Rare Film Classics on DVD

LILLIAN GISH The Movies, Mr. Griffith & Me SIGNED Rare + 4 DVDs $39.99 Free Ship

2012-02-11T05:59:00.001-08:00

Lillian Gish : The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me - SIGNED Rare

Clean, Hardcover
March, 1969 - 2nd printing
Cover good condition, minor 1/8 inch. tear.
Very slight yellowing due to age.
Complete.

Miss Gish signed on title page.

Hardcover: 388 pages
Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2ns edition (1969)
Language: English
ASIN: B0028OVPW8

and 4 -no-region DVDs in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label.

Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

True Heart Susie (1919) with Robert Harron (Original score by Brian Pinette)

Hearts of the World (1918) with Dorothy Gish

Body in the Barn; Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964) Lillian Gish

The Wind (1927) – 1 DVD

FREE IMMEDIATE SHIP USA

I knew Miss Gish (over 35 yrs) and worked with her until her death.

About the Seller : Indie film/theatre/record producer-writer as well as singer-songwriter and actor... Brian Pinette has written, produced & directed many an icon (in many creative venues): Dawn Wells (MaryAnn of "Gilligan's Island") scream-queen Kathrin Victor as well as writing, producing and directing "Mother" starring film noir icon Coleen Gray ("Red River" w/John Wayne, Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing," "The Leech Woman") & silent film great Patsy Ruth Miller (Esmeralda in Lon Chaney's silent film "The Hunchback of Notre Dame") in her final film role as Mother, Diane McBain (Surfside 6), Christine Jorgensen, Sal Mineo, John Gielgud, Lillian Roth, Lillian Gish, to name a few.

Brian was also writer, producer & director of Butterfly McQueen (Prissy in "Gone With the Wind") in her one woman show. As well as producer and writer for all films and recordings of "Country sing-sation" and acclaimed artist, Dallas Hill. Additionally, Brian has over 16 record albums and films & videos to his credit.

His recordings have included best-sellers featuring Connie Carnes and Dallas Hill. He penned and produced her TWO international best-sellers "Dallas & The Cowboys" and "Moments." They received raves and their fans are legion including the late Lillian Gish to the "Queen Mother."

His original music scores and exclusive copyrights to such classics as Nazimova in Salome and Camille, SHE (1925) Betty Blythe, Moran of the Lady Letty (1923) Valentino an Dorothy Dalton, Anna Christie (1923) Blanche Sweet, "Mademoiselle Midnight" (1924) Mae Murray, "Hoodoo Ann" (1916) Mae Marsh, "Gretchen the Greenhorn" (1916) Dorothy Gish , Mikaël, Chained: The Story of the Third Sex (1924) among others are international bestsellers & are highly acclaimed by the cinema press.

Currently Brian is in pre-production of another indie-film he is writing, producing, scoring and directing "An Interview with Death."

Lillian Gish Anne Laurie, The Enemy & The Wind

2012-02-11T02:42:00.000-08:00

Lillian Gish in Annie Laurie, THE ENEMY & The Wind (1927-1928) Rare

Lillian Gish very rare collectible(s) ...

Collector to Collector

Annie Laurie (1927) Lillian Gish ... Norman Kerry, Creighton Hale, Joseph Striker, Hobart Bosworth, Patricia Avery, Russell Simpson, Brandon Hurst, David Torrence

Director: John S. Robertson ... Writers: Marian Ainslee (titles) ...Ruth Cummings (titles)

Release Date: 11 May 1927 (USA) ... 90min

From a collector in the U.K. Shot using a camcorder - almost pristine picture - yet occasionally movement of Camera ... there are the numbers at the bottom of the screen that indicate footage used and they change as the "kinescope" type project continues. They are there - noticeable, but does not detract from the image or story.

Generic, public domain music added.

Following such prestige projects as La Boheme (1926) and The Scarlet Letter (1926), The Enemy (1927) was Lillian Gish's fifth and final film for MGM (it was completed after, but released before, THE WIND).

Based on a play by Channing Pollock, this is a vehemently anti-war film, well-directed by Fred Niblo and expertly edited by Margaret Booth. Though it is difficult to tell where Niblo's direction ends and Booth's editing begins (or to what degree they were close collaborators), it must be stated that the fluid, eloquent visual language of the silent cinema is exemplified here -- as in so many other films of the late 1920s -- at its apogee.

This film certainly must be counted among Booth's finest artistic work (for film editing is indeed an art) -- and her resume is indeed impressive.

Lillian Gish ... Ralph Forbes, Ralph Emerson, Frank Currier, George Fawcett, Fritzi Ridgeway, Hans Joby, Karl Dane, Polly Moran

Director: Fred Niblo ... Writers: John Colton (titles) ... Willis Goldbeck (writer) Release Date: 8 December 1927

Synopsis: Carl Behrend (Ralph Forbes), son of a wealthy businessman, marries Pauli Arndt (Lillian Gish), daughter of a pacifist professor. When World War I breaks out, Carl is drafted. Pauli and her family and friends are left behind to experience the suffering which befell civilians during the war. Her luck worsens when her father is dismissed from his professorship for teaching that war is evil. Her father argues violently with Carl's father, and degradation and despair descend on Pauli and her family as they await Carl's return from the front.

THE ENEMY would probably be regarded as a major silent film if the final reel could be found. This is a Gish film, and she is stunning. At age 34 she easily passes as a twenty- something bride. As always, Gish is the consummate actress, going here from blushing bride to desperate mother to sorrowful prostitute ...

After the success of THE BIG PARADE, MGM was anxious for another anti-war hit. This film was based on the 1925 hit Broadway play that starred Fay Bainter ... Supporting cast is quite good here with Frank Currier solid as the professor, Karl Dane as Jan, and Polly Moran as the brusque housekeeper. Joel McCrea appears as an extra. For those who persist in thinking that Gish only played frail virgins, this film is a real eye opener. 　　

It is unfortunate that the last reel to this film is apparently lost. This will probably prevent the film from being screened on television or released to DVD -- which is unfortunate, since this is a work that deserves to be seen and appreciated as a fine example not only of late-silent movie-making, but also of the anti-war film. Enhanced sharpness with generic music added.

Good to average picture of a film that has NEVER been released. PLEASE READ carefully ... For silent film collector's ~ especially Miss Gish fans who want to see TWO films that are actually RARE and may never be available to the public.

The DVD is what it is and is honestly described ... In DVD/CD sleeve with 4x6 photo as shown. No-region DVD. No rights implied or inferred and intended for Collectors from a Collector.

Price for shipping and costs to duplicate. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Lillian Gish THE WIND (1928) Dir. Victor Sjöström
Intro by Miss Gish prior to film.

2 no-region DVDs in DVD/CD sleeve, photo labels.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
Intl. Ship add $4.00

25 DVDs for only $50.00 ~ over 400+ titles to choose from

2012-01-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

From Julie Andrews to Joan Collins to Connie Stevens, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Sal Mineo, Carol Lynley, Patsy Ruth Miller, Colleen Moore, Leatrice Joy, Esther Ralston, Lon Chaney, Ronald Colman, John Gilbert, D.W. Griffith, Fassbinder, Fritz Lang ... Elizabeth Taylor, Fabian Forte, Richard Chamberlain, James Spader ....
Any title...

No-regions DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.
BUY NOW - and you will be emailed to confirm the list of titles.
Have your titles ready to email. Ships within 10 business days.

25 DVDs for only $50.00
@ $2.00 per DVD - Free Ship Media Mail USA
Intl. add USPS Flat Rate Intl. Priority Mail
$13.00 + $50.00 = $63.00

You will be emailed to confirm your titles.
Be ready to email your titles ... ships within 5 business days

10 DVDs for $25.00 select from 400+ titles

2012-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

10 DVDs only $25.00
Free ship USA
choose from 400+ titles (@ $2.50 per DVD)

FREE SHIP

From Julie Andrews to Joan Collins to Connie Stevens, Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Sal Mineo, Carol Lynley, Patsy Ruth Miller, Colleen Moore, Leatrice Joy, Esther Ralston, Lon Chaney, Ronald Colman, John Gilbert, D.W. Griffith, Fassbinder, Fritz Lang ... Elizabeth Taylor, Fabian Forte, Richard Chamberlain, James Spader ....

Any title...

10 no-regions DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

BUY NOW - and you will be emailed to confirm the list of titles.
Have your titles ready to email. Ships within 3 business days.

FREE SHIP USA
INTL. ship add $13.00 USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail

See other listings for more SPECIAL Sales!BUY NOW - and you will be emailed to confirm the list of titles.
Have your titles ready to email. Ships within 3 business days.

The Cheaters (1945), Christmas Eve (1986)

2011-11-15T07:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas Gems!

The Cheaters (1945)
Christmas Eve (1986)

TWO (2) no-region DVDs

The Cheaters (1945) Joseph Kane, Director
Cast:
Joseph Schildkraut as Anthony Marchaund also known as Mr. M. .... Ona Munson as Florie Watson
Billie Burke as Clara Pidgeon ... Eugene Pallette as James C. Pidgeon
Raymond Walburn as Willie Crawford ... Anne Gillis as Angela Pidgeon
Ruth Terry as Therese Pidgeon ... Robert Livingston as Stephen Bates
David Holt as Reggie Pidgeon ... Robert Greig as MacFarland ... St. Luke's Choristers as Carolers
Release Date: 15 Jul 1945 ... Black and White / Sound: Mono
Production Dates: 1 Feb--mid-Mar 1945
Alternate Title(s): Mr. M. and the Pidgeons, The Amazing Mr. M., The Magnificent Mr. M., The Magnificent Rogue, The Castaways
Duration (in mins): 83 / Country: United States ... Mastered from Ona Munson's 16mm print

Christmas Eve (1986) Loretta Young
with Arthur Hill, Ron Leibman, Trevor Howard, Patrick Cassidy, Season Hubley, Kate Reid

Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (1987) - Loretta Young
NBC TV network, Original airing Dec. 22nd, 1986 - Story of a well-to-do elderly woman, who befriends the homeless and volunteers her time with children, who learns she has an incurable illness and wants desperately to reunite her three grown grand children (who are scattered across the U.S. living their own lives), with their estranged father, her son. She hires a private detective to search for them so as to try to get everyone together on Christmas Eve for one last reunion.
A heart warming story line that most can relate to.
"Loretta Young brings her strength, intelligence and charm to this role. Welcome Back!"
Although scripts were still occasionally coming in, Loretta now considered herself permanently retired. That is, until 1986, when she was offered the perfect script, the lead in an NBC made-for-TV movie titled "Christmas Eve."
Filming was on location in Toronto, and twelve hour days were the norm, the director and crew allowed her to sleep a little later than everyone else in the mornings. Other than that, at 74, she kept up with the pace.
And she had lost none of her perfectionist tendencies: every night she looked at her dailies to see if her character was developing on-screen the way she should. "Unless you do," she told the director, "you don't know if the character is alive, dead, or too one-dimensional."
Four months later with Ronald Reagan - Loretta attended the Golden Globe awards. As the "Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Movie" category was announced, the winner was . . . Loretta Young! She received a standing ovation as she went onstage to collect her prize. "Miracles do happen," she said to the packed hall. "God in His mysterious way gave me 23 years to prepare for this role. This is the icing on the cake." She thought she heard Mama clapping too.
Two years later, Loretta made her very last film, Lady In A Corner, co-starring Brian Keith and Lindsay Frost, also for NBC and also filmed in Toronto.
Critic Hal Erikson said; "The sole reason for watching this made-for-TV movie is star Loretta Young, looking as youthful and stunning as ever." She was then 77 years young.

2 no-region DVDs in DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown for each DVD.

Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Escape from East Berlin (1962) Christine Kaufmann

2011-10-11T02:35:00.001-07:00

Escape from East Berlin is a 1962 film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Don Murray

DVD/CD sleeve, photo label.
Free ship USA / Intl. $3.00 added.
No-region DVD.

Ladies Of The Chorus (1948) Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe

2011-10-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ladies Of The Chorus (1948) Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe

Ladies of the Chorus is a 1948 Hollywood film produced by Columbia Pictures. It stars Marilyn Monroe in an early role as Peggy Martin a dancer who falls in love with a wealthy man. Her mother, May, a former burlesque star (Adele Jergens) worries about the class difference between the two and wonders if her daughter will be happy. The film was directed by Phil Karlson.

Marilyn sings Every Baby Needs a Da Da Daddy and Anyone Can See I Love You.
This film was not a success, and thus Marilyn's contract was not renewed.

Directed by Phil Karlson
Produced by Harry A. Romm
Written by Joseph Carole (screenplay), Harry Sauber (story and screenplay)
Starring Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe, Rand Brooks, Eddie Garr, Nana Bryant, Melinda Plowman, Gladys Blake
Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Cinematography, Frank Redman
Editing by Richard Fantl
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date: 22 October 1948 (U.S. release)
Running time 61 min.

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Wallace Reid ~ Carmen (1915) Roaring Road (1919) & Excuse My Dust (1920) DVD

2011-10-01T09:07:00.001-07:00

Carmen (1915) Geraldine Farrar & Wallace Reid
Directed, Produced & Written by Cecil B. DeMille
Cinematography, Alvin Wyckoff
Editing by Anne Bauchens, Cecil B. DeMille
Release date: 31 October 1915

Geraldine Farrar - Carmen
Wallace Reid - Don Jose
Pedro de Cordoba - Escamillo
Horace B. Carpenter - Pastia
William Elmer - Morales
Jeanie Macpherson - Gypsy girl
Anita King - Gypsy girl
Milton Brown - Garcia
Tex Driscoll
Raymond Hatton - Spectator at Bullfight (uncredited)

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

NOTE:

You will be emailed to re-confirm your title.
OR contact me to re-confirm your title - damienrecords@gmail.com

Shiraz (1929) Seeta Devis silent film classic

2011-10-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Shiraz (1929)
A historical romance set in the Mughal Empire. Selima (Enakshi) is a princess-foundling raised by a potter and loved by her brother...

