I thought I'd share some of my favorite portraits of Colleen Moore from the 1920s. She had such a distinctive screen presence, and these photographs really capture the charm and elegance that made her one of the biggest stars of the silent era. Which one is your favorite?
Unlike many stars of the silent era, she successfully transitioned into a life outside Hollywood, remained financially secure, and lived long enough to witness a renewed appreciation for silent cinema. These photos offer a fascinating glimpse of Moore from the 1940s through the 1980s, we can see she aged quite gracefully and remained recognizable from her silent-film days.
Some photos of Colleen Moore with her family (parents, grandmother, and brother). She’s usually seen in glamorous studio shots, so these more personal family images are really interesting.
Lilac Time (1928) was one of the most heavily promoted films of Colleen Moore's career. At a time when Moore was among Hollywood's biggest stars, First National Pictures treated the film as a prestige production, backing it with a nationwide advertising campaign, extensive newspaper coverage, elaborate theater displays, and special promotional materials for exhibitors.
Adapted from a popular operetta and featuring lavish production values, the film was marketed as a major event rather than just another romantic drama. Trade publications of the era frequently highlighted the scale of the campaign, which encouraged theaters to create themed displays and special presentations.
Although Lilac Time was a significant release in 1928 and a showcase for Moore's star power, it has largely faded from popular memory. Looking back, the film serves as a fascinating example of how aggressively Hollywood studios promoted their biggest productions long before the modern blockbuster era.
It's interesting to see that some lobby cards contain scenes that were never shown in the finished movie, such as those from "Ella Cinders" or "Why be good?".
I thought it might be interesting to share some of these and perhaps build a more comprehensive record of her magazine appearances. Colleen was one of the biggest stars of the silent era, yet information about her presence in period magazines seems scattered across many different publications.
I just noticed a difference between the Nintendo Switch Online version of Star Fox and the original SNES release. In Star Fox, during the Continue screen, you can play around with the Arwing by rotating it, spinning it, zooming in and out, and triggering various effects.
I always liked this screen because I used to spend time messing around with the Arwing when I was younger. So when I reached the Continue screen in the Switch Online version, I naturally tried to do what I used to do on the SNES. However, something felt different, so I went back and replayed the original cartridge to compare the two versions.
The first photo shows the Nintendo Switch Online version, while the second was taken on original SNES hardware. In the Switch version, the Arwing can't rotate nearly as fast, and the zoom effect appears to be much more limited, not allowing it to zoom in as much as shown in the second photo. On the SNES, you can spin the Arwing very quickly, and the zoom effect is much more noticeable.
I haven't been able to find any information about this change online. However, I know that Nintendo has modified some classic games on Switch Online to reduce the risk of seizures for photosensitive players. I'm wondering if they considered this particular Arwing effect to be a potential issue and decided to tone it down.
Some early photos from before she started wearing the bob hairstyle.
Leslie Swan was the voice of Peach in Super Mario 64 and was also an editor for Nintendo Power magazine. If you've searched for pictures of her online, it always seems to be the same photo that appears. So here’s another one from back in the day, in case you wanted to see a different picture of her.
I’ve always loved the artwork on silent-era movie posters, and Colleen Moore had some especially beautiful ones. The colors, typography, and flapper-era style make these feel like little pieces of 1920s history. It’s amazing how posters from nearly 100 years ago can still look this stylish. The silent film era really had its own visual magic.
A small collection of lesser-seen photos from different stages of her career. Thought these were worth sharing.
In the 1920s, silent film star Colleen Moore became the ultimate physical symbol of the "flapper", a style that demanded a slender, boyish figure.