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EDISON
FILM COMPANY
AND EDWIN S. PORTER
Thomas Edison was not only one of the primary inventors of the motion picture he also
created on of the first "film factories" specifically designed to mass produce
photoplays. A the start these were little more than one minute records of everyday events
such as trains arriving, people at work, and other happenings. Soon re-enactments of
famous events were filmed and one of Edison's chief technicians, Edwin S. Porter, put a
series of events together to form the first stories on film.
"THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903) was arguably the first film to tell a
story, but it certainly was the first film to capture the public's imagination and become
a sensation in it's time. This compilation consists of 25 movies from 1898 to 1905 and
illustrates the gradual but steady evolution of story (drama, comedy, irony, etc.) Titles
include 'THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" "DREAM OF A
RAREBIT FIEND"(a special effects fantasy which owes a debt to George
Melies, "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" "UNCLE JOSH'S
NIGHTMARE" "MARTYRED PRESIDENTS"(featuring clay-mation) "UNCLE JOSH AT THE MOVING PICTURE SHOW"(one of
the earliest parodies of movies by the movies) "2OTH
CENTURY TRAMP" "FUN IN A BAKER SHOP" "JACK & THE BEANSTALK"
"LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN" "GAY SHOW CLERK"(no!) "ROMANCE OF
THE RAIL" "ROUNDING UP OF THE YEGGMEN" "EUROPEAN REST CURE"
"EX-CONVICT" "THE KLEPTOMANIAC" "THE 7 AGES" "HOW JONES
LOST HIS ROLE" "WHOLE DAM FAMILY AND THE DAM DOG".Two
night-time exposure films, "PANORAMA OF ELECTRIC
TOWER" "PANORAMA OF ESPLANADE BY NIGHT" "LOVE BY THE LIGHT OF THE
MOON" "TERRIBLE TEDDY" "GRIZZLY KING" "STRANGE ADVENTURE OF
A NEW YORK DRUMMER" "ELOPEMENT ON HORSEBACK".
(A-017) B & W and Color......silent with music added......$19.98 plus shipping
and handling |
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HISTORY OF CHASE IN FILM VOL. 1 -The Comic Chase
This is a wild assembly of chase scenes
compiled into one fast-paced hour of action and thrills. The early history of film can be
traced directly to the need for film makers to come up with more elaborate chases and
better stories building up to these chases. We start with the primitive
turn-of-the-century vignettes from France with chases on foot. From there it quickly
became the automobile, trains, wagons, horses, boats, and airplanes. They're all here in
this non-stop compilation of thrills, gags, and suspense. Such pioneering film-makers as
Mack Sennett and Larry Semon were great exponents of the chase and seemed to come up with
endless variations of gags and thrills.
(A-018) B & W silent with
music added.......1 hr ...... $14.98 plus shipping and handling
HISTORY OF CHASE IN FILM VOL 2 -Great Railroad Chases
The title tells it all. Here is a compilation of thrilling moments from serials, dramas,
comedies, and adventure films all featuring locomotive trains from the golden age of steam
engines. Naturally, cars and airplanes interact with these run-away trains so hold on to
your seats for a wild ride through the past! Train buffs will enjoy identifying the
various steam locomotives used by the film-makers in these chases.
(A-071) B& W silent with music
added......................$14.98 plus shipping and handling
HISTORY OF ANIMATION VOL. 1
This first volume contains some of the earliest examples of various forms of animation in
films. From stop-motion, to clay-mation to pen and ink drawings, all represented here. J
Stuart Blackton's "HUMOROUS PHASES OF FUNNY FACES" leads
off as one of the earliest known examples of trick-film animation. Also on this
compilation are such titles as "PRINCESS NICOTINE"
, "THE EVILS OF ALCOHOL" where
social messages were combined with animation and humor, "SWAT
THE FLY", "MORPHEUS MIKE".
"THE TIRED TAILORS DREAM" is a stop-motion fantasy comedy , "RATS
IN THE GARRET" features Farmer Alfalfa as he hires an exterminator to
rid him of rodents only who gets the best of who?.
"ALICE THE WHALER"combines live action over animated drawings by
Walt Disney. "NEUMAN'S LAUGH-O-GRAM"
(featuring a young Walt Disney utilizes the "fast drawing" style of animation)
and much more.
(A-019) B & W with color
tints..................................$14.98 plus shipping and handling
HISTORY OF ANIMATION VOL. 2
The years between 1900 and 1920 are represented in this second volume of animated films
which include pen drawings, cut-out animation, clay puppets in stop motion and a
combination of live action with animated effects. "THE ENCHANTED DRAWING" (Edison,
1900) is a combination of live action with "lightening sketch" effect as is "FUN IN A BAKERY SHOP" (Edison, 1902). What might be
described as animated comic strips are represented by "KEEPING
UP WITH THE JONESES" (Women's Styles) and
"KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES" (Men's Styles). Also included are "DREAMY DUD" and
"DUD LEAVES HOME" (Essanay 1915), "BOBBY BUMBS STARTS A LODGE"
(Bray, 1916), some early Krazy Kat cartoons including
"GOES A-WOOING", "BUGOLOGIST",
"KRAZY & IGNATZ AT THE CIRCUS"
(1916), Raoul Barre's "PHABLE OF A BUSTED ROMANCE", "PHAT WOMAN" and "NEVER
AGAIN"(1916) and more.
(A-012) B & W silent w/ music added..approx 1 hr 15
min..$14.98 plus shipping and handling
ATTACK OF THE COHL PUMPKINS
Emile Cohl was one of the pioneering "fathers of animation" and trick films.