Stars: Himansu Rai, Charu Roy and Seeta Devi
Director: Franz Osten
Writers: William A. Burton, Niranjan Pal (play)
Country: India | UK | Germany
Release Date: 1928 (Germany)
Also Known As: Das Grabmal einer großen Liebe
Filming Locations: Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Production Co: British Instructional Films (BIF), Himansu Rai Film, Universum Film (UFA)
Runtime: 97 min

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Go here for the COMPLETE Silent trilogy -
http://www.blujay.com/item/The-Light-of-Asia-1925-A-Throw-of-Dice-1929-Shiraz-1929-Seeta-Devi-3-DVDs-12011000-3935009&keywords=Light+of+Asia

Tribes (1970) Jan-Michael Vincent

2011-10-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

Tribes (1970) Jan-Michael Vincent

A Marine Corps drill instructor who is disgusted by the fact that the Corps now accepts draftees finds himself pitted against a hippie who has been drafted but refuses to accept the "military" way of doing things.

Stars: Darren McGavin, Earl Holliman and Jan-Michael Vincent
Director: Joseph Sargent
Writers: Tracy Keenan Wynn, Marvin Schwartz
Release Date: 10 November 1970 (USA)
Also Known As: The Soldier Who Declared Peace
Filming Locations: Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, San Diego, California
Production Co: 20th Century Fox Television, Marvin Schwartz Productions
90 minutes

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Starcrossed (1985) James Spader DVD

2011-10-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Starcrossed (1985) James Spader DVD

An alien woman is running from a deadly enemy and tries to hide on Earth where she meets a young mechanic, who helps her to get back home and to fight for the freedom of her people.

Stars: James Spader, Belinda Bauer and Peter Kowanko
Director/Writer: Jeffrey Bloom
Writer: Jeffrey Bloom
Release Date: 31 January 1985 (USA)
Also Known As: Das Girl vom anderen Stern
Production Co: Fries Entertainment
90 minutes
No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.

Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Intl. add $3.00

Marilyn Monroe in Ladies of the Chorus & Catherine Hicks as Marilyn (1980) 2 DVDs

2011-09-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ladies Of The Chorus (1948) Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe

Ladies of the Chorus is a 1948 Hollywood film produced by Columbia Pictures. It stars Marilyn Monroe in an early role as Peggy Martin a dancer who falls in love with a wealthy man. Her mother, May, a former burlesque star (Adele Jergens) worries about the class difference between the two and wonders if her daughter will be happy. The film was directed by Phil Karlson.

Marilyn sings Every Baby Needs a Da Da Daddy and Anyone Can See I Love You.
This film was not a success, and thus Marilyn's contract was not renewed.

Directed by Phil Karlson ... Produced by Harry A. Romm
Written by Joseph Carole (screenplay), Harry Sauber (story and screenplay)
Starring Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe, Rand Brooks, Eddie Garr, Nana Bryant, Melinda Plowman, Gladys Blake
Music by Mischa Bakaleinikoff ... Cinematography, Frank Redman ... Editing by Richard Fantl
Distributed by Columbia Pictures ... Release date: 22 October 1948 (U.S. release)

Catherine Hicks as Marilyn Monroe: The Untold Story (1980)

ABC Movie original air-date: 28th Sept 1980 starred Catherine Hicks with Richard Basehart,
Jason Miller, Sheree North. Miss Hicks was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of Marilyn.
It was based upon Norman Mailer's best-selling novel of the same title.

Complete/un-cut as originally aired.

2 No-region DVDs in DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels and promo photos as shown for each DVD.

Vampyr ~ Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932) DVD

2011-09-05T02:07:00.000-07:00

Vampyr : Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932) DVD

A 1932 horror film directed by Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer.

The film was written by Dreyer and Christen Jul based on elements from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's collection of supernatural stories In a Glass Darkly.

Vampyr was funded by Nicolas de Gunzburg who starred in the film under the name of Julian West among a mostly non-professional cast.

Gunzburg plays the role of Allan Grey, a student of the occult who enters the village of Courtempierre, which is under the curse of a vampire.

Vampyr was challenging for Dreyer to make as it was his first sound film and had to be recorded in three languages. To overcome this, very little dialogue was used in the film and much of the story is told with silent film-styled title cards. The film was shot entirely on location and to enhance the atmospheric content, Dreyer opted for a washed out, fuzzy appearing photographic technique. The audio editing was done in Berlin where the character's voices, sound effects, and score were added to the film.

Directed & Produced by Carl Theodor Dreyer, Julian West Assoc. Producer
Screenplay by Christen Jul, Carl Theodor Dreyer
Story by Sheridan Le Fanu
Starring Julian West, Maurice Schutz, Rena Mandel, Jan Hieronimko, Sybille Schmitz, Rena Mandel, Henriette Gerard
Cinematography, Rudolph Maté
Editing by, Tonka Taldy, Carl Theodor Dreyer
Distributed by Germany:
Vereinigte Star-Film GmbH
Release date(s): Germany: May 6, 1932
France: September 1932
Denmark: March 1933
Runtime: 73 minutes

In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo. Guranteed, replaced with same title.

Neal Hart in Tangled Trails (1921) Silent western DVD

2011-09-05T02:03:00.001-07:00

Tangled Trails (1921)

Corporal Jack Borden (Neal Hart), of the Northwest Mounted Police, trails the man who killed his partner to New York City.

The killer is an unscrupulous promoter who is selling worthless stock in a gold mine.
Borden, with the help of Blanche Hall (Gladys Hampton), locates the man in a Bowery dive, but he escapes and Borden tracks him back to Canada.
Along the way, he discovers that Blanche and his sweetheart, Milly (Violet Palmer), are long-separated sisters and brings about a reconciliation.

Stars: Neal Hart, Violet Palmer and Gladys Hampton
Director: Charles Bartlett
Writers: Charles Bartlett (story), Charles Bartlett (scenario)
Production Co: Neal Hart Productions
Release Date: December 1921
Runtime: 56 min

In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo. Guranteed, replaced with same title.

Alla Nazimova Salome (1923) & Camille (1921) restored DVD with Original Score, Brian Pinette

2011-09-04T14:30:00.001-07:00

Alla Nazimova Salome (1923) & Camille (1921) restored DVD

Original Scores, Brian Pinette

Alla Nazimova

Camille (1921) Alla Nazimova, Rudolph Valentino, Rex Cherryman & Patsy Ruth Miller

Camille is a silent film starring Rudolph Valentino & Alla Nazimova and introduces former Nazimova protege Patsy Ruth Miller (the gypsy Emeralda of Lon Chaney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1923) to the screen.

It is one of numerous screen adaptations of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The original play opened in Paris in 1852. The first Broadway production of the play opened on 9 December 1853. There have been 15 Broadway revivals of the popular play, the last in 1935.

The film moves the setting of the story to 1920s Paris, and includes many lavish Art Deco sets, including that of Marguerite's apartment. Natacha Rambova, who would later become Valentino's second wife, was the movie's art director.

Director: Ray C. Smallwood
Writers: Alexandre Dumas fils (novel), June Mathis
Release Date: 26 September 1921 - Production Co: Nazimova Productions
Running time: 1hr4min32sec

Salome (1923) Alla Nazimova, Rose Dione, Mitchell Lewis, Nigel De Brulier, Earl Schenck, Arthur Jasmine, Frederick Peters ... Directed by Charles Bryant ... Faithful adaptation (including costumes - Beardsley) of the Oscar Wilde play ...

Salome seduces her step-father Herod with a sensual dance. In return - he promises her the head of John The Baptist.

Produced by Alla Nazimova. Screenplay and Art Direction by Natacha Rambova ...
Running time: 1hr8min34sec

No-region DVD. Plays world-wide. In DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels and 4x6 glossy promo photo for each DVD. FREE Ship USA & Intl. ship rates below.

Clara Bow - Down to the Sea in Ships & Parisian Love DVD

2011-08-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Clara Bow - Down to the Sea in Ships & Parisian Love DVD

Down to the Sea in Ships (1922)
American silent film about a 19th century Massachusetts whaling family.

Original Score by Brian Pinette

Starring William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, Raymond McKee & Clara Bow
Directed & Produced by Elmer Clifton
Written by John L.E. Pell
Cinematography, Paul H. Allen, A.G. Penrod
Distributed by W.W. Hodkinson
Release dates: First showing September 25, 1922 ('Olympia' Rhode Island).
Main release March 4, 1923.
Running time: 94 minutes

Parisian Love (1925) Clara Bow
American silent film about Street people Armand and Marie who are madly in love, and she persuades Armand and other gang members to rob the home of Pierre Marcel...

Stars: Clara Bow, Donald Keith and Lillian Leighton
Directed by Louis J. Gasnier
Written by F. Oakley Crawford (story), Lois Hutchinson (adaptation)
Release Date: 1 August 1925 (USA)
Production Co: B.P. Schulberg Productions
Runtime: 61 minutes

Double feature on one no-region DVD in DVD/CDE sleeve, photo label & ex6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Olive Thomas Love's Prisoner & The Flapper with Original Score, Brian Pinette DVD

2011-08-29T02:33:00.001-07:00

Olive Thomas

Double Feature on one no-region DVD

Max Fleischer Screen Songs "Ain't She Sweet" (1933) Lillian Roth
Cartoon / Live action Film short - 7min12seconds

Love's Prisoner (1919) Olive Thomas

A poor girl named Nancy (Olive Thomas) leaves to take care of her two younger sisters, Sadie (Ann Kroman) and Jane (Dolly Dare), while their father (Walter Perry), who is a former criminal, is sent to prison for a crime which he has not committed and dies there. At that time Jonathan Twist, a quaint philosopher and their somewhat mysterious neighbor, offers their help and Nancy finds with of the help of him a job as a seller of Cocoa Climax. Nancy marries with a British business man and peer Lord Cleveland, and she becomes Lady Cleveland. However, Lord Clevelend dies very soon, and Nancy hasn't enough income to keep up the estates of Lord Cleveland in England.

Starring Olive Thomas, Ann Kroman, Dolly Dare
Directed by John Francis Dillion
Written by E. Magnus Ingleton
Cinematography, Stephen S. Norton
Distributed by Triangle Distributing Corporation
Release date: June 8, 1919
Running time: 47 min

The Flapper (1920) It was the first movie in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle which would soon become a 1920's fad.

Starring Olive Thomas, Warren Cook
Directed by Alan Crosland
Produced by Myron Selznick
Written by Frances Marion
Cinematography, John W. Brown
Distributed by Selznick Pictures Corporation
Release date: May 10, 1920
Running time: 88 mins.
Original Score, Brian Pinette

Olive Thomas - Double Feature on 1 no-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Esther Ralston 3 gems on 1 DVD

2011-08-23T03:10:00.000-07:00

Esther Ralston ...

To the Last Man (1933)

A western film directed by Henry Hathaway. The screenplay by Jack Cunningham was based on a story by Zane Grey. The film is about a feud between the Colby and the Hayden families, initiated in the hills of Kentucky and continued in the West after the Civil War. Also involved is the conflict between vigilantism and appeals to the law in a frontier environment, and lovers from the two feuding families.

Child actors Delmar Watson and Shirley Temple were praised by Variety.

Starring Randolph Scott, Esther Ralston, Buster Crabbe, Barton MacLane, Noah Beery, Gail Patrick, Shirley Temple
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Produced by Harold Hurley
Written by / Screenplay: Jack Cunningham
Story: Zane Grey
Cinematography, Ben F. Reynolds
Editing by Jack Scott
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date: September 15, 1933
Running time: 70 minutes

Shadows of the Orient (1935)
Starring Esther Ralston, Regis Toomey and J. Farrell MacDonald
Directed by Burt P. Lynwood
Produced by Larry Darmour
Written by Louis E. Heifetz (story)
Charles F. Royal (adaptation and screenplay)
Cinematography James S. Brown Jr.
Editing by Dwight Caldwell
Release date: 6 July 1935
Running time: 69 minutes

We're in the Legion Now (1936)
Starring Reginald Denny, Esther Ralston and Vince Barnett
Director: Crane Wilbur
Writers: J.D. Newsom (story), Roger Whately (screenplay)
Release Date: 13 December 1936 (USA)
Production Co: George A. Hirliman Productions (Grand National Pictures)
Running time: 56 minutes

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Destiny / Weary Death (1921) by Fritz Lang

2011-08-16T05:23:00.001-07:00

Destiny Weary / Death (1921) by Fritz Lang

Original German title: Der müde Tod is a 1921 silent film directed in Germany by Fritz Lang.

The German language title literally means Weary Death (in the sense of personified Death); the film was originally released in the United States as Behind the Wall and in the United Kingdom as Destiny. The film, rich in special effects, is structured as a frame tale with three stories within the story.
In the Expressionistic frame story, in which human lives are each represented by a candle, Death grants a woman three chances to save her lover, if love can triumph over death.
The three stories within the story each occur in a setting that is nominally historic, but really in the realm of fantasy: an adventure tale with a Persian setting out of the Arabian Nights, a Renaissance Venetian romance, and a largely comic story set in China.
Douglas Fairbanks purchased the American rights, to delay its general American release while he copied the effects of the Persian segment for his 1924 The Thief of Baghdad.

Directed by Fritz Lang
Produced by Erich Pommer
Written by Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang
Starring Lil Dagover, Walter Janssen, Bernhard Goetzke, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Hans Sternberg,
Erich Pabst, Max Adalbert, Georg John
Cinematography, Bruno Mondi, Erich Nitzschmann, Herrmann Saalfrank, Bruno Timm, Fritz Arno Wagner
Distributed by Decla-Bioscop
Release date: 6 October 1921
Running time: 99 minutes
German/English inter-titles

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The Sky Pilot (1921) Colleen Moore & Monte Cristo (1922) John Gilbert

2011-08-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

The Sky Pilot (1921) silent drama film directed by King Vidor.

Based on a novel by Ralph Connor, it was the first film to be made in part at Vidor's new studio. The snow scenes were shot in Truckee where the weather did not cooperate: it snowed when the production needed sun, and was sunny wen they needed a blizzard. When the snow would not let up, local townsfolk were hired to clear the snow manually for scenes that needed dry ground. Thereafter it stopped snowing: salt was used to simulate snow on the ground. The stampede scene was shot in Fresno, California.

