Monday, April 30, 2012

A Clever Dummy - 1917


Country: United States
Directors: Herman C. Raymaker, Ferris Hartman, and Robert P. Kerr (collaborating director) (as Robert Kerr)
Writer: Mack Sennett (uncredited)
Stars: Ben Turpin, Chester Conklin and Wallace Beery
Release Date: 28 June 1917 (USA)
Production Co: Keystone Film Company
Runtime: around 23 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Short | Comedy
Ben Turpin playing a postman who everyday goes to a block of apartments to look at his love.Soon he finds out that some mechanics a making a robot dummy that looks exactly like him.He soon takes over and at the dummy's debut at the theatre he dresses himself and hides the dummy.

The Grim Game - 1919


Country: United States
Language: English
Director: Irvin Willat
Writers: Arthur B. Reeve (story), John Grey (story), Walter Woods (scenario), Irvin Willat (writer)
Stars: Harry Houdini, Thomas Jefferson and Ann Forrest
Release Date: 12 October 1919 (USA)
Budget: $200,000 (estimated)
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Adventure | Drama
Jailed unjustly for a murder he did not commit, a young man uses his amazing powers of escape to free himself and pursue the actual killers, who hold his fiancée captive.
A five minute excerpt from this film is all that survives, in the George Eastman collection, which is included as an extra on the disc with Haldane of the Secret Service in the recent Kino DVD collection of his films.
There are explanatory titles on it that suggest the clip would be exhibited by itself without the rest of the film. Houdini goes up in an airplane and does a mid-air transfer to the other airplane, after which the two crash. Houdini and the female passenger survive. The closeups of Houdini on the airplane appear to have been done on the ground, and the crash landing must have been staged somehow, or else how would they have happened to have had the camera in the right place? Likewise, one can't imagine they would have put their star and leading lady in danger. It's a nice little clip and certainly more exciting than any single moment from the tedious Haldane film.
Trivia
The mid-air collision was accidental; the story was revised to incorporate it.
The person jumping from one plane to the other is not Harry Houdini, it was a stuntman named Robert Kennedy (other sources say it was actor/stuntman Monte Blue). When news of the mid-air collision of the planes made headlines, Houdini cheerfully offered a reward to anyone who could prove that it was not him doing the stunts. Of course, he failed to mention that it really wasn't him performing the feat.

Sex - 1920


Country: United States
Director: Fred Niblo
Writer: C. Gardner Sullivan
Stars: Louise Glaum, Irving Cummings and Peggy Pearce
Release date: 29 March 1920 (Paterson, New Jersey)
Also known as: Expiation (USA - alternative title), Rakkauden ikuinen taistelu (Finland)
Production Co: J. Parker Read Jr. Productions
Runtime: 87 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Drama
A broadway actress uses her sex appeal to ruin a marriage only to dump her lover for a richer prospect. 
Shortly after its premiere, in New Jersey, this film was shown in Pennsylvania, where the State Board of Censors changed the title for screenings around that state to SEX CRUSHED TO EARTH, which is comprehensible for the time, but the work is after being a morality play, with the lead character, Adrienne Renault(Louise Glaum) realizing what the wages of her superficial existence are to be. Adrienne, star of the Frivolity Theatre in New York, enjoys stealing husbands with her major acquisition being Phillip Overman (William Conklin) whose wife she scorns when Mrs. Overman begs for his return; a chorine, Daisy (Peggy Pearce) is impressed by Adrienne's victorious self-absorption, and when the latter disposes of Overman in favor of a millionaire, Dick Wallace (Irving Cummings), the two performers find themselves in competition for him, which buckles the flooring of Adrienne's harsh philosophy. Although baldly a melodrama, SEX has many good moments and effective scenes, is well directed by Fred Niblo, and is a proper showcase for Glaum, who at the time of filming outdistances Theda Bara in the sweepstakes for America's favorite vamp; the titles offer witty art design, editing is smoothly done and Cummings, as a wealthy man about town, gives an outstanding, nuanced performance as the axle of the story.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Dornier Superwal Flying Boat - 1926


Country: Germany
Silent footage of Dornier Superwal flight testing in 1926

Mysterious Cafe - 1901


Country: United States
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Genres: Short | Fantasy
As the above title indicates, the scene does not take place in an ordinary restaurant, but one in which all natural rules of order and gravitation are reversed. The couple above mentioned have a most trying experience while endeavoring to partake of a square meal. They find themselves flying about the room from chairs to table, and vice versa, until they are both completely bewildered, ending in a general mix-up, which is sure to provoke much merriment. Written by Edison Catalog
This is a trick film, directed by Edwin Porter for the Edison Company. It follows the pioneering work of French filmmaker Georges Méliès, who developed special camera effects to achieve magical results. These effects included stop motion, dissolves, and multiple exposures. The novelty of motion pictures in the early days made these effects extraordinarily entertaining   

