The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896–1929, An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars, with a List of Recordings, and: Silent Mystery and Detective Movies, a Comprehensive Filmography (review)

The late Ken Wlaschin was a person of passionate interests. He loved music and was a devoted fan of mystery and detective stories. He was also a uniquely skilled and knowledgeable film enthusiast. Wlaschin made his reputation in England where he was the highly respected programmer of the National Film Theatre and director of the London Film Festival. Later, in his native United States, he served as director of Filmex, the Los Angeles International Film Festival, and as director of creative affairs for the American Film Institute. He was primarily known as an innovative film programmer, with a reputation for blending mainstream shows with explorations of lesser known but highly watchable cinema. Regular readers of Film History will recognize him as the co-author with Stephen Bottomore of "Moving Picture Fiction of the Silent Era, 1895–1928" (20.2, 2008).

These two books, The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896–1929 and Silent Mystery and Detective Movies, a Comprehensive Filmography, are a product of Wlaschin's personal passions and his journeys through the highways and byways of cinema. They also reflect his very catholic tastes. Wlaschin had previously demonstrated his love of music in three well regarded books exploring "serious" music, a guide to Gian Carlo Menotti on Screen (McFarland, 1999), Opera on Screen (Beachwood Press, 1997) and Encyclopedia of American Opera on Screen (Yale University Press, 2006). All three were designed to serve the classical music enthusiast while satisfying the needs of the curious bystander. These books are quite different; they deal with topics out of the mainstream, but his intent is the same. Like the bibliography in Film History, they are intended to add to our understanding of the silent era while providing the casual viewer with tidbits to satisfy curiosity. There is wonderful material for trivia questions in these additions to the silent film lexicon.

Songs first. Wlaschin states in his introduction to The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896–1929 that his purpose is to fill a gap in film scholarship caused by the lack of attention to popular songs. "Most people are aware that silent movies were rarely silent, that there was lively musical accompaniment. It is less well known that large numbers of popular songs were created in connection with silent films, played and sung during screenings, published as sheet music and often recorded." He has assembled information that comes, for the most part, from his personal collection. Even a cursory glance at the book shows that he has been gathering information and collecting sheet music for years and years. The text has been enlivened by a generous selection of colorful illustrations drawn from his collection. For the most part these are the front pages of published music and their presence greatly enhances what could have been a dry assembly of information.

The book is in three parts. Part One, "Movies and Moviegoing", is a chronological essay describing songs about movies and movie going over the years 1896 to 1929. The first decade, 1896 to 1907, is covered by a single essay, also chronologically arranged. A series of essays for each of the years from 1908 through 1928 follow. Part Two, "Movie Personalities and Their Films", is an alphabetically arranged list of personalities, mostly movie stars, with essays describing songs that are either about them or associated with their films. Part Three, "Recordings", is a description of recordings of these songs available on 78, LP, CD, DVD and the internet. Despite paying lip service to the intent to cover the subject internationally, this is primarily about American movies. The smattering of British songs reflects Wlaschin's long connection with the UK.

Wlaschin presents a...