Directed by King Vidor
Produced by Cathrine Curtis
Written by Ralph Connor, Faith Green, John McDermott
Based upon the novel by Ralph Connor
Starring Colleen Moore, John Bowers
Cinematography, L. William O'Connell, Gus Peterson
Release date: 17 April 1921
Running time: 77 minutes

Monte Cristo (1922) John Gilbert
A film adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel. Edmond Dantes is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune...

Stars: John Gilbert, Estelle Taylor and Robert McKim
Director: Emmett J. Flynn
Writers: Alexandre Dumas père (novel), Charles Fechter (additional story)
Release Date: 3 September 1922 (USA)
Also Known As: The Count of Monte Cristo
Production Co: Fox Film Corporation
Running time: 106 minutes

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Charlie Chaplin ~ The Great Dictator & Limelight

2011-08-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

Limelight is a 1952 comedy-drama film written, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, co-starring Claire Bloom, with an appearance by Buster Keaton.

In dance scenes, Bloom is doubled by Melissa Hayden. The film score is composed by Chaplin and arranged by Ray Rasch.

The film was released amidst scandal, since it was during touring to support the film that Chaplin was refused re-admittance to the United States. The film was subsequently passed over by many theaters. In 1972, the film was given a wide U.S. release and honored at the Academy Awards.

Starring Charlie Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, Sydney Earle Chaplin
Wheeler Dryden, Norman Lloyd
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Produced by Charlie Chaplin
Written by Charlie Chaplin
Music by Charlie Chaplin
Cinematography, Karl Struss
Editing by Joe Inge
Distributed by United Artists
Image Entertainment
Release date: 1952
Running time: 137 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English with English sub-titles

The Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead.

Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was Chaplin's first true talking picture as well as his most commercially successful film. More importantly, it was the first major feature film of its period to bitterly satirize Nazism and Adolf Hitler.

At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany. Chaplin's film advanced a stirring, controversial condemnation of Hitler, fascism, antisemitism, and the Nazis, the latter of whom he excoriates in the film as "machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts".

Starring Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Produced by Charlie Chaplin
Written by Charlie Chaplin
Music by Charlie Chaplin, Meredith Willson
Distributed by United Artists
Release date: October 15, 1940
Running time: 124 min.
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget : $2,000,000

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Julie Andrews, Jack Lemmon in "That's Life" (1986)

2011-08-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

That's Life (1986) Julie Andrews, Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews, two screen legends with eleven Academy Award nominations between them, grace the screen in Blake Edwards' human comedy "That's Life!"

Lemmon frantically portrays Harvey Fairchild, a wealthy California architect, father of three successful children, husband to a beautiful wife and neurotic as hell. Confronted with his 60th birthday, Harvey is coming down with a severe case of male menopause. Gillian Fairchild (Julie Andrews), the loving, supportive wife of ranting Harvey has her own problems. She's nervously awaiting the results of her hospital tests, one of her daughters is going through a breakup and the other is seven months pregnant...and son Josh has brought home another brainless beauty. In spite of all their problems, this chaotic clan has all gathered to welcome Harvey into old age.

Directed by Blake Edwards
Produced by Tony Adams, Jonathan D. Krane
Written by Blake Edwards, Milton Wexler
Music by Henry Mancini
Cinematography, Anthony B. Richmond
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date: September 26, 1986
Running time: 102 minutes

The film was made independently by Edwards using largely his own finances and was distributed by Columbia Pictures. Although Columbia released the film, Artisan Entertainment holds the rights to distribute it on DVD.

That's Life! was shot in Edwards and his wife Andrews' own beachside home in Malibu and features their family in small roles, including two daughters. Lemmon's son Chris Lemmon plays his character's son Josh, while his wife Felicia Farr puts in a brief cameo appearance as a fortune teller.

Because of the film's independent status, many of the cast and crew were paid below union-level wages, resulting in the American Society of Cinematographers picketing the film during production and taking an advertisement in Variety in protest. As a result, the original director of photography, Harry Stradling Jr., s forced to quit the film and was subsequently replaced by Anthony.

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Julie Andrews is Cinderella (1957)

2011-08-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

Cinderella (1957) Julie Andrews

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Vair, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and self-centered stepsisters, who dreams of a better life. With the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a Princess and finds her Prince.

Starring Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Edith Adams, Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley & Dorothy Stickney

Cinderella is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical written for television. It was originally broadcast live on CBS on March 31, 1957 as a vehicle for Julie Andrews, who played the title role. The broadcast was seen by over 100 million people. It was subsequently remade for television twice, in 1965 and 1997. The 1965 version starred Lesley Ann Warren, and the 1997 one starred Brandy, in the title role. Both remakes add songs from other Richard Rodgers musicals.

Genre: Musical telefilm
Directed by Ralph Nelson
Produced by Richard Lewine
Written by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II
Country: United States
Language: English / Original channel: CBS
Release date: March 31, 1957
Running time: 76 min

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Helmut Berger as Ludwig (1972) Romy Schneider

2011-08-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ludwig (1972)

A film by Italian director Luchino Visconti about the life and death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Visconti's muse, Helmut Berger, stars as Ludwig, while Romy Schneider reprises her role as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in a very different portrayal compared to her role in the 1950s Sissi trilogy.

Ludwig is a very languidly paced film, but with an impressive sense of tragic crescendo. The epic builds sympathy in the viewer for Ludwig's decadent, yet ultimately firmly constricted life. Visconti’s meticulous realism gives a bright picture of court life in the nineteenth-century Bavaria and shows with impressive dramatic pathos how a dreamy romantic idealist as Ludwig succumbs to the strenuous and urgent demands of his responsibilities as king.

The political sphere of counselors, clergymen, princes and kings, as well as the intricate and often tense relations between the members of the royal family are treated in the film with an acute and refined sensibility to aristocratic decorum and way of living. However, in the 19th century the Bavarian king lacked real political power, causing Ludwig to indulge in his Wagnerian fantasies while more or less ignoring the political reality at the time.

Starring Helmut Berger, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Romy Schneider,
Gert Fröbe, John Moulder Brown, Marc Porel
Directed by Luchino Visconti
Produced by Dieter Geissler, Ugo Santalucia
Written by Luchino Visconti, Enrico Medioli, Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Distributed by MGM-EMI
Release dates ~ Germany: 29 December 1972; Italy: March 7, 1973;
United States: 8 March 1973; France: 15 March 1973
ORIGINAL Running time: 184 min. / 235 min. (European cut)
Country: Italy / France
Language: Italian & French with English subtitles

DVD running time: 3 hrs 53 min / English sub-titles

The film was made in Munich and other parts of Bavaria, Germany and at the following locations: Berg Castle, Castle Herrenchiemsee, Castle Hohenschwangau, Castle Linderhof, Ettal and Neuschwanstein Castle.

During filming in Linderhof Castle the temperature in the famed mirror hall got so high that one of the mirrors cracked as a result, it is to this day the only broken piece in the original decor of the hall.

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Julie Andrews - Duet for One & That's Life (1986)

2011-07-31T00:22:00.000-07:00

That's Life (1986) Julie Andrews, Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews, two screen legends with eleven Academy Award nominations between them, grace the screen in Blake Edwards' human comedy "That's Life!"

Lemmon frantically portrays Harvey Fairchild, a wealthy California architect, father of three successful children, husband to a beautiful wife and neurotic as hell. Confronted with his 60th birthday, Harvey is coming down with a severe case of male menopause. Gillian Fairchild (Julie Andrews), the loving, supportive wife of ranting Harvey has her own problems. She's nervously awaiting the results of her hospital tests, one of her daughters is going through a breakup and the other is seven months pregnant...and son Josh has brought home another brainless beauty. In spite of all their problems, this chaotic clan has all gathered to welcome Harvey into old age.

Directed by Blake Edwards
Produced by Tony Adams, Jonathan D. Krane
Written by Blake Edwards, Milton Wexler
Music by Henry Mancini
Cinematography, Anthony B. Richmond
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date: September 26, 1986
Running time: 102 minutes

The film was made independently by Edwards using largely his own finances and was distributed by Columbia Pictures. Although Columbia released the film, Artisan Entertainment holds the rights to distribute it on DVD.

That's Life! was shot in Edwards and his wife Andrews' own beachside home in Malibu and features their family in small roles, including two daughters. Lemmon's son Chris Lemmon plays his character's son Josh, while his wife Felicia Farr puts in a brief cameo appearance as a fortune teller.

Because of the film's independent status, many of the cast and crew were paid below union-level wages, resulting in the American Society of Cinematographers picketing the film during production and taking an advertisement in Variety in protest. As a result, the original director of photography, Harry Stradling Jr., as forced to quit the film and was subsequently replaced by Anthony.

Duet for One (1986) Julie Andrews, Alan Bates, Max Von Sydow, Rupert Everet, Liam Neeson

An acclaimed film based on an award-winning British play by Tom Kempinski about a world-famous concert violinist named Stephanie Anderson who is suddenly struck with multiple sclerosis. It is set in London and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The story is loosely based on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who was diagnosed with MS, and her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim.

Julie Andrews : Stephanie Anderson
Alan Bates : David Cornwallis
Max von Sydow : Dr. Louis Feldman
Rupert Everett : Constantine Kassanis
Margaret Courtenay : Sonia Randvich
Cathryn Harrison : Penny Smallwood
Liam Neeson : Totter
Paula Figgett : Totter's Daughter

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La Souriante Madame Beudet 1922 (The Smiling Madame Beudet) DVD

2011-07-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

La Souriante Madame Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet) is a short French silent film made in 1922, directed by famed surrealist director Germaine Dulac. It is considered by many to be one of the first truly "feminist" films. It tells the story of an intelligent woman trapped in a loveless marriage.

Directed by Germaine Dulac
Produced by Charles Delac, Marcel Vandal
Written by Denys Amiel (play), André Obey
Starring Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquillière
Cinematography, Maurice Forster, Paul Parguel
Release date: 1922
Country: France
French-English inter-titles

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Anna Boleyn (1920) Anne Boleyn a/k/a Deception DVD

2011-07-23T02:32:00.001-07:00

Anna Boleyn (1920) Anne Boleyn a/k/a Deception

Henny Porten as Anne Boleyn and Emil Jannings as King Henry VIII

The story of the ill-fated second wife of the English king Henry VIII, whose marriage to the Henry led to momentous political and religious turmoil in England.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Written by Norbert Falk (as Fred Orbing), Hanns Kräly
Cinematography, Theodor Sparkuhl
Distributed by UFA
Release date: Dec 3, 1920 (Germany); Apr 17, 1921 (U.S.)
Running time 118 min
Country: Germany
German/English inter-titles

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The Man Who Laughs (1928) by Paul Leni

2011-07-23T02:29:00.000-07:00

The Man Who Laughs (1928) is an American silent film directed by the German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name and stars Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine and Mary Philbin as the blind Dea with Olga Baclanova, Josephine Crowell, George Siegmann.

The film is known for the grim carnival freak-like grin on the character Gwynplaine's face, which often leads it to be classified as a horror film. Film critic Roger Ebert stated, "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film."

The Man Who Laughs is a Romantic melodrama, similar to films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). The film was one of the early Universal Pictures productions that made the transition from silent films to sound films, using the Movietone sound system introduced by William Fox. The film was completed in April 1927 but was held for release in April 1928, with sound effects and a music score that included the song, "When Love Comes Stealing," by Walter Hirsch, Lew Pollack, and Erno Rapee.

Directed by Paul Leni
Produced by Paul Kohner
Written by: (Novel) Victor Hugo, Screenplay: J. Grubb Alexander, Walter Anthony, Mary McLean, Charles E. Whittaker
Cinematography, Gilbert Warrenton
Editing by, Edward L. Cahn, Maurice Pivar
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date: New York Premiere - April 27, 1928
Running time: 110 min.

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The White Devil (1930) Lil Dagover, Betty Amann DVD

2011-07-23T02:24:00.000-07:00

The White Devil (1930)
Directed by Alexandre Volkoff. Screenplay by Volkoff, Michel Linsky, based on Hadschi Murat by Leo Tolstoy. With Ivan Mosjoukine, Lil Dagover, Fritz Alberti, Betty Amann, Peter Lorre.

The White Devil is one of the most rousing and action-packed late-era silent films you’ve likely never seen, reuniting the internationally celebrated Russian émigré movie star Ivan Mosjoukine with émigré director Alexandre Volkoff in an UFA adaptation of Hadji Murat, Leo Tolstoy’s posthumously published account of his own experiences as a soldier during the 1851–52 Russian-Caucasian War. (The 2003 edition of To Save and Project featured Volkoff and Mosjoukine’s exhilarating serial La Maison du mystère.)

Caught in a violent struggle between Europeanized Russia and Muslim Chechnya, a valiant and chivalrous Avar warlord rebels against his ruthless leader, Imam Shamil, and then leads a populist revolt against the despotic Czar Nicolai I.

Preserved by the Deutsche Kinemathek, Volkoff’s film features stunning cinematography by Curt Courant (who would later collaborate with Hitchcock, Renoir, Pabst, Ophuls, and Carné), Reimar Kuntze (who shot Berlin: Symphony of a Great City), and Nikolai Toporkoff (who shot Abel Gance’s Napoleon), as well as an ingenious soundtrack of music and effects. Courtesy Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung.

In German; English subtitles. 105 min.

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Erotikon - Seduction (1929) Czech silent gem on DVD

2011-07-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

Erotikon - Seduction (1929)

Stars: Karel Schleichert, Ita Rina and Olaf Fjord
Director: Gustav Machatý
Writers: Gustav Machatý (story), Gustav Machatý (screenplay),
Country: Czechoslovakia
Language: Czech (silent)
85 min - Drama - 27 February 1929 (Czechoslovakia)
Filming Locations: Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
English & Czech inter-titles

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Fritz Lang thriller SPIONE : Spies (1928) DVD

2011-07-19T01:32:00.000-07:00

Fritz Lang thriller Spione (1928) DVD

Spione (English title: Spies, under which title it was released in the United States) is a German silent espionage thriller written and directed by Fritz Lang in 1928.

