Here are the silent films of the iconic and world-famous actress Sarah Bernhardt. This revered stage thespian was born in 1844 and died in 1923. She was practically royalty when she deigned to appear in a few silent films.
LE DUEL D’HAMLET (1900) – In this roughly 2-minute short, the 56-year-old Bernhardt gave cinema a gender-flipped Hamlet as she fenced with Pierre Magnier as Laertes in the climactic duel.
“The Divine Sarah” as she came to be called, was spryer and more athletic than women half her age. This brief moment of history was the first time ANY scene from Hamlet had been presented on film.
TOSCA (1908, 1912) – Bernhardt portrayed Floria Tosca in this adaptation of the Puccini opera. (Yes, it’s a silent movie version of an opera.) The entire story was condensed into just 40 minutes and Sarah was so appalled with the production that she insisted that it not be released and, in fact, wanted it destroyed!
Luckily for cinema history, it was merely shelved for 4 years and wound up getting released to cash in on the success that Sarah’s silent movie about Queen Elizabeth the First was enjoying in 1912. Continue reading
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Closing out Balladeer’s Blog’s 2024 college basketball season was this game between the top seeded BARTON COLLEGE COUGARS and the 7 seeds – the TRITON COLLEGE TROJANS. 
THE FANTASTIC FOUR – There can be no over-stating the importance of the Fantastic Four to Marvel Comics and by extension to much of pop culture the last several years regarding superhero movies and television programs. Though the Fantastic Four are now considered as dull as any b&w sitcom family of long ago, the team’s success convinced Marvel the market was right to recommit to superhero comic books. 
As Marvel Comics in 1961 the company decided to dabble in superhero comic books again, with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, two veteran comic book hands since the 1940s, putting together a brand-new team of superheroes. That team was, of course, the Fantastic Four. 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – Fighting it out for this division’s crown were the 5 seeds – the NATIONAL PARK COLLEGE NIGHTHAWKS – and the 2nd ranked SOUTH SUBURBAN COLLEGE BULLDOGS. 
Here at Balladeer’s Blog my love of enjoyably bad movies has been well established. You can count me as one of the many “Human Breens” as fans of filmmaker Neil Breen are called. 
As with the best of the bad auteurs Neil churns out productions that are uniquely his own. There is no mistaking a Neil Breen film with a film made by anyone else. Picture The Room’s Tommy Wiseau trying to make a David Lynch movie. But with a LOT more needless violence against laptop computers. 
DOUBLE DOWN (2005) – Neil Breen starred, wrote and directed this movie – and quite obviously he or an associate even wrote the IMDb description of the plot. That description calls Double Down “an edgy action thriller,” which would certainly come as a surprise to anyone who has actually SEEN the film. 
FRANCOIS VILLON PART THREE – We left off last time with Villon forced to flee Paris after killing the priest Sermoise in a duel over a woman named Isabeau. Already well-versed in the criminal underworld of the region from his career as a thief, Francois hid out just 17 miles southwest of Paris at the Abbey of Port Royal-des-Champs. 
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The top seeded NORTH LAKE COLLEGE BLAZERS vied with the 3 seeds – the HERKIMER COLLEGE GENERALS – for the NJCAA’s D3 title. 
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