Silent films

Thanks to TCM, I've become a fan of silent films. I'm now as comfortable with them as I am with talkies.

They're a more inconic form than sound film. Last night, they showed a Garbo silent from 1926. Garbo had never done much for me. The acting was always good but the great esteemed beauty the photographers extolled just never appeared for me.

But in the silent I saw last night, the lighting was such that it de-emphasized the sharp angles of her face and softened them,, making the eyes larger and and the cheekbones softer. She looked downright sexy, a figure of dreams rather than a photography session.

A few weeks ago TCM did two minor silent Harold Lloyd pictures. The next night they showed one of his early talkies. I actually preferred him in the silents. Somehow the silence emphasized his gawky manner of walking and that rubbery face built around the nose that looks sharp enough to be a dagger.

I suppose ultimately silent film resembles dance to a large degree. The eye fastens on movement. Body language and facial expression tell the story, the dialogue cards merely setting up scene and story.

Holy moley, maybe Norma Desmond was right when she said at the end of Sunset Boulevard "We had faces then." I sure can't think of any of today's faces that would rival the ones in the silent pictures.