classic comedy movies

"A Midsummer Night's Dream", produced by Vitagraph and directed by Charles Kent, is a short film based on the fantasy play of Shakespeare, featuring Florence Turner, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.  

Viewers are advised to read the plot that follows before proceeding with the film.

"The First 100 Years" is a nice Mack Sennett short comedy, directed by Harry Sweet and starring Harry Langdon and Alice Day, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.  Even though only 14 minutes of the original 20 minutes survive, the film is very entertaining with a lot of action, laughs and scares.

You can see a slideshow of stills from this film and other interesting stuff on our website silent-hall-of-fame.org.

"A Natural Born Gambler" is a short comedy starring Bert Williams and featuring cinematographer Billy Bitzer, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

Bert Williams was a major Broadway comedian.  He was invited by Biograph to write, direct and star in two films, with "A Natural Born Gambler" being the better one by all accounts.

Bert Williams loves poker and is on the verge of winning big (with the help of cheating) when the police intervenes and he is thrown in jail. There he has a dream of playing a poker hand, but will he win or will he lose?

"Twelfth Night", produced by Vitagraph and directed by Charles Kent, is a short film based on the comedy of Shakespeare, featuring Florence Turner, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.  

Viola (Florence Turner) is saved after a shipwreck and ends up dressed in man's clothes in the domains of a certain duke.  Viola becomes his servant and one day is asked to take a letter to duke's love interest Olivia.  The latter, seeing a boy bring the message, suddenly falls in love with Viola.

"The Count" is one of Charlie Chaplin's Mutual short comedies, featuring Edna Purviance, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

You can see a slideshow of stills from this film and other interesting stuff on our website silent-hall-of-fame.org.

Silent Hall of Fame is the only place where we actively work to bring back from oblivion the names and legacy of formerly illustrious silent movie stars, which have made a major contribution to the industry and the world but do not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"A Calamitous Elopement" is a short comedy directed by D.W. Griffith, featuring Robert Harron and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame.

A very young Robert Harron has a bit part as a bellboy, while D.W. Griffith has a significant role as a policeman in addition to the director's job.

We trust that silent film lovers will not judge harshly the quality of the print. Many early D.W. Griffith films are only available in a paper print format, and we are all very lucky that they have survived the trials of time for us to enjoy.

"Lucky Jim" is a short comedy directed by D.W. Griffith, featuring cinematographer Billy Bitzer, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

Arthur V. Johnson and Florence Lawrence have bit parts as wedding guests.

We trust that silent film lovers will not judge harshly the quality of the print. Many early D.W. Griffith films are only available in a paper print format, and we are all very lucky that they have survived the trials of time for us to enjoy.

"Politician's Love Story" is a short comedy directed by D.W. Griffith, featuring Arthur Johnson and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame. Florence Lawrence also gets a credit for the film, but it is difficult to spot her.  We did see and took a picture of D.W. Griffith as he makes a little acting appearance in addition to the director's job (see it on our website silent-hall-of-fame.org.).

"The Taming of the Shrew" is a short comedy based on the play of Shakespeare, featuring Florence Lawrence and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame.

The first thing we want to do is set the record straight about the name of the actor playing Petruchio.  All major movie sites, including IMDB and Silent Era, as well as Wikipedia, cite the name of Arthur V. Johnson, but this is wrong.  We cannot see Arthur V. Johnson in this film. We will appreciate your tips about the identity of this actor.  In the meantime we will call him Petruchio.

"The Fireman" is one of Charlie Chaplin's Mutual short comedies, featuring Edna Purviance, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

You can see a slideshow of stills from this film and other interesting stuff on our website silent-hall-of-fame.org.

Silent Hall of Fame is the only place where we actively work to bring back from oblivion the names and legacy of formerly illustrious silent movie stars, which have made a major contribution to the industry and the world but do not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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