caiman

I haven't posted in these parts for a little while, so I thought I'd come back with a bang. Here I present:


Most of us have seen a silent movie or two in our day, but it's usually in the context of a high school or college classroom where all the fun is stripped away. Watching silent movies on my own time has opened my eyes to just how entertaining and fascinating they can be. And as an individual who claims to be a big horror fan, I feel it's only right to pay time and attention to the films that comprise the origin of the genre. I'm sure there are plenty of DVDTalkers who would feel the same but don't really know where to start.

This thread is intended to highlight some of the key horror films of the silent era to give you a good starting off point.

First, a brief FAQ.
Q: Do I have to read the movies? Isn't that kinda stupid?

A: Instead of subtitles, most silent movies use intertitles. If that bothers you, you probably don't fit in very well around here.


Q: Am I listening to the original orchestral scores when I watch these movies on DVD?

A: There were no soundtracks back in the silent era; the music was typically played live in the theater. Many films have had new scores written for them throughout the years. For others, the original score has been kept or found, allowing us to hear the score nearly exactly as it was back in the day. Nosferatu is an example of this.


Q: Aren't silent movies boring?

A: No.


Q: Are silent horror movies actually scary?

A: Since "scary" is very subjective, it's hard to say definitely yes. I will say that silent horror has the capacity to be as scary as any other era of horror. Many of the lighting, directing, and makeup techniques used in silent movies give them a specific creepiness not seen in other decades. But the bottom line is, watch them and see for yourself.


A few of the key silent horror directors:
Robert Wiene
F.W. Murnau
Wallace Worsley
Paul Leni


Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) (1919)
Dir. Robert Wiene
IMDB



The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is generally considered to be the very first horror movie. It also happens to be my personal favorite silent movie. Directed by German-born Robert Wiene in 1919, it stars Werner Krauss as the titular fairground exhibitioner and Conrad Veidt as his murdering somnambulist. Roger Ebert: "A case can be made that Caligari was the first true horror film. There had been earlier ghost stories and the eerie serial 'Fantomas' made in 1913-14, but their characters were inhabiting a recognizable world. Caligari creates a mindscape, a subjective psychological fantasy. In this world, unspeakable horror becomes possible."



Caligari is one of the earliest demonstrations of German Expressionism in cinema. You can see from some of these shots how the sets are skewed in dramatic and interesting ways, creating an other-worldly dramatic effect. Roger Ebert: "The actors inhabit a jagged landscape of sharp angles and tilted walls and windows, staircases climbing crazy diagonals, trees with spiky leaves, grass that looks like knives. These radical distortions immediately set the film apart from all earlier ones, which were based on the camera's innate tendency to record reality."



You'll see very few straight lines in this movie



This movie is alive with atmospheric creepiness. The fantastic set design and makeup effects add to this. Just look at this creepy bastard:





Light and shadow are utilized quite effectively:



Der Golem (The Golem) (1920)
Dir. Paul Wegener and Carl Boese
IMDB



The Golem is another silent entry from Germany in the midst of the German Expressionism movement. While the slanted angles and skewed sets aren’t quite as dramatic as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Golem boasts quite a unique appearance. It’s got some amazing sets and great makeup, especially for the monster himself who is molded out of clay. Even as the character lurches about, the rigid clay effect is quite convincing. I wish more movies still used practical makeup effects like this.



This is amongst the very first screen adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Although the story is a fairly loose telling of Shelley’s version (Jewish mysticism is responsible here), it keeps in tact the idea of a misunderstood monster. One thing I love about this movie is the creation sequence; it beats the hell out of any other Frankenstein’s Monster creation sequence ever filmed, in my opinion. Asteroth, the prince of hell, is involved in it. He seems pissed off:




Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)
Dir. John S. Robertson
IMDB



There have been a lot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adaptations. Although I can’t claim to have seen most of them, I can safely say that John Barrymore’s performance in this 1920 version is one of the best. His portrayal of a man in battle with his own mixed up dual psyche has to be seen to be believed. With the exception of perhaps Nosferatu the vampire, Barrymore’s Mr. Hyde is the scariest of all the silent film creatures.



It’s interesting to note that the transformation sequences were done without the use of trick photography, which was common at the time. The convincing nature of the scenes was all due to the prosthetic effects, clever editing and the fantastic performance.

caiman

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror) (1922)
Dir. F.W. Murnau
IMDB



This is the grandaddy of all silent horror (and silent cinema in general, arguably). If you've seen only one silent movie, it's probably been this one. Made in 1922 by F.W. Murnau, Nosferatu is an unauthorized version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Some plot details and names were changed just enough since the studio couldn't get the rights to release it officially as "Dracula." I think the name Count Orlok is cooler than Count Dracula anyway.