Monday, April 23, 2012

Mr. Flip - 1909


Country: United States
Director: Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson
Stars: Ben Turpin
Release Date: 12 May 1909 (USA)
Filming locations: Chicago, Illinois, USA; Essanay Studios - 1333-45 W. Argyle Street, Uptown, Chicago, Illinois, USA (studio)
Production Co: Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, The
Runtime: USA: 4 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Character Name In Title
Genres: Comedy | Short
Mr. Flip enters a store, where his unwanted attentions offend the woman at the counter. He is ushered out of the store, and then goes to see a manicurist, whom he again annoys with his flirtations. This time, he is punished by her co-worker. But he still has not learned his lesson, as he proceeds to demonstrate further.
Trivia
Released as a split reel along with the comedy The Bachelor's Wife.
This is the earliest film known to use the classic pie-in-the-face gag. 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Confederate Veterans Convention - 1914


Country: United States
Film was produced with titles and shows meeting of 40,000 Confederate war veterans in Jacksonville. This clip shows the veterans dancing to fiddle music and posing for the camera.
To see full-length versions of this and other videos from the State Archives of Florida, visit http://www.floridamemory.com/video/.
Repository: State Library and Archives of Florida, 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250 USA. Contact: 850.245.6700. Archives@dos.state.fl.us
Persistent URL: http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/232382

Circular Panorama of Electric Tower - 1901


Country: United States
Language: English
Director: Edwin S. Porter
Release Date: August 1901 (USA)
Filming Locations: Buffalo, New York, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Runtime: 1 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: World's Fair
Genres: Documentary | Short
A most interesting picture at the Pan-American Exposition. The picture was taken from the north side of the Electric Tower. It presents the most perfect and diversified views of the Transportation Building, Mexican Plaza, the Stadium and the north side of the Electric Tower. Written by Edison Catalog.  
This interesting and effective look at some of the sights from the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 is almost like a chance to travel back in time. The idea of panning the camera around to show footage of the exposition was creative at the time, and the photography has held up well.
It's a simple film, of course, but it effectively shows the variety of styles and structures at the exhibition, while also showing just enough of the crowd to preserve the feel of the time. "Circular Panorama of Electric Tower", along with the companion piece "Panorama of Esplanade By Night" and other Edison films of the exposition, provide an interesting view of this long-ago event.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Swimming Pool, Palm Beach - 1903


Country: United States
February 05th, 1903
Production company: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.

Fording the Lincoln Highway - 1924


Country: United States
Footage of the ten millionth Ford traveling along the Lincoln Highway across the United States. Crowds, parades, celebrations and motorcades greeted them in locations along the route. Text regarding journey: "The ten millionth. New York to San Francisco"--"Meeting the mayor of Jersey City on the way to Kearny plant"-- "Governor Silzer extends a hearty welcome at Trenton, N.J."--"Mayor Donnelly of Trenton"--"If William Penn and his Quaker colony culd only see the 10 millionth Ford in Philadelphia"--"Big parades greet the 10 millionth at every turn. Fifty cars parade through Philadelphia"--"Just a short visit at Gettysburg, where history was made"--"Eddie Plank, onetime famous baseball pitcher, said 'this is the 10 millionth hit for Ford'"--"In the Blue Ridge Mountains"--"The old covered bridge"--"The summit of the Allegheny Mountains on the Lincoln Highway"--"Maybe Magee greets us at the City Hall Pittsburg"--"Ohio heralds our arrival with a boy band"--"Where Nebraska, Wyoming, the Lincoln Highway and the 10 millionth meet"--"Pine Bluff, Wyoming"--"The 13th Calvary band played 'Cheyenne' and we know where we were"--"The late Governor W.B. Ross acted as though he would like to see all the rest of the ten million Fords come to Wyoming......but not at the same time"-- "A cool reception awaited us near Laramie"--"Westward again"--"When yesterday and today meet in a picturesque setting of the West".

Parade of Floats, St. Louis Exposition - 1904


Country: United States
Production company: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.
One of the parades of floating craft held in the waterways of the St. Louis Exposition is shown in this film. The cameraman placed equipment on shore at a distance to include each of the competing craft. Photographed were twelve small craft, some motot-powered and some rowed, but all decorated with foliage and bunting and containing foreign representatives and dignitaries.