Lang's wife, Thea von Harbou, worked as a co-writer. The film was Lang's penultimate silent film, and the first for his own production company; Fritz Lang-film GmbH. As in Lang's Mabuse films, such as Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Rudolf Klein-Rogge plays a master criminal aiming for world domination.

Spione was restored to its original length by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung during 2003 and 2004. No original negatives survive, but a high quality nitrate copy is held at the Národni Filmovy Archiv at Prague.

Starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch, Georg John
Directed by Fritz Lang
Produced by Erich Pommer
Written by Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou
Music by Werner R. Heymann
Cinematography, Fritz Arno Wagner
Release date: March 22, 1928
Running time: 178 min. (16 frame/s)
Country : Germany
Language: Silent film
German & English inter-titles

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Paul Leni's silent horror omnibus Waxworks (1924) DVD

2011-07-17T03:25:00.001-07:00

Paul Leni's silent horror omnibus Waxworks (1924)

A trio of legendary killers-Jack the Ripper (Werner Krauss), Ivan the Terrible (Conrad Veidt) and Haroun-al-Raschid (Emil Jannings)-come to life in three highly stylized segments of director Paul Leni's silent horror omnibus. A writer's imagination runs wild while creating scenarios for a carnival's wax exhibit.

83 min. Silent with music score.

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The Beggar from the Dome of Cologne (1927) DVD

2011-07-16T14:18:00.001-07:00

The Beggar from the Dome of Cologne (1927) DVD
a/k/a Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom

Stars: Henry Stuart, Elza Temary and Carl de Vogt
Director: Rolf Randolf
Writer: Emanuel Alfieri (play)
Country: Germany / Language: German & English inter-titles
Also Known As: Le mendiant de la cathédrale de Cologne
Production Co: Internationale Film AG (IFA)
Runtime: Germany: 101 min (2009 restored version)

REVIEW:

Something stinks in the city of Cologne ( a very embarrassing fact for that German city, certainly… ).

An international gang of thieves and swindlers decide to move their criminal operation to the Teutonic city of Cologne but Herr Tom Wilkens ,( Herr Henry Stuart ) one of the best agents of the international police, is not far behind and leads an investigation to unmask the criminals.

“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” ( The Beggar From The Dome Of Cologne ) (1927) is a very remarkable and well-done German detective silent film made by Herr the not well-known- Rolf Randolf.

The detective or police genre was fairly uncommon for the German silent cinema ( Teutonic audiences preferred more interesting metaphysical and depressing subjects for their entertainment… ) although there were important exceptions such as Herr Harry Piel who starred in a lot of detective films full of mysterious adventures during the silent ( and talking ) era. He became the quintessential Teutonic silent hero and his very popular police films appealed to those German audiences who were fond of Amerikan detective movies.

“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” is clearly influenced by those obscure Amerikan silent detective films both in terms of aesthetics and film narrative ( this Herr Von saw through his monocle Herr Tod Browning’s spirit in the underworld depicted in the oeuvre ) although Herr Randolf tailored these aspects to German idiosyncrasies in a very successful and remarkable way.

The film is carefully plotted ( although sometimes confusing ) and Cologne is given a mysterious and disturbing atmosphere with a sense of menace being artistically created.

“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” has many excellent moments depicting the gang and their activities, whether they are operating in the slums or in elegant circles.
Nothing is what it seems to be and every detail enriches the tension. There are different tricks, disguises and gadgets all expertly and elaborately photographed.

The film also has a lot of irony and humour ( German, natürlich! ) some of which comes from the characters of a singular pair of private detectives, Herr Napoleon Bonaparte Schmitz ( Herr Karl Geppert ) and Herr Carolus Caesar Müller ( Herr Hermann Blass ) who will help (maybe not a lot), Herr Wilkens during his police investigations. Their presence lightens the mood.

“Der Bettler vom Kölner Dom” is full of those ingredients that a good detective silent film needs; that is to say, an unscrupulous gang, a brave detective, dangerous fräuleins and a lot of action and adventures through the city of Cologne ( But this is a German film so the rhythm is sometimes slow). This is an unjustly forgotten and very remarkable silent film that thanks to the superb restoration made by the longhaired youngsters at the “Edition Filmmuseum”( which includes a superb new orchestral soundtrack by Herr Pierre Oser, that will be released during the next months), can be enjoyed and discovered by any silent film fan around the world.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must perfume himself with an entire bottle of eau-de-Cologne.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com

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Asphalt (1929) German silent film DVD

2011-07-16T01:52:00.000-07:00

Asphalt (1929) is a German silent film. The film was one of the last silent films released in Germany as the world was entering the era of sound film.

In Berlin, a policeman called Holk is summoned to a jeweller's shop, where a beautiful young woman has tried to steal a diamond. En route to the police station, the woman takes Holk back to her apartment on the pretext of collecting some papers and ends up seducing him. Soon he finds himself caught between his duty and the woman he is falling in love with.

ASPHALT was one of the last films of the silent German Expressionist era - like Fritz Lang, director Joe May soon made the move to Hollywood, although failed to find the success there that Lang did. In ASPHALT, May sets a simplistic morality tale against the backdrop of modern, bustling city - there are none of the political overtones of other films of the time, but the picture remains both a technical triumph and a touching story of doomed love.

May opens the film with a bravura display of the cinematic techniques that were being pioneered at the time, capturing the industrial fury of modern Berlin. The director overlays frames of traffic as cars thunder through the city and performs some dramatic crane shots over the crowds and across the streets, all part of a massive set at the renowned UFA studios. Eventually, he comes to focus on just four characters - dedicated, hardworking cop Holk, his loving parents with whom he lives, and Elsie, the sultry would-be jewel thief who steals his heart.

In terms of events, very little actually happens in ASPHALT - in a modern picture, the entire 90 minute running time would probably just be compressed into the first act. So it's a testament to the skill of both the actors and the director that the film is quite as watchable as it is. Betty Amann, playing Elsie, is by turns cunning, sultry and fragile - her ambiguous performance is played largely with her eyes, and we are never sure if we are watching the 'real' Elsie, or just an act. Gustav Frohlich is a more straight-forward, stoic hero, but the haunted, terrified look on his face after he returns home after committing a terrible act towards the end makes for one of the film's most striking moments.

May's direction remains impressive throughout, although the more dramatic technical trickery is largely kept for the opening sequences. Nevertheless, the lighting, editing and camerawork help create an atmosphere charged with a sense of doomed inevitability, and the scenes between Amann and Frohlich carry an undeniable erotic charge. For all its innovation, ASPHALT is obviously a film of its era - the only dialogue is supplied by occasional inter-titles... Within two years, Fritz Lang's groundbreaking masterpiece M would make the likes of ASPHALT seem positively quaint by comparison, but this remains a little known but important part of cinema history. - Daniel Auty, The Spinning Image.

Directed by Joe May
Produced by Erich Pommer
Written by Hans Szekely
Starring Gustav Fröhlich, Else Heller, Albert Steinruck, Betty Amann
Cinematography Günther Rittau
Distributed by Universum Film AG
Release date: Germany~ March 11, 1929
Running time 93 min
Country: Germany / Language: Silent film / German-English inter-titles

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Fritz Lang: Das wandernde Bild~The Wandering Image (1920)

2011-07-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

Fritz Lang: Das wandernde Bild - The Wandering Image (1920)
a/k/a The Moving Image and The Wandering Image
Mia May as Irmgard Vanderheit
Hans Marr as Georg Vanderheit / John Vanderheit
Rudolf Klein-Rogge as Georgs Vetter Wil Brand
Loni Nest as Irmgards Tochter
Directed by Fritz Lang Produced by Joe May (producer)
Written by Fritz Lang (writer), Thea von Harbou (writer)
Cinematography, Guido Seeber
Running time: 66 minutes (German restored version)
German / English inter-titles Country: Germany
Release Date: 26 September 1921 (Finland) Filming Locations: Königssee, Bavaria, Germany

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Mary Philbin Merry-Go-Round (1923) DVD

2011-07-15T11:50:00.001-07:00

Merry-Go-Round is a 1923 movie by Erich von Stroheim and his replacement, Rupert Julian, starring Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin with Edith Yorke, Dale Fuller

A nobleman, posing as a necktie salesman, falls in love with the daughter of a circus puppeteer, even though he is already married to the daughter of his country's war minister.

Directed by Erich von Stroheim, Rupert Julian
Produced by Universal Pictures
Written by Harvey Gates (story), Finis Fox (scen.), Irving Thalberg (scen.), Rupert Julian (scen.),
Erich von Stroheim (scen.)
Cinematography Charles Kaufman
Editing by James MacKay
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release Date: 3 September 1923 (USA)
Running time: 110 minutes

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RARE Jewish silent film Nathan Der Weise / Nathan the Wise (1922) DVD

2011-07-15T11:47:00.001-07:00

RARE Jewish silent gem Nathan Der Weise / Nathan the Wise (1922) DVD

Nathan Der Weise / Nathan the Wise (1922) produced in Munich, only one copy has been found. It was found in Gosfilmofond, in Moscow, under the title "Conquest of Jerusalem."

In 1997, the Munich Film Museum obtained a copy. In 2006, following notes from the
censors, the title was renamed and corrected. And tints were restored according to the conventions of the 1920s. Nathan the Wise is a German literary adaptation in six acts of Manfred Noa from the year 1922. It is currently the only cinema production of the play Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing . The TV premiere of the long term as missing current silent film took place on 1 June 2010 on the station arte .

Country: Germany
German & English (intertitles)
Release Date: 21 September 1923 (Austria)
2 hours, 2 minutes, 51 seconds

"A film for humanity"

The 1922 silent film Nathan the Wise, by the German Jewish director Manfred Noa (1893-1930) is to date the only film of the play. It sticks closely to Lessing's plot and, in a cinematic language which still feels modern, tells a story set in Jerusalem during the third crusade when the city was besieged by crusaders. With their technically impressive film, Noa and his producer Erich Wagowski of the Munich-based company Emelka, made a significant statement within early film history in support of a more political cinema. Director and producer wanted to make a "film for humanity", a plea for the peaceful coexistence of peoples and faiths.

Friday, January 12, 2007
‘Nathan Der Weise’
by michael fox, correspondent

Much of the appeal of silent movies — or any art from a distant era — lies in the glimpses they provide of the way people used to live and think. But more often than one might expect, 85-year-old films speak directly to our own time.

Such is the case with "Nathan Der Weise" ("Nathan the Wise"), German-Jewish director Manred Noa's 1922 adaptation of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's 1779 play. Set in and around Jerusalem at the time of the crusades, the story throws Christians, Muslims and Jews together in a melodramatic maelstrom of epic proportions.

With battle and crowd scenes that Cecil B. DeMille must have admired, and emotional displays of anarchy, enmity and revenge, "Nathan Der Weise" is packed with pomp and prejudice. In other words, most of the time it's quite a show.

Viewed through the prism of 1922 Germany, the movie is a plaintive post-World War I plea for the end of armed insanity. From a current vantage point, where the differences between West and East are framed by some as a battle between terrorism and civilization, Christianity and Islam, "Nathan Der Weise" presents religious intolerance as an opportunistic tool wielded by mistrustful and powerful men.

The actor Werner Krauss, coming off his star-making role as the maniacal lead in the German Expressionist classic "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," plays Nathan as a model of restraint and suffering. We are introduced to the bearded Jewish elder some minutes into the film as a voice of moderation, counseling nonviolence among his sons as a marauding gang approaches.

Nathan's family appears to have escaped the violence until a child, pursued by the rampaging criminals and desperate for a hiding place, approaches the synagogue. Nathan shields the boy, a just and brave response by any measure. But the mob torches the shul, and Nathan's wife and children are killed in the blaze.

By the sheerest of coincidences, Nathan subsequently is given a baby to hide by a fleeing horseman. We know from the opening scenes of "Nathan Der Weise" that this is a Christian baby from a powerful family, yet Nathan raises the girl as his own.

Later, the Sultan Saladin lays siege to and eventually defeats Jerusalem's Christians. Those soldiers who can't buy their freedom become his slaves, but the kind and good Nathan steps in and ransoms a large number. Yes, a case can be made that Nathan is the most positive Jewish figure in the history of movies, with the obvious exception of Paul Newman's character in "Exodus."

Needless to say, "Nathan Der Weise" and its portrait of a generous, pacifist Jewish hero did not jibe with the venal image of Jews that Heinrich Himmler and the Nazi Party were hawking to a hungry, embittered nation. Once in power, the Nazis banned the film and years later, in a twisted irony that may or may not have been intentional, cast Werner Krauss as a stereotypically rotten Jew in the infamous 1940 propaganda film "Jud Suss."

Fortunately, "Nathan Der Weise" is now back in circulation to partially offset the overriding perception of Jews in German cinema, namely the painful scenes recorded for Nazi newsreels and immortalized in countless Holocaust documentaries.

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
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Silent & Sound Horror Classics: 16 films-7 DVDs

2011-07-09T21:36:00.001-07:00

Silent & Sound Horror Classics: 16 films-7 DVDs

DVD #1

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) silent film directed by Stuart Paton. The film's storyline is based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, along with other elements used from Verne's The Mysterious Island.

This version is notable for its groundbreaking work in underwater photography by the brothers George M. Williamson and J. Ernest Williamson.

Actual underwater cameras were not used, but a system of watertight tubes and mirrors allowed the camera to shoot reflected images of underwater scenes staged in shallow sunlit waters.

The film was made by The Universal Film Manufacturing Company (now Universal Pictures), not then known as a major motion picture studio. Yet in 1916, they financed this film's innovative special effects, location photography, large sets, exotic costumes, sailing ships, and full-size navigable mock-up of the surfaced submarine Nautilus.

Hal Erickson has said that "the cost of this film was so astronomical that it could not possibly post a profit, putting the kibosh on any subsequent Verne adaptations for the next 12 years."

