Studio Era Movies

Somehow, watching old black and white (and even silent) movies from 1915 to around 1960 seems not only to entertain me but also to encourage personal strength and admiration

Movies & Drama

I’m not sure exactly when I began to develop my interest in old black and white movies — even silent films from as far back as 1915. When I was a child I watched very little TV, but I do remember quite vividly seeing “Mary Poppins” and “Miracle on 34th Street” and of course the old “Wizard of Oz”… along with various others. Shirley Temple won my heart like she did most other people who saw her cheerful self on the screen. In fact, she always reminds me of one of my youngest selves, Frannie Boo. :D

Thanks to Amazon’s records system, I can see that it was back in 2011 when I purchased my copy of “Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era“ — my go-to resource for classic actresses and movies. There are two others in the set: “Leading Men…“ and “Leading Couples…“. I am delighted to say that since 2020 I own all three — a complete set and some of my favorite browsing material, besides nature guidebooks (lol).

It’s been two and a half months since I last posted a new Jo Step on this Jo Journey. No excuses really, I just have been doing other things that took priority. However, I did do some behind-the-scenes work on the Jo Journey, creating some of the “cubbyhole” pages to fill with posts and resources. Most recently however, I have been creating cubbyholes for some of my other little projects on this site, and I have been highly motivated to fill said cubbies, lol. Specifically related to THIS post, I have been creating a deck (digital set) of Studio Era actors, actresses, and movies. While I do not have any of the performer’s pages ready quite yet, I just published the FIRST card in the deck, on a silent movie I watched with my Mate the other night: “Love” from 1927 with Greta Garbo playing Anna Karenina. A historic rendition of a historical classic novel, heehee. :wink:

Click to see more about the film: 1927 “Love”

For some reason, I am attracted to these old, mostly now deceased celebrities and the movies they populated back in the day at the very beginning of moving pictures (movies). While I do sometimes enjoy a modern flick, these oldies hold something special for me. It’s like watching history itself unfold, seeing what people wore and how they lived… and you get a real sense of how women were treated back then — the good AND the bad. To me, this lends an almost supernatural STRENGTH to the actresses. I consider some of them role models and admire them in a way that I NEVER do with modern celebrities. Go figure!

I can’t say that I am a big fan of the 1927 silent film called “Love”, nor am I a fan of “Anna Karenina“ as a story itself. However, since my closed head injury at age 8, auditory processing is one of the most difficult things in life for me, so SILENT videos are something I much appreciate. I get a kick out of seeing the exaggerated expressions they make sometimes, trying to convey an emotion without words. However, my Mate did NOT like the HOSTILE way in which the male lead character stared at Anna – the passion apparent but the LOVE missing, I suppose. Also, in case you haven’t yet watched one, most if not all silent films DO have words. In order to help the viewer understand or appreciate the story, key phrases are presented as text on the screen, sometimes inside elaborately adorned frames.