Broken Silence, Michael G. Ankerich
Broken Silence, Michael G. Ankerich
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Broken Silence
Conversations with 23 Silent Film Stars

Author: Michael G. Ankerich

Narrator: Alex Boyles

Unabridged: 8 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/11/2022


Synopsis

This is a collection of twenty-three original interviews with stars of the silent screen, with biographical information and a filmography included for each. Interviewed are Lew Ayres, William Bakewell, Lina Basquette, Madge Bellamy, Eleanor Boardman, Ethlyne Clair, Junior Coghlan, Joyce Compton, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Dorothy Gulliver, Maxine Elliott Hicks, Dorothy Janis, George Lewis, Marion Mack, Patsy Ruth Miller, Lois Moran, Baby Marie Osborne, Muriel Ostriche, Eddie Quillan, Esther Ralston, Dorothy Revier, David Rollins, and Gladys Walton.

About Michael G. Ankerich

Michael G. Ankerich is a biographer whose work focuses on American silent film and early twentieth-century actors and actresses. A former newspaper reporter, Ankerich has written extensively for Classic Images, Films of the Golden Age, and Hollywood Studio magazine, which featured his interview with Butterfly McQueen (Prissy) on the fiftieth anniversary of the release of Gone with the Wind.

About Alex Boyles

Alex Boyles has been acting pretty much his entire life. He got his BA in theater–acting/directing performance from CSU Long Beach and his MFA in acting performance from Ohio State University. He started narrating audiobooks in 2019 and hasn’t looked back!


Reviews

Goodreads review by Greta on August 22, 2008

Interviews with silent film players, mostly minor stars. More interesting in aggregate than individually. Patsy Ruth Miller’s favorite actresses were Norma and Nazimova, while Lina Basquette (who didn’t seem to get along with Hollywood people) thought Norma Talmadge and Mary Pickford were snobs. Int......more

Goodreads review by Julie on June 12, 2021

When I think of silent movie stars, there are certain figures who leap to mind: Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Valentino, Lillian Gish, Tom Mix, Keystone Cops, Theda Bara. In addition there are countless other who started in the silent but really made a name for themselves in the talkies: Greta Gar......more

Goodreads review by James on March 31, 2024

While the interviews themselves are brief and, with a few exceptions, kind of repetitive, it’s fascinating to read about these former actors who moved on from the industry, whether by choice or not. It takes the glamour out of Hollywood as nearly all of them recount the long hours and exhausting wor......more

Goodreads review by Terri Librande on April 22, 2020

A great deal of new information. Great book, little vignettes of lives that we're part of the silent film era. I would recommend to anyone who loves oral history and silent film.......more

Goodreads review by Rama on February 02, 2014

Reminiscing with the movie stars from silent era This is a book of recorded memories of film stars from silent era. There are few notable stars in this book that includes; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lew Ayres and Eleanor Boardman. The rest of them are less known actresses which includes; Lois Moran, Mad......more


Quotes

“A labor of love…Informative, insightful reminiscences.” Silent Film Monthly