# Recommend a SILENT feature film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 18, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880 "2021-09-18T18:33:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/61 "2021-09-29T00:17:30Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike1](#): > > And don’t forget **Cabiria,** the 1914 Italian epic written by the great decadent poet Gabrielle d’Annunzio. First movie shown at the White House. (D.W. Griffith took credit for his racist fuckshow **The Birth of a Nation** (1915), but that was the first one shown _inside._ . **Cabiria** was shown out on the lawn) I didn’t know that about **Cabiria**. **Cabiria** shows Archimedes setting fire to the invading fleet using his parabolic mirror (made up of segments). An interesting flick. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/62 "2021-09-29T01:22:02Z")
What did you think about the Carthaginians feeding children into the flaming mouth of Moloch? Interesting indeed. Good ol’ d’Annunzio! I am SO PLEASED that I offered you something you didn’t know, since you are one of the most knowledgeable fuckers here. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/63 "2021-09-29T01:39:17Z")
It’s a wonder that Buster Keaton wasn’t killed filming one of his stunts. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FN2SKWSOdGM/hqdefault.jpg "A house falls on Buster Keaton") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2SKWSOdGM) I’m also fond of _The General_. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/64 "2021-09-29T12:23:09Z")
Thanks again for all of the responses. And I have to agree that the correct music makes a big difference when watching these films. I especially like the KINO DVD releases. That picture of Keaton from Steamboat Bill Jr. - a building front falls around Keaton but he happens to be standing in just the right spot to avoid being crushed - reminds me of another story. When they were ready to film the stunt, the director went up to Keaton and assured him that the stunt presented no danger, they had determined exactly where it was safe to stand. A bit later the assistant director told Keaton the same thing. Then the person who built the special-effects building assured Keaton it was 100% safe. Keaton later recalled: “At that point, I started to worry.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2021, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/65 "2021-09-29T12:44:16Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike1](#): > > you are one of the most knowledgeable fuckers here. Higher praise there is not. Especially phrased like that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/66 "2021-10-05T03:47:49Z")
We now (as of the last couple of years) know that the Carthaginians really did that. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/67 "2021-10-05T05:35:29Z")
Technically not silent (two words are each whispered twice) but I quite like Luc Besson’s first feature, _Le Dernier Combat_. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/68 "2021-10-05T09:11:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s a wonder that Buster Keaton wasn’t killed filming one of his stunts. Didn’t he actually fracture his neck filming a stunt at one point? Still, he was a piker compared to Jackie Chan. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/69 "2021-10-05T10:29:27Z")
I dont know if they did feature-length movies or just shorts in their silent days but laurel and hardy is just as funny silent as their works from the 30s and 40s and most of them are public domain so they should be easy to find … ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/70 "2021-10-05T17:19:30Z")
He was blasted onto the track by one of those retractable water pipe things that refill steam engines. He didn’t find out it was broken til years later, iirc. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/71 "2021-11-07T00:29:14Z")
The anecdote sounds plausible, but Keaton directed his own films up to and including THE CAMERAMAN. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/72 "2021-11-07T00:29:39Z")
Yup, that was in THE GENERAL. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/73 "2021-11-07T02:19:00Z")
Actually, Sherlock, Jr. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1yfUW_y6LBA/hqdefault.jpg "Buster Keaton Breaks His Neck in "Sherlock, Jr." (1924)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yfUW_y6LBA) ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/74 "2021-11-09T00:38:18Z")
The Larry Semon silent version of Wizard of Oz is something… There’s a transvestite dance number in the first few minutes… A young Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man. Casual racism. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/75 "2021-11-09T02:23:50Z")
Semon had a wild imagination, but I can’t help but think his being kinda weird looking didn’t help his career. I know one thing, I’d never be able to get through junior high with a name like Semon. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2021, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/76 "2021-12-21T11:33:54Z")
As mentioned earlier, I expected more westerns, so I’ll add a John Ford silent western: _3 Bad Men_ (1926). A precursor to John Ford’s _3 Godfathers_ (1948), but instead of a baby the “godfathers” adopt a young woman. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/77 "2021-12-23T01:22:32Z")
panache45, I just now saw this thread and came to mention _Broken Blossoms_. For comedy I love Buster Keaton’s _Seven Chances._ For shorts try Charlie Chase in _Limousine Love_ ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880/78 "2021-12-24T02:06:04Z")
Frau im Mond, the first serious science-fiction film. More recently, The Artist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-silent-feature-film/950880.md?page=3)