[brspangler]

My wife pointed out is that one of the disposable lines in the article mentioned that until "talkies," movies were less of a "bread and circuses" pasttime - the illiterate don't get the full experience of a silent film.

Considering the storylines of many silent films, I'm rather amused to contemplate what that implies. Seriously, "Keystone Cops" is kind of like the "America's Got Talent" of its day - "Othello" it ain't.

[caf]

I'm skeptical of that claim - I don't think you needed to be literate to follow the story in a Buster Keaton film.