General Sites

Description

 

NOTE: This page is currently being reworked to remove many old dead links and to add many new links!

If a website goes to the Wayback Machine on archive.org, then the original website is no longer live on the Internet.

Bear Manor Books

Publisher of many books on silent and clasic films

Celluloid Dinosaurs

A history of dinosaur movies has a filmography of all silent films featuring dinosaurs. (The website is gone, but it is available through the Internet Wayback website.)

Domitor

International association dedicated to the study of early cinema (pre-1916). In English and French.

Intertitle-o-Rama

Lists the intertitles (text) titles of many silent films.

Japanese Index of Movies

Information on silent films in and from Japan. From Matsuda Film Productions.

Movies Silently

Fritzi Kramer's reviews, articles and videos celebrate silent and sound films.

Silent Era

Comprehensive information on silent films, showings, theatres, and videos as well as performer and director filmographies.

Silent-ology

A huge collection of articles by Lea Stans on all kinds of silent film topics.

Silents Are Golden

Great articles on different silent film topics, plus a list of available feature films on video.

The Silents Majority

 

The most comprehensive site on the web with information on silent performers, directors, cameramen, writers, plus many reviews of videos and other information. (No longer active, but available through the Internet Archive.)

Individual Stars

Arbucklemania

David Pearson's tribute to Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

Bartine Burkett

An early co-star of Buster Keaton.

Louise Brooks Society

Tons of information on this sexy star.

The Clara Bow Page

Information on this 1920's sex symbol. (Ignore the big ad for Casinos in the Bahamas on the home page.)

Lon Chaney Home Page

An excellent look at the master of macabre by Jon Mirsalis.   Includes an outstanding filmography.

The World of Charley Chase

A look at this underrated Hal Roach comedian by Chase expert Yair Solan.

Chaplin Film Locations THEN and NOW

Take a trip to the actual sites of Charles Chaplin's films.

Davie Gerstein's Charlie Chaplin Home Page

A comprehensive look at Charlie Chaplin.

The Pauline Frederick Website

Biography and Filmography of this silent diva, by Great de Groat.

The Official Website of Lillian Gish

Official website of the Lillian Gish estate.

William S. Hart Ranch and Museum

Information on this western star's house and collections.

Gareth Hughes: The First Welsh Film Star

A tribute to the Wesh actor who appeared in may 1920s films, and became a missionary later in life.

The Alice Joyce Website

Site devoted to this silent film actress, by Great de Groat.

The Damfinos

Site of the International Buster Keaton society.

Harold Lloyd Trust

Official website of the Harold Lloyd trust includes showings of his films, film rental, and a Lloyd message board.

Laurel & Hardy Central

Includes a separate page on each film.

Boston Brats Laurel & Hardy Appreciation Society

Boston, MA chapter of the Sons of the Desert.

The Laurel & Hardy Society: Way Out West tent

All kinds of great information on Stan and Babe.

 

 

 

 

Sons of the Desert New York Founding Tent

The original "tent" of the Laurel and Hardy fan club.

Nita Naldi

A popular Vamp of the silent screen.

Looking for Mabel

Marilyn Slater's Mabel Normand website not only is packed full of photos and information, but you can buy DVDs of Normand's films.

Mabel Normand Home Page

Includes MIDI music files of the sheet music featuring Mabel.

Al St. John Official Website

Annichen Skaren's tribute to this silent film comedian, and western film sidekick.

The Norma Talmadge Website

Biography and filmography of this important star.

 

 

Falcon Lair: The Rudolph Valentino Home Page

Everything that you ever wanted to know about Rudy.

Henry B. Walthall Tribute

Filmography and photos on this actor who starred in BIRTH OF A NATION and had a long career.

Conrad Veidt Home Page

Devoted to this German actor who was in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Casablanca.

Anna May Wong

Website for the Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows documentary by Elaine Mae Woo

The Clara Kimball Young Website

Filmography, biography, and magazine articles on this actress from the 'teens.

Behind the Camera

 

 

 

 

Individual Films

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Kino's website for the 4K restoration of this film.

The Golem in Literature, Film, and Stage

A history of THE GOLEM legend.

The Great Train Robbery

History of this landmark 1903 Edison film.

 

 

Fantomas Lives

Information on all of the Fantomas films from France and elsewhere.

Fritz Lang's Metropolis

Eureka's website for the BluRay release of this film.

Richard III (1912)

New York Times story on the recovery of Richard III (1912).

 

 

 

 

Animation

The Bray Animation Project

Thomas Stathes' research into the Bray Animation Studio.

David Gerstein's Classic Felix the Cat Page

All kinds of Information on Felix the Cat including a Filmography with videotape information.

Origins of American Animation

From the Library of Congress.

Early Film Companies

Edison Motion Picture and Sound Recordings

From the Library of Congress.

Edison National Historic Site Information

Includes information on the "Black Maria".

Lubin and Betzwood Studios

"The King of the Movies", Film Pioneer Siegmund Lubin and the Betzwood Studio.

Thanhouser Company Film Preservation

Information and videos on this early film studio.

Film Databases

The All-Movie Guide

Not as comprehensive as the IMDB, but it does have good sypnoses and critiques.

AFI Catalog of Silent Films

Search the American Film Institute catalog of features and shorts (before 1912) for credits, storylines, themes, and review information.

Internet Movie DataBase

Monster on-line database with great serach functions.

