old movies

"Lightning Bryce" is a Western cliffhanger serial featuring Jack Hoxie, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

This is episode 1, entitled "The Scarlet Moon".  There is action, intrigue, and even a "Mystery Woman".  Stay tuned, 14 more episodes are coming.

"The Cricket On The Hearth" is a short drama directed by D.W. Griffith, featuring Arthur Johnson and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame.

The film is based on the novella "The Cricket on the Hearth" by Charles Dickens.  Arthur Johnson plays the role of the minister.

The film does not have intertitles.

"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.

"Corner in Wheat" is a short social drama, directed by D.W. Griffith, featuring Robert Harron and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame.

A greedy speculator decides to "corner" the wheat market, artificially raise the price on the market and profit from this.  He is successful and makes a huge amount of money, but his action has disastrous consequences in real life, where the price of bread doubles, many people cannot afford it any more, wheat growers are ruined and the supply of charity bread is drastically reduced.

"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.).

"True Heart Susie" is a drama directed by D. W. Griffith. This film illustrates the work of actor Robert Harron and cinematographer Billy Bitzer, stars of Silent Hall of Fame.

Susie (Lillian Gish) is a plain schoolgirl secretly in love with her handsome neighbor Bill (Robert Harron).  She follows him around and he enjoys her company, but can't find the courage to kiss her.  When Susie finds out that Bill wants to go to college, she sacrifices the dearest thing she and her aunt have - their cow - to gather the money for his education.

"Stella Maris" is a moving drama, in which Mary Pickford plays two roles very convincingly - one of Stella Maris, a rich paralyzed girl and the other of Unity, an uneducated orphaned girl.

Stella lives in a fantasy world, being shielded from the ugly side of life. She especially enjoys the company of John (Conway Tearle), a famous journalist.  He lives separately from his alcoholic wife called Louise, but this truth is also hidden from Stella.

"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 film is included in our program to illustrate the work and contributions of Helen Holmes, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.

"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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