Auto Boat Race on the Hudson - 1904


Country: United States
Language: English
Release Date: June 1904 (USA)
Also Known As: Auto Boat Race on the Hudson River
Filming Locations: Hudson River, New York, USA
Production Co: American Mutoscope & Biograph
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Boat | Boat Racing
Genres: Documentary | Short
With a few buildings and a canopied grandstand visible on the far shore, we watch motorized boats pass us on the Hudson, then pass a rowboat with a large U.S. flag and three judges. Some of the racing boats have three passengers, some have one or two. A few spectators watch from small boats near the judges. Up river, we see a large sailboat at anchor. If these are races, they appear to be against the clock rather than head to head. This is not a one-take reel, but contains splices.  

Princeton and Yale Football Game - 1903


Country: United States
Release Date: November 1903 (USA)
Filming Locations: New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Documentary | Short
First is shown a fine panoramic view of the grandstand at the Yale field, showing the enormous gathering of football enthusiasts who have come from far and near to witness the giants struggle for the collegiate championship. The Tigers are next seen entering the field on a run, closely followed by the Yale men. The principal plays of the game are next seen. Some of the good work of Captain DeWitt, of Princeton, and Hogan, of Yale, is also shown. The finest football picture ever secured in animated photography. Written by Edison Catalog      

Oakland Airport KOAK - 1928


Country: United States
Appears to be a (pre-merger) Western Air Express Fokker F.10 and some Boeing 40A Mailplanes

Miami: The Magic City - 1926


Country: United States
Gorgeous shots of Miami; the damage shown was from the September '26 hurricane.

New York Police Parade - 1899


Country: United States
Stars: William S. Devery
Release Date: June 1899 (USA)
Filming Locations: New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Documentary
"An excellent view of 'The Finest,' on their annual parade and inspection, June 1, 1899. The head of the column is just turning into 14th street from Broadway, the Morton House forming part of the background. Crowds line both sides of the cable car tracks, falling back as the band heading the first division swings around Dead Man's Curve, and passes the camera. Chief Devery makes a fine showing; as also do his men, with their white gloves and helmets, shining buttons and spick and span appearance in general." Written by Edison Catalog    

The Famous 1930s Skyscraper Daredevil - Dangerous New York Stuntsman 'Ben Dova'


Country: United Kingdom
Famous 1930s Skyscraper Daredevil - Dangerous New York Stuntsman 'Ben Dova'.
Taken from the British Pathe newsreel "There's One Born Every Minute".

Departure of Robert Peary and the Roosevelt from New York - 1905


Country: United States
The camera pans to show the schooner "Roosevelt" docked at a covered pier on the Hudson River on Manhattan's west side. Then, from a camera position on board, men in straw hats and fashionably dressed ladies are seen boarding the ship. Next, the famous polar explorer Robert Peary appears on the gangway in a dark jacket, mustache and straw hat [Frame: 4552]. He tips his hat, consults his watch, then, just before the film ends, motions to order the departure. On this expedition he achieved the "farthest north" record, but failed to reach the North Pole. Completed only four months prior to this film, the "Roosevelt" was specially designed to withstand Arctic ice. She was 184 feet long, 35 and a half feet wide, with a hull over two and a half feet thick. Fully loaded the ship weighed 1,500 tons while drawing only 16.2 feet. In addition to sail power, the ship was driven by a 1000 horsepower steam engine, which could produce short bursts of even greater power to get the ship through thick ice. The "Roosevelt" served Peary on this expedition as well as the following one in 1908-1909. Sold numerous times to a variety of commercial concerns, the "Roosevelt" was abandoned to the elements on a mud flat in Cristobal, Panama in 1937, where she eventually rotted away.
Filmed on July 16, 1905 at a dock on the Hudson River in New York.
(American Mutoscope & Biograph Co./Library of Congress/Tehrkot Media)

