Silent Movies and
the New Etiquette

Without a doubt, this is one of the funniest pieces you are likely to find on the topic of acting and costuming in silent films. It was written by Frederick Lewis Allen (1890-1954) and Frank Tuttle (1892-1963); both men approached the movies with the low expectations that were probably all too typical of theater lovers at that time. Frederick Lewis Allen is best remembered today as one of the better chroniclers of the Twenties and author of “Only Yesterday” (1931) while Frank Tuttle would find himself, in a few short years, directing movies in Hollywood. Tuttle was one of the few Directors who successfully made the jump from silent films to sound and continued working; at this writing, he was an Assistant Editor at Vanity Fair.