The great thing about Nosferatu is how well it holds up after so many decades. It's a genuinely scary movie. According to IMDB, "The movie was banned in Sweden due to excessive horror. The ban was finally lifted in 1972." In my opinion, and I think most would agree with me, what makes the movie so creepy and memorable is the character of Count Orlok as portrayed by the amazingly effective Max Schreck. This is one creepy guy, and his portrayal of the vampire is easily the most bizzare and unsettling silent movie performance. It's hard to believe this guy isn't actually a vampire.



Like most Dracula adaptations, there is a strong sexual subtext to Nosferatu, which was quite daring for a motion picture in the early 1920s. The movie was innovative in other ways too, such as the use of fast-motion, stop-motion and negative photography. Mark Bourne of The DVD Journal talks about another of Nosferatu's innovations: "Nosferatu also marks one of the earliest uses of simultaneous montage as a means of telling two parts of a story at one time while also building tension. On several occasions, intercutting of simultaneous scenes adds dimension to the story or, as with the aforementioned Professor's lecture, provides symbolic resonance. Through Murnau's editing, we see that the supernatural connection between Orlok, Ellen and Hutter is separated by great distance but not by time or love or hunger. Orlok exists above the laws of nature, Murnau shows us, and perhaps it's his presence that charges Ellen's psychic bond of love with Hutter, and through Hutter to Orlok. It is this bond that ultimately leads to the monster's destruction."




Häxan (AKA Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages) (1922)
Dir. Benjamin Christensen
IMDB



This is a strange movie. It's essentially a documentary about the history of witchcraft, satanism, and black magic, and it's told via many different methods. The beginning starts out like an academic slideshow, utilizing still picture and scale models. Then it gets into re-enactments of "real life" witch-related events. The Criterion DVD booklet describes it: "Häxan integrates fact, fiction, objective reality, hallucination, and different levels of representation - all within a first-person discourse."

Here is director Benjamin Christensen himself as the Devil:



The message of the movie is embarrasingly dated (a connection is attempted to be made between the study of witchcraft and "modern day" hysteria), but it's worth seeing for the supurb acting and imagery throughout. There are some really bizarre and incredible sequences, including the birth of a demon/devil baby that appears to be a giant centipede with a huge alien head. In 1967 a shorter 76-minute version was released with narration by William S. Burroughs and a different soundtrack. This truncated version was simply titled Witchcraft Through the Ages, and loses a lot of the bizarre charm of the original silent cut.






The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
Dir. Wallace Worsley
IMDB



No silent horror thread would be complete without a look at the films of Lon Chaney. Here in Worsley's adaptaion of Victor Hugo's famous novel, he plays Quasimodo, the disfigured hunchback shunned by society who falls in love with a poor gypsy girl.



With this role, Lon Chaney solidified his celebrity and became known as the chameleon of acting. Always willing to push his body to its physical limits, Chaney's commitment to creating physical monstrosities (backed up, of course, by his great performances), earned him a place in the common language of cinema history.

Here is a good site to learn a bit more about Lon Chaney

caiman

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Dir. Rupert Julian
IMDB



Lon "Man of A Thousand Faces" Chaney continued to impress audiences in 1925 with his portrayal of the Phantom in Rupert Julian's adaptation of Gaston Leroux's well known and frequently-adapted novel. Again Chaney portrays a sad and disfigured character brought to life with gruesome makeup effects. A well-written IMDB review expands on this: "But, beyond all the heightened effects, it was the pathos of the Phantom underscoring his lonely menace which gave the character a dimension, and the isolation of the captor and his captive, imprisoned to a literal underworld, which gave the suspense of the whole film its power."



Here is a great essay on Chaney written by Mike Kocher
Some highlights:
"I am of the opinion that Chaney never played the romantic definition of a villain in his career. Films today always have clearly defined characters, someone who the audience can identify with as a hero and despise as a villain. A Lon Chaney picture was never confined to that dull standard of character development, and that is why I think he was able to generate such success while playing the breed of character he was so famous for playing. In looking at Lon Chaney’s career, we see some very common themes and ideas that connect his films. In essence, Chaney is always playing very similar characters, and it is a testament to his great skill that he was able to make each one different and intense. If we could sum up his career in one word, it would be 'versatility.'"

"Chaney must be given kudos for his skills as a movie makeup artist as well. His abilities were what generated so much of his fame and what endures his legacy to the film fans of today. Chaney was brilliant with makeup, and it speaks wonders for his skills that he has not yet been matched by any contemporary makeup artist. It should be noted that Chaney was first and foremost an actor; the makeup would only highlight and add to the performance, not create the character itself. What Chaney was able to do that makeup artists of today can learn from is create elaborate makeup that accented his face, instead of covering it up. It was always Lon Chaney under the mask and the audience could tell even with the makeups.

