thewisecrackingtwenties - Tumblr blog

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CONRAD VEIDT ICON (german expressionism craze!)

From top to bottom: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Hands of Orlac (1924) and The man who laughs (1928)

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Halloween Only!

We welcome the spookiest month with a screen capture from The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) starring horror icon Lon Chaney, also known as The Man Of A Thousand Faces.

Let's feast on his acursed uglinness!

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Stunning Faust (1926) by F. W. Murnau

Emil Janning's portrayal of Mephisto is over-the-top, like anything he did, and extremely effective, turning him into one of the creepiest and most charismatic Devils of them all.

Let's not forget beautiful Gösta Ekman as Faust.

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Four Fabulous Faces

Arguably, the greatest faces to ever grace the silver screen, from top to bottom: Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford and Gloria Swanson.

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Iconic Louise Brooks throwing a tantrum in Pandora's Box (1929) the film that ultimately, would make her immortal.

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Stunning artwork for Pandora`s Box (1929) starring Louise Brooks

I have covered this mangnificent film extensively; please refer to the tags.

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Absolutely creepy Count Orlok in Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau.

During his sea voyage Nosferatu fed on the sailors and slept on coffins filled with the soil from his own castle.

He also brought with him rats, which carried The Plague.

"Death was everywhere"- said an intertile. It certainly was.

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ASSORTED VAMPIRES

Nosferatu (1922), Dracula (1931), Dracula (1958) and Bram Stoker´s Dracula (1992)

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The Canary Murder Case (1929)  Feathered Louise Brooks. Costume by Orry-Kelly

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Norma Shearer in Lady Of The Night (1925)

Part I: The Tough Girl.

Norma became a sensation after this film and she was well on her way to become The Queen.

She played a dual role (so coveted back then) and in these pictures we can see the "tough girl" persona.

Worth to mention, Joan Crawford had her first part ever, as a double for Norma. She was not credited.

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Nita Naldi, vamp.

Theda Bara`s reign lasted for roughly 5 years but her incredible success gave rise to the vamp craze, later femme fatale craze with several women claiming the title for the "wickedest alive". One of the most famous of them was Nita Naldi.

She was discovered by no other than John Barrymore who gave her role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Naldi, however, became a sensation after she co-starred alongside superstar Rudolph Valentino in 4 movies, starting with Blood and Sand with which they scorched the screen.

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Iconic Sex Symbol Rudolph Valentino in A Sainted Devil (1924)

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Funny to think that she retired even before sound was introduced.

Theda Bara The Queen of Vamps

In roughly 5 years she made almost 40 films, back to back. Most of them were lost to fires or what have you, but a few of them survived either in a complete form or fragments. For years I thought I would be able to see Cleopatra, but not too long ago a few seconds resurfaced.

The Stain (1914) her first role, which she denied for years.

A Fool There Was (1915)

East Lynne (1916)

Cleopatra (1917) fragment

Salome (1918) fragment

The Lure of Ambition (1919) fragment

The Unchastened Woman (1925) her comeback film!

Madame Mystery (1926)

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Incredible Alla Nazimova in "Salome" (1922)

It was a terrible failure upon release, but its over-the-top sets and costumes (by Natacha Rambova, of course) turned this strange film into a cult classic and a gay favorite.

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Billy Wilder approached several of Hollywood`s greatest stars for the legendary role of Norma Desmond in the classic "Sunset Boulevard". The tragic story of an aged former movie queen did not interest some of these ladies and it horrified the others. West and Negri had Wilder thrown out of their houses.

From top to bottom: Pola Negri, Greta Garbo, Mae West, Clara Bow and Mary Pickford.

It was Gloria Swanson, however, who got the role and the rest is history...

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"How I have existed fills me with horror. For I have failed in everything -- spelling, arithmetic, riding, tennis, golf; dancing, singing, acting; wife, mistress, whore, friend. Even cooking.

And I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying.' I tried with all my heart.”

― Louise Brooks

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The Divine Greta Garbo in The Kiss (1929)

Although sound had been going rampant sine 1927, many people believed it was just a fad. Soon they realised it was not, and after seen what happened to many european stars (thick accents did not do well with the public) MGM decided to take its time with Garbo, by then, already the greatest of them all.

So great she was that, in fact, she and Lon Chaney were the ONLY big enough stars to turn profits out of silent films. The Kiss was Garbo last silent film.

William Daniels, the cinematopgrapher, used all kinds of tricks to get advantge of Garbo's perfect features (so perfect that her measurements were recorded in the Guiness World Book of Records as THE most symmetrical and beautiful face of all times) added to the synchronized sound of cars or crowds.

1930 would really make Greta Garbo the undisputed number one in the history of cinema. It was her first talkie then. People had never had any idea of how actors sounded. Garbo's deep contralto voice was the greatest transition ever made in Hollywood.

The moment she spoke, the entire rest of the world, did not.