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Behind The Mask Of Innocence
From Kevin Brownlow, cinema historian and discoverer of lost films, here is the first full-scale exploration of a vital and now almost forgotten chapter of American moviemaking: the response of early producers of the decades before World War I.
All the issues that torment America today were rampant in the silent-film era: crime, poverty, alcohol, drugs, racial and ethnic prejudice, epidemics, and the controversies over birth control, abortion, and the death penalty. And there were others that persist today but were then even more explosive: sexual mores, government and police corruption, prison conditions, immigration, and strife between capital and labor. Although many early moviemakers ignored harsh realities, choosing to depict a society shielded by a “mask of innocence,” others went behind that façade, fighting the ever-present censors and producing films that made even the most sheltered moviegoer aware of deep rents in the country’s social fabric. Some films were exploitative, some serious, but together they add up to a revelation of the dark side of American life—a revelation startling to us today because it was later, in the era of the Hays Office, so thoroughly ignored, indeed denied, by Hollywood.
Broken Blossoms, The Crowd, Humoresque, Regeneration: these films that have survived and become classics are, in these pages, studied in their historical context. And although a tragic number of other films have vanished, nearly all are reclaimed from oblivion by Mr. Brownlow’s brilliant feat of restoration and descriptive “reconstruction.” Here, never again to be forgotten, are The Fall of the Romanoffs, The Racket, Those Who Dance, and dozens of others.
With this remarkable book, Kevin Brownlow completes the panoramic trilogy that began with The Parade’s Gone By… and continued with The War, the West, and the Wilderness. Like its predecessors, Behind the Mask of Innocence is an essential work of silent-film history, certain to become a standard reference; but it is more—at once a surprising portrait of a time not unlike our own and a powerful demonstration of the way in which a popular art form can reveal a society to itself.
All the issues that torment America today were rampant in the silent-film era: crime, poverty, alcohol, drugs, racial and ethnic prejudice, epidemics, and the controversies over birth control, abortion, and the death penalty. And there were others that persist today but were then even more explosive: sexual mores, government and police corruption, prison conditions, immigration, and strife between capital and labor. Although many early moviemakers ignored harsh realities, choosing to depict a society shielded by a “mask of innocence,” others went behind that façade, fighting the ever-present censors and producing films that made even the most sheltered moviegoer aware of deep rents in the country’s social fabric. Some films were exploitative, some serious, but together they add up to a revelation of the dark side of American life—a revelation startling to us today because it was later, in the era of the Hays Office, so thoroughly ignored, indeed denied, by Hollywood.
Broken Blossoms, The Crowd, Humoresque, Regeneration: these films that have survived and become classics are, in these pages, studied in their historical context. And although a tragic number of other films have vanished, nearly all are reclaimed from oblivion by Mr. Brownlow’s brilliant feat of restoration and descriptive “reconstruction.” Here, never again to be forgotten, are The Fall of the Romanoffs, The Racket, Those Who Dance, and dozens of others.
With this remarkable book, Kevin Brownlow completes the panoramic trilogy that began with The Parade’s Gone By… and continued with The War, the West, and the Wilderness. Like its predecessors, Behind the Mask of Innocence is an essential work of silent-film history, certain to become a standard reference; but it is more—at once a surprising portrait of a time not unlike our own and a powerful demonstration of the way in which a popular art form can reveal a society to itself.
579 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Kevin Brownlow
44 books54 followersKevin Brownlow, is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent documenting and restoring film. He has rescued many silent films and their history. His initiative in interviewing many largely forgotten, elderly film pioneers in the 1960s and 1970s preserved a legacy of cinema. Brownlow received an Academy Honorary Award at the 2nd Annual Governors Awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 13, 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 21, 2008
The third and last of what I call Brownlow's Trilogy. This for many is the most compelling as it covers realism and the ugly subjects covered in silent film. Hollywood was not all pretty people. My admiration of Brownlow is second to none, his ability to uncover facts and write about them in a way that is anything but boring makes all of his books worth reading once, twice or as many times as you care to pick them up.
August 2, 2022
If there’s one thing Kevin Brownlow will never do in one of his tomes on the history of silent film, it’s half-ass any of the research and analysis. This collection shows that silent films, particularly those made during the 1910s, were far from the quaint artifacts that history would have you believe. Before the industry started self-policing themselves, studios in the 1900s and 10s were making films on such a wide variety of subjects as human trafficking, venereal disease, labor movements, prison reform, and many other hot-button issues. Unfortunately a majority of the films Brownlow discusses are completely lost, but his exhaustive research into what the studios were actually producing in this period makes it feel like the films are still here with us.
