A Top Ten List (Of Sorts)

I've been cleaning up my blog's appearance lately, including trimming the gargantuan list of "labels"—you know what "labels" are in the blogging context, right? that list of names and subjects at the end of a post that with a click of the mouse will connect you with every other post I've written on that subject.

When the number of labels reached 500, I thought, this is ridiculous, especially since there are better ways to search this blog for past posts—either the "search this blog" gadget at the top of the right hand column; or you can scroll down just beneath that, and click on the "here" link under "What are the Katie-Bar-The-Door Awards" or the "Silent Oscars" link under the heading, wait for it, The Silent Oscars, after which you can click on any highlighted link and go to the post about that person or movie.

You can still click a "label" at the end of a post to see what else I've written on a subject, but the list of labels on the right hand side of the page will no longer be six feet long. So long and God speed, boys.

But because I am a compulsive fussbudget, and because my essay about Buster Keaton is nowhere near ready, I thought before this information disappears forever, I would share with you photos of the ten movie personalities I have mentioned the most since I began writing this blog. (Included is a link to my favorite post about that person.)

Starting with number ten:

10. Louise Brooks

9. Cary Grant

8. Anita Page

7. D.W. Griffith (with the Gish sisters)

6. Joan Crawford

5. Greta Garbo

4. Douglas Fairbanks (with Mary Pickford)

3. Buster Keaton

2. The Marx Brothers

1. Charles Chaplin

The only real surprise on the list is Joan Crawford since I haven't actually written about her before. But she made movies with everybody and was willing to say something nasty about all of them so she makes for a great quote to spice up somebody else's entry. Fret not, though—I'll be writing about her at length when I finally get to Mildred Pierce, sometime around the turn of the next century.

Since I'm working my way through the silent era, there's bound to be a lot more Chaplin, Keaton and Douglas Fairbanks on the horizon. But eventually I'll return to the sound era and, assuming I live long enough, Cary Grant will surge to the top of the list. Something to look forward to.