Spoken Words From 15 Silent Film Stars
Today, movies containing no recorded sound or audible dialogue would seem like experimental or niche filmmaking. But from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, before cinematic audio was made possible by technological advancements, silent films were the norm.
The movies of the silent era conveyed their narratives, plots, and emotions visually, with occasional key lines of dialogue inserted into the film on cards called “intertitles.” Audiences weren’t usually forced to watch in total silence, however. The films were typically accompanied by a pianist or an organist — or even a small orchestra in larger theaters — playing live pre-written or improvised music.
The movie stars of the silent era were a unique breed. Without spoken words to fall back on, their performances relied heavily on their physicality and facial expressions. Physical comedy was hugely popular during the silent era; stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy used their vaudeville backgrounds to craft gags and pratfalls for the silver screen.
By the early 1930s, however, “talkies” had taken over. Some silent film stars seamlessly made the transition to talking pictures, but others returned to the stage or quit acting altogether.
Despite existing for a relatively short time, the silent era made a lasting impression on the art of moviemaking. Here are 15 quotes from some of the most striking silent film stars, including Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, and more.
Known as the “First Lady of American Cinema,” Lillian Gish began her acting career in silent films, pioneering new film performance techniques that would help shape the future of cinema.
Keaton found worldwide fame in the silent movies of the 1920s. He was known for his impressive physical comedy and his perpetually deadpan expression, which earned him the nickname “The Great Stone Face.”
Known in his day as “The King of Hollywood,” Fairbanks defined the role of the swashbuckling hero with his star turns in classic silent movies such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro.
No one is perhaps more symbolic of the silent era than the British comedic actor Charlie Chaplin. His on-screen persona, the Tramp, remains one of the industry’s most memorable and important figures.
Mary Pickford was a trailblazing silent actress as well as a producer, screenwriter, and businesswoman. She founded the United Artists Corporation alongside her future husband Douglas Fairbanks, and she was also one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
After receiving critical acclaim for his stage interpretations of William Shakespeare’s Richard III and Hamlet, John Barrymore (grandfather of Drew Barrymore) turned his attention to films, becoming a debonair leading man of the 1920s in silent movies such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Sherlock Holmes.
Once an understudy of Charlie Chaplin, the English comedic actor Stan Laurel went on to become half of the legendary Laurel and Hardy team. Together, the pair made around 100 comedies between 1921 and 1950.
With her sultry and melancholic persona, the Swedish actress Greta Garbo became one of the greatest and most fascinating female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. She often portrayed strong-willed heroines — characters who were almost as enigmatic as Garbo herself.
Gloria Swanson was one of the most glamorous Hollywood stars of the 1920s. After appearing in numerous silent movies, she later made a triumphant return as the fading silent film queen Norma Desmond in the 1950 drama Sunset Boulevard.
Known as something of a wild child in her day, Clara Bow personified the vivacious and free-spirited “flapper” of the 1920s. Her appearance in the 1927 silent film It brought her global fame and the nickname “The It Girl,” making her the first of many so-called “it girls” to follow.
The Italian actor Rudolph Valentino was one of the first and most popular male sex symbols of the silent era. Nicknamed “The Latin Lover,” he starred in major silent films such as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Blood and Sand. His untimely death at just 31 famously caused mass hysteria among his fans.
William S. Hart established himself as one of the leading heroes of the earliest Western films. His portrayals of stern, taciturn, and forthright cowboys made him one of the most popular actors of his day. One of cinema’s earliest sex symbols, Theda Bara became hugely popular for her femme fatale roles, which earned her the nickname “The Vamp.” Sadly, most of the 40 films she made between 1914 and 1926 were lost forever in the 1937 Fox vault fire. An actress and dancer during the 1920s and ’30s, Louise Brooks remains an icon of flapper culture, famous for both her silent movies and her trademark bob hairstyle — considered somewhat shocking at the time — that she helped to popularize. Harold Lloyd was the highest-paid movie star of the 1920s silent era. Many of his nearly 200 comedy films included thrilling chase scenes and action segments, most famously a scene in which Lloyd hangs from the hands of a clock high above the street in Safety Last! (a scene later referenced in Back to the Future).
