You Never Know Women - 1926 - USA

You Never Know Women - 1926 - 6/10

 
Vera is rescued at a construction site by a rich swell.
Each is smitten.  She with his gallantry.  He?  Well, Vera is a peach.
She is also the star of a Russian circus, from where he attempts to lure her away.
Money, furs and easy comforts.  Who cares about friends, family, colleagues, work?
A triangle develops, although Vera is unaware of partner Norodin’’s feelings toward her,
Norodin’s act resembles Houdini’s water torture, by the way.
Nice little drama with impressive illusions.

3 Bad Men - 1926 - USA

3 Bad Men - 1926 - 6/10

 
The wagon is attacked by a pack of outlaws.
Observing from on high, three desperadoes.  Horse thief, card sharp, murderer.
They arrive too late to save the helpless pioneers, save for the young girl.
Nevertheless, they befriend her, and decide to stick with her for the Dakota Land Rush.
Early John Ford Western shows his liabilities and strengths.
Corny comedy, schmaltz, plodding social values.
Then there are magnificent scenes: the mustering of the rush, the torchlit riders, the siege of innocents.
A film of glorious villains.  The crooked sheriff and his corrupt cronies, and the three “bad men”.

 
The “girl” is a smoldering Olive Borden (distant cousin to Lizzie, really).
Love story is token, although she and O’Brien display fiery chemistry.

The Bells - 1926 - USA

The Bells - 1926 - 6/10

 
Innkeeper Mathias, determined to be village burgomaster loans money, gives free drinks.
Up to his eyes in debt to Franz, who is poised to hurl Mathias and family onto the street.
Arriving during a blizzard is the stranger, wearing a thick money belt.
No one knows him, no one misses him, until the locals realize he has been murdered.
Creaky Silent benefits from Lionel Barrymore’s theatrical performance.
Also Boris Karloff as a mesmerist, appreciated by all, save the guilty.

Ella Cinders - 1926 - USA

Ella Cinders - 1926 - 6/10

 
Ella, the browbeaten, mistreated stepdaughter enters a photo beauty pageant.
Prize?  Paid trip to and screen test in Hollywood!
Will she win?  Will she go?  Does stardom await?
Pleasing adaptation of a long running comic strip is an excellent showcase for Colleen Moore.
The premise is not too far-fetched, either.
(In 1921, Clara Bow, sixteen, entered the Fame & Fortune contest, and won!)
Fun sequence of her pretending to be a child while babysitting.
Entertaining comedy, although the ending left me a little flat.

A Page Of Madness - 1926 - Japan

A Page Of Madness - 1926 - 6/10
AKA - Kurutta Ichipeiji  //  狂った一頁

 
Manic, delusional, catatonic.
Various states of residents in a mental institution.
Viewed through the eyes of the custodian / janitor.
His wife is a patient, in a near-vegetative state.
Their daughter visits, yet her terror usually overcomes her.
One can only deduce the proceedings, as there are no inter-titles.
A difficult watch at times.
Highlights include a frenzied dancer who believes she is onstage, and a facility riot she causes.

The Nickel-Hopper - 1926 - USA

The Nickel-Hopper - 1926 - 6/10

 
Mabel tries to fend off a pushy masher (Boris Karloff).
She’s a 2 1/2 ¢ a dance hostess (not a dime a dance) in a feverish club.
Oliver Hardy plays a raucous Jazz drummer, and the club is a peek into the Roaring 20’s.
Awash with money, speculation, giddy with dreams, America on the cusp of Depression.
Charming film.  Mabel had one more year of movies in her tank, followed by the reckoning.
Plagued by scandals, misfortune, and ill health, she would die in 1930.

The Black Pirate - 1926 - USA

The Black Pirate - 1926 - 6/10    

 
After his father is slain by pirates, the young lord secretly joins the ship, biding his time for revenge.
In short order, he outduels the buccaneer captain and becomes leader.
Followed by romance (a princess!), treasure, and ship to ship combat.
The drama, the story, drags a little.
Huge compensation – if you can find it – this was shot in early Technicolor.
Douglas Fairbanks, trim and fit, performs amazing stunts.
Chief among them, the sail shredding, copied in numerous swashbucklers.
Several DVD / BluRay choices (of varying color saturation) are available.
https://www.silentera.com/video/blackPirateHV.html

Daughters Who Pay - 1926 - USA

Daughters Who Pay - 1926 - 6/10

 
Foolish Larry confesses his difficulties to sister, Margaret.
He has embezzled company funds to play the stock market and has lost $10K.
She pleas with his boss, who has his own troubles.
His son is smitten with a cabaret dancer, the exotic Sonia.
Sonia, a Russian expat, is imperiled by the local Communist cell.
Overly complicated, but the narrative moves swiftly.
Marguerite de la Motte is striking throughout, centering the movie.
Nevertheless, anytime the head baddie appears (Bela Lugosi) his face holds the screen.