DVD #2

Frankenstein is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios that was written and directed by J. Searle Dawley ...

It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein, Charles Ogle as the Monster, and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancée.

Shot in three days, it was filmed at the Edison Studios in the Bronx, New York City. Although some sources credit Thomas Edison as the producer, he in fact played no direct part in the activities of the motion picture company that bore his name.

Häxan (English title: The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages) is a 1922 Swedish/Danish silent film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. Based partly on Christensen's study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch-hunts.

The film was made as a documentary but contains dramatized sequences that are comparable to horror films. With Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and the lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made, costing nearly two million Swedish krona.

Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden, the film was banned in the United States and heavily censored in other countries for what were considered at that time graphic depictions of torture, nudity, and sexual perversion.

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (translated as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror; also known as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror or simply Nosferatu) is a German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok.

The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok").

Nosferatu was ranked twenty-first in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2010.

DVD #3

Beyond the Door (1974) & Beyond the Door 2 (1977)

Beyond the Door (Italian title: Chi Sei?) is a 1974 Italian horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis (credited as Oliver Hellman) and starring Juliet Mills and Richard Johnson.

Detailing a woman possessed by a demon, Beyond The Door was labeled a rip-off of The Exorcist. Warner Bros. promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit failed after it was determined Warner Bros. had no rights to key horror scenes depicted in The Exorcist.

The interior shots were filmed on set in Italy at the Incir De Paolis Studios in Rome, while all exteriors were shot on location in San Francisco. Film Ventures International acquired the film for distribution in the United States for $100,000.

This meant Beyond The Door paved the way for several other "Exorcist rip-offs" (many originating in Italy as well) to see successful release in the U.S and elsewhere. Some of these include Abby, The House of Exorcism, L'Anticristo (The Antichrist) and Seytan.

Budget: $350,000.00 - The film became an independent hit, earning an estimated $15 million at the U.S Box Office.

Shock (also known as Schock and Beyond the Door II) is an Italian horror film directed by Italian horror director Mario Bava in 1977. This was Bava's last film before he died of a heart attack in 1980. The film starred Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, and David Colin, Jr.

For its US release, Film Ventures International decided to rename the film Beyond the Door II, under the guise of it being a "sequel" to Ovidio G. Assonitis's 1974 film Chi sei?, renamed Beyond the Door for US release. The reason for the change was the fact that the two films starred child actor David Colin Jr., as a boy possessed.

In spite of this false re-branding of the film through its renaming, Film Ventures International was quite faithful with its English dubbing of Shock. Lamberto Bava's script was adapted quite faithfully and unlike Lisa and the Devil, did not include any reshoots or omission of footage, making it one of the few films by Mario Bavo to appear in the US intact.

Mastered from 16mm theatrical release prints with no digital enhancements.
Includes original theatrical and TV trailers.

Complete/un-cut.

DVD #4

The Cat & The Canary - Silent film classic 1927 and 1978 camp-cult classic ... 1 DVD

The Cat and the Canary (1978) Carol Lynley, Honor Blackman
With Michael Callan, Edward Fox. Directed by Radley Metzger.

Frank Willard's 1927 stage play The Cat and the Canary was filmed several times before this 1978 version saw the light of day. In the story, Annabelle West (Carol Lynley) is one of several potential heirs to a huge fortune. Brought to his foreboding mansion to learn who will benefit from his death, the anxious heirs must sit still for the deceased's taped recitation of his bequests. The dead man, Cyrus West (Wilfred Hyde-White), takes advantage of the occasion to scold his greedy and unpleasant relatives. He leaves behind several posthumous practical jokes which drive his points home. It's a rainy night, the mansion is full of surprises, most of the heirs are an anxious, unpleasant lot, and at least one of them is not above committing murder to have his way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Cat and the Canary (1927) is an American silent horror film adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black comedy play of the same name. Directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni, the film stars Laura La Plante as Annabelle West, Forrest Stanley as Charles "Charlie" Wilder, and Creighton Hale as Paul Jones. The plot revolves around the death of Cyrus West, who is Annabelle, Charlie, and Paul's uncle, and the reading of his will 20 years later. Annabelle inherits her uncle's fortune, but when she and her family spend the night in his haunted mansion they are stalked by a mysterious figure. Meanwhile, a lunatic known as "the Cat" escapes from an asylum and hides in the mansion.

The Cat and the Canary is part of a genre of comedy horror films inspired by 1920s Broadway stage plays. Paul Leni's adaptation of Willard's play blended expressionism with humor, a style Leni was notable for and critics recognized as unique. Leni's style of directing made The Cat and the Canary influential in the "old dark house" genre of films popular from the 1930s through the 1950s. The film was one of Universal's early horror productions and is considered "the cornerstone of Universal's school of horror." It has been remade five times.

Original Score by Brian Pinette

DVD #5

The Dick Van Dyke Show (October 3, 1961 until June 1, 1966)

"Spooky" Episodes:

It May Look Like A Walnut (6 - Feb. 1963)
The Ghost of A. Chantz (30 - Sept. 1964)
Uhny Uftz (29 - Sept. 1965)
Long Nights Journey Into Day (11 - May 1966)

DVD #6

Der Golem (German: Der Golem, shown in the USA as The Monster of Fate) is a 1915 silent horror film written and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. The film is an original work inspired by ancient Jewish legend. It is a long lost film (save for a few fragments). It is the first of three Golem films by Wegener, the others being The Golem and the Dancing Girl (1917) and The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920).

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (German: Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari) is a 1920 silent horror film directed by Robert Wiene from a screenplay by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. It is one of the most influential of German Expressionist films and is often considered one of the greatest horror movies of the early times. This movie is cited as having introduced the twist ending in cinema. - 1 DVD

DVD #7

The Vampire Bat (1933) starring Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Melvyn Douglas & Dwight Frye
When the villagers of Kleinschloss start dying of blood loss, the town fathers suspect a resurgence of vampirism. While police inspector Karl remains skeptical, scientist Dr. von Niemann cares for the vampire's victims one by one, and suspicion falls on simple-minded Herman Gleib because of his fondness for bats. A blood-thirsty mob hounds Gleib to his death, but the vampire attacks don't stop.

The Devil Bat (1940) black-and-white comedy-horror movie which was produced by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) and directed by Jean Yarbrough. The film stars the well known horror actor Béla Lugosi, along with Suzanne Kaaren, Guy Usher, Yolande Mallott, and the comic team of Dave O'Brien and Donald Kerr as the protagonists.

The story involves a small town cosmetic company chemist (Lugosi) who is upset at his wealthy employers, because he feels they have denied him his due share of company success. To get revenge, he breeds giant bats. He then conditions them to kill those wearing a special after-shave lotion he has concocted. He cleverly distributes the lotion to his enemies as a "test" product.
Once they have applied the lotion, the chemist then releases his Devil Bats in the night, which kill his two former partners and three members of their families. A hot shot big city reporter gets assigned by his editor to cover and help solve the murders. He (O'Brien) and his bumbling photographer (Kerr) begin to unwind the mystery with some comic sidelights. The mad chemist is, predictably, done in by his own shaving lotion, and by his own creation—the dreaded Devil Bat.

16 film gems on 7 DVDs in DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels and 4x6 glossy promo photos for each DVD. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.
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Individual DVDs from the set are $5.99 FREE SHIP USA and Intl. = $8.99 (including shipping). Contact: damienrecords@gmail.com

Williams Haines & Esther Ralston - 2 gems-1 DVD

2011-07-09T15:04:00.001-07:00

Williams Haines & Esther Ralston - 2 gems - 1 DVD

The Mascot Pictures Corporation was a minor film company of the 1920s and 1930s best known for producing film serials and B-westerns. Mascot's serial The King of the Kongo (1929) was the first serial to include sound, beating Universal Studios by several months.
Mascot was formed in 1927 by Film producer Nat Levine. In 1935 it merged with other companies to form Republic Pictures.

Mascot was created by Nat Levine, a former personal secretary to Marcus Loew, in 1927 after the success of his independent serial The Silent Flyer (1926).
In the beginning the production company operated out of the upstairs offices of a contractor's business on Santa Monica Boulevard. The company rented all of its equipment and facilities.
In 1929 the studio made serial history with the production of The King of the Kongo. This was the first serial, from any production company, to be made with sound. Mascot's first All-Talking production was The Phantom of the West (1931).

Sennett Studios

It was from small Mascot Pictures, but Ladies Crave Excitement (1935) still packed "Bursting Action, Deep Drama...And Up To Date Romance" into its 73 minutes. Supervising editor Joseph H. Lewis would soon become a prolific director of B Westerns. His later film noirs, including the independently produced Gun Crazy (1949), would become renowned.

By 1933, Mascot was successful enough to rent, and later buy, Sennett Studios after the original owner, famous producer-director Mack Sennett, went bankrupt because of the Great Depression. This made the company a true film studio.

Mascot was responsible for the popularity of the concept of the "singing cowboy" and the "musical Western". In 1935, the studio produced The Phantom Empire with the then untried Gene Autry as the lead.

Republic Pictures

Mascot's film developer was Consolidated Film Corporation. In 1935, under pressure from that company's owner, Herbert Yates, Mascot merged with Consolidated Film and Monogram Pictures to form the larger Republic Pictures. Mascot became the serial and B-Western elements of the company, along with their studio. Along with other things, Monogram provided their distribution network and technical and financial elements came from Consolidated Film.
Two other companies, Liberty Pictures and Majestic Pictures, rejected the offer and soon went out of business.
[edit]Legacy

Several careers began at Mascot Pictures - Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, John Wayne

Young and Beautiful (1934) is a romantic comedy film about a press agent who goes to great lengths to make his actress girlfriend a star, only to risk losing her in the process.

Starring William Haines & Judith Allen
Directed by Joseph Santley
Produced by Nat Levine
Written by Milton Crims (story)
Joseph Santley (story), Dore Schary, Colbert Clark (add. dialogue), Al Martin (add. dialogue)
Studio: Mascot Pictures
Release date: September 17, 1934
Running time: 63 or 68 minutes

Ladies Crave Excitement (1935)

Don Phelan, the ace newsreel reporter falls in love with , Wilma Howell, the daughter of the owner of another newsreel company that is a bitter rival of the one Don Works for. The rivalry between the two companies, with cameramen nudging each other out of the way, sabotage acts by one against the other, and reporters fighting to get the 'scoop' does not bode well for the romance.

Starring Norman Foster, Evalyn Knapp, Eric Linden, Esther Ralston, Purnell Prat
Directed by Nick Grinde
Written by John Rathmell
Release Date: 22 June 1935
Studio: Mascot Pictures
Runtime: 73 min

2 Mascot Picture gems on 1 no-region DVD. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Charlie Chaplin & Harold Lloyd ~ 11 gems-2 DVDs

2011-07-09T13:02:00.001-07:00

Charlie Chaplin & Harold Lloyd ~ 11 gems - 2 DVDs

Charlie Chaplin

The Kid (1921)
The Idle Class (1921)
In the Park (1915)
A Day's Pleasure (1919)

Harold Lloyd

Are Crooks Dishonest? (1918)
Neighbours (1919)
Number Please (1920)
Get Out and Get Under (1920)
Never Weaken (1921)
Milky Way (1936)
Calendar (4/16/1962)

2 no-region DVDs in DVD/CD Sleeves, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo for each DVD (as shown).
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Von Stroheim Foolish Wives, Greed, Wedding March, Merry Widow DVDs

2011-06-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

Foolish Wives (1922) is an American drama silent film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and written and directed by Erich von Stroheim.

Although uncredited, Irving Thalberg, aged 22, was in charge of production and would go on to become one of the most famous studio heads of all time at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

The drama features von Stroheim, Rudolph Christians, Miss DuPont, Maude George ...

Directed by Erich von Stroheim
Produced by Irving Thalberg, Carl Laemmle
Written by Erich von Stroheim
Music by Sigmund Romberg
Cinematography William H. Daniels, Ben F. Reynolds
Editing by Arthur Ripley
Distributed by Universal Studios
Release date: January 11, 1922
Running time: 117 minutes ~ (original)
140 minutes ~ (DVD release)

DVD #1 - approx. 65 min.
DVD #2 - approx. 79 min.

When released in 1922, the film was the most expensive film made at that time, and billed by Universal Studios as the "first million-dollar movie" to come out of Hollywood. Originally, von Stroheim intended the film to run anywhere between 6 and 10 hours, and be shown over two evenings, but Universal executives opposed this idea. The studio bosses cut the film drastically before the release date.

The 130 minutes version left of a film supposedly 6 hours long in its primary form.
The most expensive production of that time, they say. (Director Stroheim, $700,000 producer Carl Laemmle, $1,300,000).

In 2008, Foolish Wives was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Greed (1924)

It was directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Joan Standing and Jack Curtis.

The plot follows a dentist whose wife wins a lottery ticket, only to become obsessed with money. When her former lover betrays the dentist as a fraud, all of their lives are destroyed.

The movie was adapted by von Stroheim (shooting screenplay) and Joseph Farnham (titles) from the 1899 novel McTeague by Frank Norris. (The on-screen writing credit for June Mathis was strictly a contractual obligation to her on the part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (the parent studio), as she was not actually involved in the production.)

Originally over ten hours long, Greed was ultimately edited against von Stroheim's permission to about two and a half hours, and the full-length version is a lost film. This DVD is TCM airing.

The Merry Widow (1925) American silent MGM romantic drama film and black comedy directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. The film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy.

Directed by Erich von Stroheim
Produced by Erich von Stroheim
Irving Thalberg (uncredited)
Written by Erich von Stroheim, Benjamin Glazer
Release date: August 26, 1925

The Wedding March (1928) Erich Von Stroheim, Fay Wray
DVD is no-region, in a DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy photo to make your own case. ALL silent films have been re-mastered & are public domain. Original score by Brian Pinette.

