Bloggers, reviewers and other online writers about movies were on a roll in February, giving us a collection of first-rate pieces that were heavy on film history and high in reader interest.

TCM “morlock” David Kalat began an absorbing and entertaining serialized think piece on silent film comedy that avoided a lot of the usual suspects – part one here, offering a sharp take on the roots of classic silent slapstick gags, part two here, with a well-written rumination on the flaws in the way we look back on those classic films, and part three here, with an appreciative eye for the accomplishments of Charlie Chaplin’s unjustly forgotten brother Syd.


Starting in January, the “Myfilmviews” blog kicked off an ongoing feature detailing the history of Hollywood studio logos. The February Warner Brothers entry included a handy set of links to the entire series, each of which is well worth a look.


New York Post writer Lou Lumenick recapped the long deterioration and triumphal restoration of Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front in his review of that classic film’s new Blu-Ray release.


In a guest post on the always-interesting “Edward Copeland on Film” blog, Ivan G. Shreve celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Anthony Mann-James Stewart “adult Western” Bend of the River.


Bilge Ebiri discussed the take-no-prisoners world view of director Hideo Gosha, as exemplified in his impressive debut film Three Outlaw Samurai, via the “Criterion Collection” site.


Uni-monickered “Mark” of the “Where Danger Lives” blog offered one of the month’s most effective pieces with a beautifully written appreciation of Hollywood tough guy Alan Ladd.

Cinch up your chaps and high-tail it over to these entertaining links.
