Customer Reviews

Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses

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Anthony Slide is somewhat infamous among movie buffs for his truly unctuous writing style, arrogantly putting forth his own opinions as fact and lambasting any opinions to the contrary. Movie fans have to put up with his nonsense for years in the vintage films publication CLASSIC IMAGES with his malicious reviews of other author's works, often completely trashing excellent books because of a single trivia error he found (and no, I am not a book author trashed by him in case you are wondering). The insufferable Slide always gave the impression he was slumming in that good-natured fan publication, fortunately a few years ago he finally decided he had lived in the trailer park too long and haughtily left the magazine much to the delight of most of the readership.

Slide has written numerous books on silent movies, none of them particularly good except for the D.W. Griffith filmography which I suspect was due mainly to his co-writer, Edward Wagenknecht, a beloved silent film historian. Indeed, despite his many years writing (Slide must be sixtyish now), I certainly would not rank him on the level of Wagenknecht, Kevin Brownlow, James Card, and William Everson as an important, influential silent film scholar-historian despite the compliment by the always kind Lillian Gish that adorns the dust jackets of many Slide books. Slide is more of a critic than a historian or scholar and unfortunately he tends to be the Rex Reed of silent movie writers. Typical Slide views are his dissmissal of Greta Garbo's films while spending one of the largest chapters praising his personal friend starlet Mary Brian to the heavens. Miss Brian was quite a beauty and well-loved in the industry but she was in no way a great star and was not at all a good actress. Considering Lillian Gish's kindness toward him, I was surprised by the rather indifferent profile she merits in this book including digging up a few negative reviews (which could be found on of course any Hollywood star). There is something of the suggestion Slide was miffed that Ms. Gish was equally generous and warm to her fans as well as to snooty film writers.

Slide's essays here are often scarcely more credible than the books of Boze Harleigh, whose shoes Slide seems to want to fill as for "outing" and conjecture about possible gay silent stars. He speculates Wallace Reid and George O'Brien might have been gay or bisexual with the weakest of evidence (one actress who was not known to be close to Reid told Slide he "should never have married") while the elderly character actress Kate Bruce is ludricously presumed by Slide to have been a lesbian due to her never having married, complete with a suggestion the old grandma actress was bedding down some very young Griffith actresses!! Slide's "source" for this is his intrepetation of a quote from a 1920's vindictive book by D.W. Griffith's widely disliked ex-wife but the quote he gives from the book as "evidence" (that various young actresses would cling to Bruce and rest their heads on her lap) could be intrepeted as such only by the dirtiest of minds, a more level-headed person would realize Mrs. Griffith was being excessively sarcastic about a bunch the women all playing the cornball mother/daughter sentiment bit from Griffith's melodramas off screen as well as on. Would that Slide have actually listened to his friend Mary Brian whom he quotes as dismissing all the lurid latterday gossip about the golden era, that it was literally another era and people just were not as sexually adventurous back then!! (I did find it rather ironic that Slide repeatedly refers to his housemate film archivist Robert Gitt but never actually identifies their relationship!!)

Like Miss Brian, Slide goes into detail about some of the other elderly actresses who befriended him like Ruth Clifford and Priscilla Bonner, women whose careers arguably don't merit this much space. His chapter on Laura La Plante is not bad but his Corinne Griffith essay is quite weak (by the way, Mr. Slide, the Redskins, owned by one of Corinne's husbands, are a football team not a baseball team). The Blanche Sweet chapter allows him to both brag on his friendship with the elderly star and expose her hot temper while he joins the long line of Mae Murray bashers (so many cruel-natured writers just love to kick this tragic, ill-fated star since she fell perhaps the hardest of any big name) in an extremely short essay and when Slide ridicules the home and clothes of the elderly, impoverished Madge Bellamy one wonders if the man has any humanity in him at all. The book in fact seems overloaded with mean-spirited comments (is it possible for him to be any other way with individuals he does not admire?) directed at certain performers some of whom were kind enough to give him a few minutes of their time. Some were smarter and apparently snubbed him. Be smart yourself and follow their lead. And go read a book by Kevin Brownlow!!

The book is both fascinating and infuriating. I have a few other of Mr. Slide's books, and they are full of useful information, just like this one.

This book has great profiles on a lot of lesser known, but still interesting actors and actresses. Some of the profiles are several pages and are in-depth. Others are a very short page or two. Mr. Slide met more than half of the people profiled in the book. For those people, he greatly comments on how these people treated him. The book also documents their talkie careers, their career decline and their lives before their death.