July 22, 2025
For many film buffs, Kevin Brownlow is a legendary figure. He's a expert on silent films, has produced several documentaries on cinema, written several books, and does important work in film restoration (he was a major force behind the restoration of Abel Gance's silent masterpiece Napoleon, the viewing of which, in a theater with a live orchestra, was a seminal moment in my development as a film buff). This book, while not quite legendary, has a strong reputation but I was disappointed in it. The subtitle is a little misleading: it's not really about sex, violence or crime in silent films, but about the social issue film in the silent era, some of which did indeed involve sex and violence. The thesis of the book is that despite the reputation of the silent era as innocent entertainment, the examination of social issues was a major theme in silent films, and some of these films led to real-world reform.
To his credit, Brownlow digs up a lot of information about a lot of movies, many of which are lost. But that's also a problem with the book. It becomes largely an annotated catalog of social issue films; some movies get a full page or more and have long summaries and reports of critical and commercial reaction, but some are one or two paragraphs with little substantial information. The 500-page book, broken up by categories like sex, drugs, Prohibition, immigration, politics, and poverty, becomes a slog to get through. Because so much is covered, I found very few films sticking with me. His thesis could have been proven in half the pages with less "for the record" information to wade through. He doesn't cover films about race, claiming that would take up too much space, but I would have welcomed at least a cursory examination of this issue. If the author can spend nine pages on TB films, 20 or 30 on race would have been very helpful. There are some very interesting films discussed here, but the sheer amount of facts and figures got me down to the point where I was skimming the last 100 pages.
To his credit, Brownlow digs up a lot of information about a lot of movies, many of which are lost. But that's also a problem with the book. It becomes largely an annotated catalog of social issue films; some movies get a full page or more and have long summaries and reports of critical and commercial reaction, but some are one or two paragraphs with little substantial information. The 500-page book, broken up by categories like sex, drugs, Prohibition, immigration, politics, and poverty, becomes a slog to get through. Because so much is covered, I found very few films sticking with me. His thesis could have been proven in half the pages with less "for the record" information to wade through. He doesn't cover films about race, claiming that would take up too much space, but I would have welcomed at least a cursory examination of this issue. If the author can spend nine pages on TB films, 20 or 30 on race would have been very helpful. There are some very interesting films discussed here, but the sheer amount of facts and figures got me down to the point where I was skimming the last 100 pages.
November 21, 2024
I once had a dream about Kevin Brownlow: he and his wife came to stay at the place where I worked, but I was too shy to tell him how important his television series, Hollywood, had been to me, and how it had sparked my interest in silent cinema. (Incredible to think that it was originally broadcast, I believe at nine pm, on a week night on ITV; that could never happen today.) Anyway…
This history of the social conscience films of the first three decades of the twentieth century, many of them lost, is obviously an extremely niche book – even in 1990, Brownlow had trouble finding a publisher – and not many people are likely to pick it up on the off chance and stick with it. Well, so be it (we now live in a world where a relatively famous movie actor’s memoir of what he ate for a year is not only published but pushed into the best seller lists). I found this book thoroughly absorbing, and have embarked on a programme of (re)watching some of the titles that still exist: a couple of nights ago, it was Lon Chaney in The Penalty.
Although it’s great to have Brownlow’s opinions of films he was able to view, I also enjoyed his almost archaeological reconstructions of those that had vanished – through reviews in trade publications and his archive of correspondence and interviews with some of their personnel. I liked his identification of the ‘silent talkie,’ in effect a silent film which attempts through an excess of gesticulation and/or title cards to transmit an essentially verbal message despite the strength of silent cinema lying in the visual. It occurred to me that the British film, Hindle Wakes (1927), after a thrilling start on the rides at Blackpool, becomes this sort of thing: characters stand about in rooms mouthing dialogue (presumably taken from the original play) which is then laboriously rendered by multiple title cards.
This history of the social conscience films of the first three decades of the twentieth century, many of them lost, is obviously an extremely niche book – even in 1990, Brownlow had trouble finding a publisher – and not many people are likely to pick it up on the off chance and stick with it. Well, so be it (we now live in a world where a relatively famous movie actor’s memoir of what he ate for a year is not only published but pushed into the best seller lists). I found this book thoroughly absorbing, and have embarked on a programme of (re)watching some of the titles that still exist: a couple of nights ago, it was Lon Chaney in The Penalty.