The items Chaney would use to construct the faces are actually quite simple. The Phantom’s nose was constructed by simply sticking cigar holders in his nostrils. It shows his ingenuity as an artist to think that he didn't need the heavy prosthetics used today. His makeup is an art in and of itself."


The Cat and the Canary (1927)
Dir. Paul Leni
IMDB



Based on a 1922 stage play, the plot involves the relatives of a rich old man gathering at his estate after his passing. Sick and tired of his greedy family waiting around for him to die, the rich old man stipulates in his will that his relatives must wait for twenty years before they can learn who will inherit his fortune. It's discovered that Annabelle West will receive the money, but only after a doctor has come to the creepy old house to declare her sane. What happens the rest of the night involves mistrust, deception, mysterious disappearances, and a killer on the loose.



The Cat and the Canary is one of the early haunted house movies and was responsible for sparking the popularity of the subgenre. It's also one of the earliest examples of what we today call a horror comedy. The movie is very much horror as it presents a moody atmosphere with the creepy house yet still maintains a tounge-in-cheek mood. It's evident that The Cat and the Canary is a late silent, as it includes a lot of more modern techniques like superimposed text ("Ghoooosts!!") and a lot of fluid camera movements. It's moody, intriguing, and just plain fun.




The Man Who Laughs (1928)
Dir. Paul Leni
IMDB



A year after The Cat and the Canary, director Paul Leni made his silent masterpiece, The Man Who Laughs, based on the book by Victor Hugo. It's the story of Gwynplaine (played by Conrad Veidt, who also starred in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in case you forgot), a man who had a permanent smile carved in his face as a boy. In his adult life he becomes the main attraction in a traveling sideshow exhibit. He is in love with a blind woman, but does not want to marry her due to his grotesque appearence.



The movie is as much a touching love story as it is a horror movie. Roger Ebert: "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film. Everything centers on the extraordinary face of Gwynplaine, whose wide and mirthless grin inspired the Joker character in the original Batman comic books. Unlike the Joker and most villains who smile, however, he is a good and decent man, one so horribly aware of his disfigurement that he reveals it only on the stage, as a way to earn a living. The rest of the time he hides behind masks, scarves, handkerchiefs, or his own upturned arm. The blind girl, Dea (Mary Philbin), loves him, but he thinks that is only because she does not know his secret."



To create Gwynplaine's exaggerated smile, Conrad Veidt wore a large, uncomfortable prosthetic mouth piece throughout the entirety of the movie. The piece made it nearly impossible for Veidt to move his mouth. This fact becomes increasingly impressive as you watch the movie and discover the range of emotions Veidt is able to conjure with only his body language and his eyes. All silent actors were required to express with their eyes, but Veidt does it here better than any other in the history of silent films.




That's it for now. There are plenty more great silent horror films out there that I didn't cover, so If you guys think of any others you'd like to see here, feel free to step in.

The Bus

Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks a lot!

Rad14

Excellent primer caiman!

Having seen most of these movies I would agree with a lot of what you have said, although I do think that the later March/Mamoulian Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, is the best version, and I never really cared much for Der Golem or The Man Who Laughs. As you said, the make-up effects in both movies are very good, but on the whole, I find them overly melodramatic. Just my opinions

Unfortunately, me trying to get my wife to watch a silent movie would be like root canal surgery without an anesthetic!!

Kurt D

This is good stuff, brings me back to the days of my youth, when you could get a little glow-in-the-dark poster of Chaney's Phantom in a box of cereal. Have seen Nosferatu in the theater, but must dig up the rest of these.

Liver&Onions

nicely put together.

Solid Snake

Ahh...I love it when people do stuff like this. And just to further congratulate the work done here...which is the best DVD for each of those films? I'd like to own them but there's a lot of issues with so many releases that I'd like to get a DVDtalk definitive answer, which as a collective is a pretty damn good form of advice.

NoirFan

www.dvdbeaver.com is your friend.

My Other Self

Fantastic piece. I love silent film and look forward to checking the one's I haven't seen out. Thanks for sharing.

Cheato

Huh-huh. You're old.


Seriously, though. I love this thread. I have a few of them on DVD already, but it's great to see them all mentioned in one place. I added "The Man Who Laughs" to my want-list. I had heard of the Joker connection before, but had forgotten all about the film.

Trevor

Awesome job!

Kurt D

... And you whippersnappers think we oldsters don't understand the new technology.

d2cheer

Nosferatu is incredible, I remember seeing on my friends projector as a kid, I don't remember what kind it was but it was like one you had in a school classroom. No sound just the movie you had to read the placecards(?) between each scene I think it been awhile.

I remember not really caring for the remake when it came out in 1979? It just was not the same.