On the subject of Barthelmess's silent work, I recently watched Way Down East (there's a very nice MOMA restored print on YouTube).
It's one of those somewhat thankless roles in which he doesn't get to do anything acting-wise except a) be noble and wholesome and b) adore Lillian Gish (who is very impressive), though he does also get to be part of the famous ice floe sequence. Which led to my having thinky thoughts about the emotional impact of effects which are clearly not fake-able within the technology of the time.
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It's one of those somewhat thankless roles in which he doesn't get to do anything acting-wise except a) be noble and wholesome and b) adore Lillian Gish (who is very impressive), though he does also get to be part of the famous ice floe sequence. Which led to my having thinky thoughts about the emotional impact of effects which are clearly not fake-able within the technology of the time.
Discussion over at
http://kore.dreamwidth.org/1141029.html?thread=14839333#cmt14839333