Customer Reviews

Silent Stars

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jeanine Basinger's premise is to explore the silent cinema through the stars who are either forgotten or misunderstood by today's film buffs, but she succeeds only partially, mainly because most people have some kind of concept of who these people were. What she is really trying to do is de-bunk the stereotypes that the modern world holds on those who were the pioneers in creating the matinee idol. For example, say Rudolph Valentino and you think latin lover. Say Douglas Fairbanks and you think swashbuckler. Ms. Basinger's point is that there was a lot more to these and the other actors she profiles and she makes a good argument by backing up that premise with examinations of the complete filmographies of these stars, rather than simply focusing on the more well-known ones.

One of the things that comes across immediately is that Ms. Basinger is a big fan, and she presents her writing as much from a fan's perspective as a critical or historical point of view. However, where Ms. Basinger does herself in is by letting herself gush too much. Bringing something personal to the table is not necessarily a bad thing, and it's kind of nice to see that she's so ardent in her work. Her problem in trying to write in a more familiar manner is a disservice to her overall work. She takes the reader out of the stories she is telling, which are mostly very enjoyable and compelling, by interjecting her own sly comments. Besides that, it's still worth appreciating the variety Ms. Basinger provides as she discusses the flappers, cowboys, romantic leads, cosmopolitan women (Gloria Swanson), action stars (Douglas Fairbanks), character actors (Lon Chaney) and even Rin Tin Tin.

Silent Stars is a great read if you have any kind of love of film or history. Ms. Basinger does a nice job of putting her characters in the context of the times and generally painting full pictures of them as individuals. The writing can be a lot more dense than a straight history of silent film, so it takes about two chapters to get used to it. Ms. Basinger has also had the opportunity to view prints of many of the films she writes about and those passages are clearly more illuminating than when she has to rely on other secondary sources to get her information. It's truly remarkable to remind yourself as you go along that no one had ever really known what it meant to be world famous and instantly recognizable before these silent film stars reached the peaks of their popularity. I almost think people like Tom Cruise or Julia Roberts should read this book just to get an idea of what it REALLY means to be famous. She also demonstrates some strong conclusive reasoning in her epilogue about the arrival of sound and why some stars faded and others thrived. All told, it's worth the read if you can stand the cheerleader aspects of it.

Jeanine Basinger has produced a lovely, thoughtful, well-written volume to add to the body of work on silent film. She showcases sixteen silent performers (including one dog), whom she believes are noteworthy and in most cases underappreciated, or even unknown today. In the ranks of the known but underappreciated are Pickford, Fairbanks, Swanson, Valentino and Chaney, and I believe that she makes her case for their inclusion. [Only Pickford has been the subject of (several, excellent) recent books.] I was happy to see material on Mabel Normand, the Talmadge sisters, Pola Negri, Marion Davies, and Colleen Moore, among others. And the chapter on Rin-Tin-Tin was delightful. When was the last time you thought about him?

Yes, the tone is uniformly passionate and admiring. Basinger is an advocate, and dare I say fan? But she's exceedingly good at linking history of the times with the work; summarizing the films, and hitting the high spots. I couldn't have gushed any better on the subject of Fairbanks myself. (And thanks for including a treatment on THE NUT, my all-time favorite Fairbanks film.)

There are small errors throughout, that you would have thought an astute preview reader or editor would have caught, but I can't say that they seriously detract from the pleasure of reading this book.

Now, Ms. Basinger, how about a series?

Jeanine Basinger's "Silent Stars" is an enjoyable book that could have been an excellent one if it had followed it's own avowed goals. In the Introduction Ms. Basinger states: "The purpose of this book is to celebrate a group of silent film stars who are somehow forgotten, misunderstood, or underappreciated." Except in one instance her choices of stars are anything but the above!