First Aerial Film of New York City - 1912


Country: United States
Frank Coffyn's Hydro-Aeroplane Flights
Vitagraph Film Co. / 16 February-March 20, 1912
Producer: J. Stuart Blackton
Frank Trenholm Coffyn (October 24, 1878 -- December 10, 1960) was a member of the Wright Brothers Exhibition Team and a pioneer aviator. This film was part of his first independent work after going out on his own. This is the first hydro-aeroplane with pontoons to successfully use New York waters for take off and return. Coffyn is also the first pilot to take a press photographer along, Adrian C. Duff of the American Press Association, who took the first aerial photos of the city.*
The New York Herald, 1912
FRANK T. COFFYN WATER FLYING UNDER NEW YORK BRIDGES
Frank T. Coffyn flying his hydro-aeroplane, took his craft off from the Battery yesterday afternoon for a sixteen minute flight that covered a course toward the Jersey shore, half a mile up the Hudson River, then back and across the Navy Yard and over the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges at a height of 1,500 feet, then back beneath each bridge and home to the landing raft. Thousands of spectators stood at the Battery for hours to see the new machine. The wind was so strong that he was almost blown out of his seat. At the Brooklyn Bridge, he was only fifteen feet below the roadway and was caught in the warm blast of a tug's smokestack.
The aeroplane was able to land and take off from the ice floes because of two hickory runners which protected the aluminum floats. These were built and designed by Coffyn and Russell A. Alger, governor of the Aero Club of America.
New York Times, Feb. 17, 1912, 'Coffyn Finds Hole In Air Over Bay': http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00612F63C5813738DDDAE0994DA40...
Metropolitan Magazine, May 1912 (excerpt)
WATER-FLYING / A NEW SPORT by Henry Woodhouse
A Convincing Demonstration
THIS last was a convincing demonstration. It convinced the man in the street, as nothing ever before had, that the day when he can take to the air without first making his will is drawing nearer. To the hundreds of New Yorkers, who deserted their offices to crowd to the water-front to watch Coffyn, it was a matter of wonder that this craft did not seem to have any limitations. Again and again hundreds would hold their breath watching the winged thing skim the water heading straight for the ice, expecting to see a smash. But they were pleasingly disappointed; for each time the machine slid on the ice, speeding on its runner swift and light, and ere long it was in the air, circling like a strange, big bird. Then the spectators looked at one another and the comments ran something like this: Did you ever! . . . Can you beat that! . . . and some remarked that they had seen Wilbur Wright fly over that same spot during the Hudson-Fulton celebration, or Curtiss at the finish of the Albany-New York flight, or Atwood or Ovington in their over-the-city flights, but had never felt over impressed. But this was different, they could see it at close range, it did what they would have liked to do, and seemed as easy as anything.
Helicopter Magazine / May 1946 -- Pg. 34 (excerpt)
'CONTRAPTIONS AND 'COPTERS' by Frank Coffyn
Toward the end of my two year contract with the Company, I was loaned to Russell Alger, of Detroit, to teach him and his brother Fred, to fly. Their homes were located on the edge of Lake St. Clair, so it was decided to attach pontoons under each of the two skids of the Model B Wright plane. John W. Hacker, a well known motor boat builder, was requisitioned to construct them. They were of mahogany, covered with varnished cloth, and on September 30, 1911, I made my first flight with them, but they were too lightly constructed and did not survive the test. Hacker then built aluminum pontoons, with a wood ash frame work, and these were the first of their kind ever constructed for a plane.
My contract with the Wright Company having expired, I shipped the plane, equipped with the aluminum pontoons, to New York with high aspirations of setting myself up in my own business. So I finally approached J. Stuart Blackstone [sic], president of the Vitagraph Company of America, in the prospects of obtaining good aerial moving pictures for his motion picture company. After a lengthy discussion I persuaded him to let me try this, and armed with a sizable contract in my pocket plus a newspaper photographer who had never been in a plane, I took off my seaplane to take moving pictures of New York City and the Bay on one of the coldest days in February 1912. Through John McKenzie, who was later in charge of Laguardia Airport, I was granted permission by the Dock Department to use Pier A at the Battery, making it the first seaplane base operated by the City of New York.
*Three of Adrian Duff's aerial shots of New York can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=354108031283841&set=a.35410766461...

New York City Street Scene Easter - 1900


Country: United States
Horse drawn carriages along street. Various views of fashionably dressed men and women walking along. Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Chicago-Michigan Football Game - 1903

Part 1


Part 2

Country: United States
Language: English
Release Date: 1903 (USA)
Production Co: Thomas A. Edison
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: American Football
Genres: Short | Sport

Chicago Cardinals and Bears Football - 1929


Country: United States
16mm B&W home movies of various Cardinals and Bears games in 1929. Includes the Green Bay Lumberjack Band (although the film is silent). Games played in Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field (old configuration).

Portage Silent Film-Comedy, Chicago, Illinois - 1915


Country: United States
Part of the Silent Film at Portage Theater, Chicago IL. Film was shot in 1915, and the subject is Turkey (Turkiye, at that time it was called Ottoman Impror -or Osmanli Imparatorlugu), the Sultan and the Harem.

