The Movies in the Age of Innocence

The first thing to strike the reader is the personal style of this book and the author's candid expression of opinions, made all the more valid and valuable because he grew up in `the age of innocence' and can give a firsthand or eyewitness account of those days. Published in 1962, the author reminisces his childhood days in the 1910s when cinemas large and small popped up all over the place and forever changed people's lives and way of thinking. A keen movie-goer as a young boy, he vividly recounts the films and stars which impressed him the most, at times going into detail about some of them, and always supporting his dialogue with well-researched facts. There are many footnotes with references and background information which would be quite helpful to the serious student of early cinema seeking such research material, but it is also a good introduction to silent films. Combined with personal fond memories and impressions, each page is full of film titles and names of cast and crew, from the most famous to the long-forgotten, with apologies that not all stars and movies could be mentioned. Writing in chronological order and devoting a chapter to the most influential people of the silent era, namely `the Father of Film, D.W. Griffith' and `America's Sweetheart', Mary Pickford and also Lillian Gish, the novice can already get an overview of who's who and which silent films are worth seeing - and fortunately many of those mentioned in this book are readily available on video these days. A relatively small book of 250 pages, it is both enjoyable and informative reading, although the language and style might sound a little complicated to young readers familiar with mostly contemporary writing styles. This becomes most evident in the appendix chapter of this book where the author has included his first published work of 1927, an essay on Lillian Gish and her acting style. This in itself is history in the making, namely the changing style of literature with each passing decade, just as motion pictures and music change with each decade or two, and perhaps herein lies the real value of this book: its direct link to the early 1900s through the personal memories and impressions of a keen moviegoer growing up with films as they matured through the 1920s and into the sound era. As such however, it is inevitable that the author's opinions on some films and stars are not shared by everyone, but this should not detract or confuse the reader who is seeking both general information on the silent era and who is curious to hear the author's personal reminiscences of that special era.

Every major film historian and scholar concurs that THE MOVIES IN THE AGE OF INNOCENCE is the greatest book ever written on silent films. None of us younger historians can ever hope to come close to the quality achieved by this great man. As far as I'm concerned, his word is law as far as movie history is concerned. Mr. Wagenknecht turns 99 this March on the 28th, and is recovering very nicely at his home from the bad spell he went through October through January. We owe a tremendous debt to this great man.