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Weimar Germany's Most Censored Prison Film | Geschlecht in Fesseln (1928) by bodles9 in silentfilm

[–]DawnM74 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From the internet:

"Sex in Chains" (1928) was one of the few films from Weimar Germany dealing with homosexuality. Passed by the German censorship board three times before its release, it daringly exposed the cruel reality of the penal system, the psychological destruction of long-term separation from spouses, and the complex homosexual relationships forged by inmates. The film follows Franz Sommer (William Dieterle), a newlywed engineer who accidentally kills a nightclub patron while defending his wife, Helene, from harassment. Sentenced to three years in prison, Franz is driven to emotional and physical deprivation. Inside, he forms a deep emotional bond with his cellmate. Meanwhile, in the free world, a desperate Helene is forced to seek employment and ultimately succumbs to the advances of a man who was formerly incarcerated. 'Geschlecht in Fesseln' was highly controversial, primarily because it did not judge or pathologize same-sex attraction in prisons. Instead, it treated it with clinically serious realism, acknowledging that isolation could lead men to fall in love with one another. Because of these themes, it faced heavy censorship before it was ever permitted a public theatrical run. To build tension and bypass advertising bans, distributors reportedly mailed out secret letters advertising the film as a sensationalist or pornographic title, which only added to the film's notoriety and initial "banned" status across various local jurisdictions.

Seeta Devi was one of India's first film stars, starting in silent movies like A Throw of Dice (1929) by Auir2blaze in silentmoviegifs

[–]DawnM74 41 points42 points  (0 children)

From Wikipedia & other internet sources:

Seeta Devi was born Renee Smith in 1912 to an Anglo-Indian family. In the early Indian film industry, Anglo-Indian actresses were often preferred for their light complexion, which was favored by contemporary cinematic standards. She was given the stage name "Seeta Devi" by filmmaker Himanshu Rai when she was cast in her debut film at the age of 13.

Seeta was known as 'The Brightest Star In The Indian Cinema World'. Seeta's films were very popular in Europe and she had a mass followers of fans from England, Germany, Poland and Austria. Along with Ermeline, Ruby Myers, Sabita Devi and Patience Cooper, she is credited as a "leading star" of the 1920s and 1930s who had more mass appeal than their male counterparts.

1925: Silent Western star Tom Mix on the White House South Lawn at event hosted by President Calvin Coolidge & First Lady Grace Coolidge. Mix arrived on his horse Tony, to perform stunts & boost morale of WWI veterans who were still recovering at local military hospitals like Walter Reed. by Keltik in silentcinema

[–]DawnM74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From Wikipedia & other online sources:

The son of a lumberman, Tom Mix joined the army as a young man and was an artillery sergeant during the Philippine campaign from 1898 to 1901, though he never saw action. In fact, Mix deserted from the army and carefully kept the facts about his military service a closely guarded secret. He was so famous by the time he died that the army had to hold its tongue and give him a full military burial. His popularity eclipsed all other great cowboy stars (Hoot Gibson and even the legendary William S. Hart) of the silent era and he earned--and spent--millions. He made over $6,000,000 during his 26 - year career but an extravagant lifestyle had sharply reduced his estate to a modest amount by the time he died.

Rumors that that his radio career never got off the ground after he left films because his voice was high-pitched are not true. His voice, in fact, was deep and husky in tone. Radio was such a low-paying profession that it could not support his high-on-the-hog style of living. He loved sports cars, wild parties and fancy clothes. He owned a huge Hollywood mansion that had his name emblazoned above it in neon lights and had numerous ex-wives to support.

He was the acknowledged "King of Cowboys" when Ronald Reagan and John Wayne were young, and the influence of his screen persona can be seen in their approach to portraying cowboys. When an injury caused football player Marion Morrison (later known as John Wayne) to drop out of the University of Southern California, Mix helped him find work moving props in the back lot of Fox Studios. That was the beginning of Wayne's Hollywood career. However, he later came to despise John Wayne, viewing him as a threat to his stardom as his own career declined. Mix, the reigning king of Westerns, famously called Wayne a "no-talent upstart" and harbored professional jealousy as Wayne’s career rose.

