A shocking 90% of American films made before 1929 have been lost forever. Why? There seem to be two main reasons: A huge number of films were destroyed intentionally, especially silent movies as they were perceived to have no value once talkies became popular. As well as this frustrating destruction many movies were filmed on(…)
The Hays Code was introduced in 1930 to regulate the morals of the US motion picture industry and influenced film production up until 1968. Before it was introduced censors were independent in each State, meaning that different films could be banned, cut or shown to differing degrees in different parts of the country. This caused(…)
While Clara Bow was the iconic flapper of the 1920s Theda Bara was the original vamp. She made a prolific 40-plus movies over her 12-year career, all of which were silent movies. Theda Bara made her name playing exotic femme fatales, which she did a little too well, she ended up a victim of her(…)
Three fantastic posters from the 1918 silent move Salome starring Theda Bara. Sadly this movie has been lost so I can’t share a clip with you, but there is a photo from the movie which I’ve posted below. Doesn’t she look fabulous? How on earth did that happen to so many old movies?
1920s silent movie star Theda Bara looking a lot less vampish than she was generally made out to be! I think this might have been a publicity photo for the movie Carmen. It was taken in 1921 by Orval Hixon.
Silent Movie actress Theda Bara in some of her famously risqué costumes from the 1917 film Cleopatra. I find it quite amazing how small and skimpy her costumes are (although they’re not all terrifically flattering!), but I suppose it was before the Hayes Code was enforced which clamped down on ‘indecency’… Sadly it seems that(…)