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Silly Symphony is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the Silly Symphonies were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music. As such, the films usually did not feature continuing characters, unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts produced by Disney at the same time. The series is notable for its innovation with Technicolor and the multiplane motion picture camera, as well as its introduction of the character Donald Duck, who made his first appearance in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen in 1934. Seven shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Silent comedy is a style of film, related to but distinct from mime, developed to bring comedy into the medium of film during the silent film era (1900s–1920s), before synchronized soundtracks that could include dialogue were technologically available for the majority of films. While silent comedy is still practiced today, albeit much less frequently, it has significantly influenced modern comedic media.
Wanderer of the Wasteland is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Jack Holt, Noah Beery, and Billie Dove. It was the second feature film to be photographed entirely in two-color Technicolor.
Forbidden Paradise is a 1924 American silent drama film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, produced by Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on a 1922 Broadway play, The Czarina, by Edward Sheldon, who adapted the Hungarian-language book by Melchior Lengyel and Lajos Bíró. The play starred Doris Keane, in one of her last stage roles, as Catherine the Great. Basil Rathbone costarred with Keane. The film stars Pola Negri as Catherine the Great and Rod La Rocque in the Rathbone role. Clark Gable makes his second appearance on film.
Michael Curtiz (1886–1962) was a Hungarian-born American film director whose career spanned from 1912 to 1961. During this period, he directed 178 films. He began his cinematic career in Hungary, then moved to Austria, and, finally, to the United States. As his biographer, Alan K. Rode, notes, "A cinematic pioneer, Curtiz made a seamless transition from hand-cranking cameras in silent films to directing the first sound feature where the characters spoke their parts. He led the way in two- and three-color Technicolor, directed the first motion-picture produced in VistaVision, and worked extensively in CinemaScope." Rode also notes that "he helmed rousing adventures, westerns, musicals, war movies, romances, historical dramas, horror films, tearjerkers, melodramas, comedies, spectacles, and film noirs".
Lights of Old Broadway is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Monta Bell, produced by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Marion Davies in a dual role and Conrad Nagel, and is an adaptation of the play The Merry Wives of Gotham by Laurence Eyre (USA). The film has color sequences using tinting, Technicolor, and the Handschiegl color process.
Technicolor is a family of color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades.
Into Her Kingdom is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Svend Gade and starring Corinne Griffith. The film, which dramatizes the Russian Revolution, featured a Technicolor sequence. It was based on a 1925 short story of the same name by Ruth Comfort Mitchell, originally published in Red Book Magazine. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
Climbing the Golden Stairs is an American 2-reel musical fantasy short released in 1929. It was produced in 2-color Technicolor dye-transfer process.
Buffalo Bill's Last Fight is a 1927 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the second short film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series. As with the first film in the series, The Flag: A Story Inspired by the Tradition of Betsy Ross, this film continued the series' original intent to focus on events from American history. Ultimately, only one other short was shot which stuck to this format; the other films in the series featured historical events with a European or Asian focus.
The Lady of Victories is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the third short film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
The Virgin Queen is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the third short film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Cleopatra is a 1928 MGM silent fictionalized film, shot in two-color Technicolor. It was the sixth short produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
The Heart of General Robert E. Lee is a 1928 MGM short silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the seventh film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Madame du Barry is a 1928 MGM short silent fictionalized film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the eighth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series, and the last to be released before the new year.
Manchu Love is a 1929 American pre-code Hollywood Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short silent historical fiction film short in two-color Technicolor. The film features a cast entirely of people of Asian descent and stars Sojin as Su Shun and Etta Lee as Empress Tzu Hsi. It was the ninth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Light of India is a 1929 MGM short silent film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the tenth film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
A Princess of Destiny is a 1929 MGM short silent film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the eleventh and penultimate film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series.
Frontier Romance is a 1929 MGM short silent film short in two-color Technicolor. It was the twelfth and final film produced as part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Great Events" series. A romantic historical drama, the film depicts George Rogers Clark and other American colonists as they interact with Native American tribespeople.
References
- ↑ Layton, James and David Pierce. The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915-1935. George Eastman House, 2015, p. 332.
- ↑ Layton and Pierce 332
- ↑ Slide, Anthony. "The 'Great Events' Series". Silent Topics: Essays on Undocumented Areas of Silent Film. Scarecrow Press, 2005, p. 38.
- ↑ Layton and Pierce 189
- ↑ Layton and Pierce 192
- ↑ Layton and Pierce 332