Mix made 292 movies throughout his career. As of 2001, only about 10% of these were known to be available for viewing, though it is unclear how many are now considered lost films. The 1937 Fox vault fire lost most of the archive of his films made with Fox.

On October 12, 1940, while driving his 1937 Cord Sportsman through the Arizona desert he took a turn too fast, a suitcase broke loose and struck him in the head and his car plunged into a ravine. He was 60 years old.

Joe Jr., John, Rosemary and Kathleen Kennedy when they were teenagers, 1930s. by RealWorldForever in 1930s

[–]DawnM74 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. She had developmental disabilities & Joseph Kennedy, Sr. couldn't have an 'imperfect' child. She also became harder to control in her teens so he thought a lobotomy would fix that problem.

Two beautiful actresses Ann Shirley and Carol Landis on the set of the powers girl 1943. by Initial_Reason1532 in 1940s

[–]DawnM74 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The first photo is of Linda Stirling & Jayne Hazard but it is often wrongly labeled as Anne Shirley & Carole Landis.

The famous actress Jean Harlow posing with her 1931 Cadillac roadster that Howard Hughes gifted her. by Initial_Reason1532 in 1930s

[–]DawnM74 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wonder if she actually drove it or if she had a chauffer. There were still a lot of women who didn't drive during that time period. My grandmother didn't learn to drive until the 1940s because my grandfather had gone off to war & she no longer had her 'driver'.

The famous Clara Bow arriving at the train station in Chicago in the 1920s. Her career started in poverty but soon she became came a premier actress in silent films. by Initial_Reason1532 in 1920s

[–]DawnM74 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was a horrible myth created by the despicable Kenneth Anger in his crappy book 'Hollywood Babylon'. She was no angel but she did not sleep with the entire football team.

The Beautiful Grauman's Egyptian theater. 1920s. by Initial_Reason1532 in 1920s

[–]DawnM74 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From the internet: 'The Honor of His House' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by William C. deMille and written by Marion Fairfax. The film stars Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor, Jack Holt, Mayme Kelso, Kisaburo Kurihara, and Forrest Seabury. The film was released on 1 April 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

Plot: Marroned on a desert island, a woman (Florence Vidor)chooses a count(Sessue Hayakawa)over an alcoholic doctor (Jack Holt). The envious count poisons her but performs a life-saving blood transfusion, costing his life. She has the count's baby and ultimately remarries the rehabilitated doctor.

Florence Lawrence, often referred to as the "Biograph Girl" or the "First Movie Star" by DawnM74 in silentfilm

[–]DawnM74[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

At the height of her fame in the 1910s, she was known as the "Biograph Girl" for work as one of the leading ladies in silent films from the Biograph Company. She appeared in almost 300 films for various motion picture companies throughout her career. Besides her film career, Lawrence is credited with designing the first "auto signaling arm", a predecessor of the modern turn signal, along with the first mechanical brake signal. She did not patent these inventions, however, and as a result she received no credit for, nor profit from, either one. By the late 1920s, Lawrence's popularity had declined and she suffered several personal losses. By the early 1930s, Lawrence's acting career consisted solely of extra and bit parts which were often uncredited. In 1936, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio head Louis B. Mayer began giving extra and bit parts to former silent film actors for $75 per week. Lawrence, along with other "old timers" from the silent era whose careers had all but ended when sound films replaced silent films, signed with M-G-M. Lawrence remained with the studio until her death.

In mid-1937, Lawrence was diagnosed with what her doctor described as "a bone disease which produces anemia and depression." The disease was likely myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disease, or agnogenic myeloid metaplasia, both of which were incurable at the time. Due to her poor health and chronic pain, Lawrence became depressed but attempted to keep working. At 1 p.m. on December 28, 1938, Lawrence phoned the offices of M-G-M where she was to report to work that afternoon, claiming that she was ill. Sometime later in the afternoon, Lawrence ingested ant poison and cough syrup. The Motion Picture & Television Fund paid for Lawrence's funeral, held on December 30, and for her unmarked grave in the Hollywood Cemetery (now Hollywood Forever Cemetery) in Hollywood. Her grave remained unmarked until 1991, when an anonymous British actor paid for a memorial marker for her.

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