The Trail of the Octopus - 1919 (Chapter 1 - The Devils Trade-Mark)

Country: United States

Language: English

Director: Duke Worne

Writer: J. Grubb Alexander (story)

Stars: Ben F. Wilson, Neva Gerber and William Dyer

Release Date: 19 October 1919 (USA)

Production Co: Hallmark Pictures Corporation

Runtime: USA: 300 min (15 episodes)

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Plot Keywords: Animal In Title | Serial

Taglines: The Serial of a Thousand Thrills

Genres: Mystery | Thriller | Action

Carter Holmes, master criminologist, must help the oft-kidnapped Ruth Stanhope to find the 9 daggers that will unlock the secret of the cursed Devil's Trademark!

Trivia

Episode 9 has been lost.

The only known film print is a 35mm print in the Library Of Congress, which unfortunately is missing Chapter 9. The LOC has screened this at their Mary Pickford Theater in Washington, DC. They show it split over two nights - 140 minutes per night. The total running time would be 300 minutes if Chapter 9 were included.

The titles of the 15 chapters are: 1. The Devils Trade-Mark 2. Purple Dagger 3. Face to Face 4. The Hand of Wang 5. The Eye of Satan 6. Behind the Mask 7. The Dance of Death 8. Satans Soulmate 9. The Chained Soul 10. The Ape Man 11. The Red Death 12. The Poisoned Talon 13. The Phantom Mandarin 14. The House of Shadows 15. The Yellow Octopus

Continuity

It is first stated that the secret symbols are tattooed onto Prof. Stanhope's right arm, but after he is knocked-out for surgery, the symbols are on his left arm.  

Evas Töchter - 1928

Country: Czechoslovakia | Germany

Language: German

Director: Carl Lamac

Writers: Jan S. Kolár (story), Helmuth Orthmann (screenplay), Charlie Roellinghoff (titles) (as C.K. Roellinghoff)

Stars: Anny Ondra, Wolfgang Zilzer and Steffie Vida

Release Date: 4 April 1928 (Germany)

Also known as: Bitte, aber nur platonisch! (Áustria), Boneca de Viena (Portugal), Das Paradies von Heute (Germany - alternative title), Daughters of Eve (USA), Dcery Eviny (Czechoslovakia), Evas Töchter - Das Paradies von heute (Germany), Las hijas de Eva (Venezuela), Princ z ulice (Czechoslovakia)

Filming locations: Berlin, Germany; France; Mariánské Lázne, Czech Republic; Prague, Czech Republic; Switzerland

Production Companies: Bratri Deglové, Sokal-Film GmbH

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Genres: Drama

An unmarried showgirl takes a handsome companion with her on a vacation, to the distress of others.  

Le ballon dirigeable 'Le patrie' - 1907

Country: France

Director: Alice Guy

Also known as: The Dirigible 'Homeland' International (literal English title) (English title)

Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont

Genres: Short

L'étoile de Mer - 1928

Country: France

Director: Man Ray

Writer: Robert Desnos (poem)

Stars: Kiki of Montparnasse, André de la Rivière and Robert Desnos

Also Known As: Estrela do Mar (Portugal), Gwiazda morska (Poland), The Starfish (International - English title)

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Plot Keywords: Avant Garde | Experimental Film

Genres: Short

Two people stand on a road, out of focus. Seen distorted through a glass, they retire upstairs to a bedroom where she undresses. He says, "Adieu." Images: the beautiful girl, a starfish in a jar, city scenes, newspapers, tugboats. More images: starfish, the girl. "How beautiful she is." Repeatedly. He advances up the stair, knife in hand, starfish on the step. Three people stand on a road, out of focus. "How beautiful she was." "How beautiful she is."  

"L'Étoile de mer" is a classic piece of Surrealist cinema from the 1920's starring the adorable and timeless Kiki of Montparnasse, and also featuring the divine Robert Desnos. A lovely Surrealist poem written by Desnos accompanies the film, eloquently juxtaposing the images.

A great deal of the sequences are shot through a pane of glass, giving the film a diffuse, dreamy quality, although there are also many stunning shots in sharp focus. The uncanny motif of the starfish is the primary piece of Surrealist iconography, which reoccurs at several junctures, including a beautiful close-up that captures the sea creature's graceful delicacy in locomotion and its multitude of tiny pedicellariae.

Unlike the more striking and barbaric imagery of "Un Chien Andalou", another famous Surrealist short film produced in the same year by Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel, this film is more lyrical and sensuous, evoking with a sense of innate desire and mystery, the concept of the marvelous outlined by André Breton in the Surrealist Manifesto of 1924.

Kiki of Montparnasse superbly portrays the primeval Surrealist muse and heroine, unashamedly stripping off her clothes in one scene, peering nefariously over the edge of a newspaper in another, and slowly climbing a staircase brandishing a long shimmering dagger in one of the penultimate scenes.

This film was way ahead of its time, anticipating stylistic and thematic currents that weren't fully developed until the latter half of the 20th century such as narrative discontinuity, jump cuts, the femme fatale and the dream sequence. A must see for all cinéastes and lovers of the Surreal.

Fast and Furious - 1924

Country: United States

Language: English

Director: Norman Taurog

Stars: Lige Conley (The Demonstrator), Otto Fries (The Manager) and Ruth Hiatt (The Boss's Daughter)

Release Date: 12 October 1924 (USA)

Production company: Jack White (as Mermaid Comedies)

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Genres: Comedy | Short 

Now You Tell One - 1926

Country: United States

Language: English

Directors: Charles R. Bowers, Harold L. Muller

Writers: Charles R. Bowers, Harold L. Muller, Ted Sears

Stars: Charles R. Bowers

Release Date: 27 December 1926 (USA)

Production company: Bowers Comedy Corporation (as Whirlwind Comedies)

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Plot Keywords: Surrealism | Stop Motion

Genres: Short | Comedy

The Liars Club is holding their contest to see who can tell the most unbelievable story, with a gold medallion waiting to be awarded to the winner. Disappointed with the other members' bland efforts, one member brings in Charley Bowers, who has an extraordinary tale to tell. Charley claims to have invented a magic potion that enables him to grow absolutely anything by a simple grafting process, and he proceeds to tell his story to the club.

Trivia

Fifth in a series of 13 Whirlwind Comedies produced by Charles R. Bowers.