The Wedding March (1928) is a silent film directed by and starring Erich von Stroheim. It also stars Fay Wray and ZaSu Pitts. Paramount Pictures forced von Stroheim to create two films from the footage, the second being The Honeymoon (eventually re-edited back into one film for a re-release). The Honeymoon is now a lost film, the only known copy destroyed in a fire in France in 1957.
In 2003, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Directed by Erich von Stroheim
Produced by Jesse Lasky, Pat Powers, Adolph Zukor
Written by Harry Carr
Starring Erich von Stroheim, Fay Wray, George Fawcett, George Nichols, ZaSu Pitts, Maude
Editing by Frank E. Hull
Josef von Sternberg
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date: October 6, 1928

4 gems on 5 no-region DVDs. In DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels and 4x6 glossy promo for each DVD. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Sophia Loren The White Sister (1972)

2011-06-28T12:00:00.001-07:00

Sophia Loren The White Sister (1972)

No-region DVDs, in DVD/CD sleeves, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown for each DVD. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

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Helmut Berger, Josh Duhamel, Shane Briant as Dorian Gray DVDS

2011-06-28T11:48:00.001-07:00

Helmut Berger, Josh Duhamel, Shane Briant as Dorian Gray DVDS

The Secret of Dorian Gray (1970) Helmut Berger

The Picture of Dorian Gray (2004) Josh Duhamel (film debut)

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973) Shane Briant

3 No-region DVDs, in DVD/CD sleeves, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown for each DVD. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Dangerous Females (1929) Marie Dressler, Lesson in Love (1931) Helen Kane, Lonely Wives (1931) Patsy Ruth Miller

2011-06-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Dangerous Females (1929)
Roommates panic and plan when they hear a radio report of a murderer loose in their neighborhood. A simply terrific thriller/comedy from the early sound era. Produced by Al Christie.
Stars: Marie Dressler, Polly Moran and Frank Rice
Director: William Watson
Writers: Florence Ryerson (scenario), Colin Clements (scenario)
Running Time: 20 minutes
Christie Film Company - Release Date: 16 November 1929

The Mighty (1929) George Bancroft, Esther Ralston
Director: John Cromwell
Writers: Grover Jones, Robert N. Lee (story)
Pre-code early talkie - Running Time: 57 minutes
Release Date: 16 November 1929 (USA) Also Known As: Der Kampf um die Macht
Filming Locations: Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Lonely Wives (1931) American pre-code comedy
Edward Everett Horton as Richard "Dickie" Smith / Felix, the Great Zero
Esther Ralston as Madeline Smith
Laura La Plante as Diane O'Dare
Patsy Ruth Miller as Kitty "Minty" Minter
Spencer Charters as Andrews, the Butler
Maude Eburne as Mrs. Mantel
Maurice Black as Taxi Driver

Directed by Russell Mack Produced by E.B. Derr (producer)
Written by Walter DeLeon, A.H. Woods (play)
Music by Francis Gromon Cinematography Edward Snyder
Editing by Joseph Kane
Pathe Exchange - Release date: 1931 - Running time: 85 minutes

A Lesson in Love (1931) Helen Kane
Stars: Helen Kane
Director: Casey Robinson
Writers: J.R. Murray, Ben Oakland
Running time: 10 minutes
Paramount Pictures - Release Date: 26 September 1931

4 little gems on 1 no-region DVD. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown. Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

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King Vidor's The Crowd (1928) & Our Daily Bread (1934)

2011-06-11T05:06:00.001-07:00

2 film gems on 1 no-region DVD

The Crowd (1928)

American silent film directed by King Vidor.

It is notable for its dramatization of the concerns and dangers of urbanization and modernity.
The picture is an influential and acclaimed feature and was nominated for the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production.
In 1989, this film was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Directed by King Vidor
Produced by Irving Thalberg
Written by King Vidor, John V.A. Weaver
Starring James Murray, Eleanor Boardman
Cinematography Henry Sharp
Editing by Hugh Wynn
Distributed by MGM
Release date: February 18, 1928

Our Daily Bread (1934)
Directed by King Vidor
Produced by King Vidor
Written by King Vidor (story), Elizabeth Hill (scenario), Joseph L. Mankiewicz (dialogue)
Starring Karen Morley, Tom Keene, Barbara Pepper, John Qualen.
Music by Alfred Newman
Cinematography Robert H. Planck
Editing by Lloyd Nosler
Distributed by United Artists
Release date: August 1, 1934 (premiere)
Running time 80 minutes
90 minutes (American premiere)
74 minutes (TCM print)
Budget $125,000 (estimate)

Our Daily Bread is a 1934 film directed by King Vidor. Vidor tried to interest Irving Thalberg of MGM in the project, but Thalberg rejected the idea. Vidor then produced the film himself and released it through United Artists. The film is also known as Hell's Crossroads (American reissue title)

2 film gems on 1 no-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
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Julie Andrews "Duet for One" (1986)

2011-06-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

Duet for One (1986) Julie Andrews, Alan Bates, Max Von Sydow, Rupert Everet, Liam Neeson

An acclaimed film based on an award-winning British play by Tom Kempinski about a world-famous concert violinist named Stephanie Anderson who is suddenly struck with multiple sclerosis. It is set in London and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The story is loosely based on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who was diagnosed with MS, and her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim.

Julie Andrews : Stephanie Anderson
Alan Bates : David Cornwallis
Max von Sydow : Dr. Louis Feldman
Rupert Everett : Constantine Kassanis
Margaret Courtenay : Sonia Randvich
Cathryn Harrison : Penny Smallwood
Liam Neeson : Totter
Paula Figgett : Totter's Daughter

No-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Intl. add $3.00

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914 & 1965) Sam Lucas, Herbert Lom

2011-06-10T03:38:00.001-07:00

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1914) Sam Lucas
A 1914 version was directed by William Robert Daly. It was adapted Edward McWade from the play adaptation by George L. Aiken. It starred Sam Lucas, Teresa Michelena, Marie Eline (again), Roy Applegate, Irving Cummings and Boots Wall. This was the first "white" film to have an African-American star, Sam Lucas.

Sam Lucas, one of the most respected and celebrated entertainers of his time, is credited with breaking barriers for black actors and becoming the first African American actor to star in a “white” feature film. Lucas is best remembered for his comic and dramatic roles performed on the minstrel circuit and Broadway stages, and by the end of his career, a major motion picture.

Lucas was born Samuel Mildmay in Washington, Ohio in 1840. He began singing and playing the guitar as a teenager and went on to establish a reputation as a performer while working as a barber. After the Civil War when African American performers (in blackface) were allowed to work in minstrel shows, Lucas joined traveling black companies and sang on the Ohio River steamboats. Lucas built a reputation as the best all-around entertainer in the business and was empowered to select his own shows which allowed him to star with the most successful black minstrel companies as a comedian and singer.

Dissatisfied with limited minstrel roles, Lucas attempted to establish himself as a serious actor by appearing in dramatic plays during the mid 1870s. By 1878, he became the first black man to appear as the title character in the serious stage production of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. At the age of 73, the veteran actor capped his career when he recreated the role of Uncle Tom in the 1914 film version released by World Film Corporation as well as two comedy shorts made as Tom. Lucas is believed to be the first African American actor to appear as Uncle Tom during the era. Shortly after completing the film, Lucas died after suffering a long bout of liver disease

Release Date: 10 August 1914
Production Co: World
Runtime: 54 min

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965)
Director: Géza von Radványi
Writers: Harriet Beecher Stowe (novel), Fred Denger (screenplay), and 1 more credit »
Stars: John Kitzmiller, Herbert Lom and Olive Moorefield

No-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

Marlene Dietrich in The Woman One Longs For (1929)

2011-06-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Woman One Longs for (1929) Marlene Dietrich, Fritz Kortner and Frida Richard
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Writers: Max Brod (book), Ladislaus Vajda
Country: Germany / Language: German
Release Dates:
Germany - 29 April 1929
USA - 8 September 1929
Denmark - 13 January 1930
Finland - 4 May 1931
USA - 20 May 1931 (New York City, New York) (re-release) (retitled)
USA - 26 May 1931 (re-release)
Also Known As:
Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt - Germany (original title)
Az asszony, aki után a férfi vágyódik - Hungary
Enigma - Italy
Kvinden, man længes efter - Denmark
L'énigme - France (TV title)
The Woman Men Yearn For, The Woman One Longs for, Three Loves - USA
Filming Location: Berlin, Germany

Southern France, the present. About to marry, Charles Leblanc glimpses beautiful Stascha with her autocratic older companion, Karoff. They meet shortly after on a train. Stascha confesses she and Karoff murdered her husband, and asks for his help to escape from Karoff. She introduces Leblanc as her cousin, and the three go to an alpine hotel for a frantic New Year's eve party. The police arrive next morning. Karoff draws a gun and kills Stascha, leaving a distraught Leblanc cradling her body.

Simplistic story with minimal inter-titles (German and French).

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

WAKE (2003) Gale Harold

2011-05-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Wake (2003) Gale Harold, Martin Landau
In the film, "Wake", the fateful reunion of four brothers quickly dissolves into a night of drinking, deceit, perversions, and death. They don't realize until it is too late that the party they are having is, in fact, a wake. Directed by Roy Finch

In DVD/CD sleeves, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photos as shown. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Julie - Don't cry because it's over.

2011-05-24T07:55:00.001-07:00

Miss Julie

"Don't cry because it's over.
Smile because it happened."
Dr. Seuss

"Don't cry because it's over.
Smile because it happened." Dr. Seuss

My beloved little cat - from kitten with me in NYC to Texas, 2 years after 9/11. Unconditional love - given and received. Such joy. Such love, with love. I smile through the tears, but mostly smile. She was my friend. 24th May 2011.

Brian Pinette interview by L. Sinclair

2011-05-22T22:32:00.001-07:00

Pola Negri Sappho-Mad Love (1921) & Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)

2011-05-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

Pola Negri Sappho (1921) & Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)

Sappho a/k/a Mad Love (1921) Pola Negri

This melodrama was the last German-made film starring Pola Negri to be released in the United States. By the time it came out, Negri was already at Paramount and creating headlines over her romance with comedian Charles Chaplin.

Her first American-made film, Bella Donna, would be out only a few weeks after this picture hit the theaters. The vampy Liane (Negri) has driven Andreas insane -- literally -- and he is consigned to a sanitarium. His brother Chabot comes to Paris and denounces the wrong woman, but Liane overhears his tirade and, intrigued, decides to make a play for him. He falls for her, and the couple head for a seaside resort; however, they are followed by one of Liane's ex-lovers, the millionaire Bertink, who tells Chabot that she is the one who ruined his brother.

Chabot leaves Liane, but then Andreas escapes from the sanitarium and goes looking for her, and Chabot decides to do the same. They both find her at a carnival ball, where Andreas strangles her to death. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi (1hr22min6sec)

Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)
starring Adolphe Menjou, Martha Scott, Dennis O'Keefe, June Havoc, Billie Burke, and (in a rare film appearance) Pola Negri. The film is also known as Diamonds and Crime (American reissue title). Directed by Andrew L. Stone.

2 gems on 1 no-region DVD. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and promo photo as shown so you can make your own case. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

RARE General Crack (1929) John Barrymore & Danton (1921)

2011-05-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Danton (1921) aka All for a Woman
Stars: Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss and Ossip Runitsch
The true story of the conflict between Danton and Robespierre, the leaders of the French Revolution.

Director: Dimitri Buchowetzki
Writers: Dimitri Buchowetzki (screenplay), Georg Büchner (play)
60 min - Drama - 4 December 1921 (USA)
Original Score by Brian Pinette

John Barrymore General Crack (1929)
Original Score, Brian Pinette

General Crack is an all-talking historical costume drama originally filmed with Technicolor sequences which was produced by Warner Bros. in 1929 and released early in 1930. The film was directed by Alan Crosland and stars John Barrymore in his first full-length all-talking feature.

The silent version of this film survives but it does not have any color sequences. No prints of the sound version are known to exist. The complete sound-track survives on Vitaphone disks. Unfortunately, the silent version was either a B negative or an alternate take with intertitles. So while this is a valid version, it does not match up with the Vitaphone sound-track at all.

1hr22min., silent; Black & White with Original Music Score by Brian Pinette.

NOTE: This no-region DVD is the silent version with English sub-titles. It has no color sequences.

2 Silent Gems on 1 no-region DVD. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 color promo photo as shown.
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Ramon Novarro Red Lily (1924) Road to Singapore (1928) Joan Crawford

2011-05-13T10:14:00.001-07:00

Ramon Novarro Red Lily (1924) Road to Singapore (1928) Joan Crawford

The Red Lily (1924) silent drama film starring Ramon Novarro, Enid Bennett and Wallace Beery.

Directed, produced & written by Fred Niblo
Release date: 8 September 1924
Running time: 81 minutes

Across to Singapore is a 1928 silent film by director William Nigh starring Ramon Novarro and Joan Crawford. The plot involves a love triangle between a woman and two brothers, set on board ship and in Singapore. The screenplay was written by Ted Shane based on the novel All the Brothers Were Valiant by Ben Ames Williams.

This was the second film based on this novel; the first was All the Brothers Were Valiant (1923, now lost), and it was remade again in 1953 under the title All the Brothers Were Valiant.

Directed & produced by William Nigh
Release date: April 30, 1928
Running time: 78 minutes

1 no-region DVD (TCM airing) in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 promo photo as shown.
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The Flying Fleet (1929) Ramon Novarro
100 min; released 19 January 1929 (USA)
Ramon Novarro, Ralph Graves and Anita Page
Director: George W. Hill
Writers: Frank Wead (story), Byron Morgan (story)
Between the Oscar-winning Wings and the Talkies Hell's Angels and The Dawn Patrol came The Flying Fleet, a silent with music and sound effects, noted for its authentic depiction of naval flight training. Ramon Novarro and Ralph Graves portray hopeful flyboys and romantic rivals who fall for the same girl (Anita Page). Frank Wead (the biopic subject of John Wayne's The Wings of Eagles) co-authors the story which is based upon his experiences. 87 min. Silent with music score.

