennü (1934)
Xin Peng
Appendix
Notes on Contributors
Index