Episode 111. Dorothy Arzner’s Due

Dorothy Arzner is one of the largest names in the history of Hollywood's female directors, so today Alex and Jonathan look at the themes and relationships in her films Get Your Man (1927), Merrily We Go to Hell (1932), and Dance, Girl, Dance (1940). We talk about how romance differs in Arzner's films from other…

Episode 110. Blank-Face Buster

Our Patrons voted on what silent film star we should cover and chose the great Buster Keaton! We look at three of his classic films: Sherlock Jr. (1924), The General (1926), The Cameraman (1928) and talk about the way Keaton melds comedy into various genres, hallmarks of Keaton's characters and techniques, and ways we still…

Episode 96. Pickford’s Power: The First Queen of Hollywood

Our Patrons voted on which silent film star we should cover, so today Alex and Jonathan look into Mary Pickford's incredibly influential career in front of and behind the camera. We watch The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917), Sparrows (1926), and Coquette (1929) and discuss the "little girl" persona often portrayed by Pickford, the extent…