Writing in a conversational tone, Ms. Basinger covers stars such as Mary Pickford, Clara Bow & Rudolph Valentino; hardly forgotten or underappreciated! She works hard to fairly critique their films & influence on their times, & does a good job at it while ignoring or glossing over the scandals & more interesting details of their private lives. For that aspect of early cinema I recommend Kenneth Anger's "Hollywood Babylon". The only silent star written about who I feel truly deserves to be included as forgotten or underappreciated is Colleen Moore. Every other chapter, while well written & interesting, does not pursue the avowed purpose of this book. Players who are mentioned while discussing the main stars such as Barbara LaMarr, Alma Rubens, Vilma Banky, Wallace Reid, Francis X. Bushman seem to be much better candidates. It made me wonder if the author's choices were dictated by which films she was able to screen, since so many films from before 1940 are now lost.

The other fault to my mind is that there is no progression to this book. Each chapter is written as a stand-alone essay, & it is easy to see that Jeanine Basinger works as a college professor, since the tone of the book is often that of a lecture (there are even humorous asides & 90's references that seem to be hold-overs from classes of sleepy students!).

Overall though, for the general reader who has some knowledge of early cinema but no specific obsession this is a worthy, well-written, enjoyable book. There are numerous stills from movies mentioned, & the tone is never pretentious or pedantic. Recommended!

I love silent films,and Jeanine Basinger has given us a work that ranks at the very top for me---right alongside Kevin Brownlow's "The Parade's Gone By",Bill Everson's "American Silent Film",and Walter Kerr's "The Silent Clowns".Honestly, I carried Jeanine's book around with me for days until I'd read it from cover to cover---my only regret was she didn't give us another thousand pages on another hundred stars---that's how good it is.Unlike so many latter day academics and historians,this writer actually enjoys the films and personalities she writes about,and her enthusiasm is infectuous---and no,this isn't just fan worship on her part---Basinger has clearly spent a lifetime pursuing the study of silent film,and her insights reveal a maturity and appreciation for this vanished era that could only come from someone who has truly devoted herself to the subject at hand.There aren't many film scholars operating at this level---believe me, I've endured the agonies of overpriced,University press offerings for too many years---"Silent Stars" is one in a thousand.If you care anything about this era and the people who enriched it,order this book today.It'll be the best money you've spent this year.

They had faces then . . . those silent screen icons known as Clara, Lon, Pola, Gloria, Mabel, John, Mary, Douglas, Rudolph --- even Rin-Tin-Tin. From the pen (and meticulously researched and always thoughtful mind) of film scholar Jeanine Basinger comes this must-have tome, as important for its reconstructed historical chronicle as it is for its wit, humor and revelatory insights. Those expecting gossip will find it; those yearning for an academic, yet never boring, read will find it as well. The 300-plus photos are an added treat; was there anyone more handsome than Ramon?

I'm a huge fan of the silent cinema and it is the primary focus of my film studies, which is why I would recommend this book only if you have the money to spend on its beautiful pictures. Otherwise I'd save my money. There's been enough written so far that we don't need another book full of the fan's perspective. Basinger has allowed her own personal attachment to these films to cloud her writing which just drips with sentiment that is out of place. Brownlow has just as much love, if not more, yet his work is far more personal and enjoyable. Her goal in writing the book, she claims, was also to talk about those stars who have been forgotten or are misperceived by today's public but she only talks about the latter. Of my associates everyone that I spoke with had known all of the stars discussed with the exception of Colleen Moore(!!!). For crying out loud she includes Mary Pickford, the Talmadge sisters, Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks. Sure they might have stereotyped images connected with them, but that's for a reason. Only a personal agenda motivates her to write about them and explain how she finds substance to Valentino's acting, or how Fairbanks was just as funny in his comedies as he was exciting in his swashbuckling. This book would have been far more enjoyable if it had dealt with stars that truly were forgotten of which there are far too many.

