The Racket (1928)

Scarsi, the big bootlegger in town, has bought off the district attorney and other politicians to keep his operation running without interference. Because Police Captain McQuigg is incorruptible and keeps doing what he can to stop their lawlessness, Scarsi has him transferred to a middle-of-nowhere precinct. The reporters in McQuigg's new jurisdiction know there's a story there and catch a break when Scarsi's screw-up of a little brother drags their business to the backwater.

There's nothing special about this silent film -- classic good vs. evil with a dash of romantic tragedy thrown in -- but it's not bad either.

C+

7th Heaven (1928)

A poor woman is rescued from a beating by a sewer worker. When the police want to take her away for being destitute, the two pretend to be married and then have to keep up the pretense until the authorities conduct a visit to confirm they're living together. But, by then, they've become contented roommates and have maybe even fallen in love.

That's cute and I wish the story had stopped there. But nope -- he has to go to war and get injured, she has to work in a munitions factory and fight off advances, then he has to come home after being reported dead, which is happy! But, dangit, he's blind now. It's too long by at least 30 minutes and has enough story for two movies.

C

Street Angel (1928)

Angela attempts stealing so she can buy medicine for her mother. When she's caught and sentenced to the workhouse, she escapes to get back to her mom whom she finds has died in her absence. A traveling circus kindly hides her from the cops who are on her trail and she makes a life with them on the road. Soon she's fallen in love with a dreamy artist and they head back to the city so he can make his fortune -- but the law's still waiting there for Angela

Though overlong, this was fine up until the very end when the dreamy artist becomes a physical threat to Angela. But he apologizes for attempting to choke her out, so that's cool right?

C

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1928)

"The Avenger" is killing blonde women every Tuesday night in London. Could the mysterious young man who shows up to rent a room in the area be the killer? The landlady suspects it could be true. The landlady's daughter is sure it isn't. And the landlady's daughter's boyfriend -- who happens to be the lead investigator on the case -- thinks "huh... he has designs on my gal, so probably."

I put it in my list because it's an early Hitchcock and, as silent movies go, it's fine.

C+

The Jazz Singer (1928)

The son of a devout Jewish Cantor is uninterested in following in his father's footsteps. Instead, he spends time at the local juke joint entertaining the patrons with secular songs and antics. When his father finds out, there's an ultimatum thrown which results in "Jakie" leaving home and his father declaring that he no longer has a son. Soon Jakie has refashioned himself as Jack Robin -- a rising star. But he still misses his dear ol' ma...

This is boring, barely sketched, trash. I'm fairly certain that the only reason it's remembered at all is because of its legacy as the first talkie. But Jack's singing is not even that good -- I found it and his accompanying performances to be cringey. 

D

Sadie Thompson (1928)

Good-time gal from San Francisco gets stuck in Pago Pago due to a smallpox quarantine on her connecting ship, but there’re some marines stationed there to keep her company and a hellfire missionary to keep her from having any fun.

I rarely like silent films and I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is an exception really, but it kind of worked. Even with the the final ten minutes being mostly stills and reworked dialogue cards due to damage to the original film, there is some real power here.

B-

The Circus (1928)

I’m not generally a Chaplin fan, but this really worked for me -- probably because the silliness that’s in Charlie Chaplin’s DNA fits perfectly into a circus atmosphere.

Some of the sight gags are iconic and hilarious and the story itself is solid. The only thing that didn’t work for me was the ridiculously high villainy level of the man in charge. But at a brisk 75 minutes or so, it didn’t have much time to ever grate.

B

The Last Command (1928)

A surprisingly decent silent about a Russian general escaping the angry masses to become an extra in Hollywood...who's cast as a Russian general in a movie...directed by a revolutionary he'd imprisoned more than a decade earlier.

Sounds convoluted, but it's told with economy and emotion. It just worked.

B

Wings (1928)

Two men -- a scrappy do-it-yourselfer and a pampered, yet surprisingly grounded, rich boy -- are in love with the same girl. Since she's too nice to tell scrappy that she's got no romantic interest in him, each believes she's theirs. The guys go off to war together and quickly realize they rather like each other.

It's a pretty impressive effort. The scenes in the air are terrific -- some footage of actual WWI dogfights are used and they blend really well with new shots. However, it's just way too long. I wound up watching the last half in double-time (love to do that with silents).

B

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1928)

This is the well-deserved first and only recipient of the "Unique and Artistic" Oscar.

Small-town family man gets involved with a city woman who wants him all to herself and devises an "accidental drowning" for his sweet wife. Rather than murdering his wife in the first hour of a bogus daytrip as he planned, they wind up spending the day together.

It's both charming and haunting. The imagery is astounding, dreamlike, and dizzying. Despite a weak first act and a predictable end, this is beautiful filmmaking. It's amazing what a bit of time and reflection can do -- I wonder how many divorces and other cruelties could be averted by simply attempting to love again.

B-

A Woman of Affairs (1928)

Garbo is stunning as the much-gossipped-about title woman. The story's about as melodramatic as can be, but downplayed nicely by the cast. One of those "sacrifices made in the name of true love" films - and, hey, I'm a sucker for those.

B

The Wind (1928)

Girl travels across America to live with her cousin's family on the wind-battered prairie and soon finds herself kicked out by her cousin's jealous wife and married to a cowboy out of necessity. Dark and relentless, but better than most silents.

B-