Film Archives, Museums and Preservation

American Film Institute

Not an archive, but it assists and finds funding for preserving films when not producing silly TV shows.

American Museum of the Moving Image

A fun film museum in Astoria, New York.

British Film Institute

An archive with large holdings of early British and American films.

Bucky Grim's Film History, Preservation, Conservation and Resources Page

Excellent resource on film preservation.

The Cinema Museum This museum in the Kennington area of London has a huge collection of movie photos, magazines, posters, cameras, and movie theater equipment. It was also the poor house where Charlie and Syd Chaplin stayed briefly as children.

Cinémathèque Fraiçaise

In French.

Cinémathèque Québécoise

Quebec, Montreal Film Archive.  Most pages are in French, but some are available in English and Spanish.

Eye Film Museum Film museum and archive in Amsterdam. In English and Dutch.

FIAF

Internation Federation of Film Archives, in English, French and Spanish.

George Eastman House

Film Archive in Syracuse, New York, USA.

Kennington Bioscope

Bi-weekly silent film screenings (and presentations by historians) at the Cinema Museum in London.
Library of Congress Audio/Visual Preservation The top level page for all the US Library of Congress resources.

Library of Congress Motion Picture and Television Reading Room

Articles on motion picture preservation and the National Film Registry.

Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater Regular Saturday night screenings in Culpeper, Virginia that sometimes feature silent films.

Museum of Modern Art

This New York museum is one of the oldest archives in the world.

Northeast Historic Film

A moving image archive specializing in Northern New England producers.

 

 

Pacific Film Archives

Search the film and document image database.

Screensound Australia

National screen and sound archive of Australia.

UCLA Film & Television Archive

This collection may also be searched via telnet.

UCLA Film & Television Archive search

Search the UCLA Archive film and video holdings.

UK National Media  Museum

Has many early film devices on exhibit.

The New Zealand Film Archive

Includes a search function.

Technical Information

Early Color Motion Picture Processes

Information and Examples from the American Widescreen Museum.

 

 

One Hundred Years of Film Sizes

Information on different film gauges used through the years

Film Festivals

Australia's Silent Film Festival Regular screenings of silent films in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Bristol Silents

Old website for the group now know as South West Silents. See below for thier current website.

Cinecon

Held every Labor Day Weekend in Hollywood, CA.  They specialize in very rare silent and early sound films.

Cinefest

Held every March in Syracuse, NY. The final festival was in 2015.

Cinestation

This festival was held every September in Michigan, but has ended.

Cinevent Classic Film Convention

Held every May in Columbus, OH.

Denver Silent Film Festival An annual silent film festival held every April in Denver Colorado.

Kansas Silent Film Festival

Free festival held every February in Topeka, KS.

Pordenone Silent Film Festival

Giant silents-only film festival held every October in Sacile, Italy.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Held one weekend in July in San Francisco, CA.

The Silent Clowns

Monthly film series at the Library of Performing Arts in New York City. Normally the program features silent comedies.

Slapsticon

Film festival that focuses on silent and sound short comedies. Has not been held lately.

South West Silents This groups hosts the UK's Slapstick Festival each year.
TCM Classic Film Festival Yearly classic film festival in Hollywood California features glitzy guests and social events.

Toronto Film Society

This Canadian society has regularly scheduled shows in Toronto, ON, Canada, plus a yearly trip to the George Eastman House Archive.

Yorkshire Silent Film Festival An annual silent film festival in the Yorkshire, England area, plus single shows throughout the year.

News Films

America at Work/America at Leisure

From the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.

Inside an American Family: Films of the Westinghouse Works 1904

From the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.

The Last Days of a President: Films of McKinley and the Pan-American Exposition, 1901

From the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.

The Life of a City: Early Films of New York 1898-1906

From the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.

San Francisco

Early San Francisco and films of the 1906 Earthquake, from the Library of Congress.

The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures

From the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.

Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film

From the Library of Congress.

Silent Film Music

Alloy Orchestra

This eclectic group plays for some silent film DVDs, as well as showings around the country.

Jeff Rapsis / Silent Film Music Jeff plays shows all over the northeast part of the USA, plus the Kansas Silent Film Festival each year.

Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

This ensemble plays for many silent film DVD releases, plus the Kansas Silent Film Festival, the Buster Keaton Festival, and the Chautauqua Silent Film Festival.

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra

This group plays occasional showings, plus they have a CD available.

Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra

Another great small ensemble that accompanies silent films.

Links to Links

 

 

 

 

Newsgroups and Bulletin Boards

alt.comedy.laurel-hardy

Newsgroup - although mostly full of spam now

alt.movies.chaplin

Newsgroup - although mostly full of spam now

alt.movies.silent

Newsgroup - although mostly full of spam now

Golden Silents

General discussion board about films. This board was closed down due to venturing into off-topic subjects like politics, but is still there with a few of the original members.

 

 

Vintage Movie Poster Forum

Talk about movie posters and sell them to other collectors.

Nitrateville

A serious discussion board about silent and pre-1960 sound films.  It includes classic film news and screening information.

Silver Screen Oasis This discussion board focuses on Classic Hollywood films, including films from the silent era.

Turner Classic Movies Silent Film board

The cable TV channel that shows the most silent films.

16mmfilmtalk.com

For questions and answers about 16mm film collecting.

Last Modified April 18, 2017