Comediennes of the Silent Era & Film Historian Anthony Slide: Remembering Cinema's Pioneering Women 

Comediennes of the Silent Era & Film Historian Anthony Slide: Remembering Cinema\'s Pioneering Women

One of cinema\'s early comediennes, Dorothy Devore: between 1918 and 1930, the Ft. Worth-born actress was seen in nearly 100 movies, both features and shorts. Among them were

\'Comediennes of the Silent Era\' & film historian Anthony Slide at the American Cinematheque

Film historian and author Anthony Slide, once described by Lillian Gish as “our preeminent historian of the silent film,” will attend the American Cinematheque\'s 2017 Retroformat program “Comediennes of the Silent Era” on Sat., May 6, at 7:30 p.m., at the Spielberg Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

She Could Be Chaplin!: The Comedic Brilliance of Alice Howell

(University Press of Mississippi), about the largely forgotten pioneering comedy actress of the 1910s and early 1920s. The book signing will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Spielberg Theatre.

Organized by Retroformat\'s Tom Barnes, “Comediennes of the Silent Era” is a reminder that although men dominated the field of American film comedy throughout the 1910s and 1920s – e.g., Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Raymond Griffith, Roscoe \'Fatty\' Arbuckle, John Bunny, to name a few – women also had their niche, even if, apart from superstar Mabel Normand, their films were less prestigious and less popular than those of their male counterparts.

According to Retroformat\'s press release, four actresses will be featured in the “Comediennes of the Silent Era” program. That serves as another reminder: long before Jane Krakowski, Ellie Kemper, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, and Amy Schumer – in fact, long before Judy Holliday, Claudette Colbert, Jean Arthur, Irene Dunne, Carole Lombard, and Lucille Ball there were:

The movies will be show in 8mm prints from Tom Barnes\' own collection, with live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick. Anthony Slide will also be on hand to introduce the screenings.

“Comediennes of the Silent Era” is expected to last 2 hours.

As an aside, comedy actress Alice Howell also happened to be the grandmother of American Film Institute founder George Stevens Jr. and (at one point) the mother-in-law of two-time Best Director Oscar winner George Stevens (

, 1956). Her daughter was minor 1920s actress Yvonne Howell (

star Lillian Gish at Bowling Green University, Ohio, in 1990.

Anthony Slide has written dozens of books and hundreds of articles in the last five decades, including:

Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players and Stand-Ins

Now Playing: Hand-Painted Poster Art from the 1910s through the 1950s

A Special Relationship: Britain Comes to Hollywood and Hollywood Comes to Britain

Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses

, in which he discusses silent era performers he had met, ranging from popular Paramount player Mary Brian (

) to eventual Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Mary Astor (

Slide has also filmed interviews with the likes of:

Actress Margery Wilson (“Brown Eyes” in Griffith\'s

cinematographer Karl Brown (reminiscing about his work as a camera assistant on

The Spielberg Theatre is part of the Egyptian Theatre complex, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard. According to the Retroformat release, “advance tickets are strongly recommended” for the “Comediennes of the Silent Era” program.

Anthony Slide and Lillian Gish Bowling Green University image via Retroformat.

Image of early comedienne Dorothy Devore via Pinterest.

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Actors & Actresses • Alice Howell • American Cinematheque • Anthony Slide • Authors & Books • Cinema & TV News • Classic Movies • Dorothy Devore • Los Angeles Film News • Short Films • Silent Movies  

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1 Comment to “Comediennes of the Silent Era & Film Historian Anthony Slide: Remembering Cinema\'s Pioneering Women”

Superb! Oh, how I miss my days in Los Angeles. I\'m quite happy in London, but I miss the silent movie events, so easy to find in my days there. I enjoy the work your staff performs and I met Mr. Slides once, a long time ago at a party . Thank you.

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