Silent footage of 1920s Los Angeles with focus on automobiles and motion picture industry


Country: United States
Overview of 1920s Los Angeles from air and ground: automobile traffic with nineteen tens and twenties models,; film industry in action showing hand-cranked cameras, set lighting and musicians, actors being directed, and the set in general.
http://www.myfootage.com/details.php?gid=58&sgid=&pid=18127

Los Angeles - 1917


Country: United States
Ford Educational Library
Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 92280 / Local Identifier FC-FC-2434 - LOS ANGELES, ca. 1917 - Ford Motor Company.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

One Wet Night - 1924


Country: United States
Language: English
Director: William Watson
Writer: William Watson (story)
Stars: Alice Howell, Neely Edwards and Bert Roach
Release Date: 14 April 1924 (USA)
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Runtime: USA: 11 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Number In Title
Genres: Comedy | Short
It's raining heavily, but at first the young husband and wife are not concerned about it. But the husband gets soaked on the way home from work, and then finds that the butler has left all of his suits hanging outside in the rain. Next, when some friends come to visit, they find that their troubles with water are just beginning.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Moonland - 1926


Country: United States
Director: William A. O'Connor
Writer: Neil McGuire (conceived by)
Stars: Mickey McBan
Plot Keywords: Man In The Moon | Moon | Dream
Genres: Short

The Soilers - 1923


Country: United States
Language: English (intertitles)
Director: Ralph Ceder
Writers: Hal Conklin, H.M. Walker (titles)
Stars: Stan Laurel, Ena Gregory and Mae Laurel
Release Date: 25 November 1923 (USA)
Also known as: De viespeuken (Netherlands)
Production Co: Hal Roach Studios
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Claim | Sheriff | Alaska | Gold | Gay Cowboy | Fistfight | Claim Jumper | Corruption
Genres: Comedy | Short
Bob Canister has struck it rich in Alaska, but another man learns of it, and steals Bob's claim with the help of a mercenary sheriff. Canister's men are ready to fight, but Bob backs down rather than resort to violence in front of his girlfriend. Later, though, he goes to the other man's home and confronts him, ready to fight for his claim.
Before Stan Laurel became the smaller half of the all-time greatest comedy team, he laboured under contract to Broncho Billy Anderson in a series of cheapies, many of which were parodies of major Hollywood features. Most of Laurel's 'parody' films are only mildly funny, and even less funny for modern audiences who haven't seen the original movie which Laurel is parodying. 'The Soilers' remains slightly funny for modern audiences, but was probably funnier in 1923 for audiences who recognised the source material.
'The Spoilers' was originally a best-selling novel by Rex Beach: a tale of two-fisted prospectors in the Klondike gold rush of 1898, culminating in a knock-down drag-out brawl. The story was so popular, it was filmed at least five times (one version starring John Wayne). This 1923 slapstick comedy parodies a film version of 'The Spoilers' released three months earlier ... which was at least the second movie version of Beach's much-filmed novel.
In 'The Spoilers', hero Glennister squares off against villain McNamara. Here, they're parodied as "Canister" and "Smacknamara". Sadly, most of 'The Soilers' remains on that Mad-magazine level of wit. Since 'The Soilers' is a two-reeler, it can't possibly parody the entire plot of Beach's novel, so it inevitably emphasises the climactic barroom brawl.
There are a couple of decent gags here. The sheriff is trustworthy, because -- as a title card assures us -- 'Once he had been bought, he stayed bought.' So that's all right, then.
In recent years, 'The Soilers' has attracted some scholarly attention for the presence of an unnamed character portrayed by George Rowe. Among all these rootin' tootin' manly macho males, Rowe depicts an effeminate simpering cowboy who is clearly meant to be what folks used to call a 'nance'. During the climactic fight scene, while Stan Laurel and James Finlayson are tearing each other apart, Rowe sashays into the room in skin-tight dungarees and rearranges the furniture. Hilarious! Later, he addresses Stan as 'my hero' and tosses him a bouquet in the form of dropping a flowerpot from the balcony above. The pot lands on Stan's head, though the action is cleverly staged so that we can't tell if the lonesome cowboy did it intentionally or not.
Continuity
The last name of Stan Laurel's character is spelled "Canister" in some scenes, "Cannister" in others.
Connections
Featured in The Celluloid Closet (1995) - archive footage
Spoofs The Spoilers (1923)

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Making of a Newspaper - 1924


Country: United States
Silent short documentary about newspapers and how they are made. Rather intriguing considering newspapers are quickly becoming a thing of the past.
This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives
License: Public Domain Allocation

How Money Is Made - 1920


Country: Canada
The making of coins at Canada's Royal Mint, 1920.
This fascinating vintage silent film from 1920 traces the journey of gold and silver bars, through oil-burning furnaces and heavy rollers and friction-drive presses, to finished coins in the Royal Mint of Canada, “where the metal becomes converted into ‘coin of the realm.’” Bonus points for the endearing attempts at comic relief in the title cards.