Some of his films appear like the French farce comedies of Pathe'-Freres and others are of
the stop-motion animated fantasy style. This collection features four movies that include "THE PUMPKIN CHASE" in which everybody
chases after some huge errant pumpkins that roll down the street, into the sewers, through
houses, up chimneys and seem to have a life of their own until returning to the cart they
fell off of. Also on the tape is "THE JOYIOUS
MICROBES" A scientist is visited by a colleague who looks into a
microscope. What we see is a series of animated line drawings that turn into various forms
and figures of prominent people of the time .Other unusual cartoon effects are created
also. Following is "THE NEO-IMPRESSIONIST PAINTER" .While
sitting and painting with a model, an artist is visited by a customer. He proceeds to show
him various bizarre animated drawings of such things as a devil playing billiards, boats
and animals and clowns. "THE BEWITCHED MATCHES" starts off wit a clockmaker's nieces having their fortunes told by
a witch. The watchmaker enters and ejects the witch who puts a vengeful curse on a box of
matches on his desk. Through the use of stop-motion animation, the matches take on a
variety of shapes and images.
(A-187)
B & W with tints and music score ...$14.98 plus shipping and
handling |
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MARVELOUS MELIES
George Melies probably more than anyone else advanced the trick film & special effects
of movies with his early short subjects. A professional magician, he transferred some of
these routines to film then added camera tricks such as double exposure, stop-motion,
dissolves, and other effects to amaze his audiences who had never seen such images before.
Included in this first volume are such celebrated subjects as "A
TRIP TO THE MOON" which formed the basis of so many science fiction
adventures to come. In "PARIS TO MONTE CARLO"
made in 1905, was commissioned by the Folies Bergere. In it, the king of Belgium, Leopold
II, bets he can drive from Paris to Monte Carlo down on to the Mediterranean in two hours
and manages to accomplish this in spite of his perch for accidents. Parts of this film
were hand colored. Also included are "THE ENCHANTED
WELL", "EXTRAORDINARY
ILLUSIONS", "THE APPARITION" , "THE DOCTOR'S SECRET"(in which a fat man goes
to a mad doctor to lose weight), and the two reel most complete version of "CONQUEST OF THE NORTH POLE" in which we
see Melies as an explorer who builds his own flying ship then encounters a huge man-eating
beast at the North Pole. All the typical gadgets and special effects created by Melies are
employed in this, one of his final films.
(A-020)
B & W and part Color silent w/ music score...approx 1 hr...$9.98 plus
shipping and handling |
MORE MELIES
This second volume of pioneering primitives by the great George Melies includes 'THE INN WHERE NO MAN RESTS"in which a hotel guest is besieged by all sorts
of phenomena and uninvited guests. "THE SPIRITUALIST
PHOTOGRAPHER" performs illusions
through various uses of camera trickery as a magician turns a woman into a picture
portrait of herself and visa versa. "THE MAGIC
LANTERN" also employs illusions and
special effects. In "THE
CLOCKMAKER'S DREAM" ,a clockmaker tires over his work and falls
asleep. In his dream the clocks around him all become ladies and take various poses to
entertain him. He them wakes up to reality and returns to his work.
"THE COOK IN TROUBLE"gets into a mess when he offends a magician
who appears in his kitchen as a beggar. Mistreated, the magician avenges his indignity by
summoning a whole group of imps who pop up in and out of pots, ovens ,etc and create
pandemonium in the kitchen. "THE
BOB KICK" (a.k.a.) "THE
MISCHIEVOUS KID" features a pie-capped character who plays with a
ball the size of a melon and places it on a table only to have it turn into a head and a
variety of other odd items!, "THE
ORACLE OF DELPHI" has an Egyptian flavor to it as strange happenings
occur at a pyramid. "THE LIVING STATUE" , "JUPITER'S THUNDERBOLT"
, "THE MERMAID"" is an underwater fantasy, and "THE
KINGDOM OF THE FARIES" which was inspired by "Sleeping
Beauty" and made in 1903. This was Melies first film longer than his usual releases.
It tells the story of the Princess Azurine, who is engaged to Prince Bel Azor in the
presence of the fairies. They forget to invite the old witch (no, not her mother; a real
witch) who has the princess kidnapped. Bel Azor, looking for her, is caught in a ship
wreck and finds himself in Neptune's Kingdom before he manages to destroy the witch and
rescue the princess. "JACK AND JIM"
perform tricks and illusions with a barrel. "JACK JAGGS
AND DUM DUM" is part of a vaudeville knock-about and part trick film
effects as is "THE MYSTICAL FLAME" with
a series of illusions.
(A-021) B & W silent w/ music added..approx. 55
minutes ..$9.98 plus shipping and handling
 |
MELIES III ; THE SEARCH FOR MUNCHAUSEN
In the best tradition of sequels we have compiled another volume of trick film fantasies.
Among the novelties are "BARON MUNCHAUSEN'S DREAM"
which is derivative of an earlier Edison novelty short called "DREAM OF A RAREBIT FIEND" also featured on this
compilation as a comparison piece. Also featured is 'THE
WITCH'S REVENGE", "THE INFERNAL CAULDRON" are trick film illusions. "DAMNATION
OF FAUST" is a mini-play based on the
famous story. "THE MELONMANIAC" features
Melies removing his head and tossing up onto a musical staff then repeating the process to
form perhaps the first movie sing-along. " THE MONSTER" is
actually a ghost that gets taller, shorter, has his neck grow long and generally scampers
about. "TERRIBLE TURKISH EXECUTIONER"
executes four men by slashing their heads off with a sword. The heads pop out of a basket
and return to the owners who attack the executioner and slash him in half. His lower half
scrambles to rejoin his upper half! "FLOWER
FANTASIES" is a combination of special effects and Melies illusions. "THE PALACE OF THE ARABIAN
KNIGHTS" is a rather long film for
Melies and features the adventures of a Sultan and his entourage as they journey to
strange places for treasures. 60 years before the great Ray Harryhausen animated the
dancing skeletons with swords, Melies provided a similar effect in this fantasy film.
