Customer Reviews

Classics of the silent screen; a pictorial treasury

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This book contains profiles of the 50 best silent films by the author, and profiles on many great silent performers. The bulk of this book was actually written by film historian William K. Everson, with Joe Franklin contributing very little to it. In the 1960's, when there were few books about the silent era available, this book was the best to be found. Things have greatly changed since, with many more silent films being rediscovered, and much more scholarship being done on the period. If the authors re-wrote the book today, the list of best films and performers would be somewhat different. Regardless, this is the perfect book for someone who knows little about American silent films from 1900-1931 and needs an good introduction.

If you like silent film history then you have to have this book. It's got pictures from all the good ones: The Great Train Robbery 1903, The Birth of a Nation 1915, And the story about a Chinese man in Broken Blosssoms 1919. You have to have this book as it is RARE and one of a kind.

This book is perfect for theatre enthusiasts. The work contains
script and pictures of the following: (samples)
- The Birth of a Nation
- Til the Clouds Roll By
- Orphans of the Storm
- The Covered Wagon
- The Ten Commandments
- The Big Parade
- The Gold Rush and many many others

There are extensive stories of famous stars. i.e. Vilma Banky
in the Magic Flame and Dustin Farnum in David Garrick
The volume is well-researched and reasonably priced.

The book I purchased, "Classics of the Silent Screen by Joe Franklin" had a wonderful musty bookstore odor to it. Pages were crisp and clean and the covers were perfect. Great item!