The book does dish dirt on many prominent silent film people. While some of it is certainly true and deserves to be public record, sometimes he speculates on things like sexual relationships that seem unlikely (Ralph Graves and Mack Sennett!). Mr. Slide apparently finds it hard to believe that older women who live together can do so as friends not have a sexual relationship.

I don't know Mr. Slide, but he really lets his personality show through in this book. For one thing, he does not have a sense of humor. Of the comedians, he only wrote admiringly of Harold Lloyd and Alice Howell. He has very poor opinions of Mabel Normand and John Bunny. He says Bunny's comedy "contains
nothing creative" and "one wonders if audiences ever did laugh at his work." Chaplin, Keaton, Langdon, and Raymond Griffith are barely mentioned. Laurel & Hardy and Charley Chase are ignored. He talks of Arbuckle as if Roscoe really did rape and murder Virginia Rappe.

Mr Slide seems to remember everyone that made an anti-semetic remark to him. Surely people of this era were just as bigoted toward blacks and other ethnic groups. Yet D.W. Griffith is the only person (remembered by Blanche Sweet) remembered as making a racist remark, and that was before BOAN and INTOLERANCE. (At least he did say in the preface that he decided not to profile Patsy Ruth Miller because of her racist views and he usage of the n-word.

Mr. Slide seems obsessed with determining everyone's sexual orientation, and who had affairs with whom. By the end of the book, you are almost disappointed if a person profiled just married once and didn't sleep with anybody else. In the case of William Haines, J. Warren Kerrigan, Ramon Novarro (only mentioned in the book) and a few others, their sexuality certainly was an important part of their story and certainly affected their careers. After "outing" so many people, I was actually surprised when he said that he had determined that George O'Brien is NOT bisexual.

Surely, just like the general population, silent actors got crotchety in their old age. The best chapters are actually the ones where Slide spent a lot of time with the person, like Jetta Goudal (!) and Blanche Sweet.

Mr. Slide also calls anybody who does not agree with his political views "right-wing". In an otherwise glowing profile on Lloyd, he calls THE CAT'S PAW (1934) "unfortunately right-wing". I'm not a conservative, yet his judgements of
the subjects' political views are unusually harsh.

The most shocking line in the book to me was, "Nowhere is the tragedy of Clarine Seymour's death more pointed than here; if only she might have lived and [Carol] Dempster died, how much better would Griffith have fared in the coming decade." While I agree that Dempster wasn't a very good actress, this is really some bizarre wish.

So anyway, it is a fun, fascinating read. Having said that, Kevin Brownlow's books have better interviews with their subjects, and Eve Golden's GOLDEN IMAGES book has better profiles of obscure silent film stars.

Anthony Slide seems to be working out some deep-seated psychiatric dysfunction whenever he writes about silent stars. His recent work, Silent Players, shows an enormous amount of disrespect towards his subjects---most of whom are long dead and cannot provide a rejoinder. While Mr. Slide apparently has a good grasp of most of the subject matter, his favoritism is painfully obvious---those stars whom he liked personally received favorable treatment, while those he did not like (usually those who refused to submit to his interviews) were lambasted and ridiculed, i.e., calling Mary Philbin "braindead." What gives Mr. Slide, whom, as far as we know, can't act his way out of paper bag, the right to judge these people personally, not just artistically? Too often his work reads like the personal likes and dislikes of a frustrated little boy who doen't always get his way. What a shame. Mr. Slide should exhibit more class toward those who are dead, especially since they possessed far more talent than he.

