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Carpet filler is a variation on seat filler . Yes folks, there are actually people hired for awards ceremonies that get to walk down the carpet numerous times so there's no lack of beautiful people on the move. I love it.

THE ISLE OF LOVE (1918, 1920, or 1922, Fred Balshofer) Messy messy messy. Bleech. ALI BABA GOES TO TOWN (1938). Movie-crazy fan Eddie Cantor stumbles on to a movie company filming an Arabian night story in the desert, gets hired as an extra, takes some cold pills and then dreams himself back in time to old Bagdad.. I liked this one way more than I thought I would because I'm not a big Eddie Cantor fan, but it was a very entertaining little musical, and Eddie did just great. I had a blast the whole weekend. Endless popcorn to munch on, great people to hang out with. And I learned a new phrase, courtesy of Leonard Maltin: carpet filler . Who could ask for anything more ?

Rappe's character was named Vanette in the inter_title_s but Zana in the program notes.  I can state from seeing the film that: a) Valentino is hardly in it and when he is, the film uses his footage over and over again. b) Rappe isn't in it very much, and isn't particularly used well when she is. c) Julian Eltinge makes a not-very-convincing man and a VERY unconvincing woman. Seeing the LoC short that Rappe was in during Slapsticon last year gave me a much better idea of her capabilities as an actress. At least you got a score.  Donna and I watched it on a small screen in deadly silence. I'd like to see Eltinge in something other than this.  I've only seen photos of him in drag from his stage career; he was rather fetching in his younger years, but much of drag is in the movement, so hard to translate to a still. I don't know if drag is ever intended to fool anyone, is it?  I think we are supposed to be in on the deception and revel in the sleight of...er...hand. I presume the LOC short you mention is Punch of the Irish.  And I note you carefully refrained from giving me your opinion of Virginia's capabilities as an actress.  I won't cry, you know. Did anyone see the Kay Fwancis film? Frederica

I'd like to see Eltinge in something other than this.  I've only seen photos of him in drag from his stage career; he was rather fetching in his younger years, but much of drag is in the movement, so hard to translate to a still. I don't know if drag is ever intended to fool anyone, is it?  I think we are supposed to be in on the deception and revel in the sleight of...er...hand. Actually, the stage reviews I've read of Eltinge suggest that he was mighty convincing on stage (prior to, say, 1922 or so) and he was viewed as an illusionist, so it was a kind of case where the audience KNEW he was a fake but couldn't quite figure out how he managed it. It's all mighty odd. Women used to to see Eltinge in vaudeville for beauty tips/fashion advice. He had his own woman's magazine for a while. And the press was all about how manly and pugilisitic he was off the stage. At his height, Eltinge was considered the finest in family entertainment. And in the earliest days of his career he actually wore corsets. As he banged head-first into middle age and corsets went out of _style_, the illusion became less convincing. And I'm sure stage lighting at the time was far kinder than klieglights. By the late 20s, age was not the only thing against him. An increased awareness of homosexuality, thanks largely to the pansy craze in prohibition nightclubs and Mae West's raid-prone plays THE DRAG and PLEASURE MAN made more genteel acts like Eltinge's suspect. A short-lived come-back in the late 30s brought Eltinge a host of morality headaches from locals who _object_ed to drag in night clubs, despite Eltinge's sterling reputation. BTW - does anyone know if Eltinge's footage in the Bing Crosby opus IF IT HAD MY WAY survives (I understand it's not in any of the TV prints.)

If you mean CYNARA , Francis looked great in a stunning print. It was one of the last films run on Sunday. I hadn't seen the film in a long time, and didn't remember how good Phyllis Barry was in it.

If you mean CYNARA , Francis looked great in a stunning print. It was one of the last films run on Sunday. I hadn't seen the film in a long time, and didn't remember how good Phyllis Barry was in it. That's the one.  How does this rate on the Fwancis Scale?  Better than The White Angel, worse than Trouble in Paradise?   Has this ever been shown on TCM?  It's one I haven't yet seen. Frederica