(A-022) B & W silent with
music score approx.55minutes...$9.98 shipping and handling
|
MELIES IV : The
Impossible Voyage
Following the success of his Trip to the Moon,
Melies made an elaborate follow up translated as "THE
IMPOSSIBLE VOYAGE"
which runs nearly double the length and is presented here in hand-tinted color. This time
Melies is Professor Mabouloff, president of the Institute of Incoherent Georgraphy who
creates an "Automobouloff" traveling device that is sort of a combination
train-air ship. Arriving on the sun (they went at night) he saves his crew and passenger
guests from the suns’ heat by putting them in a refrigeration box! Frozen, he thaws
them out and they descend to earth, plunge into the sea but return safely! Also on this
compilation are "THE BLACK IMP" in
which a gollywog plays tricks on a man in his room."THE
ENCHANTED SEDAN CHAIR" features a magician conjuring up illusions, In
"THE SCHEMING GAMBLER’S PARADISE",
a group of gamblers hide their table and other gambling tools with trick tables and walls
(50 years before Robin and the 7 Hoods pulled the same gimmick!). "THE
HILARIOUS POSTER" features 8 posters that come to life. In "THE MYSTERIOUS RETORT", a magician in
his laboratory conjures up serpants that turn into people and other illusions. "THE ECLIPSE: COURTSHIP OF THE SUN & MOON"
features an astronomer showing the faces of the moon and sun as they pass each other. This
is followed by "THE WANDERING STARS"
with women riding comets. "AN UNEXPECTED BATH"
shows the astronomer watching women rain down from the heavens. "GOOD
GLUE STICKS" is a comedy about a practical joker who gets his. "LONG DISTANCE WIRELESS PHOTOGRAPHY" has
the scientist in his lab generating a primitive form of television in 1908.
(A-549 )B & W and Color with music score
added.........approximately 60 minutes total..........$9.98
Pathe'-Freres Trick Film Fantasies Vol. 1
These early French film shorts combined showmanship of theater and music hall with film
techniques and special effects much in the same way George Melies was doing. In fact, many
of these short films are often attributed to Melies since they copied his ideas. A prime
example is the Pathe' version of
"A TRIP TO THE
MOON" made soon after Melies' version came out. There are some
variations from the Melies version ,however the basic theme and action devices are the
same. Another interesting facet is the hand-colored films,
that were painstakingly painted frame by frame in these pre-color days. "THE RED SPECTRE"
is a typical example of this process. A skeleton-like conjurer emerges from flames
and performs a variety of illusions through use of camera tricks and editing gimmicks that
were considered phenomenal for it's day. Another hand-colored
fantasy featured here is "ALI BABA & THE 40
THEIVES".Other selections include "THE GOOD CIGAR" (is it Max Linder? You
decide!)as a man is followed all over town by what he thinks are muggers when they
actually are only waiting for him to discard his partially smoked cigar! A remake of this
short comedy entitled "EL
BUEN CIGARO" shows a similar idea but where is it from? Was this an
earlier Melies film with Spanish sub-titles? Also on the bill are "FLOWER FANTASIES", "THE MARVELOUS ALBUM", "LA
RUCHE MEREILLEUS" and more.
(A-023) Color and B & W
.silent w/ music...approx 55min...$14.98 plus shipping and handling
Pathe'-Freres Trick Film Fantasies Vol. 2
This second offering features a collection of fantasies and comedies that made Pathe' an
early leader in the motion picture industry prior to W.W.1.
"THE INVISIBLE THIEF" is an early attempt to combine science
fiction with comic chase."ALADIN AND HIS LAMP"
is a magnificently hand-colored fantasy tale that must have
enchanted audiences of that era. Also hand-colored is "THE GOLDEN BEETLE". "THE YAWNER" is a straight comedy about a man
who causes the contagious habit by yawning in front of everyone he encounters. "THE POOR COAT" features
the theme of what can happen to a piece of clothing during a busy day with plenty of
mishaps thrown in! "WIFFLES WINS A BEAUTY PRIZE" start
of the cinema's first clowns, Charles Prince. Prince was among the first of the grotesque
clowns from the old style of comedia-del-art to appear regularly in motion pictures. This
type of comedy would be much more refined by Max Linder with his naturalistic style and
man-next-door characterization. "I FETCH THE
BREAD" is typical French humor dealing with cultural habits. A man on
his way home with a loaf of bread, stops and drinks wine with every friend he meets on his
long walk home. Finally the poor soul arrives, dead drunk with a less than sympathetic
wife! "DOWN IN THE
DEEP" is another stunning hand-colored
fantasy that rivaled other films of the period. Others on this volume include "THE ENCHANTED HOUSE", "PIXILATION",
"THE MYSTERY HOUSE", and "THE ENCHANTED MANSION".
(A-024) Color and B & W
with tints...silent w/ music.approx 60 min...$14.98 plus shipping and handling
MAX LINDER; FOUNDING FATHER OF FILM
COMEDY
The modern film comedian was created by Max Linder who broke away from the traditional
clown-grotesques of the circus music-hall style and played to the camera and the audiences
as though he were your neighbor down the street. His style of pantomime influenced the
next generation of comedians like Arbuckle, Lloyd, Chase and Chaplin. His sight-gags and
routines were used again and again by later comedians of the 20's and 30's. Many of his
films have been lost through the years due to decomposition and wars that destroyed
archives. What remains has been lovingly preserved and revived in festivals around the
world. This over-view selects from his celebrated comedies such as "TROUBLES
OF A GRASS WIDOWER", "BE MY WIFE", "SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK",
and "THE THREE MUST GET THEIRS".
(A-168) B & W silent with
music score.....approx 100 min..$9.98 plus shipping and handling
MAX LINDER;
Early short comedies
This is a collection
of his early short comedies a Pathe' Pictures in France circa 1906 to 1912
era. Titles include "MAX IS DISTRACTED",
"HIS FIRST CIGAR",
"LEARNING TO SKATE", "JUGGLING
FOR LOVE", MAX PLAYS AT THE
DRAMATICS", "MAX AND THE STATUE",
MAX AND HIS DOG", "MAX AND THE QUINQUINA".
(A-168) B & W silent with
music score / approx 60 minutes total....$9.98 plus shipping and handling |
  
 
  |
WILLIS O'BRIEN PRIMITIVES
Long before KING KONG was made, it's creator Willis O'Brien was involved in stop-frame
animation of figures. As far back as the Edison Studio days he was making these novel
short films. Among the titles included are "PREHISTORIC POULTRY" (Edison Studios,
c1917) , "CREATION" , "R.F.D. 10,000"(Edison
c1917) , "DINOSAUR AND THE MISSING LINK"(Edison
c1917) Miss Araminta Rockface inspires
devotion from "the Duke" and Stonejaw Steve, who compete for her affections.