This book by noted silent movie expert Anthony Slide features a photo and approximately three pages of biographical text (although some have as little as one page of text) on the following actors and actresses: Mignon Anderson, Mary Astor, William Bakewell, Lina Basquette, Madge Bellamy, Constance Binney, Priscilla Bonner, Hobart Bosworth, Evelyn Brent, Mary Brian, Gladys Brockwell, Kate Bruce, John Bunny, Ruth Clifford, Elmer Clifton, Miriam Cooper, Pauline Curley, Viola Dana, Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, Philippe De Lacy, Carol Dempster, Dorothy Devore, Richard Dix, Billie Dove, Claire DuBrey, Virginia Brown Faire, Bess Flowers, Howard Gaye, Lillian Gish, Dagmar Godowsky, Jetta Goudal, Ethel Grandin, Ralph Graves, Gilda Gray, Corinne Griffith, Robert Harron, William S. Hart, Alice Howell, Alice Joyce, Madge Kennedy, Doris Kenyon, J. Warren Kerrigan, Laura La Plante - The Legends: Lon Chaney, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Buster Keaton, Rudolph Valentino; - Harold Lloyd, Babe London, Bessie Love, Dorothy Mackaill, Mary MacLaren, Percy Marmont, Mae Marsh, James Morrison, Jack Mulhall, Mae Murray, Conrad Nagel, Nita Naldi, Mabel Normand, Jane Novak, George O'Brien, Gertrude Olmstead, Seena Owen, Jean Paige, Kathryn Perry, Olga Petrova, Mary Philbin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Arline Pretty, Esther Ralston, Charles Ray, Wallace Reid, Billie Rhodes, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Clarine Seymour, Lowell Sherman, Pauline Starke, Gloria Swanson, Blanche Sweet, Constance Talmadge, Norma Talmadge, Alice Terry, Florence Turner, - The Vamps: Theda Bara, Louise Glaum, Kitty Gordon, Olga Grey, Alice Hollister, Valeska Suratt; - George Walsh, Henry B. Walthall, Kathlyn Williams, Lois Wilson, Margery Wilson, Claire Windsor, and Fay Wray.

For mostly selfish reasons, I was a little disappointed by this book because many silent player names (well known or otherwise) I run across and would like to look up I do not find in this book. I was also disappointed in the biography on the actor about whom I know the most because I run a tribute website on him. I did not learn much new about him through this book which surprised me because he was very famous between 1914-16 and Slide knew several actors and actresses who worked with him (i.e. Lillian Gish). As many other reviewers have noted, there is a lot of gossipy information in this book (Slide calls it "revisionist, almost revolutionary"). Everything from Robert Harron dying a virgin to Mary Pickford's drunken rages aimed at her husband Buddy Rogers. Certainly, one would be hard pressed to find such stories in other books. One of the best features in the book, however, are the photos. Every star has a full page photo (except for those in the "Legends" and "Vamps" chapters who have a smaller photo and only a paragraph of text). Many of the photos seem to be quite unusual. I had never seen the photo used in this book of my website subject before. Slide does not use the commonly seen publicity shots for this book, which is nice. If the above names intrigue you and you like a bit of controversy, I recommend this book but, as a reference guide to silent movie stars, I was disappointed in it.

This book is wonderful for those of us who collect books on the silent cinema however, if you're looking for the big stars this might not be the book for you. If you're looking for a glowing book about the talents from films silent age look elsewhere. I actually found myself searching for one biography in which Mr. Slide didn't say something mean, improper, or speculative about an actor and could find but a few. It was his personal feelings about these people, not short biographys of actors. Some of it was interesting but I could care less if Viola Dana was promiscuous or Patsy Ruth Miller was a racist. I'm interested in their films, not who they slept with and whether they were nice to him when he interviewed them. Because of all this "gossip" the book disappointed me but I have to say I have discovered a few more actors from the silent era. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had written the book while any of these people were still alive.

Ok, so maybe the idea of actor Ralph Graves and comedy director Mack Sennett in bed together in the 1920s seems a bit far-fetched, but who is to say whether or not it actually happened? For instance, the possibility of Sennett being gay was probed in the book "Keystone: The Life and Clowns of Mack Sennett" by Simon Louvish. The preceding is just one aspect of Mr. Slide's masterpiece that is sure to grab a reader's attention. There are many more, such as actress Viola Dana's supposed sexual appetite which spans more than that of a football team's alone! The book is an excellent read; one that I couldn't put down for a second. It delves into the lives of many silent players, from the well-known to the obscure, and more than a few in between. Slide gives the birth and death dates if he knows them, and details a lot about the later years of the stars' lives. He offers biographies of actors that span a page or more, offering anecdotes provided from the stars themselves, and spending a great deal of time on some of his favorites, his friends like Mary Brian, Priscilla Bonner, Jetta Goudal, and most important of all, Blanche Sweet, with whom he acted as a public companion to for years. Some of the superstars that he chronicles are Mary Astor, Theda Bara, Lon Chaney, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Mabel Normand, Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, and Rudolph Valentino. Mr. Slide also takes us into the lives of such obscure players as, Mignon Anderson, Constance Binney, Gladys Brockwell, Pauline Curley, Bess Flowers, Howard Gaye, Alice Howell, Babe London, James Morrison, Gertrude Olmstead, Arline Pretty, Clarine Seymour, and Pauline Starke. Rounding out the list are players who were stars in their own day, such as John Bunny, Elmer Clifton, Miriam Cooper, Bebe Daniels, Carol Dempster, Richard Dix, Billie Dove, Ethel Grandin, Corinne Griffith, Robert Harron, William S. Hart, Alice Joyce, J. Warren Kerrigan, Bessie Love, Mae Marsh, Conrad Nagel, Olga Petrova, Charles Ray, Wallace Reid, Constance Talmadge, Florence Turner, Henry B. Walthall, Kathlyn Williams, and Lois Wilson. Aside from the dozens more profiled, the author also has a section on the silent and sound screen star, Fay Wray (who just passed away on August 8, 2004). The book also includes a picture for every entry (and, boy you should see the wonderful one the author chose to put in here of actor George Walsh!). With names like these, how could anyone who is interested in classic film studies not want to buy this book (the only thing that did upset me is the fact that Mr. Slide chose not to include three of my ultimate favorites; actresses worthy of mentioning, Colleen Moore, Dorothy Gish and Marguerite Clark. Clara Bow isn't here either, but that is neither here nor there!)? The book is indespensible, and is destined to become a piece of major film history.