In DVD/CD Sleeve, photo label and promo card as shown to make your own case!
Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Beyond the Door (1974) & Beyond the Door 2 (1977)

2011-05-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Beyond the Door (Italian title: Chi Sei?) is a 1974 Italian horror film directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis (credited as Oliver Hellman) and starring Juliet Mills and Richard Johnson.

Detailing a woman possessed by a demon, Beyond The Door was labeled a rip-off of The Exorcist. Warner Bros. promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit failed after it was determined Warner Bros. had no rights to key horror scenes depicted in The Exorcist.

The interior shots were filmed on set in Italy at the Incir De Paolis Studios in Rome, while all exteriors were shot on location in San Francisco. Film Ventures International acquired the film for distribution in the United States for $100,000.

This meant Beyond The Door paved the way for several other "Exorcist rip-offs" (many originating in Italy as well) to see successful release in the U.S and elsewhere. Some of these include Abby, The House of Exorcism, L'Anticristo (The Antichrist) and Seytan.

Budget: $350,000.00 - The film became an independent hit, earning an estimated $15 million at the U.S Box Office.

Shock (also known as Schock and Beyond the Door II) is an Italian horror film directed by Italian horror director Mario Bava in 1977. This was Bava's last film before he died of a heart attack in 1980. The film starred Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, and David Colin, Jr.

For its US release, Film Ventures International decided to rename the film Beyond the Door II, under the guise of it being a "sequel" to Ovidio G. Assonitis's 1974 film Chi sei?, renamed Beyond the Door for US release. The reason for the change was the fact that the two films starred child actor David Colin Jr., as a boy possessed.

In spite of this false re-branding of the film through its renaming, Film Ventures International was quite faithful with its English dubbing of Shock. Lamberto Bava's script was adapted quite faithfully and unlike Lisa and the Devil, did not include any reshoots or omission of footage, making it one of the few films by Mario Bavo to appear in the US intact.

Mastered from 16mm theatrical release prints with no digital enhancements.
Includes original theatrical and TV trailers.
Complete/un-cut no-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Colleen Moore is Twinkletoes & Irene (1926) 1 no-region DVD

2011-05-04T01:46:00.001-07:00

Irene (1926) Colleen Moore
A romantic comedy film starring Colleen Moore, and partially shot in Technicolor. The technicolor scene (fashion show) does not survive in its entirety.

Irene was directed by Alfred E. Green and based on the play Irene O'Dare written by James Montgomery. As reported in the book and documentary film The Celluloid Closet, actor George K. Arthur plays a flamboyant gay man in the film named "Madame Lucy".

Distributed by First National Pictures
Release date: February 21, 1926
Running time: 90 min

Twinkletoes (1926) Colleen Moore

Cast: Colleen Moore [Twinkletoes], Kenneth Harlan [Chuck Lightfoot], Tully Marshall [Dad Minasi] ... Director: Charles Brabin ... Released by First National Pictures ...
Scenario by Winnifred Dunn, from the novel Twinkletoes, a Tale of Chinatown by Thomas Burke (same author of "Broken Blossoms").

Comedy construction by Mervyn LeRoy. Cinematography by James C. Van Trees.

Released 28 November 1926.

No-region DVD in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed, replaced with same title.

J.B. Warner in Big Stakes (1922) & Arizona Days (1928) Bob Custer

2011-05-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

J.B. Warner in Big Stakes (1922) & Arizona Days (1928) Bob Custer

Big Stakes (1922) J.B. Warner

"In BIG STAKES Elinor Fair, the proud Castillian daughter of Don Enrico, master of a large Mexican rancho, is betrothed to the Commandante of Sonora, Mexico, Capitan Robert H. Gray, but she shows a romantic interest in devil-may-care Americano J. B. Warner who is not taking life too seriously until he meets Fair.

Infuriated with Fair’s interest in Warner, Gray has Warner and his tubby comedic sidekick, H. S. Karr, captured and brought to Sonora. Gambling for his life, Warner challenges Gray to a deadly contest with the victor winning Fair and the loser forfeiting his life to the bite of a poisonous Gila Monster. A secondary plot has an American enemy of Warner’s, bullying Les Bates, leading a band of Klan-like night-raiding marauders.

To wreak vengeance on Warner, Bates has captured an American girl, Wilamae Carson (who is also fond of Warner), in order to lure Warner into a revengeful trap. There are several surprises, and big stakes, in order before it’s over.

Talented producer/director Clifford S. (Sanford) Elfelt, born February 15, 1890, in Chicago, Illinois, was a former cigar salesman and operator of a movie exchange who became a director at Universal in 1916 and Fox in 1917. It is Elfelt who spotted Warner when the cowboy made several two reelers at Universal, saw great potential in him and signed him to star in features for Elfelt’s East Coast Productions. (Incidentally, Elfelt cast his former wife, minor actress June La Vere [real name Gladys Elfelt], in Warner’s DANGER in ‘23.)

When Warner then signed with Sunset, Elfelt hooked up with fledging Davis Productions to produce Ken Maynard’s first westerns (including $50,000 REWARD. DEMON RIDER, etc.). Unfortunately, Davis floundered and Elfelt went bankrupt. He left films altogether in 1926 after directing Bill Patton in UNDER FIRE for Davis. (Thanks to Evy Patrick for early years research.)

James B. Warner was born in Chadron, Nebraska. His father was William H. Tobias but J. B. was raised by his mother’s parents whose name was Warner. J. B. legally changed his name to Warner, considering his grandparents his father and mother. He was not the brother of film star H. B. Warner as is often reported. J. B. entered the Army in 1917 and was discharged as a Corporal two years later. It was then he came to the attention of Universal, probably at first as a riding extra." Boyd Magers

Warner's career remains a "What if", as the handsome young actor never did mature into one of the "wax works" of the silent era his brother H.B. played in Billy Wilder's 1950 Hollywood classic, Sunset Blvd. (1950). Not yet 30, J.B. died on November 9, 1924, in Los Angeles, California, from tuberculosis.

AND

Arizona Days (1928)
Bob Custer, cowboy star of the 1920s and '30s, fights rustlers and saves the heroine from a Fate Worse Than Death in this typical B western from the last days of the silent era. Directed and co-starring J.P. McGowan, sadly overlooked personality who was actively involved in movies from their dawn until his death in the '50s.

Bob Custer, Peggy Montgomery, J.P. McGowan

Bob Custer stars in this rare silent western. Pretending to join a gang of rustlers in exchange for the protection of his herd, a rancher is really a spy for the cattlemen's association.

When Bob comes along on a similar mission, the rancher's daughter mistakes him for one of the gang. She soon changes her mind when Bob rescues her father and goes after the leader of the gang.

Two little gems on one no-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 promo photo as shown.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Lon Chaney, Betty Blythe, Douglas Fairbanks - The False Faces (1919), Nomads of the North (1920), His Picture in the Papers (1919)

2011-05-02T05:38:00.000-07:00

The False Faces (1919) Lon Chaney, Sr., Henry B. Walthall

During World War I, a professional thief known as The Lone Wolf is assigned to steal a cylinder with important information from behind the German lines and bring it to Allied intelligence headquarters. However, German agents set out to stop him, headed by the man who was responsible for the death of the thief's sister.

Directed by Irvin Willat
Produced by Thomas H. Ince
Written by Louis Joseph Vance, Irvin Willat
Cinematography Paul Eagler, Edwin W. Willat
Editing by W. Duncan Mansfield
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date: 16 February 1919
Running time: 97 minutes
A print of the film survives at George Eastman House. On August 31, 2009 the film made it to DVD for the first time.

Nomads of the North (1920)
A Canadian Mountie allows an innocent fugitive to escape with the woman he loves.
Starring Lon Chaney Sr., Betty Blythe, Lewis Stone, Melbourne MacDowell
Directed & written by David Hartford, Novel: James Oliver Curwood
Produced by James Oliver Curwood, Hal Roach
Cinematography Walter L. Griffin
Distributed by Associated First National Pictures, Inc.
Release date: October 11, 1920
Running time: 109 min

His Picture in the Papers (1916)
Douglas Fairbanks as Pete Prindle
Clarence Handyside as Proteus Prindle
Rene Boucicault as Pansy Prindle
Jean Temple as Pearl Prindle
Charles Butler as Cassius Cadwalader
Loretta Blake as Christine Cadwalader
Homer Hunt as Melville
Helena Rupport as Olga

Directed & written by John Emerson, Anita Loos (writer)
Cinematography, George W. Hill
Release date: 13 February 1916
Running time: 62 minutes

No-region DVDs in DVD/CD Sleeves, photo label & 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
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The Crowd (1928), The Big Parade (1925), GREED (1924), The Merry Widow (1925)

2011-04-30T14:50:00.001-07:00

Limited Quantity - Limited Time Offer -

No-region DVDs in DVD/CD sleeve, photo labels and 4x6 color glossy promo photo (as shown) for each DVD. Time/length as described, TCM airing.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

The Big Parade (1925) John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Claire McDowell
Directed by King Vidor
Produced by Irving Thalberg (uncredited)
Written by Harry Behn, Laurence Stallings (novel Plumes)
Music by William Axt
Release date: November 5, 1925
Running time: 141 minutes
Gross revenue $18–22 million

It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.

The film was ground-breaking for not glorifying the war or its human costs, exemplified by the lead character's loss of a leg from battle wounds. It heavily influenced all subsequent war films, especially All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).

It was adapted by Harry Behn and King Vidor (uncredited) from the play by Joseph Farnham and the autobiographical novel Plumes by Laurence Stallings, and directed by Vidor.

It stars John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Claire Adams, Karl Dane, Robert Ober and Tom O'Brien.
The Big Parade was one of the greatest hits of the 1920s, boosting Gilbert's career, and making Adorée a major star.

Tragically, Renée Adorée would soon be diagnosed with tuberculosis and die only a few years later. The film is the highest grossing silent film in cinema history, grossing $18–$22 million. In some larger cities this film was shown for a year or more continuously.

After the film's producers found a clause in Vidor's contract, entitling the director to 20% of the net profits, studio lawyers called for a meeting with him. At this meeting, accountants played up the costs of the picture while downgrading their forecast of its potential success. King Vidor was thus persuaded to sell his stake in the film before receiving his percentage.

However, the film's tremendous success did establish Vidor as one of MGM's top directors for the rest of his career.

In 1992 The Big Parade was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

The film was re-issued in 1931 with a sound-track consisting of William Axt's score. Composer Carl Davis created a new orchestral score for the film in the 1980s (quoting the theme associated with Melisande in Axt's original setting), and it was restored and released on video in the late 1980s as part of the MGM and British television Thames Silents project.

The Crowd (1928) Starring James Murray, Eleanor Boardman and directed by King Vidor.

It is notable for its dramatization of the concerns and dangers of urbanization and modernity.

Directed by King Vidor
Produced by Irving Thalberg
Written by King Vidor, John V.A. Weaver
Cinematography Henry Sharp
Editing by Hugh Wynn
Distributed by MGM
Release date: February 18, 1928
Running time: 104 minutes

The picture is an influential and acclaimed feature and was nominated for the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production.

In 1989, this film was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Greed (1924)

It was directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Joan Standing and Jack Curtis.

The plot follows a dentist whose wife wins a lottery ticket, only to become obsessed with money. When her former lover betrays the dentist as a fraud, all of their lives are destroyed.

The movie was adapted by von Stroheim (shooting screenplay) and Joseph Farnham (titles) from the 1899 novel McTeague by Frank Norris. (The on-screen writing credit for June Mathis was strictly a contractual obligation to her on the part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (the parent studio), as she was not actually involved in the production.)

Originally over ten hours long, Greed was ultimately edited against von Stroheim's permission to about two and a half hours, and the full-length version is a lost film. This DVD TCM airing.

The Merry Widow (1925) American silent MGM romantic drama film and black comedy directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. The film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy.

Directed by Erich von Stroheim
Produced by Erich von Stroheim
Irving Thalberg (uncredited)
Written by Erich von Stroheim, Benjamin Glazer
Release date: August 26, 1925

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Lillian Gish, Butterfly McQueen Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985) Patrick Day as "Huck"

2011-04-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985)

Jim Dale, Frederic Forrest, Lillian Gish, Barnard Hughes, Richard Kiley, Butterfly McQueen, Geraldine Page, Sada Thompson, Samm-Art Williams, Patrick Day as "Huck"

Directed by Peter H. Hunt Produced by Jane Iredale Teleplay by Guy Gallo

1985's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the only filmed version of the Mark Twain classic to cover every episode in the original novel and not merely such familiar vignettes as the "King and the Duke" business. Presented in four parts, Finn opens in 1844, with young Huck (Patrick Day) being kidnapped from the home of the Widow Douglas (Sada Thompson) by his brutal, drink-sodden Pap (Frederic Forest). Huck escapes by faking his own death and rafting down the river in the company of escaped slave Jim (Samm-Art Williams). Part two offers the seldom-dramatized scene in the novel wherein an abolitionist is lynched; part three recounts the Shepardson/Grangerford feud; and part four culminates with the chicanery of the King (Barnard Hughes) and the Duke (Jim Dale) and the capture of Jim. Featured in the huge cast are Lillian Gish, Geraldine Page, Butterfly McQueen, Richard Kiley, and Eugene Oakes as Tom Sawyer. Originally clocking in at 240 minutes, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first telecast in February and March of 1986 on PBS' American Playhouse.
DVD running time: 3hr22min20sec.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label & 4x6 glosssy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Pearl White "The Perils of Pauline" (1914 & 1947) Betty Hutton

2011-04-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

Pearl White The Perils of Pauline (1914)

Cast:
Pearl White ... Pauline
Crane Wilbur ... Harry Marvin
Paul Panzer ... Koerner/Raymond Owen
Edward José ... Sanford Marvin
Francis Carlyle ... Owen's Henchman, Hicks
Clifford Bruce ... Gypsy Leader
Donald MacKenzie ... Blinky Bill
Jack Standing ... Ensign Summers
Eleanor Woodruff ... Lucille

Directed by Louis J. Gasnier & Donald MacKenzie

Original Score by Brian Pinette

9 Chapters

Trial by Fire
The Goddess of the Far West
The Pirate Treasure
The Deadly Turning
A Watery Doom
The Shattered Plane
The Tragic Plunge
The Serpent in the Flowers
The Floating Coffin

This groundbreaking episodic serial (originally extended to 20 weeks from the original 13) was the first wildly successful American continued-story serial and influenced many more made in the next decade. Every two weeks Pauline (Pearl White) evaded different murderous attempts on her life. She survives the plots of her dastardly guardian Koerner (Paul Panzer) who wants her inherited fortune for himself and will stop at nothing to get it. The episodes are self-contained but each contains a new cliffhanging peril -- a giant rolling boulder (yep, Pauline was way ahead of Indiana Jones), a deadly balloon, etc., for Pauline to escape. A must for every serious serial collector's library.

