Silent Movie

While I am sad at the sale of the films and memorabilia of the Silent Movie Theatre (“Silent Classics of Ill-Fated Theater Sold at Auction,” May 24), at least they will be preserved, if not as an intact collection. I spent a number of enjoyable evenings at the Silent Movie. Alas, I wish I had gone more often.

Ironically enough, the last film that I saw there was Erich von Stroheim’s “Greed.” Apparently James Van Sickle, onetime projectionist at the theater and impatient heir of its murdered host, Laurence Austin, learned nothing from this classic film. The now-darkened Silent Movie Theatre, however, stands in mute testament to the result of one of the oldest of human vices.

MICHAEL KRUMME, Los Angeles