The Great K & A Train Robbery - 1926 - USA

The Great K & A Train Robbery - 1926 - 6/10

 
Ole Bill Hart’s Westerns too starchy for you?
Try Mix, Tom Mix, the original rhinestone cowboy.
Anyhoo, the train keeps getting robbed by desperadoes!
A dee-tect-ive is hired on, and he infiltrates the pack of bandits.
Of course there are fights, chases, gunfights, and while the villains outnumber Tom, they overlook his secret weapon.
His trusty horse, Tony.  I kid you not, that hoss is terrific.
Stuntwork is dazzling, especially when you realize it is all done without a net, and barely any safety.

Mauprat - 1926 - France

Mauprat - 1926 - 6/10

 
An infant aristocrat is kidnapped by a scoundrel and raised with bandits.
Of age, he meets his beautiful cousin, falls in love, and tries to amend bad habits.
Creaky Silent has too much melodrama and love misunderstandings.
The villainy and conflicts are exciting, yet there are not enough of those moments.
The print I watched was very good (though no audio).
Director Jean Epstein dissolve transitions are marvelous.
Reworked subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/mauprat/english/2781723

Paris In Five Days - 1926 - France

Paris In Five Days - 1926 - 6/10
AKA - Paris en Cinq Jours

 
Chicago accountant Harry, takes new girlfriend Dolly to Paris for five days.
What follows is the parody of the quickie / cheapie tour.
The open bus, rolling down boulevards, passengers looking quickly, snapping photos.
The 15 minute drinks break.  A hurried rush through museums.
Dolly catches the eye of a smooth seducer, while Harry, over and over, gets lost or into trouble.
Fast moving silent, packed with sight gags and situation comedy.
Not to mention Parisian exteriors, late 1920’s.
The print I watched was beautifully restored, BUT had no sound and the French inter-titles were not translated.

Miss Mend - 1926 - Soviet Union

Miss Mend - 1926 - 6/10
AKA - Мисс Менд

 
Four hour, Silent serial from Soviet Union.  Three, long-as-hell chapters that should have been chopped to 12.
Miss Mend is a typist who witnesses a strike over at the Rocfeller Cork Factory!  
Also watching are members of the press:  journalist, photographer, office boy.
Male trio is box o rocks dumb (call ‘em Dimwit, Halfwit, and Nitwit) but the yarn is more them, less Mend.
The group get mixed up with this rich swell who wants to donate his fortune to the Bolsheviks.
However, a powerful Capitalist agency wants to thwart him.
Worse, massacre thousands of innocent Russians!
Story - mostly set in (CCCP’s version of) the US of A - is fast moving but jumps all over kingdom come.
Good luck keeping track of motivations and who’s on which side.
Fairly casual death count in this, without flinching from suffering the smallest.

Ménilmontant - 1926 - France

Ménilmontant - 1926 - 6/10

 
Densely packed Silent short opens with a brutal axe murder of two adults.
Parents of two girls, now orphaned.  Who, in no time, have grown and struggle in Paris.
Enter the smooth man, with his gentle hands, coaxing insistence, and fleeting promises.
Film dazzles with then-cutting edge techniques of double exposures, rapid pans, and quick cutting.
Risqué material probably meant this was never shown in America.
This ought to run 30+ minutes.  Beware of shorter run times which were likely from the wrong speed,

Fig Leaves - 1926 - USA

Fig Leaves - 1926 - 6/10

Adam and Eve enjoy the paradise of Eden, complete with zoo animals and dinosaurs.
Newsboys even delivers stone tablets of daily events.
Eve complains, however, she doesn’t have a thing to wear (fig leaves seem identical).
Adam ignores her, so she vents to another neighbor, the serpent.
Flash forward a million years! Adam Smith is a plumber, and wife Eve complains about her wardrobe.
Silly film benefits from Olive Borden, who was an exotic beauty.

In real life, she and costar George O’Brien had a torrid affair at this point, which Fox capitalized on.
Borden was also a notorious clothes horse, and this film concluded with a fashion show featuring “nothing-to-wear” Eve.
That event was originally in Technicolor, now lost, but the still below gives an idea.