1926: Death of a Heartthrob

Crowds line Valentino's funeral procession route.

We've reached 1926.  NBC is established as a radio network, ultimately leading to The Cosby Show and Caroline in the City (they can't all be winners).  Route 66 is established and a legend begins. Dance legend Martha Graham gives her first New York performance.

In the film world, it's a year of notable premieres.  Alfred Hitchcock releases his first feature in the U.S. (The Pleasure Garden). John Wayne shows up uncredited in his first role as a football player in Brown of Harvard. Don Juan marked the debut of the Vitaphone, a technique that synchronized sound and effects with the movie (though there was no dialogue). 

This is also the year that sadly one of the icons of the silent era passed on.  Rudolph Valentino was 31 when he collapsed at a New York City hotel suffering from appendicitis.  Despite surgery and an initial optimistic prognosis, Valentino died on August 23.  His death sparked a mass outpouring of grief with almost 100,000 people lining up to pay their respects.  Valentino's death began a sad Hollywood ritual of celebrating the life of an artist struck down in his prime and wondering what might have been, a ritual we continue to practice right up to actors like James Dean and Heath Ledger.

As to the movie-watching, I guess I should make a note about 1925 and moving forward. The project started out watching three to five films from each year. For 1925, I watched 16 films. Crazy, but it does reflect a slight recalibration of philosophy. I decided that I am only walking this path once, so anything that strikes my fancy will get a watch. No more hard or even soft ceiling on what I'll watch.

What will the films of 1926 look like here? Well, I have become a huge Buster Keaton fan so The General is a natural. I am intrigued by Prince Achmed, the first animated feature length movie.  I am also planning on catching Douglas Fairbanks' The Black Pirate and F.W. Murnau's awesomeness in Faust.  I'm also planning my farewell to Valentino by watching Son of Sheik.