Silents for Halloween

[Kitty]

What kind of scary-type films have you seen, apart from the obvious one such as Nosferatu?

Let's make a list! Maybe we can come up with ones we've never seen before.

[donnie]

Well, a good place to start is right at (or at least near) the beginning. Here are two shorts I recently watched, Le squelette joyeux (The Merry Skeleton, Lumière,1898) and Le diable au couvent, (The Devil in a Convent, Méliès, 1899). The first is an old favorite of mine, but this was my first time seeing the second. Since they're both shorts, I'll post them here.

As far as feature films, I'm interested in rewatching The Cat and the Canary and seeing for the first time The Bat (1926). And I always at least take a peek at The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari each year during the Hallowe'en season (though that's certainly an obvious one).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzWx8VsAJrI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-1a8N6Bq5Y

[BettyLouSpence]

Fritzi recommended this 1923 Finnish gothic on Twitter, The Old Baron of Rautakylä (Rautakylän vanha parooni). It's available to watch with English subs on Elonet, a website run by the Finnish National Audiovisual Institute. Unfortunately, there's no score.

The Old Baron of Rautakylä (1923) on Elonet

[donnie]

I'll put that one on my list.

And there are two more interesting things I just ran across—The Portrait, a horror short from 1915, and one I'm really highly interested in seeing: The Haunted Castle (1921), a Murnau feature film I've somehow managed to never hear of. Both are on YouTube, though without a score, alas, on the latter. (Hmm, I wonder if the Caligari score might make a suitable fill-in...)

By the way, I did rewatch The Cat and the Canary last night. Wonderful fun, though I have to admit it was better the first time when I didn't know what was coming.

[BettyLouSpence]

Cat and the Canary is definitely due for a rewatch on my end! It's been so long since I saw it last that I don't reme,ber more than the basic plot, but that should make it more exciting

[donnie]

Cat and the Canary is definitely due for a rewatch on my end! It's been so long since I saw it last that I don't reme,ber more than the basic plot, but that should make it more exciting

There were a lot of things I didn't remember even though it had not been a terribly long time since I originally watched it. (The plot is kind of nebulous, to an extent.) What I noticed more this time around was the fabulous lighting and cinematography. And there was such a variety of tints used that I have an impression almost of having seen a color film. I hope you get a chance to rewatch it. It's a lot of fun.

[dachshundonstilts]

I just happened across this one, Le Manoir du Diable (Méliès 1896). It’s not particularly terrifying, but the video description calls it the first known horror film.

https://youtu.be/709RsdDSo_c

[donnie]

I just happened across this one, Le Manoir du Diable (Méliès 1896). It’s not particularly terrifying, but the video description calls it the first known horror film.

That's an interesting one that I'd not run across. Thanks for posting. Quite a busy plot, eh?

By the way, I used a post of Edison's Frankenstein for a substitute score for this (starting up in about the middle). Speaking of which, that's another for this thread, so I'll link it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ENQibFW9w

[jimbrand]

he Haunted House, silent film from 1908. Directed by Segundo de Chomón. Impressive use of stop motion tricks for era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo2EKNRIQlE

[donnie]

Yes, I love that one. Thanks for posting!