"[Silent films] have always gotten into the very heart of personalities and situations, whereas the stage and talkies merely skim the surface. The silent movies... were soothing to the nerves, stimulating to the imagination, often artistic, and a lot of fun."
-- A reader of Motion Picture Classic magazine, September 1929

Soon after the turn of the twentieth century, the actors, directors, and technical workers of the burgeoning film industry created a new art form -- silent film.

When Mary Pickford left Broadway to act in film, she had to adapt her technique to master the art of silent film acting. Her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, saw his acting as a kind of ballet that could not be accomplished with sound. Charlie Chaplin, believing silent comedy to be superior, could not imagine developing his Little Tramp character into a speaking role. These great stars of the silent era all thought that talking in pictures would destroy the art form.

Do you think that the technological advance of sound in film destroyed the art of silent movies?

		Yes, an important art form was destroyed.		No, talkies were a natural evolution of the art form.
	Did you watch the film, "Mary Pickford"? (Please vote "yes" if you watched at least half of the film.)
		Yes		No
	If yes, did it influence your answers?
		Yes		No

I do not wish to vote but would like to see the current results