Ivoryhead is our trickster antihero, and Wild Willie--the "missing link"--is
a local terror who appears first in a dead tree looking like a
sociopathological and anorexic Kong. When he steals food from the gathering
of humanoids, the three males must go hunt down more to salvage what will be
an entirely carnivorous banquet. One fellow shoots an arrow at a giant quail
but hits another fellow in the butt. While Ivoryhead fishes, Wild
Willie decides to catch snakes for his dinner. He pulls on the serpentine
tail of a dinosaur who is drinking from the lake and in the ensuing fight is
thrown and dies. Ivoryhead happens on the scene, pokes at the missing link's
corpse, and feels secure enough to pose nobly with his foot on the
deceased's chest. The others witness this tableau and Ivoryhead
pontificates: "Yes yes--a mere trifle. He irritated me and I was forced to
kill him." Kisses and praise end the scene. In the short
"MORPHEUS MIKE"
(1917), Willis O'Brien claymation film, a woman hangs her laundry out to
dry, but a goat steals the clothes. Morpheus Mike, a hobo, rescues the
laundry, returns it, and awaits some food as his reward, which the goat
secretly and this time successfully steals. Mike smokes his pipe and has a
dream of being in a restaurant during prehistoric days. Choosing from a
hieroglyphic menu, Mike is served by a mastodon, not very successfully. His
large ostrich egg hatches at the table, and his "trunk of soup" is squirted
on him. He awakens during the soup deluge to find a bucket of water being
dumped on him from an overhead window.
Next, excerpts from his silent era masterpiece, "THE
LOST WORLD"in which he achieved the most life-like illusion to date
of animated stop-motion dinosaurs and real life photography. With the coming of sound he
would continue with "KING KONG" and "MIGHTY JOE YOUNG" before handing
over the reigns to such artists as Ray Harryhausen.
(A-025) B & W with color tints...silent w/ music .approx. 1 hr..$12.98 plus
shipping and handling |
 |
Copyright R.K.O. Pictures All
rights reserved |
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF CINEMA
From the magic lantern slides of the 1890's to the advent of talkies and broadcasting,
this collection of films deals with the origins of the cinema and it's development into an
art form and the nation's fifth largest industry. Early film pioneers such as E. James
Muybridge began his career as a photographer. He studied animal and human locomotion by
photographing horses at the request of a friend who owned a stable. Aligning as many as
forty cameras mounted with electromagnetic shutters timed to go off one after another, he
created the first moving photographs in the early 1870's. These reconstructions are shown
as well as early technology which explains how movies worked technically. Through the use
of charts, graphs, rare photos and film clips one can get an overview of the birth of an
art form and it's development. Movies were not just a novelty or an entertainment medium
but also a document of history, fashion, culture, politics as well.
(A-066)
B&W sound....1hour...........................................$9.98 plus shipping and
handling
British Primitives
Here is a fine collection of early dramas and light comedies
produced by Great Britain's Hepworth, Clarendon and Gaumont motion picture companies.
Included in this compilation are "HOW THE OLD WOMAN
CAUGHT THE OMNIBUS"(1903) featuring a man
playing the old woman's part in a short slapstick comedy. In
"THE EVICTION"(1904), the police run into
difficulties when they try to evict tenants.
"THE BEWITCHED
TRAVELER"(1904) has a man expieriencing tables
that dissolve from in front of him as well as trains and coaches that disappear in this
primitive trick film fantasy. AN ENGLISHMAN'S TRIP TO
PARIS FROM LONDON"(1904) demonstrates the
English capacity for self-directed humor. "THE
LOVER'S RUSE"(1904)is a short where a suitor
steals a kiss. "A RACE FOR A KISS" (1904) features a race between an automobile and a horse utilizing
special techniques to prolong the scene. "THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE HEDGE"(1904) the camera is
movies from the establishing shot to further the comic gag. "FINE FEATHERS MAKE FINE BIRDS"(1905) features fast moving chase involving an
automobile and some motorbikes."THE PICKPOCKET" (1903) a short chase
film, "THE CHILD
STEALERS" (1904) about unattended children. This was photographed
largely out doors. "RAID
ON A COINER'S DEN" (1904) attempts more realism in the photoplay. "REVENGE" (1904) shows more careful
planning of this melodrama. "A RAILWAY TRAGEDY"
(1904) showcases a robbery with more advanced camera work. "DECOYED" (1904) deals with white slave trade in an early attempt at social
commentary. "RESCUED BY ROVER" (1905)
is a popular melodrama with a dog rescuing a kid-napped infant.
(A-057) B & W silent with music score...approx 1 hour...$9.98 plus shipping
and handling
 |
LUBIN STUDIOS
Siegmund Lubin was among the early producers of movies following and imitating such
pioneers as Edison and Biograph. Such stars as Pearl White and Oliver Hardy got their
start in movies working at the Lubin Studios in Jacksonville, Florida and Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. "LUBIN'S GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY"
is a virtual remake of Edison's landmark film of the same year (1903). Also featured is "THE BOLD BANK ROBBERY" (1904)
showcasing Philadelphia's streetcars, railroads and tunnels as locations. Other titles
include "SHE WOULD BE AN ACTRESS",
"THE DRUNKARD'S CHILD" (both 1909) and "THE UNEXPECTED GUEST" (1909). Young Oliver
Hardy is featured in a few examples of the type of comedies of the 1913-1915 era including "SERVANT GIRL'S LEGACY".
We see him developing his comic style that would become world renown. Fred
Karno alumnae Billy Reeves stars in a 1916 comedy,
"A READY MADE MAID" in which he plays a tramp who finds a lost
laundry package with a maid's uniform. He decides to dress up in the outfit
and gets a job with a couple who throw a party that turns to disaster!
