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The Silent Film Quarterly ——————————————————————————

Volume II, Issue 3 Spring 2017

Table of Contents Editor’s Message

Lewis Walker

Lea Stans

Annette Bochenek

What’s the Deal With Louise Brooks Anyway?: Steven Suttle

Departments: Coming Attractions

A Roundup of New Releases

Silent-ology

Ballyhoo!: The Colorful Era of Movie Theater “Exploitation”

Hometowns to Hollywood

Colleen Moore: A Flapper and Her Fairy Castle

Original Features: The Cult of Lulu

Bringing Silents Back to Life:

Charles Epting

Claire Inayat Williams

An Interview with Accompanist and Historian Ben Model

Roscoe:

The Great Injustice of “Fatty” Arbuckle

What’s In a Name?:

Kevin John Charbeneau

Who Was Matilda Fernandez Who Became Dora Rogers a.k.a. Fontaine LaRue?

Walking in Chaplin’s Footsteps:

Charles Epting

The Essanay Studios in Niles and Chicago

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Classic Features: World War I at 100:

Various authors

Firsthand Accounts of David Wark Griffith’s Time in the Trenches

Editor’s Message First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for the delay in getting Issues 7 and 8 in the hands of subscribers. This spring was particularly busy in terms of my full-time job, and by the time the beginning of summer rolled around I realized it would be more efficient and practical to ship both the spring and summer issues at the same time. In the future, I will do my best to ensure that such delays are prevented. I find myself saying this with each new issue—and I have no doubt I will continue to say it in the future—but Issue 7 contains some of my favorite content yet, thanks to an incredible slate of authors. Steven Suttle, Kevin John Charbeneau, and SFQ’s regular columnists all return with fascinating articles that perfectly represent the wide variety of articles I strive to bring together. Mr. Suttle’s unorthodox take on Louise Brooks is something I am particularly proud to publish; if someone would like to counter his claims, I would welcome a follow-up submission. I also am excited to feature a series of articles about D.W. Griffith to commemorate the centennial of the United States’s involvement in the Great War. This is a momentous anniversary that I feel has received far too little fanfare; I hope I am doing some small part in ensuring that this conflict is not forgotten by highlighting Mr. Griffith’s historic filmmaking efforts. The lengths he went through are truly remarkable, and I hope that everyone who reads of his time in the trenches finds it as fascinating as I did. Now that Issues 7 and 8 are in the books, it’s time to look forward to the third year of Silent Film Quarterly. Expect a second hardbound volume in the near future, as well as several other exciting publications and promotions. And as always, I thank you for your continued support. Your editor, Charles Epting

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Write for Silent Film Quarterly! Want to write for Silent Film Quarterly? The magazine is always looking for interesting original content about the silent era, including feature articles and reviews of silent films. Please contact the editor at charleseptingauthor@gmail.com if interested or for more information.

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Coming Attractions: A Roundup of New Releases by Lewis Walker As I predicted in the last issue of SFQ , 2017 looks to be shaping up very nicely for silent film fans wanting home video releases with many films being both released and announced in the first 5 months. I’m going to start with Kino Classic’s release of two Rudolph Valentino films that caught my eye immediately. The great people over at Kino are putting out The Sheik (1921) and The Son of the Sheik (1926), two films that will interest any silent film fan interested in the big stars of the era. Both releases star Valentino playing an irresistible lover, a character and title that will follow him throughout his career. From the early reviews its easy to see that that both films look stunning, and the restoration process looks meticulous and both films have some fantastic special features that are worth the money alone. T he Sheik includes a commentary by Gaylyn Studlar, footage from Valentino’s funeral and an original trailer, The Son of the Sheik includes an introduction from Orson Welles, some documentary shorts from the era focusing around Valentino and newspaper headlines

when Valentino fell ill, and eventually passed away. I am very excited to get my hands on both of these and I know from previous Kino releases they will be worth every cent. Another release from Kino Classics, with no release date as this goes to press, is the Gloria Swanson film Stage Struck (1925) directed by Allan Dwan, fresh from directing Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922). Having loved the majority of Dwan’s previous directorial work this is very exciting, also seeing one of the great screen beauties Gloria Swanson in anything is a reason for celebration. The major selling point for me however is that this release will be the first time it has been available on DVD and B l u - R ay. I fi n d t h i s s o encouraging because as more films like this are released we will have a wider catalog of silent films to discover and add to our catalog. Flicker Alley have released Beyond the Door (1919) a revenge film that has been described as incredibly

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shocking even to todays numbed audience. Again Flicker Alley have loaded this release with a great selection of special features and a exclusive booklet. Kevin Brownlow was very complimentary about this film, and the edition even includes a spotlight on the director Irvin Willat by Brownlow himself. Grapevine Video continue the tireless releases, announcing new films to both DVD and Blu-ray every month. Most recently they have announced Miss Lulu Bett (1921), The Cowboy and the Flapper (1924), The Street (1927) and The Thrill Seekers from 1927. As I’ve mentioned before these films are great to fill in gaps for actor/director gaps in libraries and to just discover new and overlooked films. They have a huge catalog online and is worth a look for anyone looking to delve deeper into some unknown silent cinema. Finally, due to the sheer size and excitement this release has created, is Flicker Alley’s long-awaited Early Women Filmmakers boxset which includes films from

1902 to 1943. As any fan of silent cinema will already know, the silent era was incredibly progressive and accepting of women both behind and in front of the camera which sadly can’t be said for cinema of any era after. This boxset is set to include a treasure trove of features by women that include some previously unreleased films that wont be available anywhere else. I feel that following on from the Kino Lorber release of The Pioneers of African American Cinema boxset this is essential to any film library. Being able to acquire these films in such a beautiful and well made way is just outstanding, and vital to the history of silent cinema. Clocking in at a impressive 652 minutes, this boxset is a steal at (current price) $54.95. I urge everyone to purchase this collection and appreciate the undervalued and overlooked history of women in cinema. This concludes this edition’s round-up of “Coming Attractions” and it seems that releases of silent films are in no danger of slowing anytime soon.

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Ballyhoo! The Colorful Era of Movie Theater “Exploitation” by Lea Stans M ov i e g o i n g t o d ay i s a p re t t y straightforward experience. A preview piques your curiosity. At the theater, you buy your ticket at the counter. Maybe you skip the counter and swipe your credit card at a computer. As you walk through the lobby you pass a couple of cardboard displays for the latest blockbusters, filling a bit of space. Simple, just like you’ve always known. But what if I told you that your greatgrandparents might’ve heard about the latest film by seeing a Model T drive by covered in ads? Or by watching a parade come down the s t re e t i n t h e fi l m ’s honor? Or by seeing the whole theater facade decked out in cowboy decorations for the latest Wester n picture, or sporting palm tree and camel cutouts for the

newest “sheik” romance? Today’s theater displays are arguably small, modest remnants of the grand displays of the 1910s and 1920s. And previews? They were only one of a thousand ways that overly-creative theater owners attracted their customers. Welcome to the age of crazy publicity stunts—or, as exhibitors called them back then, “ballyhoo” and “exploitation”!

Our Hospitality (1923)