2014 marks the centenary of Charlie Chaplin's motion picture debut. This is certainly an important milestone and Chaplin deserves all the praise he gets, but let's not forget that two other important movie people also debuted in 1914.

Cecil B. DeMille is remembered today for his religious epics and wooden dialogue, but three-quarters of his output was actually silent films. If you think you do not like DeMille, his silent films may come as a revelation. Sassy marital comedies, dark tenement tales, stories of doubt, conscience, madness, murder...

William S. Hart never made a talkie. The closest he ever came was a sound introduction to one of his silent films. His last starring role was in 1925, after which he settled into comfortable retirement with an occasional cameo or consulting job. Hart, more than any other western star, brought a gritty realism to the cowboy picture. He insisted on dusty locations, austere stories and a strange mixture of sentiment and brutality.

These three men have one more thing in common: Their early work is available for viewing. Both Hart and DeMille's feature debuts survive and are available on home video. Both Chaplin's first appearance and his first use of the Tramp character have been restored and released as well. Considering the low survival rate of silent films, this is pretty amazing.

Here are some recommended films from these three distinguished careers:

Cecil B. DeMille

The Squaw Man (1914)

Cecil B. DeMille's 1914 debut was an adaptation of a stage play of the same name. DeMille's partners in the venture, Sam Goldwyn and Jesse Lasky, put up the capital. When the Arizona locations disappointed, star Dustin Farnum suggested DeMille and his co-director, Oscar Apfel, try the Los Angeles area.

The Squaw Man is definitely a crude affair, especially compared to the other work released in 1914. However, it does have some lovely scenery, and the scene at the poison hot springs is excellent. This film may be more valuable for its historical value than its entertainment value but there is still much that makes it worth seeing.

DeMille remade The Squaw Man twice: once with Elliott Dexter in the lead, and again with Warner Baxter. It is the only film in his career that got the three-time treatment. (He remade The Golden Chance as Forbidden Fruit and filmed The Ten Commandments twice.) The Dexter version only survives in fragments but the Baxter vehicle not only survives, it has been released on DVD as a double feature with the 1914 original.

The Whispering Chorus (1918)

This film is considered to be an artistic high point for DeMille. Instead of the glitz and glamour that would later overwhelm his pictures, The Whispering Chorus is the sordid tale of a petty embezzler whose conscience gets the best of him. DeMille embraced moody lighting, double exposure and coaxes excellent performances out of his cast. This is truly the movie to watch for people who think they do not like DeMille.

Rumor has it The Whispering Chorus bombed and its failure caused DeMille to turn his back on art and embrace the commercial. This is false as The Whispering Chorus was a solid hit and DeMille continued to explore social topics, albeit rarely.

Why Change Your Wife? (1920)

By the 1920s, DeMille was known as the leading maker of sophisticated bedroom comedies. These films dealt with infidelity, divorce and reconciliation with a considerable amount of frankness but were wrapped up in extravagant sets and costumes. Why Change Your Wife? is the best of these comedies.

Gloria Swanson plays a prudish wife who drives her husband away. (How bad is it? He buys her a negligee and she declares him a pervert.) Realizing her mistake, Swanson gets gussied up in an attempt to win him back. Bebe Daniels plays the Other Woman in the marriage and a very young William Boyd can be seen as one of Swanson's admirers. It's all in good fun and the costumes are a dream. (The Image disc also includes Miss Lulu Bett, directed by DeMille's brother, William. It's one of the best silent films you've never heard of.)


William S. Hart

The Bargain (1914)

Hart's very first feature-length western (he had been making shorts up to this point) is also one of his lightest films. Hart tended to be dark and austere, but this movie displays quite a bit of humor. He plays a stagecoach bandit who decides to go straight after falling for Clara Williams. He tries to return the money from his last holdup but gets arrested instead. However, the shoe is soon on the other foot and he is able to make a bargain with the sheriff that just might win him his freedom.

The Bargain is structured very much like an O. Henry story with its ironic punch line. I won't give it away here because it's just so fun to watch it unfold on the screen.

Hell's Hinges (1916)

If The Bargain was a light affair, Hell's Hinges is anything but. Hart plays a gunslinger/killer who decides to go straight after falling for Clara Williams. (See a pattern emerging?) Basically, a wild town called Hell's Hinges wants to run the preacher out of town and Hart is the only thing standing in their way.

The highlight of the film is its apocalyptic finale during which Hart sets fire to the entire town in retaliation for the hooligans burning down the church. It is a wild, glorious scene.

Movie buffs will want to keep an eye out for an eighteen-year old John Gilbert as one of the town's wild boys. He is not a featured player but is quite visible, especially since this was an early occurrence of that famous mustache.

The Toll Gate (1920)

By the twenties, Hart was beginning to be seen as old-fashioned, but he kept making the kind of movies he wanted. The Toll Gate is darker even than Hell's Hinges. Hart plays a bandit betrayed by a confederate and sets out for revenge. Instead of being a living embodiment of righteous fury, Hart is diabolic in his vengeance. He guns down anyone who gets in the way. That is, until he runs into a grass widow living alone in the wilderness.

The Toll Gate is bittersweet. Hart is dragged kicking and screaming to redemption. Will he make it? We're not sure until the very end.

Charlie Chaplin

Without a doubt, the best way to see Chaplin get his start is to get your hands on the Chaplin at Keystone box set. Chaplin's Keystone era is not as famous as his time at Mutual or his independent career at United Artists but this set argues for a second look.

Some stars gradually learn their craft, building skill and charisma before hitting the big time. Some, on the other hand, catch our eye from the very beginning. That's how it is with Chaplin. His two earliest film appearances have survived and they show a young performer clearly going places.

First, we have Chaplin's 'real' debut in Making a Living and then his Tramp debut in Kid Auto Races at Venice. Making a Living is a generic short written and directed by Harry Lehrman, whose taste was coarse even by the rough standards of Keystone. (Please don't take this as an insult to Keystone. Their anarchy must have been quite refreshing for contemporary audiences.) Chaplin plays a ne'er-do-well who spends the entire short engaging in some nasty behavior. Just about any comedian could have played the one-size-fits-all role, but Chaplin distinguishes himself with his graceful movements and exquisite control over his body. It's not a masterpiece, it's not even very good, but it's abundantly clear that Chaplin's potential saves the short.

Kid Auto Races at Venice is the film most often shown to celebrate Chaplin's centenary. It's easy to see why. The Tramp emerges almost fully formed and spends the length of the short trying to make sure that the camera focuses on him. It's an intriguing debut and a visual representation of Chaplin trying to get a toehold in the motion pictures.

Chaplin, DeMille and Hart would each change the history of motion pictures in their own way. Why not take some time to appreciate the fine work of the class of 1914?

Fritzi Kramer is the chief cook and bottle washer at Movies Silently, where she opines on all things related to silent film. She lives in central California, which is the part without the palm trees.