American Silent Horror Collection (2007)

Silent Chills

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy American Silent Horror Collection on DVD

In 2002, Kino Video released the four-disc "German Horror Classics" set, and now they have followed up with an equally impressive American set and, interestingly, the two best films come from Paul Leni, a German émigré living in Hollywood. Based on a play by John Willard, Leni's The Cat and the Canary (1927) is still a deliriously entertaining haunted house film with elements of comedy and mystery. It includes a family gathering in a spooky mansion for the reading of a will, a murderer on the loose and other fun stuff. Whenever possible, Leni shoots the house with slanted, expressionist lighting for a more dreamlike effect. Laura La Plante stars. His The Man Who Laughs (1928) is better in some ways, though not as breezy. Conrad Veidt plays Gwynplaine, a circus performer, who has suffered a gypsy curse; his face is carved into a permanent, ghoulish grin. The film is actually a tragic romance, originally intended for Lon Chaney.

John Barrymore stars in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), perhaps the first worthwhile adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, and considered the first major American horror film. Barrymore changes from doctor to monster with the aid of special effects, but his performance is energetic throughout. (Known as "the great profile," it's funny to watch as Barrymore performs at least half the movie while facing stage left and stage right.) One great sequence shows a giant spider crawling onto Barrymore's bed. Finally, we get one of Lon Chaney's greatest performances -- perhaps his greatest -- in Wallace Worsley's The Penalty (1920). He plays a crime lord called Blizzard, who, as a child, has his legs mistakenly amputated by an inept doctor. Chaney apparently strapped his legs into two short stumps to make the effect look real, and his resulting performance is fiercely commanding.

DVD Details: The set also includes the 1998 documentary Kingdom of Shadows, which includes a series of great horror-type clips from silent era classics. The only drawback: Rod Steiger narrates with great emphasis, reading overly poetic lines, and it's not clear whether we should applaud or laugh. Each of the silent features comes with a new score, and each disc includes various extras, clips, photos and other stuff.

Starring: Lon Chaney, John Barrymore, Laura La Plante, Conrad Veidt, Mary Philbin, Rod Steiger
Written by: Charles Kenyon, Clara Beranger, Walter Anthony, Alfred A. Cohn, Robert F. Hill, J. Grubb Alexander, Walter Anthony, Bret Wood
Directed by: Paul Leni, John S. Robertson, Wallace Worsley, Bret Wood
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 426 minutes
Date: October 15, 2007