A Corner in Wheat (1909)

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Phil Hall

Notable as being among D.W. Griffith’s earliest attempts to blend cinema and politics, the 1909 short film “A Corner in Wheat” depicted the rise of the “Wheat King,” a speculator who manages to corner the commodity market on wheat. His success brings him great wealth that is spent on opulent entertainment for his friends, while the farmers who grow the wheat are stuck in hardscrabble lives and the lower classes who cannot afford the price gouging by the Wheat King – the cost of bread loaves is hiked from five to ten cents, forcing many to go hungry. However, the triumph of his business ruthlessness occurs moments before a freak accident where he crushed to death in a grain silo.
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Cohen Saves the Flag (1913)

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Phil Hall

It is highly unusual to watch one movie while searching for evidence of another, but that is the main reason why most people today would bother to subject themselves to the painfully unfunny 1913 one-reeler “Cohen Saves the Flag.”
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Western Wednesdays: Fight It Out (1920)

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Geno Cuddy

SYNOPSIS:
While Sandy Adams (Hoot Gibson) waits for the sheriff, three thugs, led by Slim Allen (Jim Corey) conspire to frame Duncan McKenna (Charles Newton) of rustling the sheriff’s cattle by branding them with McKenna’s brand. The sheriff returns to his office only to be greeted by Allen, whom tells the sheriff that McKenna has branded one of his calves. Adams overhears this conversation and rides off.
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Western Wednesdays: Bronco Billy’s Adventure (1911)

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Geno Cuddy

SYNOPSIS:
Lucy (Edna Fisher), the daughter of tavern owner Riley (Arthur Mackley) is seen flirting with her lover (Fred Church). Riley objects to the relationship, forbids the lover from ever seeing Lucy again and vows to kill him if he is ever seen on his property again. Moments later Broncho Billy (Broncho Billy Anderson) arrives at the tavern to take up lodging for the night. Riley and Billy share a drink and practice straight shooting together.
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Western Wednesdays: The Toll Gate (1920)

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Geno Cuddy

SYNOPSIS:

A group of bandits referred to as “The Raiders,” led by Black Deering (William S. Hart) are forced to vote on if they will retire or pull off one more job. Deering wants to quit, but his lieutenant Jordan (Joseph Singleton) has another heist planned for the group. The band of thieves decides to go ahead and take on one more job.
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The Academy Museum Celebrates Silent Cinema This Summer

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Cinema Crazed

As a nod to Turner Classic Movies (TCM)’s “Silent Sunday Nights,” hosted by Academy Museum Director and President Jacqueline Stewart, the museum is launching a series of silent film screenings this summer. Historian David Pierce has concluded that only 26% of American silent features survive in complete form.

Both TCM and the Academy Museum are dedicated to showcasing the films of this important period in filmmaking history as part of our cultural heritage. Taking place on Sundays at 2pm, Silent Sundays will showcase iconic movies from the silent era as well as forgotten gems and international classics.

Among just some of the films being screened are Earth (Zemlya), the ever first screening of the film outside of Europe with a new soundtrack for the film created by Luke Corradine by order of the UFACE association, Flesh and the Devil with Live musical accompaniment by Michael Mortilla, and the 100th Anniversary screening of the Harold Lloyd masterpiece Safety Last!

“Silent Sundays” will screen at the Academy Museum at Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, for more information on the programming, movie times, and purchasing tickets, visit the Academy Museum Website.

Foolish Wives (1922) [Blu-Ray/DVD]

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Phil Hall

Billed as the “first million-dollar movie” when it was released in 1922, Erich von Stroheim’s “Foolish Wives” is a film whose reputation is greater than its contents.

Stroheim stars as a grifter who pretends to be a Russian count – a pair of his ex-lovers masquerade as his cousins, also putting on the fraudulent personas of being aristocrats of the tsarist orbit. They live a precarious existence in Monte Carlo, paying their mounting bills with counterfeit money while staking out rich suckers for extortion. The “count” finds his latest mark in the young and naïve wife of a newly-arrived American diplomat – but he overplays his hand when he juggles his chicanery with lascivious recklessness involving the affections of a chambermaid and the mentally retarded teenage daughter of his counterfeit money provider.

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