Wheels of Progress - 1927


Country: United States
Vintage Automobile Film
U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, Department of Agriculture, Educational Film Service Reviews the history of transportation in the U.S. and promotes the economic and social benefits of more and better public roads..

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Light in the Dark - 1922


Country: United States
Director: Clarence Brown
Writers: Clarence Brown, William Dudley Pelley
Stars: Hope Hampton, E.K. Lincoln and Lon Chaney
Release Date: 3 September 1922 (USA)
Also known as: The Light of Faith (undefined)
Filming Locations: New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Hope Hampton Productions, Vitagraph Company of América
Runtime: 33 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Holy Grail | Small Town | Partially Lost Film | Criminal
Genres: Short | Crime | Drama | Romance
A young girl is struck and seriously injured by a wealthy society matron's car. The woman brings the girl back to her house. Later, a hardened thief is told by the girl of a goblet, that could be the Holy Grail, which has healing powers and could help her. The thief, touched by her predicament, sets out to steal the goblet and bring it to her.
Trivia
This film was presumed lost until September 2003 when a near-complete print was discovered among a cache of 35mm nitrate film prints being stored in the garage of a former theater projectionist.
A 70-minute reconstruction was produced by the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House.

Butter Fingers - 1925


Country: United States
Language: English (intertitles)
Director: Del Lord
Writers: Jefferson Moffitt (scenario), Felix Adler (titles), Al Giebler (titles)
Stars: Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde and Ruth Taylor
Release Date: 30 August 1925 (USA)
Production Co: Mack Sennett Comedies
Runtime: 16 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Short | Comedy
This short film was part of a DVD set called "Reel Baseball" and it consists of many silent baseball films. This review is based on Disc 2--a rather enjoyable collection of surprisingly good films with excellent musical scores from Kino.
The plot involves Billy being the star pitcher for the Bees and with his amazing pitching, there is no way the evil New York team can win. This New York team is not identified as the Giants, but the uniforms appear identical. The coach of New York realizes the only way to win is to cheat and he uses his evil wife to try to trap Billy into throwing the game.
Connections
Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997) 

Friday, April 13, 2012

Love's Prisoner - 1919


Country: United States
Language: English
Director: John Francis Dillon
Writers: E. Magnus Ingleton (screenplay), E. Magnus Ingleton (story)
Stars: Olive Thomas, Joe King and William V. Mong
Release Date: 8 June 1919 (USA)
Production Co: Triangle Film Corporation
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Crime | Drama
A young lady, who "hates the law" rises from the tenements to society. Financial reverses lead her to commit a series of burglaries as "The Bird". She becomes involved with the detective investigating the burglaries. After she confesses and pays for her crimes, they marry. 

