Image: Film Daily, September 7, 1923
Ashes of Vengeance
The so-called "silent movies" weren't really silent – music was generally played when the films were shown in theaters. And music was often played during the filming. Mournful music might be played to help the actors produce tears, ragtime music was played during lively party scenes, or period music might be played for historical dramas.
For example, while Ashes of Vengeance, a film set in 16th-century France, was being filmed at a Montecito estate, "only music of the time of Charles IX or his predecessors" was played, according to American Cinematographer [Los Angeles, California], 1923