Hi !
I'm looking for a funny scene in a mysterious black and white movie.

The scene happens in an office; I think it is an detective office. The protagonist (not a police officer) is left alone and makes a mess. He touches something and when he tries to put it back, breaks or moves something else. And it goes on and on.
The scene is quite impressive because it is still funny even after few minutes.

Any ideas ? Cheers !

Movies with lookalike characters were popular in the silent era. Usually they were achieved with split screens where the actor's face was visible or doubles where it wasn't. Harold Lloyd's His Royal Slyness uses a different techique.

The premise is that a prince is having too good a time in the USA to return to his obligations and perhaps marry a princess he has never met. An eager American book salesman enters the room where he's visiting his girlfriend, and they immediately notice that they look alike. The girlfriend suggests that the prince let the salesman take his place, which he does.

The false prince and the princess get along very well, and she chooses him over his drunken rival (Lloyd's usual nemesis, Snub Pollard). But the girlfriend dumped the prince as soon as she realized he'd no longer get his royal allowance, and the prince returns to denounce the impostor, not mentioning who set him up.

However, a revolution has been brewing against a monarchy that seems more inept than tyrannical, and the fake prince inadvertently finds himself at its head.

The trick in this film is that Harold Lloyd's brother, Gaylord, played the prince. The two looked a lot alike, especially when wearing identical glasses, having the same haircut, etc. This let them interact more freely than the trick photography of the silent era allowed.

Here's a review of the film on the Movies Silently blog. My only comment is that the revolution subplot reminds me more of the French Revolution than the Russian one; bringing up a cannon, followed by a mob entering the palace, is reminiscent of the storming of the Bastille. Also, it's a king and queen who are overthrown. On the other hand, one of the leaders looks like a cliché anarchist, and the movie was made shortly after the Russian Revolution. Maybe they intended a little of each.

Like just about all silent comedies, the movie strains credulity in places. No one suspects the impersonation until the real prince arrives. The revolution is quick, neat, and bloodless. But things have to be streamlined for a 20-minute short, and the characters are more or less plausible. It's a fun movie.

On Wednesday, May 1, I'll accompany three short comedies on Twitch at 8:00 PM Eastern US time.

• Buster Keaton, The Goat. The picture of an innocent man appears on the "wanted" poster for an escaped murderer. Much chasing ensues, and even some romance.

• Stan Laurel, Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde. In this version of Stevenson's story, Dr. Pyckle's potion turns him into a prankster who steals ice cream from kids and pops paper bags behind people.

• Harold Lloyd, His Royal Slyness. An American salesman (Harold Lloyd) is asked by a prince (Gaylord Lloyd, who looked very much like his brother) to take his place, but the prince soon decides it was a bad decision.

As usual, I provide live, improvised accompaniment and encourage discussion in the chat.

One of the movies I'm considering for my next Twitch show is Stan Laurel's Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde. A science fiction-horror comedy will appeal to a lot of my regular viewers, and Stan Laurel provides name recognition.

The Internet discussions I've seen don't want to admit that the ending is missing. In fact, it breaks off right at the most suspenseful moment. Maybe they think telling people would be a spoiler. Some versions break off earlier, probably to give it a better stopping point.

I can ask people to say in chat how they think it should end.

Hi there, I am trying to find the 1917 silent film adaptation of ‘Great Expectations’ to purchase or stream. I can find general information about it, but not the actual film. Do you have any tips of where to look for it? Thanks!

Hi

I am currently in college and as a part of my course I need to create a short film and I have decided to create a silent a film, I have created a questionnaire to help me with the project and if anyone would be willing to take the time to fill in the questionnaire it would be greatly appreciated.

https://forms.gle/FFUsFr4DZx34e3haA

Thanks.

Metropolis, produced by Fritz Lang and released in 1927, is one of my favorite silent movies. Who couldn't love a film with a mad scientist and an evil robot? On Wednesday, April 10, at 8 PM EDT, I'll provide live accompaniment to it on my Twitch channel. I hope some of you can make it.

In case you happen to be near southern New Hampshire, I'll accompany it again in person at the Plaistow Library on Friday, April 12, at 1 PM. I've been presenting a silent film there every three months for the past year and a half, and people say they like them.

In other news, Ben Model was supposed to accompany The Mark of Zorro in Brattleboro, VT, tonight (April 5), but the performance was cancelled for reasons related to the snowstorm that hit New England yesterday. It will be rescheduled.

I'm kind of new to silent films, although I've appreciated some of the classics like "Metropolis" and "Nosforatu" for some time. All that said, I'm not sure where the beat place to look for more obscure titles might be.

Several years ago, I became interested in a piece of Missouri local history and a few stills from the 1919 film "Shepherd of the Hills" were used to illustrate some articles about the vigilantes group who roamed the area. I haven't had much luck finding it anywhere, it might be a lost film for all I know. Does anyone here know where I might find it online or a digital copy for sale? Any clues would be most appreciated.

Cat vids go back a long way; La Petite Fille et son Chat is a Lumière film from 1900. It has to be one of the oldest, and the quality is quite good for the time.

The Immigrant is a fun short movie. It's largely the guy (Eric Campbell) who plays the biggest, surliest waiter imaginable who makes it.

I was thinking of including it in a future online show, but the ending, where Chaplin physically drags the girl into a marriage license bureau, might be a problem. It's a joke, of course, and silent movie fans recognize that movies of a century ago have to be viewed through a historical lens, but perhaps this would be a bit much for some.

Only 110 copies left of the limited edition of our release of Dante’s Inferno. This release contains 4 different presentations with 3 new scores. Also a booklet along with a historical commentary:

https://www.terror-vision.com/store/dantes-inferno

Today I learned about a bit of silent film history which I hadn't known. The Flying Ace is a "race film" produced by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Florida. That requires explanation.

In the 1920s, there was no place for black actors in leading, serious roles in mainstream movies. There were, however, movies made with black casts for black audiences. The Flying Ace is the first one of them I've seen, so I can't generalize. This one, though, is a well-made and well-preserved movie showing black people holding positions of responsibility and acting heroically. The title is misleading; it's a detective movie in which aviation plays a minor role. It's well-constructed, though, and it includes an airplane chase scene.

It's in six parts, presumably corresponding to the reels, each with its own title card. It doesn't seem suitable for breaking up into a serial, so I assume it was to aid continuity when changing the reels.

I want to get into silent films. Recently watched nosferatu, robot dreams and silent movie by mel brooks.

Now I want to explore more but I am worried what if I get burnt out because of watching bad silent films.

Where can I find a reliable source to get recommendations?

Today I went looking for anti-war films of the silent era. There aren't a lot. Wings is sometimes put in that category, but it's stretching a point. The Big Parade is a better example. Being anti-war during and shortly after World War I wasn't popular, and it even got some Americans long prison sentences.

An example off the beaten path is Maudite Soit la Guerre ("damn the war," often badly translated as "war is hell"). It deals with a fictional war between two neighboring countries, not World War I. The focus is on what happens when friends and lovers are on opposite sides.

It can be watched on YouTube with Dutch (I think) intertitles and English translations below them. I'm putting it on my list of possible films to accompany.