Manhandled - 1924


Country: United States
Director: Allan Dwan
Writers: Julian Johnson (titles), Arthur Stringer (story), Sidney R. Kent (story), Frank Tuttle (screenplay - as Frank W. Tuttle)
Stars: Gloria Swanson, Tom Moore and Lilyan Tashman
Release Date: 22 July 1924 (USA)
Also known as: Escravizada (Portugal), Juguete del placer (Spain), Tricheuse (France)
Filming Locations: Paramount Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Plot Keywords: Society | Beautiful Woman
Genres: Drama | Comedy
When her boyfriend, Jimmy, forgets a date, Tessie McGuire, a department store clerk, attends a party at the studio of Robert Brandt where she makes a hit with impersonations...
This rarely shown film is a delightful surprise, still fresh and amusing after 80 years. MANHANDLED is a saucy little comedy which concerns the struggles of an ambitious working girl in New York. The biggest surprise is the identity of the leading lady: it isn't Colleen Moore or Clara Bow, who made careers out of doing this sort of thing, but Gloria Swanson, who in 1924 was best known for playing patrician beauties in high-class soap operas. Gloria is surprisingly believable here in the unlikely role of Tessie McGuire, a lowly clerk in a department store, who commutes on the subway, lives in an apartment the size of a tool-shed, and struggles to make ends meet. What's more, Swanson is genuinely funny! I've seen a few of the two-reel comedies she made for Mack Sennett early in her career, but in those shorts she was usually relegated to playing straight woman (or Damsel in Distress) while the male clowns were entrusted with the gags. In MANHANDLED, however, Swanson is the star comedian, and her comic abilities are given free reign in scene after scene. I was fortunate enough to see this movie at Film Forum in NYC, where it was greeted with waves of laughter throughout; a passerby outside might've assumed we were watching Harold Lloyd.
The story is introduced with a wordy but intriguing title card: "The world lets a girl think that its pleasures and luxuries may be hers without cost—that's chivalry. But if she claims them on this basis, it sends her a bill in full, with no discount—that's reality." Based on that intro alone a viewer might expect the sort of light comedy of manners Swanson had been making for director Cecil B. DeMille a few years earlier (the moralistic prose certainly smacks of DeMille) but the opening scenes make it clear that we're in for something earthier and more fun. Tessie McGuire is a gum-chewing gal who wears a silly hat adorned with fake fruit—the kind of hat Gloria Swanson, legendary clothes-horse, wouldn't have been caught dead wearing in reality, but somehow she doesn't come off as patronizing in this role. Within a few moments we adjust and accept her as a hard-working clerk from Thorndyke's department store, weary and footsore after a long day's shift on the job. Leaving the store our bleary-eyed heroine heads for the subway, and the sequence which follows is a classic: the petite Tessie is shoved every which way as she crams herself into the train, squeezes uncomfortably between two large men, and even gets hoisted into the air, accidentally, as she attempts to retrieve the contents of her dropped purse. Adding insult to injury, a gross-looking guy winks at her, and she can't even get out easily when the train reaches her station, as mobs of incoming commuters repeatedly force her back in. This sequence scored a particular hit at the recent Film Forum screening, earning big laughs from New Yorkers who still deal with this stuff every day!
The subway scene is deservedly famous, but the movie is just getting started. We learn that Tessie has a boyfriend named Jimmy (Tom Moore), a garage mechanic who is convinced that his car-related invention will make a fortune, enabling them to get married and live well. Tessie is supportive, but frustrated that Jim's heavy work schedule doesn't allow them much time together. When circumstances permit her to go to a swanky party with a girlfriend, she goes, and this is where things really take off. Tessie scores a hit with the swells, although it's clear (in another comic highlight) that she's baffled by the pretentious party chat flying back and forth. Guests include a number of wealthy and powerful people along with prominent artists and performers; among the latter is real-life Ziegfeld Follies star Ann Pennington, who dances with her stage partner Brooke Johns. Tessie— who has had a drink or two —performs her own version of the dance, loses her drawers, and takes a tumble, but somehow charms a handsome artist (Ian Keith) who engages her as a model and then dresses her in a wacky pseudo-Asian outfit that looks like a parody of Betty Blythe's Queen of Sheba. When the modeling gig doesn't work out, Tessie is engaged by the owner of a Park Avenue salon who hires her to pose as an exiled Russian countess and lend his establishment a touch of exotic class. Tessie's new employer is portrayed by Frank Morgan, already playing roués at age 34, and looking very much as he would throughout his entire career. (At the screening I attended I overheard a young woman exclaim: "Wow, the Wizard of Oz as an old lech!") Tessie's new job is certainly a step up from the department store, but her disguise is threatened when she is confronted by an actual Russian exile; her escape from exposure is ingenious and amusing.
As Tessie's strange career lurches along she comes into conflict with Jimmy, and unfortunately the story takes a brief sentimental turn towards the end, but I think it goes without saying that romantic comedies like this one always end happily once the misunderstandings are ironed out. MANHANDLED is not a plot-driven film, and a simple scene-by-scene description of what happens in it really doesn't do it justice. This movie is driven by Gloria Swanson's beautifully calibrated performance: it's her priceless facial expressions as she's chewed-out by her boss at the department store, her tipsy maneuvering at the party, her Pola Negri send-up when she masquerades as a Russian countess. She's terrific, and seeing this film makes me wish she'd appeared in more comedies, and that this one could be more readily accessible for modern viewers. Swanson could do a lot more than play crazy Norma Desmond, and this film is ample and highly enjoyable proof of that.
Connections
Featured in The Age of Ballyhoo (1973) shows scenes and gloria also talks about it.
Hollywood (1980). Hollywood: Swanson and Valentino (1980) - film clip shown.

The Clown and the Alchemist - 1900


Country: United States
Release Date: November 1900 (USA)
Filming Locations: Vitagraph Studios - 15th Street & Locust Avenue, Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Plot Keywords: Clown | Magic | Apparition | Magician
Genres: Comedy | Fantasy | Short
Although we are led to believe that the ancient alchemists were all powerful, this picture somewhat reverses the order of things. The clown plays some wonderful pranks on the old professor. He appears in numerous startling positions, using his club with great effect and always escaping punishment. At last the alchemist brings his magic power into use, and calling two hooded assistants, orders a large cauldron brought in. The climax, by which the clown finally disposes of the alchemist, is startling in the extreme.   

