On Jun 23, 4:25 am, sir m <mccro... at (no spam) adam.com.au> wrote:
On Jun 23, 12:26 pm, d... at (no spam) yahoo.com wrote:
Hi Folks,
Here's the details on the new DVD. SiCom fans beware: Earle Foxe shows
up in two of these items...
Best, Dave S.www.looserthanloose.com
Show-At-Home Theater, Vol. 1
The First Volume in this Series
The show-at-home market has been both a curse and a blessing to
silent film enthusiasts over the years, for this corner of the cinema
world has badly dissected, truncated and, at times, outright murdered
the products of historic Hollywood. This series presents to you some
of the more bizarre manifestations of this industry's influence,
while, hopefully, giving you a squint at some films you are not likely
to see anywhere else. From complete one-reel dramatic shorts, to
serial chapters, to reedited oddities - it's all here. Every "thank,
God!" and "what if?" inspired by the home-use market is present here
on this DVD, and just to keep you interested, we've included a few
items that will, no doubt, make you shake your head in disbelief. All
of the titles on this disc are new transfers from our own 16mm
collection. As a bonus, we have thrown in some fragments and excerpts
from some fairly obscure features. As always, the films are
accompanied by restored musical tracks taken from period recordings -
many of them brand-new restorations. By the way, just a warning to
those of you who are offended by the mistreatment of animals, "The
Lost Messenger" may contain some highly objectionable footage, so
please be advised before you buy.
The Set Contents:
The Star Family in Distress (release date unknown); 1 reel; no
production credits available. Cast: Lillian Gish, Charlie Chaplin,
Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and Roscoe Arbuckle.
Synopsis: Lillian Gish is married to Charlie Chaplin who has of late
become a hard-drinking, cross-dressing lout. Lilly confides in her
cousin Glory (Gloria Swanson) who, in turn, enlists her boyfriend (Mr.
Fairbanks) to get to the bottom of Charlie's depravity. When Doug
discovers that Chaplin has fallen under the foul influence of Roscoe
Arbuckle, all hope is given up by the poor and deserted Lilly. In the
end, Arbuckle and Chaplin drown together in a sinking rowboat and
Lilly goes into mourning.
This odd collection of clips was assembled together some time during
the 1920s and represents one of the odder entries of the home-use
offerings. It used footage from commonly available commercial releases
which were strung together (at times awkwardly) by newly made titles.
Films used in the compilation of these clips include: "The Rounders"
and "A Woman" as well as a number of other familiar entries in the
silent film catalog.
The Letter from Hollywood (created in 1925 0r '26); 1 reel; Assembled
and Edited by Hamilton Ridell. This is a collection of 1925 trailers
strung together by narrative cards and presented to the viewer as a
"letter from Hollywood to the folks back home." A number of silent
feature films are represented in this 10 min. short film and much of
it may be comprised of alternate takes. Additionally, this title
contains the only known footage from the 1925 Carole Dempster / W.C.
Fields feature "That Royle Girl." The features showcased in this
collection are:
"Go West" (Buster Keaton)
"Old Clothes" (Jackie Coogan, Joan Crawford)
"A Son of His Father" (Bessie Love)
"That Royle Girl" (Carole Dempster and W.C. Fields)
"The Vanishing American" (Richard Dix)
"The Road to Yesterday" (Jetta Goudal and Bill Boyd)
"Womanhandled" (Richard Dix)
"A Kiss for Cinderella" (Betty Bronson)
"Her Sister from Paris" (Constance Talmadge and Ronald Coleman)
"The New Commandment" (Blanche and Ben Lyon)
The Lost Messenger (released 11/06/15 Prod. by the Selig Polyscope Cº;
1 reel; directed by George O. Nicholls. Cast: Walter Beckwith, Vivian
Reed and Earle Foxe. An American circus hunts lions, elephants,
leopards and zebras in the heart of Africa. The principal trapper
succumbs to jungle fever, leaving his daughter to fend for herself
after the expedition strikes camp and leaves them behind. Through a
stroke of luck, the circus agent returns in time to rescue the girl
and bring about a happy ending. A complete Selig one-reel drama from
1915 with restored/recreated titles. WARNING: Those of you who are
sensitive to the mistreatment of animals may want to think twice
before watching this film!
The Sea Lion (12/05/21 Prod. by Hobart Bosworth Productions, Inc.);
3-1/2 reels; directed by Rowland V. Lee. Cast: Hobart Bosworth, Bessie
Love and Emory Johnson. This is 28 minutes of the original feature,
with a fragmented reel 2 setting up the action that comprises the
final three reels. Though not complete, much of the drama and story
remains intact and is nicely related. This is a complicated tale of
trust and betrayal, but all is revealed and explained in this version.
EXTRAS(Various dates of release) We have included reels from the
following features (and shorts) to round out this extensive home-use
program:
"Conductor 1492" (Johnny Hines); 1 reel
"The World's A Stage" (Dorothy Phillips, Kenneth Harland and Earle
Foxe); 4 min.
"A Woman in Grey - serial chapter 7 (abbreviated)" (Arline Pretty and
Henry G. Sell); 4 min.
This disc sells for $19.99 (+$6.00 s/h)
www.looserthanloose.com
Interesting for one time viewing only, There are so many better dvds
so I will NOT buy this one
I will. There's a mixed bag of interesting stuff on this collection.
I am especially keen on watching ""The Road to Yesterday" trailer
which I hear played recently at a film festival (one that I couldn't
attend). Thanks for this. We need more smaller outfits like this to
compliment the Kino's, Milestone's and Flicker Alleys.
Steve Joyce