As a longtime fan of silent movies, I am always on the lookout for books and articles on the subject. I was familiar with the name of Anthony Slide primarily in connection with Edward Wagenknecht. They worked together on a book called FIFTY GREAT AMERICAN SILENT FILMS. Wagenknecht is best known for THE MOVIES IN THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, one of the earliest books to deal with the study of silent films. I was therefore looking forward to this book after running across it on a silent film website and seeing it reviewed on Amazon. I ordered it right away, promptly received it, and have just finished reading it. While the book is chock full of information on many little known silent performers which makes it invaluable to anyone interested in silent movies, I was really put off by the tone adopted by Mr Slide in many of his portraits.

While John Bunny may have been hard to work with and Mary Philbin an airhead just to give a couple of examples, the way he reports these facts seems especially mean spirited. After criticising the notorious HOLLYWOOD BABYLON in a segment on Miriam Cooper, he proceeds to do an interview with a drunken Ralph Graves that would have made Kenneth Anger (the author of HB) proud in the "information" it imparts. And is it really necessary to tell us almost everyone's sexual orientation? Everyone including celebrities should be entitled to some privacy especially as all but one of the subjects are dead.

I think that Mr Slide should have taken his name off the book and used the name of Lennox Sanderson Jr.(a reference from D.W. Griffith's WAY DOWN EAST). That's the pen name he used for negative reviews (see the Lowell Sherman segment). It would be more in keeping with the overall tone of the book. As the author points out in the preface "you have your opinions and I have mine". Frankly I could have done with a little less opinion. Nevertheless the book contains a wealth of information on people and events of the silent era and as such remains a valuable account of that long vanished art. However because of its overall tone I found it a great disappointment. I wonder what Edward Wagenknecht would have thought?

I found this book extremely interesting. Mr. Slade profiled a large number of silent actors ranging from the obscure (the queen of the extras Bess Flowers) to the semi-famous (the delightful Mary Brian who did successfully transition into the talkies) to the famous (Valentino and Harold Lloyd).
What did I specifically like about this book? Slide provided mini-critiques of his subjects acting abilities. Since many, if not most, of their films are not readily accessible I found this helpful in understanding why many of his subjects were unable to move into the talkies successfully.
Mr.Slide and his partner Robert Gitt knew a great many of the actors covered. A.S. provided his insights regarding their personal quirks as well as personalities. This was delightful! One particularly amusing profile was that of Jetta Goudal who appears to have over-inflated opinion of her acting abilities and prominence within the film community. Goudal could have been the prototype for the Norma Desmond character in Sunset Blvd.
If you have an interest in cinema and know little about silent film, I believe this will stir your interest.
A.S. is a gifted writer and a compelling story teller.

An amusing bit of fluff for those unfamiliar with silent stars but I was stunned by the number of factual errors (dates, film titles, names)--especially for someone with so many decades writing about the subject! Did Mr. Slide have no editor on this project, or is he, ummm, "slipping?"

I was a little disappointed with this book. It contained too many personal and general comments. Mary Brian is a friend and so she gets a glowing description of her ability. What the Silent Era needs is a factual enclyopaedia of the stars. This should include list of films, popularity polls, contemporary critics views written at the time the films first appeared. And more detail of how and why stars careers faltered. I also find it depressing how Mr Slide so dismissive of actors and films that makes me wonder whether he really likes Silent Films. He is not alone with this ie Kevin Brownlow's "The parades Gone By" is another example. I feel we are getting half a story.