(A-072) B & W silent with music score.....approx 1 hour..$9.98 plus shipping
and handling |
CLASSIC SILENT ERA SERIALS
The chapter play was an important part of the development and success of the blossoming
movie industry. These "serials" originated with Edison Studios 1912 monthly
release "What Happened To Mary?" However, it was Pathe' Studios "PERILS PAULINE" starring Pearl White that became the trend-setter and made serials
a popular part of the movie industry. The cliff-hanger endings would evolve later on.
These early serials were self-contained episodes leading to an eventual story resolution.
The serial injected a new gendre into the industry with it's weekly (and sometimes weakly)
storylines to entice audiences to return t&,o the theater so they wouldn't miss a
single episode. "THE
AERIAL WIRE" is one of the surviving chapters from the original
"Perils of Pauline" and serves as a representative example of the pioneering
serial. "THE HAZZARDS OF HELEN" (1915)
casts Helen Holmes as a telegrapher involved in a railroad hijacking with plenty of action
and chases with steam locomotives This episode is entitled
"IN DANGER'S PATH". One of the earl serial kings, Eddie Polo,
stars in a chapter from "CAPTAIN KIDD" titled "A FIGHT IN MID AIR". This story
is about a modern day treasure hunt and showcases Eddie's talents as an acrobat. More
serial fun with chapter 4 of "THE WOLVES OF
KULTUR" and a chapter from "THE
EXPLOITS OF ELAINE" titled "THE POISONED ROOM".
(A-065) B & W silent with
music score....approx 100 minutes...$9.98 plus shipping and handling
CLASSIC SILENT ERA SERIALS VOL. 2
The legendary "PERILS OF PAULINE"
is showcased with four complete chapters from the pioneering chapter play. Pearl White
stars in "THROUGH AIR AND
FIRE" , "GODDESS OF THE FAR
WEST" , "THE AERIAL WIRE" , and "THE BROKEN WING". At the time this was
produced in 1914 only a few serials had preceded "Pauline". At this time the
"cliff-hanger" technique had not yet developed as we know it. These were more
like a weekly series of mini-adventures with the running battle with the same villain but
the incidents were usually resolved within each chapter play even if the over-all mystery
wasn't. Producers would soon recognize the value of leaving the audience in suspense when
the hero or heroine was left in the lurch with a "continued next week" title
flashing!
(A-011) B & W silent with music score....approx 104 minutes...$9.98 plus
shipping and handling
CLASSIC SILENT ERA SERIALS VOL. 3
James Cruz is featured in an episode from "ZUDORA".
Cruze would later turn to directing full-length features in the 1920's with such hits as
"the Covered Wagon". The original queen of the silent serials, Pearl White,
appears in two episodes of PERILS OF PAULINE,
"THE REPTILE UNDER THE FLOWERS" and
"TRAGIC PLUNGE".
Highlights from other serials of this era conclude this volume.
(A-173) B & W silent with
music score & color tints.....approx 75 minutes...$9.98 plus shipping and
handling
CLASSIC SILENT ERA SERIALS VOL. 4
A special multi-DVD set that features a complete 15
chapter silent era action-mystery serial entitled 'THE
MYSTERY OF THE DOUBLE CROSS.
(A-174)
B& W with tints...silent with music... all
15chapters...$14.98 plus shipping and handling
THE SILENT WESTERN
This is an overview of early silent era westerns. William S. Hart stars in "THE RUSE"
from 1915. Pete Morrison appears in the 1919 western,
"FOUR GUN BANDIT". William S. Hart returns in "KNIGHT OF THE TRAIL".
Franklyn Farnum stars in a dual role in "THE TWO
DOYLES". Highlights from other westerns with such stars as Tom Mix
also included.
(A-175) B & W silent w/ music score & color tints ..approx.145 min...
$9.98 plus shipping and handling
 |
BIOGRAPH
BEFORE
GRIFFITH ; VOL. 1
This compilation features 15 movies made at Biograph between 1903 and 1908. Among the
titles are "AN ACADIAN ELOPEMENT", "THE HERO OF LIAO YANG" , "THE MOONSHINER", "SEARCH
FOR EVIDENCE" , " THE SCULPTER'S
NIGHTMARE" (Mack Sennett's first appearance in a movie), "THE TIRED TAILOR'S DREAM" (an early
trick film), "MR. HURRY-UP OF NEW YORK"
(another example of trick effects and editing), "GRANDPA'S
READING GLASS" , "TOM- TOM THE
PIPER'S SON" , "THE
SUBURBANITE", "THE LOST CHILD", "THE WIDOW & THE ONLY MAN" , "PERSONAL",
"THE STORY BIOGRAPH TOLD" and 'THE DUKE AND THE BURGLERS".
These movies provide earliest use of film techniques including stop-motion, time lapse,
panning, camera angles, close-ups, etc.
(A-126) B & W silent with music score...approx 112 minutes ..$12.98 plus
shipping and handling |
BIOGRAPH BEFORE GRIFFITH ; VOL. 2
A second volume offers such titles as "THE GREAT JEWEL
MYSTERY"(1905) photographed by Billy Bitzer, "THE
NIHILISTS" (1905) an early political film photographed by F. S.
Armitage. "A KENTUCKY FEUD" (1905)
is possibly the first dramatization of the Hatfield-McCoy feud photographed by Billy
Bitzer. "THE SILVER WEDDING"
(1906) is an expose' of New York City crooks. The use of cross lighting to produce a
somber effect should be observed. "THE BLACK HAND" (1906)
is a film documentation of a dramatic kid-napping. Carefully worded titles explain each
forthcoming scene. "THE PAYMASTER"
(1906) was photographed on location in this adaptation of a true story. Actress Gene
Gauntier debuts. "THE TUNNEL WORKERS" (1906) was photographed by F. A. Dobson. Actual tunnel workers
beneath the Hudson River were used as the backround for this short tale. "THE SKYSCRAPERS" (1906)
Filmed during actual construction, by Dobson, camera angles contribute to an effect of
height and danger. A photographic trick Harold Lloyd would use to great advantage in
future years. "THE BOY DETECTIVE" (1908) was based on a popular newspaper serial. It has ten
different camera angles and a surprise ending. "HER
FIRST ADVENTURE" (1908) is an American version of a popular British
film with a canine hero, using cut-backs to increase suspense."CAUGHT
BY WIRELESS" (1908) is a drama on the high seas featuring footage of
an actual Marconi wireless which was a novelty at the time.
