Now Playing on Harpodeon

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

The stunts were undoubtedly done by stuntmen.

The drug is opium. No, opium can’t be smoked like that—it’s normally either ingested or vaporized and is destroyed by burning—but no matter. It’s a common enough motif. A not dissimilar scene can be found in the Bobby Vernon two-reeler Broken China and his reaction to it is not too different.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Playing Dead (Vitagraph, 1915)

Jimmy’s wife Jeanne falls for Proctor Maddox, a socialist and feminist activist, and wants a divorce. To avoid the scandal, Jimmy stages a fake suicide instead, but he forgot to leave his will where it could be found.

Starring Sidney Drew and Mrs. Sidney Drew
Directed by Sidney Drew

A rare drama from the usual comedy duo Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew. Previously only available from a poor quality videos sourced from small-gauge print (a Thunderbird 8mm releases). Our copy comes from a very good incomplete tinted 35mm nitrate print with the missing footage filled in with the best available latter-day copies available.

Based on the short story by Richard Harding Davis.

Playing Dead will play at this year’s Maine Silent Film Festival.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

This might be my favorite Bunnyfinch short. It’s certainly my favorite of those I have prints of:


Polishing Up (Vitagraph, 1914)

A husband and wife decide to polish themselves up and see if they can still attract attention. Little do they know, they have chosen the same resort hotel for their hunting ground.

Starring John Bunny and Flora Finch
Directed by George D. Baker

[donnie]

This is a delightful one, indeed.. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed the music, also.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

One of the less remembered gay-themed silent comedy shorts. Subtextual, granted, but only just barely.


Roping a Bride (Selig, 1915)

Pals Tom and Dick enter an unusual competition to win Vera’s hand in marriage.

Starring Tom Mix and Sid Jordan
Directed by Tom Mix

[donnie]

Pleasant, but pretty slow-moving.

I was confused as to why Vera participated in the contest to see who could rope her, and then was suddenly outraged when she got roped.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Now playing is a film that everyone seems to be convinced is lost but the only thing that’s actually lost about it is the opening title card.

Coronets and Hearts (Vitagraph, 1912)

Heir to an impoverished earldom, Lord Kewes travels to New York to marry a wealthy woman. He genuinely falls in love with Lilly but she returns his ring when she discovers why they were introduced.

Starring Earle Williams and Edith Storey

[donnie]

I loved that one! Thanks for posting.

[dustin@harpodeon.com]

Station Content (Triangle, 1918)

Frustrated by her lonely life as the wife of a station master, Kitty Manning decides to leave her husband to become a singer in the big city. On her way to San Francisco, she is delayed at a station even more isolated than her own and the husband and wife there make Kitty question whether she made the right choice.

Starring Gloria Swanson
Directed by Arthur Hoyt

This was assembled from two 9.5mm cut-downs, the better quality one being a Spanish Pathé Baby print and the worse looking but slightly longer one from British Pathescope. The complete, original feature is not known to survive but Station Content seems to be a film that leant itself to abridgment. Very nearly the whole plot is presented. The only real changes are the death of Kitty’s baby at the start (which is why she resents Jim—she’s sure the baby would have lived if they weren’t in so remote a location that the doctor could have arrived in time) and the fact that she’s going to San Fransisco to become Morton’s mistress.

[donnie]

This is a great short! I really enjoyed seeing Swanson at this stage of her career. She was so pretty in those closeups. Yes, it is amazing how successful this abridgment is. Thanks for posting!