This weekend was the Silent Film Festival at the Castro. I love this festival, & I wish I had had time this weekend to see more screenings. It's the knowledgeable & enthusiastic audiences that really make it an event.
Last night I saw William Wellman's 1928 Beggars of Life. It's the picaresque story of a reluctant romance in the world of railroad hobos. It has a pre-Pabst apperance by Louise Brooks & a big, warm-hearted performance by Wallace Beery, but other than that it seems like a fairly typical late silent-era movie. William Wellman's son spoke briefly after the screening, & he implied that the mediocre material was given to Wellman in the expectation that he would create a flop. Instead, he crafted a decent movie.
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