Hockey Match on the Ice - 1898


Country: United States
Director: William Heise
Release Date: February 1898 (USA)
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Short | Sport
"The skaters dart to and fro, swinging their hockeys and trying to hit the disc toward the goal."

Astor Battery on Parade - 1899


Country: United States
Release Date: January 1899 (USA)
Filming Locations: New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Plot Keywords: Spanish American War
Genres: Short
The Astor Battery became famous after the Spanish-American war and these young men are on display in this Edison short, which was shot on Saturday, January 21, 1899. We see a parade cross Broadway onto Union Square with the mounted police, the band and then the Astor Battery. The footage of this short is still in very good condition, which adds a lot considering how little footage is available of these men. Needless to say the real entertainment comes from seeing these real life men and as a history lesson this film is quite important. 

A Morning Alarm - 1896


Country: United States
Director: James H. White
Release Date: 27 November 1896 (USA)
Filming Locations: Newark, New Jersey, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Runtime: 1 min
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Documentary | Short
This shows the Fire Department leaving headquarters for an early morning fire. The scene is remarkable for its natural effect. The opening of the engine house doors, the prancing of the horses, and even the startled expression upon the faces of the spectators are all clearly depicted.
This Edison feature is of interest in that it films a popular subject of its time using a slightly different approach than most film-makers took with it. There are quite a few 1890s features like this that show fire-fighters at work, often as they hurried to the site of a fire, but most such movies used a viewpoint similar to the classic diagonal angle that the Lumières helped to popularize.
This one, instead, uses a different camera angle, trying to catch the vehicles as they come out of the station, then make a right-angle turn, and then come past the camera. It's a much harder task to pull off, and it actually doesn't work all that well here. You see much more of the anxious crowd than of the fire-fighting vehicles, and the vehicles actually move outside the camera field for part of the running time. The print as it survives is also pretty blurry, which doesn't help.
So this is most noteworthy as an example of an attempt to do something a little different, and even though as a movie it is not that good, it was certainly a worthwhile idea that remains worth seeing for that reason.
Another Edison feature, "Going to the Fire" was made the same day in the same city (Newark, New Jersey), and it works much better by using the more usual diagonal camera angle. The same is true of another Edison feature with a confusingly similar title, "The Morning Alarm", which was filmed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Harrisburg footage is distinctive and still looks pretty good. This one ("A" Morning Alarm) does not work as well, but it is distinctive in taking a different approach.
Connections
Featured in Edison: The Invention of the Movies (2005). The entire film is included on the DVD

Esquimaux Leap-Frog - 1901


Country: United States
Release Date: August 1901 (USA)
Filming Locations: Buffalo, New York, USA
Production Co: Edison Manufacturing Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Documentary | Short  

Thursday, April 12, 2012

The Fair Co-Ed - 1927


Country: United States
Language: English
Director: Sam Wood
Writers: George Ade (play), Joseph Farnham (titles), Byron Morgan
Stars: Marion Davies, Johnny Mack Brown and Jane Winton
Release Date: 23 October 1927 (USA)
Also known as: Die blonde Kollegin (Áustria), La gloria del colegio (Spain), Loira Caloira (Portugal)
Production companies: Cosmopolitan Productions (for) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Comedy
Plot Keywords: Based On Play
Another terrific comedy for Marion Davies. Interesting plot has Davies go off to college where she joins the basketball team to be near the coach, Johnny Mack Brown. She instantly makes a rival of Jane Winton, who's also interested in Brown. Davies (in a William Haines sort of role) refuses to play with Winton and after being chided quits the team rather than play with Winton.
The team begins to lose, to the delight of Davies, and as the "big game" approaches she hears the students razzing her at a pep rally. Davies swallows her pride and re-joins the team but the girls won't play with her. During the half-time Brown tries to gets the girls to make up. Davies admits she's been a cluck and all is forgiven.
Interesting role-reversal for 1927 with the women's basketball team seemingly the idol of the co-ed campus (no men's team is mentioned). Davies and Winton spar over the love interest (Brown). Davies does her usual great comedic work here but also has an incredibly physical role. That's really MARION DAVIES playing basketball: running, shooting baskets, reaching for toss-ups. 
Trivia
The original Broadway production of "The Fair Co-Ed" by George Ade opened at the Knickerbocker Theater on February 1, 1909 and ran for 136 performances.