Silent Stars is a 1999 book by renowned film historian Jeanine Basinger. She is Chair of the Film Studies Program at Wesleyan University and is often seen on Turner Classic Movies making comments about cinema.
I have read and reviewed her fine book "The Star Machine" and found her writing so fetching I decided to order this older book on the Silent film era. The book is a delight in its countless black and white photographs of the stars and the detailed but succinct recounting of the careers of some of the era's most notable stars.
Basinger recounts the career of Mary Pickford "America's Sweetheart"
(who was actually Canadian born) and her athletic superstar husband of swashbuckling films Douglas Fairbanks Sr. This couple were more famous than Angelina and Brad! Doug and Mary were beloved of the public until their divorce and the coming of sounds ended their careers.
Mabel Normand was an early slapstick comedian who made her fame and fortune with Max Sennett's Keystone Kops. Max was in love with the flighty
Mabel though the two never wed. Mabel died young in 1930 as the era of pie in the face fun ended.
Her chapter on cowboys Tom Mix and William S. Hart tells us that Mix was the precursor of drugstore singing cowpokes like Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey. Hart focused on realism in the Western oaters he starred in during his fabled career. The chapter on Rin-Tin-Tin and animals stars was good. I was surprised to learn that Rinny died in the arms of Jean Harlow!
Basinger looks at the Talmadge sisters; worldy sirens such as Gloria Swanson and seductive Pola Negra(the lover of Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino)and the mysterious and subllime Greta Garbo. Flappers Colleen Moore and the "It" Girl Clara Bow are also profiled.
Major chapters deal with Valentino, Marion Davies (longtime mistress of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst); Lon Chaney "the man with a thousand faces" and John Gilbert who loved Garbo and who died young from drink and a ruined career in the talkie era were interesting.
Basinger screened countless old silent films prior to writing this book. Her work is readily understandable to a general reader making it easier to comprehend than such technical works on silent films as those by Kevin Brownlow such as his "The Parade's Passed By." This is a fun book to take with you to the beach or on your next business trip.

I wanted to learn more about the silents, and started with "The Parade's Gone By". It was good, but a bit too technical. What I really wanted was to know about the great personalities of the silent screen, and this book fills the bill. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would have liked even more profiles. Each chapter deals with a silent star, some quite well known, some not so. There is also an excellent overview of silent films in general. The author writes in an enjoyable, easy-going manner, but there is plenty of information, and great photos. There are wonderful takes on Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, The Talmadge Sisters, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, and so many more, even Rin Tin Tin! Really a great read, with some unforgettable tid-bits. (You'll never believe what Pola Negri said she would always remember Valentino for, or where Rin Tin Tin drew his last breath). Wonderful book.

I am glad any time the great silent stars are taken seriously. I was very excited about this book, and on a cursory glance it seemed like an interesting examination of some of the more notable stars of the silent era.

What made me eventually throw the book against the wall was Basinger's irritatingly awkward writing style. Nearly every sentence cloys and drips where it does not actually meander. This style shows itself in the very structure of each chapter, which frequently substitute paragraph after paragraph of film synopses that would have served the structure better as sidebars or appendices.

How such regrettable prose made it past a Knopf editor is beyond me.

The book does contain a fun collection of photos of all the actors profiled, from Pickford to Rin-Tin-Tin. Any interspersed "insights" are generally restricted to the "you can't realize how big this was and how it will never be duplicated" variety. I KNOW there was only one Mary Pickford. What I want to know is what made her able to carve out such a phenomenal niche for herself and (unlike so many contemporaries) gave her such acumen at the business side of an infant industry.

like all Basinger's books, this imparts lots & lots of info and is a fun, often funny, read. it does not, however, go as deep as her other books and is just a selective introduction for the non-specialist to the world of silent films thru its actors: brief bio-critiques, of varying degrees of rigor & interest, of Mary Pickford, Mabel Normand, Douglas Fairbanks, Norma & Constance Talmadge, Tom Mix, Wm. S. Hart, Gloria Swanson, Pola Negri, Rudolph Valentino, Marion Davies, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Clara Bow, Colleen Moore and Rin-Tin-Tin. some chapters are very rivetting & enlightening [Lon, John, Rudy, Wm.], others ho-hum [Mary, Marion], and one ["Doug" (sic)] so vapid that one must turn one's eyes away and blush. the photos, however, are altogether gorgeous. a lush book of high general interest & many hours of perusing pleasure.