"AT THE FRENCH BALL" (1908) is a comedy using split screen
effect and featuring D.W. Griffith as an actor (soon to be writer-director).
(A-127) B & W silent with music score..approx 100 min..$12.98 plus shipping
and handling
MOVIES & D. W. GRIFFITH ; The Biograph Years Vol. 1
When D. W. Griffith became a writer-director for Biograph, he started out as a virtual
assembly-line maker of one-reel photo-plays. He fought to expand the length of stories as
well as to upgrade the production values. This tape examines Griffith's early comedies and
dramas from his first formative period of directing. BALKED AT THE ALTAR (1908) was Griffith's
thirteenth film for Biograph. It's a comedy about a reluctant bridegroom and an uncertain
bride. FAITHFUL
(1910) is a comedy about a man who accidentally bumps a tramp (played by Mack Sennett)
with his car. Only slightly bruised, the tramp is given a bit of money from the man for
his inconvenience. The grateful tramp seizes every opportunity to put the touch on the
generous man by following him everywhere. A DASH THROUGH THE CLOUDS (1912)
features future Keystone stars Fred Mace and Mabel Normand in an airplane comedy. A CALAMITOUS ELOPEMENT (1908)
is one of ten films made in the space of 30 days and features Linda Arvidson (the future
Mrs. Griffith) and D.W. Griffith himself. WHERE BREAKERS ROAR (1908) is an example of
Griffith's placement of camera, scripting, and direction. AN
AWFUL MOMENT (1908) demonstrates Griffith's
pattern of setting a tranquil mood, then shattering it with suspense or a calamity. THE CORD OF LIFE (1909) shows Griffith's use of
cutbacks to increase suspense. THE GIRLS AND DADDY (1909)
is shown twice here. First as printed on paper rolls in the order it was photographed,
then as it was edited according to the numbers that precede each scene. THE GOLDEN LOUIS (1909) shows camera movement into a
tight close-up as a way of enhancing the story. AT THE ALTAR (1909)
Suspense builds through the alteration of action sequences with scenes of unsuspecting
victims. FOOLS OF FATE (1909)
unusual mood lighting enhances the final tragic scene
(A-027) B & W silent with music score....approx 105
min...$14.98 plus shipping and handling
MOVIES and D. W. GRIFFITH ; The Biograph Years Vol. 2
This continuation features Griffith expanding the film narrative beyond the single reel
format. This was in direct conflict with the studio hierarchy who felt that movies longer
than ten minutes were beyond the attention span of audiences. What goes around comes
around as far as today is concerned. Back then , Griffith reached a compromise and
released HIS TRUST (1911) and HIS
TRUST FULFILLED (1911) as two one-reel companion films. With the success
and acceptance of the two reel photoplay, Griffith went on to make ENOCH ARDEN (1911)
which was a dramatization of the Tennyson poem. A TEMPORARY
TRUCE (1912) and A GIRL AND HER TRUST (1912) are fine examples of Griffith's techniques in panning to
establish a perspective and upgrade production values. MAN'S
GENESIS (1912) features Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, W. Christie Miller,
Wilfred Lucas and Charles Hill Mailes in a prehistoric era caveman comedy. THE NARROW ROAD (1912) is an early gangster drama
about an ex-convict's struggle to reform with his girl, Mary Pickford, or relapse to a
life of crime again.
(A-028) B & W silent with music score approx.80 min...$14.98 plus shipping and
handling
MOVIES and D. W. GRIFFITH ; The Biograph Years Vol. 3
THE MOUNTAINEER'S HONOR (1909) stars Mary
Pickford, Owen Moore, Kate Bruce, George Nichols, Arthur Johnson and James Kirkwood..
America's sweetheart Mary Pickford is cast in a rare "bad girl" role. Griffith
is in full swing in his use of camera angles in the out-door scenes and in his positioning
of the actors in group shots. THE LONEDALE OPERATOR (1912)
stars Blanche Sweet and for railroad fans is a delight. Locomotive used is an A.T.&SF.
# 9. This 4-4-0 was built by Baldwin in 1878. This little thriller was quite advanced in
technique for it's day when compared to other productions of the time. Tension is created
by the intercutting the trapped girls and her rescuers. THE BATTLE (1911) starring Blanche Sweet &
Robert Harron is an early predecessor by Griffith to his later epic "The Birth of A
Nation".The cast and staging of this one-reel film is rather extravagant. THE MASSACRE (1912) is based loosely on Custer's last
stand. This three-reel epic is a step closer to Griffith's expansion of the one &
two-reel formats. Again it was innovative for it's time and the epic battle scenes are
quite effective. These movies represent Griffith's pushing of the industry's staid
policies towards the entertainment format.
(A-067) B & W silent with music score...approx 90 min...$14.98 plus shipping
and handling
 |
THE BIRTH OF A NATION
D. W. Griffith had to do something big and controversial in order to make the
feature-length movie he had spent years striving towards a success. He chose the
inflammatory novel "The Clansman" about post Civil War racial tensions and
turned it into the biggest commercial success of it's day while stirring anger and debate
about the heroic portrayal of the infamous Ku Klux Klan. Even today it is difficult to
separate the powerful story, the technical achievements from the dramatic content and the
emotions it stirs in audiences of all races.
(A-176) B & W silent with
music score approx 158 minutes..$19.98 plus shipping and handling |
INTOLERANCE
With the profits he made from "Birth of A Nation", Griffith challenged audiences
as never before with this epic undertaking of four stories from different periods of time
about intolerance and inter-cutting them so as to tell all of them as the movie progressed
and tighten up the climaxes to a series of endings all at once. He could have easily made
four short 5-reel features and pocketed the profits but this extravagant undertaking was
his ultimate achievement and his ultimate undoing as the film, while a critical success
did not earn it's enormous cost back and forced Griffith to return to his more traditional
fare.
(A-177) B & W silent with music score approx. 180 minutes..$19.98 plus
shipping and handling |
 |
The Love
Flower
A D. W. Griffith production.
A more exotic story than 1920s audiences had come to expect from D. W. Griffith,
"The Love Flower" nonetheless adheres to Griffith's usual Dickinsian
approach to storytelling. There's an early outrage (the murder of a man), a
child with a clouded past (the murderer's daughter), a decades-long vendetta (a
detective devotes his life to tracking down the murderer) and a last minute
struggle to the death (this one expertly filmed underwater). The film's locale
is a remote tropical island, permitting leading lady Carole Dempster to go
through her gamine paces with less clothing than she'd be required to wear in an
urban or rural setting. Richard Barthlemess plays the "outsider" who falls in
love with island girl Dempster. Her father George MacQuarrie, wanted by the law
for killing his wife's lover, is himself presumably deep-sixed at fadeout time.
But since MacQuarrie is essentially a sympathetic character, detective, played
by Anders Randolph, looks the other way when evidence of MacQuarrie's survival
presents itself. Based on a story by Ralph Stock, "The Love Flower" and
Griffith's earlier "The Idol Dancer"were both conceived during the director's
1919 business-and-pleasure visit to Nassau (where the exteriors for both films
were shot). Historical information provided by Hal Erickson.
(A-178) B & W silent with music score added........................$10.00 plus
shipping and handling
HEARTS OF THE WORLD
A D. W. Griffith production starring Lillian Gish, Dorothy
Gish, Robert Harron, Eric Von Stroheim, Noel Coward, Kate Bruce, Ben Alexander, George
Fawcett and George Siegman. Though he was not in favor of America's involvement in the
first World War, when the U.S. was forced to enter, Griffith made this epic that was shot
partly in England and France with the full cooperation of the allied governments.
On the heels of his masterpiece, "Intolerance", which dramatized the
futility of war born out of prejudice, director Griffith shifted gears for this
film. He came upon the subject matter on a trip to England to promote
"Intolerance". The British government, desperately looking to America for help
in fighting the Germans in the first World War, persuaded Griffith to make a
propaganda picture. Set in France, it's the portrait of a village overrun by the
Germans during the hostilities. Griffith begins the story in 1912 with a slow
developing romance between The Boy, Douglas Gordon Hamilton, played by Robert
Harron, and The Girl, Marie Stephenson, played by the legendary Lillian Gish. A
street singer known as The Disturber, played by Dorothy Gish, tries to come
between them, but she settles for her own romance with Monsieur Cuckoo. In the
summer of 1914, The Boy and M. Cuckoo answer the call to arms, forcing the
postponement of The Boy and Girl's wedding. The film's second half cuts back and
forth between the battlefield and the home front (which in this case are
separated by only a few miles). By the time the film was completed, the United
States had already entered the war, and over the years its extreme portrayal of
German soldiers has been trimmed, the first time at the request of the wife of
President Wilson. In fact, Griffith included shots of American troops helping
out in the story's final battle and then marching off to return home. The
version viewed for this review, running 115 minutes, included a brief prologue
with footage of Griffith touring the battlefields in France, where some
documentary footage was shot, though most of the film was made in Southern
California, and the director meeting with British prime minister David Lloyd
George. Also notable is the appearance in small parts of future filmmaker Erich
Von Stroheim as a German soldier, future character actor Ben Alexanderas The
Boy's youngest brother, and future entertainer Noel Coward as a young villager
pushing a wheelbarrow. - historical information provided by Tom Weiner
(A-179) B & W silent with music score added .. 101 minutes......$10.00 plus
shipping and handling
ALIAS JIMMY VALENTINE
This gangster drama was partly filmed on location at New
York's Sing prison by director Maurice Tourner. A story of criminality and prison life,
this film was advanced in many ways for it's time. Lee Randall, played by Robert
Warwick, is a man who leads a double life. By day he is a respectable person; by
night he robs banks. His gang stages an elaborate break-in at a bank, but they
are discovered while fleeing the scene of the crime, and the gang is captured.
(During their stay in jail, real shots of prisoners in Sing Sing are shown —
though some of the prisoners didn't want their faces in the movie!). When
Randall is released from prison after serving his time, the film becomes a
traditional melodrama, telling the story of a man who tries to go straight and
the difficulties that he encounters after he and his cronies get out of prison.
When Randall has established a new life (keeping the books at a bank), a
detective comes calling. The detective wants to pin an old bank heist on
Randall. At the same time, a small girl is accidentally locked in the bank
vault. Randall must use his safe-cracking skills to free her, even though it may
send him back to prison. This film is one of several important gangster films
released in the mid-teens. Director Maurice Tourner's most imaginative camera
work of the film is in the first 15 minutes when the gang executes a bank heist.
There are several deep-staged set-ups that have characters in real locations
(like a train) instead of just on studio sets. The heist features an
over-the-head shot of the cubicles in the bank to show the night watchman just
missing the crooks. Historical information provided by Bruce Calvert.
(A-180) B & W
(with tints & musical score ..approx 70 minutes ...$14.98 plus shipping and handling
PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ
The original creator of "THE WIZARD OF OZ",
L. Frank Baum produced this early feature film in 1914. A magician accidentally turns
bystanders into stone so the characters in the story must go on a journey to search for an
antidote that leads them to the land of Oz and the Wiz!
(A-181) B & W silent with music score .......approx 65 min.. $9.98 plus
shipping and handling
FROM THE MANGER TO HE CROSS 1912
This early biblical feature was filmed on location in
Egypt and Palestine during the winter of 1911 through 1912. Directed by Sidney Olcott,
this feature was released as both a feature and as six short episodes for distribution.
During its brief but colorful history, the pioneering Kalem company turned out a
number of box-office successes. Foremost among these was "From the Manger to the
Cross", a tableau-like reenactment of the Passion Play. Robert Henderson-Bland
played Jesus, while Gene Gaunthier and Jack Clark were seen as Mary and
Joseph. Though the costumes were sometimes anachronistic, the film's overall
authenticity was heightened by the expensive decision to lens the picture on
location in The Holy Land. Made during Easter week of 1912, "From the Manger to
the Cross" was still being exhibited by religious groups well into the late
1930s.Historical information provided by Hal Erickson.
(A-182) B & W silent w/ color tints &music score...approx 71 min..$9.98
plus shipping and handling
The Son of
Man
(1914)
This is an early epic on the
life of Jesus. It is a remake by Pathé of its 1902-05 La Vie et la Passion de
Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ, keeping the same title.Thanks to Bob Fontenrose for
tracing the source of this obscure feature.
(A-723)
Tinted silent with music score
................... $9.98 plus
shipping and handling
TRAFFIC IN SOULS (1913)
Perhaps on of the earliest exploitation films of it's
kind, TRAFFIC IN SOULS was filmed at Universal Studios without the knowledge or consent of
management. The cast and crew were prepared to buy it if the brass didn't want to release
it! A rare occurrence for it's day. A recent surge of prostitution and "white
slavery" stories in the news prompted this film which had it's roots in a Danish
production of approximately the same time. This film proved a huge success and a rash of
similar films followed. The movie was directed by George Loane Tucker
(A-183) B & W silent with music score .approx 90 min...$9.98 plus shipping
and handling
THE REGENERATION (1915)
This is a story that deals with the underworld and reforming of those who are involved in
it. New York City provides the locale. Produced by Fox Studios, this was the first
directorial effort by Raoul Walsh who had studied under D. W. Griffith as an assistant on
"Birth of A Nation". Walsh showed that he has learned about camera placement and
editing techniques. He would go on to become a top director of gangster and other type
movies at Warner Brothers.
One of the finest films of the pre-1920 era, "The Regeneration" was the first
truly important directorial effort by Raoul Walsh. Spanning several years, this
remarkable social document traces the life and times of Irish-American "child of
the slums" Owen Conway, played by Rockliffe Fellowes, who grows up to become a
ruthless gangster. Owen's story is paralleled with that of Mamie Rose, played by
Anna Q. Nilsson, who, though born into luxury, abandons her high-society
environs to become a settlement worker in the city's slum district. When Owen
meets Mamie, who takes it upon himself to teach the surly gangster how to read
and write, he begins to realize that he has charted the wrong course in life,
thereby taking the first tentative step on the road to regeneration.
Complicating the story is the fact that Owen's bitterest enemy, the city's
crusading District Attorney (Carl Harbaugh), is also in love with Mamie. Filmed
on location in New York's Bowery district (just as seedy-looking in 1915 as it
is today), "The Regeneration" boasts thoroughly believable performances and an
astonishing variety of fascinating camera angles (including one dizzying shot of
a man falling from a fourth-story window). Historical information provided by
Hal Erickson.
(A-184) B & W silent with music scored .approx 70 min..$9.98 plus shipping
and handling
CIVILIZATION (1916)
Produced by Thomas Ince, this film has a pacifist theme and was released not long before
the U.S. entry into World War 1. A religious melodrama, the film would soon compete with
D.W. Griffith's "INTOLERANCE".
With American opinion divided over the European war in 1915, no fewer than
three major motion pictures were conceived with anti-war messages in mind: J.
Stuart Blackton's "The Battle Cry of Peace", D. W. Grifffith's "Intolerance" and
Thomas Ince's "Civilization". Set in the mythical kingdom of Wredpryd,
"Civilization" begins with war spreading through the land. Inventor Count
Ferdinand, played by Howard Hickman, against the wishes of his pacifist fiancee
(Enid Markey) , agrees to commandeer a submarine against the enemy. When his sub
blows up, the Count is rescued from eternal damnation by the spirit of Jesus
Christ, whose soul enters Ferdinand's body. Ferdinand returns to life,
convincing the King of Wredpryd, played by Herchel Mayal, that he, the king, has
divine powers. But Jesus, using Ferdinand as his vessel, shows the king that no
man is above the laws of God—and also gives him an up-close-and-personal tour of
the bloody battlefield. The King realizes the error of his ways, and declares an
end to the battle. Extremely popular during its first year of release (1916),
"Civilization" disappeared from view the moment that the U.S.A. declared war
against Germany. Though its direction is often credited to producer Thomas Ince,
"Civilization" was actually directed by committee: among its helmsmen were
Walter Edwards, Ratymond B. West, Jay Hunt, Reginald Barker, J. Park Read and
David M. Hartford.Historical information provided by Hal Erickson.
(A-185) B & W silent with music score .approx 85 minutes..$9.98 plus shipping
and handling
A FOOL THERE WAS (1915)
There are some movies and movie stars who become synonymous with a certain era. They
become cliche's in their own time. Such was the case with Theda Bara as the silent screen
movie vamp who's out-put is nearly lost due to nitrate decomposition of the original
prints. This early mellodrama is one of her few surviving films. While a bit dated, it
shows us how the gendre got started and how it became the subject of self-parody soon
afterwards.
(A-200)B & W silent with
music score .approx 60 min.$9.98 plus shipping and handling
Broken Blossoms (1919)
D. W. Griffith directed this love story starring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthlemess.
Based on "The Chink and the Child", a story by Thomas Burke, "Broken Blossoms"
is one of D. W. Griffith's most poetic films. Richard Barthlemess plays a
young Chinese aristocrat who hopes to spread the gospel of his Eastern religion
to the grimy corners of London's Limehouse district. Rapidly disillusioned,
Barthlemess opens a curio shop and takes to smoking opium. One evening, Lillian
Gish, the waif-like daughter of drunken prizefighter, played by Donald Crisp,
collapses on Barthlemess' doorstep after enduring one more of her father's
brutal beatings. Barthlemess shelters the girl, providing her with the love and
kindness that she has never known. Crisp, offended that his daughter is living
with a "heathen," forces the girl to return home with him. In a terrible drunken
rage, Crisp beats Lillian to death. Barthlemess arrives on the scene,
kills Crisp, then kneels beside Lillian's body and takes his own life.
Historical information provided by Hal Erickson.
(A-191) B & W silent with music score approx 70 min.$9.98 plus shipping and
handling
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