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)

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..

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) 

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.