Although it’s great to have Brownlow’s opinions of films he was able to view, I also enjoyed his almost archaeological reconstructions of those that had vanished – through reviews in trade publications and his archive of correspondence and interviews with some of their personnel. I liked his identification of the ‘silent talkie,’ in effect a silent film which attempts through an excess of gesticulation and/or title cards to transmit an essentially verbal message despite the strength of silent cinema lying in the visual. It occurred to me that the British film, Hindle Wakes (1927), after a thrilling start on the rides at Blackpool, becomes this sort of thing: characters stand about in rooms mouthing dialogue (presumably taken from the original play) which is then laboriously rendered by multiple title cards.
November 15, 2024
Kevin Brownlow is the definitive silent film historian, and this is his extensively researched exploration of social films of the silent era. The hefty volume looks at everything from drugs, the immigrant experience, human trafficking, labor, crime, and poverty. The main concentration is on a vast number of films produced before 1920, the majority of which are now lost, but many recreated here through Brownlow's meticulous research of both archival and human sources. In some ways this is more textbook than a structured history, and the narrative could have used a better application of the context of these films in the history of film itself.
August 2, 2007
A fascinating study of forgotten film--and social--history, Behind the Mask of Innocence examines social issue films made during the silent era (1900-1930). Contrary to the image many people have of this period as a tranquil golden age of social order, this was the time when hot button issues that are still controversial today roared into American public consciousness: birth control, abortion, divorce, prostitution, sexually transmitted disease, racial discrimination, immigration, labor issues, drug use, prison conditions, poverty, class conflict and more. Film-makers who tackled these subjects took great risks, as it was illegal in most US states to discuss many of these issues, especially those related to sex, in public media. Even when the law was no obstacle, taboos against publicly discussing anything critical of legal or religious authority or prevailing public morals was so strong it was almost impossible for some film-makers to find theaters willing to show their work. Film-makers who touched the nerve of society too forcefully were ostracized, sued, imprisoned or even physically attacked.
Unfortunately, many of the films discussed in this book have been lost, but Brownlow has diligently unearthed the record of their existence and impact in film reviews, newspaper and magazine articles, court transcripts, commentary by those involved in the films or who saw the films and other documents. Brownlow does an excellent job of providing context for understanding the making of and reaction to these films: how the film industry operated at the time, the motivations of individual film-makers, the practices of film censors, legal rulings related to film, how common social prejudices (Puritanism, sexism, xenophobia, racism, hatred for the poor and others) affected what artists could show, and more. The book is insightful and information dense but written in an engaging and easy to follow style. Highly recommended for anyone interested in film, the development of modern popular media, or the early 20th century in general. Includes many film stills and period photos.
Unfortunately, many of the films discussed in this book have been lost, but Brownlow has diligently unearthed the record of their existence and impact in film reviews, newspaper and magazine articles, court transcripts, commentary by those involved in the films or who saw the films and other documents. Brownlow does an excellent job of providing context for understanding the making of and reaction to these films: how the film industry operated at the time, the motivations of individual film-makers, the practices of film censors, legal rulings related to film, how common social prejudices (Puritanism, sexism, xenophobia, racism, hatred for the poor and others) affected what artists could show, and more. The book is insightful and information dense but written in an engaging and easy to follow style. Highly recommended for anyone interested in film, the development of modern popular media, or the early 20th century in general. Includes many film stills and period photos.
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April 28, 2009Looks at deviance in films during the silent era and examines topics such as "abortion, drugs, bootlegging, red-light districts, opium dens, political corruption, poverty, venereal diseases, political issues, labor unrest, women's suffrage, the Russian Revolution, and the depiction of minorities. Rare movies include: Human Wreckage, The Devil's Needle,City Gone Wild,The Godless Girl , and The Cocaine Traffic. Many of these rare movies no longer exist!
March 18, 2008
There is so much amazing information in this book (which coveres social silent films). It teaches so much about American history - below the surface a little. It's written beautifully, if informative and very worthwhile. I wish this had been my history book in highschool!
September 16, 2007
as far as film history/criticism books go, this is probably my favorite. it's also arguably Brownlow's best.
August 23, 2008
Extensive discussion of silent films on social problem and ethnic themes. Excellent
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews