Now Playing on Harpodeon

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Up now is The Egyptian Mummy, with Billy Quirk and Constance Talmadge. I think that's the right link this time.

[donnie]

A delightful Vitagraph! Thanks, Dustin. Joel Day as the mummy was my favorite.

[Kitty]

I really liked the score on this one.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Thank you. I used my stock of Egyptian themes on it. Modern that it -- we've no idea at all what Ancient Egyptian music sounded like. Jacobs' Folio of Oriental, Spanish, and Indian Music is a goldmine for that sort of sound,

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Heaven Will Protect A Woiking Goil, a tied-to-the-railroad-tracks comedy that isn't Teddy at the Throttle. I had a lot of fun scoring this as almost all of the titles are references to then-popular songs, including the title of the film itself.

[donnie]

Thank you for posting! That's a quite interesting one. It seems almost like a Keystone, in many respects, and blended with a parody of bad melodrama. Excellent score! It kept my attention throughout, almost more than the hysteric action did.

[BettyLouSpence]

What an entertaining short! Lots of things here were new to me: I'd never heard of Vogue Films before; I *think* this is the first time I've seen Priscilla Dean in action; interesting to see that this is directed by John Francis Dillon; and finally, I don't think I've seen separate lines of dialogue from multiple people in one title before (when the villain says he's robbed and his buddy asks how much). I got a kick out of the ending when the drunkard dad invited everyone for a drink.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

I don't think I've seen separate lines of dialogue from multiple people in one title before

That was much more common in the early days. It wasn't something you saw often in 1916. Vogue was I believe a subsidiary of a larger studio, though I don't recall off-hand which. Keystone, maybe? Sort of an Eclectic/Pathé Frères situation.

The video for these two weeks is The Victoria Cross, a Story of the Light Brigade, a Vitagraph short from 1912 starring Wallace Reid and Edith Storey. It's a rushed film -- there's enough story to fill a feature -- but I love Edith Storey and will watch anything featuring her.

[donnie]

Wonderful! Thanks for posting. Yes, this would make a good feature-length film. I was a little confused by the sequence of events seen through the binoculars; maybe more exposition time there would have helped, too.

It's a rushed film -- there's enough story to fill a feature -- but I love Edith Storey and will watch anything featuring her.

Agreed! She's a special favorite. This is the earliest thing I've seen her in, I believe. By the way, I downloaded your re-creation of The Dust of Egypt awhile back. Oh my, if only that existed in its entirety!

It was also interesting to see Reid this early in his career.

Good choices on the baroque pieces in the score; they fit into the story very well.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Barque music is my first passion. In the early days, I'd try to sneak at least one piece in every score (slowed down, it doesn't sound unlike jazz). I don't really anymore, but I use it when I can, and this quality film (as Vitagraph would have termed it) was perfect.