Category Archives: Film

The fallibility of film history: Valeria Creti unmasked as Filibus

Posted on 31 May 2019 by silentsplease

I wrote about the delightful 1915 action caper Filibus a few years ago: a wonderful gender-bending tale of intrigue and adventure, one of my favourite silents. In particular, I praised the performance of Cristina Ruspoli as the title character Filibus, … Continue reading →

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The perilous camera-eye: El sexto sentido | The Sixth Sense (ES 1929)

Posted on 22 May 2018 by silentsplease

The camera never lies. This cliché is now so discredited that even its antithesis is something of a truism: images are almost infinitely manipulable, via both technology, context, and human interpretation. Ultimately, El sexto sentido puts stock in both the idea of … Continue reading →

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Coda to Valentine’s Day: silent film postcards

Posted on 21 February 2018 by silentsplease

Flowers and chocolates and clichés, I don’t care, but I really like the idea of reclaiming Valentine’s Day as a time to express your feelings for the important people in your life. I have so many amazing friends, they mean … Continue reading →

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Power couples of Italian silent film

Posted on 14 February 2018 by silentsplease

It may not be a surprise that the Italian silent film industry was chock-full of couples. Today, for the Feast of Saint Valentine, let’s take a look at these duos with lives spent in film as well as love—sometimes both … Continue reading →

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Pride and passion: Pina Menichelli in Il padrone delle ferriere (1919)

Posted on 22 December 2017 by silentsplease

Aristocracy, hubris, and hauteur: these are the main ingredients in Itala-Film’s Il padrone delle ferriere | The Master of the Ironworks (1919), starring the majestic Pina Menichelli. I’d intended to cover another 1917 film in this Diva December entry, but when the Museo … Continue reading →

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The dream and the myth: Il fauno | The Faun (IT 1917)

Posted on 14 December 2017 by silentsplease

Do not flee from me, for I am love. In his character’s introduction, Febo Mari sets the tone for this phantasmic film in which desire and mythology intertwine. In a reverse Pygmalion scenario, an artist’s model, her sculptor-love unfaithful to … Continue reading →

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Diva December begins with a rainbow

Posted on 3 December 2017 by silentsplease

It’s that time of year again! In Diva December, now in its fourth edition, I look at examples of the ‘diva film’, or the genre of decadent female-led melodramas that were a mainstay of Italian cinema of the 1910s. I’ve outlined … Continue reading →

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Reflections on writing and research: Fluffy Ruffles, women in silent cinema, and gaps in film history

Posted on 18 November 2017 by silentsplease

Earlier this year, I posted about a film/media history article I’d published in the journal Feminist Media Histories, entitled “From the New York Herald to the Italian screen: Fluffy Ruffles, la donna americana”. The article traced the history of 1907-9 … Continue reading →

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Even more question marks in Italian silent film advertising

Posted on 14 October 2017 by silentsplease

Over the course of my research, I’ve noticed on a delightful quirk of Italian silent film advertising: a prominent and often repetitious use of question marks to build anticipation and enthusiasm for future film releases. I’ve shared examples annually for … Continue reading →

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A rainbow of silent film

Posted on 21 August 2017 by silentsplease

Regular readers will have noticed that things have been pretty quiet around Silents, Please! for the last year or so. Partly, this was because I channelled a lot of energy into researching, writing and drawing my Feminist Media Histories article: a very … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments