Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies (Hardcover)

by Robert K. Klepper (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Expanding on his Silent Films on Video (McFarland, 1996), Klepper offers his personal appraisal of 646 films. Arranged by year of release and then alphabetically by title, the entries provide a chronology of the development of the film industry as well as information on specific titles. Each entry includes production company, running time, director and other technical contributors, and cast, including vital dates and the names of the characters portrayed. While these facts are helpful and sometimes hard to come by, the real merit of the book lies in the zest with which Klepper covers his subject. He goes beyond the usual feature films and serials and delves into the early experiments of Edison and Lumi`ere, issue films on such topics as civil rights and homosexuality, and even some films that were considered pornographic at the time. His critiques summarize the plot, note historic significance, give facts about the filming, and relate fascinating anecdotes about the stars on and off the set. Well over 200 illustrations, a four-star rating system, and a copious index add to the appeal of the book. Unfortunately, the sources for obtaining the films are not usually mentioned, so another reference book such as Klepper's own (mentioned above) must be consulted. Recommended for any library where there is interest in silent films.AVivian Reed, Long Beach P.L., CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Klepper has a most serious love affair with silent movies. His previous work, Silent Films on Video (McFarland, 1996), listed more than 700 silent movies available on video. This work builds on the earlier one and has entries for 646 silent movies with cast lists and birth and death dates of performers, directors, etc., when known. The work covers 119 years of films, from the experimental photography of Eadweard Muybridge in 1877 to The Taxi Dancer in 1996. The earlier experimental films are not rated, but the longer works are assigned ratings that range from four stars (a masterpiece) to one star (abysmal). The purpose of the work is to provide information on silent movies, lobby for wider availability of some, point out the ones to ignore, and provide a comprehensive study of the topic.

Within each section, arrangement is by year, and then alphabetical by film title. The first chapter covers the "Experimental Years (1877^-1885)." Most of these films are very short and depict actions, such as Woman Hopping on One Foot or Woman Walking Down Stairs. The 1890s saw more Edison Kinetoscope Company shorts, generally less than a minute in length, such as Fred Ott's Sneeze and Serpentine Dances. "The Nickelodeon Age (1902^-1911)" began with films that told a story. One of the most famous is A Trip to the Moon, which appears in most movie and science fiction retrospectives. As much as can be located about the film's cast and crew is included along with pertinent dates. There is also a brief plot summary and evaluation. The longest section is "The Golden Era of Silents (1912be as long as two pages. All the big names pop up, including Lon Chaney, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mary Pickford, and. Gloria Swanson. A Free Ride (1915), which is the oldest hard-core porn film in existence, is described. Early African American films such as Body and Soul (1924), with Paul Robeson, are included. Black-and-white photographs of many of the movie stars are scattered throughout.

The work concludes with an extensive bibliography of the works consulted and a comprehensive bibliography of films and people. The film titles analyzed are in italics. One thing to note about the index is that citations refer to the number of the entry, not the page.

The work is not without flaws. Errors such as "good buy" instead of "good guy" and "short" instead of "shot" are found. Also, in the entry for the 1927 version of Ben Hur, the main character is called "Judas" instead of "Judah." It can be difficult to locate film entries if one does not know the year of release, and the index is not always helpful. The index listing for Intolerance gives more than 30 entry numbers, with no indication of which is the main one. Generally, however, this labor of love is a readable and critically perceptive analysis of silent movies.

Other resources on the topic include the three-volume Magill's Survey of Cinema: Silent Films (Gale, 1982), which has long critical summaries of 308 films from the years 1902 to 1936. Many more films are listed in the silent-films volume of The Motion Picture Guide (Cinebooks, 1985) and in pertinent volumes of The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States (Univ. of California, 1970^-), but these provide only brief descriptions. Silent Films, 1877^-1996 covers more years, has a number of unique titles, and offers descriptions that are often considerably detailed. Recommended for public, academic, and special libraries.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 586 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786405953
• ISBN-13: 978-0786405954
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,542,760 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference book and a fun read., May 22, 1999

By	L. B. Young (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an amateur film critic and historian, I found this book both accessible and excellently-researched. Although the book would serve well as a film history text, it is so clearly written and organized that one can learn much by simply picking a page and reading. For instance, the chronological presentation helps the novice (like myself) place the film in its historical context, while the criticisms of the films, which are all available on videocassette, highlight the artistic significance of the works, relating them to contemporary films and actors. While it is a comprehensive reference of 119 years of silent film, the abundance of photos throughout the book tell the story of the silents all by themselves. Finally, the index is the place to start if one wants to learn about the early days of so many stars of cinema's Golden Age, who started out in silents.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars labor of love, June 24, 2003

By A Customer

Robert Klepper has a remarkable love and knowledge of silent film. His understanding of the historical place of any movie he reviews is impressive and thoughtful. The book is a standing resource for any film enthusiast. In watching these films some of our favorite practices are to look for scenes that more modern films either steal (or pay omage to - depending on your thinking) and to pay attention to stunts that no actor or actress will ever have to duplicate in a more advanced film age. These are things that Robert Klepper also makes notice of and shares with his readers. I find his rating system to be reliable to my own standards and his humor to be very welcome - though I think some readers might miss some of it.

I do cherish this particular book and guard it heavily - no one is permited to borrow it. (I am usually pretty generous with my shelves.)

I assure you that the book is well worth the price -it is an excellent resource to the novice or the expert.

J

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating book for browsing and an essential reference!, January 19, 2001

By	M. Zimmer "Mighty Cthulhu" (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Klepper does a terrific job of giving a clear and succinct summary of the films, and then gives a lengthier and meatier discussion of the merits, often including plenty of fascinating trivia. This makes it a great book for endless hours of browsing through its many pages. It's also a great reference work, with plenty of cast and crew information, running times, and the like. Though expensive, it's one of my best purchases related to silent film ever and well worth the price.