New and Featured

Earlier this year, I presented the Royal Australian Historical Society's Day Lecture for February 2025 - Joy Howarth: Australia's Forgotten Film Star.  Thank you to everyone who attended.

On 10 July 2025, I presented another talk on Joy to the Lyceum Club of Sydney - a terrific afternoon with some wonderful people. Stay tuned for a new article about Joy that is due to appear in the upcoming Royal Australian Historical Society magazine, as well as some future speaking engagements.

About Camille Scaysbrook ... Also Known As 'Brooksie'!

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I am a third-generation film buff, an Australian who spent twelve years in America, and a film scholar of over twenty years' standing. I first began my serious study of film as an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney. Since then, I have amassed a large collection of silent and early sound film memorabilia. In the process of documenting and researching my collection, I started a blog, Brooksie's Silent Film Collection, to share my findings.
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Over time, the scope of the blog changed to a wider-ranging repository for my thoughts on early film. A new online home was in order and this is it, gathering together a number of my older essays, research projects and film reviews, and featuring new work on an ongoing basis.

Sections

Essays and Research

My main areas of interest include the silent and early sound eras, Australians in film at home and abroad, women in film, and the impact of government policy upon film production.

This section gathers essays on various different topics and several of my major research projects, including  the 1916 Film Diary, based on my great-grandmother's wartime diaries, and The Mystery of Those Terrible Twins, a survey of the known details of one of Australia's most mysterious silent films. 

​Festival Reviews

For many years, I have attended classic film festivals both in Australia and America, including Hollywood's Cinecon Classic Film Festival, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and the 90th Anniversary of 'The General' in Cottage Grove, Oregon. This section gathers my reviews of the events and the films shown.
Film Reviews

An ongoing blog of noteworthy films I have watched recently.

Regarding Rudolph Valentino

I have a special interest in the life and career of Rudolph Valentino, arguably the silent era's greatest idol, and one of the biggest celebrities the world has ever known. Enough of my articles that fall under other categories are about Valentino to justify a dedicated section!

Miscellaneous Musings

Various silent film related articles that appeared on my old blog, often in relation to particular events or anniversaries.

Please contact me for further information on any of my projects.
All original material copyright Camille Scaysbrook, 2009-2025. All non-original material is either in the public domain or used within accordance of the Fair Use Provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998)