Tag Archives: female director

Diva ‘December’ returns – Fabienne Fabrèges in Signori giurati … (1916)

Posted on 7 February 2017 by silentsplease

Welcome to (the now well-misnamed) Diva December! In this series, I look at examples of the Italian diva film, a genre that proliferated in 1910s Italy—for an overview, click here. This first instalment is devoted to a relatively obscure title, … Continue reading →

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Stacia Napierkowska on film

Posted on 29 May 2016 by silentsplease

As dancer Marfa Koutiloff in Les Vampires (FR 1915-16), Stacia Napierkowska gave the silent cinema one of its most iconic images: a woman in a black bodystocking and great black bat wings, stretching and swirling as if to take flight. Later, she … Continue reading →

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100 years ago: Ruth Stonehouse in The Gilded Cage (US 1915)

Posted on 28 September 2015 by silentsplease

“The heart-rending story of a girl who weds for wealth, and finds that a palace of love is a gilded cage” is how Essanay advertized their 1915 release The Gilded Cage. This film, preserved by the National Film Preservation Foundation (US), … Continue reading →

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Cinema Ritrovato from afar: Bertini’s Assunta Spina (IT 1915)

Posted on 4 July 2015 by silentsplease

Are you at Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna right now? The festival features the new restoration of one of my true loves, Rapsodia Satanica; the Keaton project; several other diva films; Gaumont at 120; the Technicolor section; and so much more … Sadly, I am … Continue reading →

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