Shooting Stars

Set backstage at a movie studio in London, Shooting Stars (1928) is a savvy show business satire that takes a turn into romantic drama and crime thriller. Annette Benson and Brian Aherne star as Mae Feather and Julian Gordon, a married couple who play movie sweethearts on screen and are portrayed in the press the same way off screen. But the temperamental Mae is having an affair with Andy Wilkes (Donald Calthrop), a baggy-pantsed, bristle-mustached clown who has been offered a Hollywood contract. Mae wants to leave Julian and follow Andy but the scandal would ruin their careers so she plots a deadly scheme. The direction is credited to A.V. Bramble but Anthony Asquith made his debut here as the uncredited co-director and the strong images and dramatic storytelling style suggests that Asquith was the dominant filmmaking partner. In addition to the gripping drama and strong characters, the setting allows Asquith to reveal the machinery behind moviemaking as a complex process where every member of the crew has an integral job. Restored in 2016 by the BFI National Archive, this silent film features a lively score composed by John Altman, and includes a gallery of stills and documents from the BFI special collections. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)