Note: This DVD presents the 9-episode version of the serial released in Europe, as found on 9.5mm film, and is an english "re-translation" of the only version of the serial known to exist, so picture quality is less than should be expected of transfers made from 16mm or 35mm prints, but it's still pretty good.

The Perils of Pauline (1947) Betty Hutton

A musical film released by Paramount Pictures. It is a fictionalized Hollywood account of silent film star Pearl White's rise to fame starring Betty Hutton as White.

The film, a broad satire of silent-movie production, is a musical-comedy vehicle for Hutton, filmed in Technicolor, with original songs by Frank Loesser (including the standards "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" and "Rumble, Rumble, Rumble"). The script portrays "Pearl" as an ambitious hoyden who rises from amateur-night vaudeville to silent-screen stardom.

The film also stars William Demarest, Frank Faylen, Constance Collier, Billy DeWolfe and John Lund & was directed by George Marshall.

Paul Panzer, who played the villain in the 1914 film, has a very small part in this film, as do silent-comedy veterans Chester Conklin, Hank Mann, Snub Pollard, and James Finlayson.

No-region DVDs in DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

BOTH DVDs

Alice Howell in 3 rare silent gems on 1 DVD - Cinderella Cinders, One Wet Night, Under A Spell

2011-04-13T03:01:00.000-07:00

WORLD-EXCLUSIVE --

When Stan Laurel was asked to name the ten greatest comediennes of all time, one of the first on the list was Alice Howell ... Her films were sometimes advertised - "Every one a Howell!"

Three silent gems on one no-region DVD ...

Cinderella Cinders (1920) Alice Howell, Richard Smith and Rose Burkhardt
Production Company: Reelcraft Pictures ... Directed by Frederick J. Ireland

One Wet Night (1924) starring Alice Howell, Neely Edwards, Bert Roach
Under A Spell (1925) starring Alice Howell, Neely Edwards, Bert Roach
Production Co: Universal Pictures ... Directed by Richard Smith

Alice Howell was the "Lucy" of her day. She co-starred with Chaplin & other comedy greats developing her unique style. She appeared in a series of films with Neely Edwards & Bert Roach playing the same dysfunctional family ... (approx. running time of DVD 60min)

Original Score by Brian Pinette. Copyright 2011 for Menu, (Theme song) and Score.

Alice Howell ...

With her fuzzy hairdo piled atop her dizzy head, a vacant stare, and a shuffling penguin walk as the finishing touch, Alice Howell is arguably the most unfairly neglected of the silent era's few female comedy stars.

Howell, who plowed both vaudeville and burlesque with her husband as Howell & Howell, entered films with Mack Sennett's Keystone comedy factory in 1914. She was there during the time of Charlie Chaplin, which is the only reason her name has survived at all (they appeared together in Caught in a Cabaret and Laughing Gas, both 1914).

But Mabel Normand received almost all the plum female roles at Keystone, and when the self-important Henry \"Pathé\" Lehrman left Sennett and failed to persuade Normand to come along, Howell joined the exodus.

She became the Queen of the Lot at Lehrman's L-KO ("Lehrman-Knockout"), but was still considered a pale imitation of Normand. Still, Howell remained with L-KO for the duration of the company's existence before moving to the Stern brothers' Century comedies.

Century released through Universal, and Howell saw her star rise dramatically. When Century suddenly changed gears towards child stars and performing animals, Howell left and signed with a new company, Reelcraft. It was a step down, and although frequently described as hilarious (if somewhat low-class), the Howell comedies played mainly the hinterlands.

But Universal had never forgotten the dizzy dame with the hairdo, and Irving Thalberg, in one of his final decisions before moving over to MGM, teamed her with the debonair Neely Edwards and the rotund Bert Roach in an extremely successful series in which she and Edwards played a married couple, with Roach as their inept butler.

Existing series' entries such as One Wet Night, in which the Edwards-Howell household is burglarized by a transvestite (leading Alice to suspect Neely of infidelity), are still mirth-provoking and do much to corroborate Stan Laurel's oft-quoted ranking of Howell as one of the screen's ten best "comediennes" of all time.

Belonging thoroughly to the silent era, Howell retired with the advent of sound.

Biography by Hans J. Wollstein

Torrent (1926) / Love (1927) Greta Garbo

2011-04-10T16:57:00.001-07:00

Torrent (1926) / Love (1927) Greta Garbo
Two Garbo gems (TCM) - 1 no-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 promo photo as shown.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Silent film gem CABIRIA (1914) Original Score, Brian Pinette

2011-04-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

Cabiria (1914)

Dilent movie from the early years of Italy's movie industry, directed by Giovanni Pastrone. Apart from being a classic on its own the film is also notable for being the first film in which the long-running film character Maciste makes his debut.

The movie is based on Emilio Salgari's Cartagine in fiamme (Carthage in Flames) and Gustave Flaubert's novel Salammbo. Set in ancient Carthage during the period of the Second Punic War, it treats the conflict between Rome and Carthage through the eyes of the title character, who is kidnapped by pirates, sold as a slave in Carthage, and rescued from being sacrificed to the god Moloch by a Roman nobleman and his muscular slave Maciste (who would later become the protagonist in a whole successful series of films on his own). Hannibal and his war elephants fit into the plot of this epic film.

Directed by Giovanni Pastrone
Written by Gabriele d'Annunzio (portrayed as the "auteur" in this poster) and others
Starring Bartolomeo Pagano
Release date: April 18, 1914
Running time: 181 minutes
Country: Italy
Language: Silent film
Budget 1 million Lira

Italian author Gabriele d'Annunzio contributed to the screenplay writing all of the intertitles and naming all characters and the movie itself. The film was noted as being the first popular film to use the tracking shot - the camera is mounted on a dolly allowing it to both follow action and move within a film set or location. For years afterward a tracking shot was referred to by both cameramen and directors as a 'Cabiria' shot. However in many cases Pastrone used these shots with no real purpose other than the novelty of camera movement within a location. In some instances the camera rolls toward and then right past what should be the focus of the shot. However, the movement was such an innovation at the time that other film makers quickly incorporated it. The film was a major influence on D.W. Griffith's Intolerance. The famous crane shot moving down and into the festival in Babylon is in a sense a 'Cabiria' shot taken to the ultimate extent.

Film critic Roger Ebert has said that Griffith "moves the camera with greater freedom and has a headlong narrative and an exciting use of cross-cutting that Pastrone does not approach."[1] The film also marked the debut of the Maciste character, who went on to have a long career in Italian sword and sandal films. For many years, Cabiria and Griffith's Judith of Bethulia (1914) were considered the first feature films. However, several earlier examples have come to light in recent years, including the Australian film The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906).

Like Birth of a Nation, Cabiria has aroused its share of controversy because of the political nature of its subject matter. It was produced by Italian ultra-nationalist Gabriele d'Annunzio and was released soon after the Italo-Turkish War, in which Italy conquered the North African Ottoman provinces of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. The film highlights Italy's Roman past and the "monstrous" nature of Carthaginian society (with especial focus on the temple of Moloch), which is contrasted with the "nobility" of Roman society.[2] Cabiria was therefore one of several films of the period that "helped resuscitate a distant history that legitimized Italy's past and inspired its dreams" and which "delivered the spirit for conquest that seemed to arrive from the distant past", thereby presaging the "political rituals of fascism" (wars of conquest, the Roman salute, parades and the fasces itself).

Original Score by Brian Pinette

No-region DVD.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and promo photo as shown.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

RARE Enchanted Cottage (1924) Richard Barthelmess, May McAvoy DVD!

2011-04-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

RARE Enchanted Cottage (1924) Richard Barthelmess, May McAvoy DVD!

The Enchanted Cottage is a 1924 silent drama film based upon a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. The film was directed by John S. Robertson. The film was produced by Richard Barthelmess (through his company Inspiration) and released through Associated First National. Barthelmess and May McAvoy star in the drama.

This film is preserved at the Library of Congress in Washington D. C.

Directed by John S. Robertson
Produced by Inspiration Pictures Inc.
Written by Arthur Wing Pinero(play; The Enchanted Cottage, a Fable in Three Acts), Josephine Lovett (scenario), Gertrude Chase (intertitles)
Cinematography George Folsey
Editing by William Hamilton
Distributed by Associated First National
Release date: March 24, 1924
Running time: 7 reels at 7,120 feet (appr. 80-85 minutes)
Country: United States
Language: Silent film (English intertitles)

Includes RADIO SHOW - Lux Radio Theatre (1945) - The Enchanted Cottage with Robert Young, Dorothy McGuire (who starred in the talkie remake).

DVD is no-region, in a DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy photo to make your own case.
ALL silent films have been re-mastered & are public domain.

They have original scores by Brian Pinette.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Greta Garbo, Lillian Gish, Blanche Sweet, Charlie Chaplin, Alice Howell - 14 gems - 4 DVDs

2011-04-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

14 silent gems on 4 no-region DVDs ...

DVD #1 - Anthology

The Burglar's Dilemma (1912) Directed by DW Griffith. With Lionel Barrymore, Henry B. Walthall, Adolph Lestina, Lillian Gish. (15min23sec) In this latter day Cain and Abel story, a jealous brother strikes down his sibling just as a young burglar is about to enter the house. The jealous brother summons police, who then charge the young intruder with murder ...
Cinderella (1914) Mary Pickford. Directed by James Kirkwood,‭ ‬Sr.,‭ ‬produced by Daniel Frohman,‭ ‬and released by Famous Players Film Company,‭ ‬later known as Paramount Pictures.‭ ‬The film is based upon the famous fairy tale with the same name.‭ (‬51min14sec‭)
The Goat (1921) short comedy film (22min54sec) written, directed by and starring comedian Buster Keaton.
The plot involves the complications that ensue when Buster Keaton is mistaken for the criminal "Dead Shot Dan." This short contains one of Keaton's more memorable images: A distant, speeding train approaches the camera, and stops with a close-up of Keaton who has been sitting on the front of the train.
Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925) silent, black-and-white comedy film (19min42sec), directed by Scott Pembroke and Joe Rock (also the producer).
The film itself is both a spoof of the previous Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde films - 1912 & 1920 and the well-famed novel by Robert Louis Stevenson Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The film stars Stan Laurel as the title characters.

DVD #2 - Anthology

The Painted Lady (1912) Directed by DW Griffith. With Blanche Sweet, Madge Kirby, Charles Hill Mailes. (12min23sec) A lonely young woman lives with her strict father who forbids her to wear make-up. One day at an ice cream social, she meets a young man you seems interested in her. However, unknown to her, he is a burglar who is only interested in breaking into her father's house. One night she is awakened by a noise. Grabbing a pistol, she enters her father's downstairs office where she confronts a masked intruder . . .
Death's Marathon (1913) Directed by DW Griffith. With Blanche Sweet, Henry B. Walthall, Walter Miller. (14min45sec) Two business partners pursue the same woman. She accepts the marriage proposal of the irresponsible partner, much to her later regret. He squanders money on gambling, as his interest in her gradually wanes. One day after losing the company money in a card game, he decides to commit suicide ...
Snow White (1916) American silent film made by Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and produced by Adolph Zukor and Daniel Frohman. Directed by J. Searle Dawley, from the Grimm brothers story, Winthrop Ames adapted it to the screen from his play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that he had written under the pseudonym "Jessie Graham White" and had produced in 1912 at his Little Theatre on Broadway. Marguerite Clark is Snow White. (1hr2min57sec)
Anna Christie (1923) Blanche Sweet. First screen adaptation of Eugene O'Neill classic. This literal translation to the silent film was preferred by Mr. O'Neill over the Greta Garbo 1930 version. (1hr36min18sec)

DVD #3 - Anthology

The Mothering Heart (1913) Directed by DW Griffith. With Walter Miller, Lillian Gish, Kate Bruce. A young couple struggle to get ahead, the wife always assuaging the troubles of her melancholy husband. As he climbs the ladder of success, he abandons the homely values and takes up with another woman. His wife leaves him, returning to her mother's home where she bears a child. When the husband is abandoned by his concubine, remorse drives him to find his wife... (23min47sec)
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) Charlie Chaplin, Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Mack Swain, Chester Conklin. Directed by Mack Sennett. Charlie talks wealthy farmer's daughter Tillie into eloping with him (and taking her father's money). In the city Tillie gets drunk and lands in jail while Charlie runs off with her money and his old girlfriend Mabel. Later Charlie reads that Tillie (now working as a waitress) has inherited the estate of her multi-millionaire uncle. Charlie dumps Mabel and talks Tillie into moving into her uncle's villa, and Mabel arranges to become a housemaid there ... (68min)
Salomé (1923) Directed by Charles Bryant and starring Alla Nazimova. Adapted from the play by Oscar Wilde with costumes inspired by Beardsley drawings. (36min24sec)

DVD #4 - Anthology

Cleopatra (1912) Helen Gardner
Helen Gardner was the first woman filmmaker at Vitagraph, where she began ... Not only did Miss Gardner star in this adaptation, she also was the Producer. (1hr27min13sec)
Little Old New York (1923) Directed by Sidney Olcott. With Marion Davies, Stephen Carr, JM Kerrigan. An Irish girl comes to America disguised as a boy to claim a fortune left to her ... (1hr45min38sec)
Torrent (1926) Directed by Monta Bell, though he is uncredited, and based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. The first American film starring Swedish actress Greta Garbo. The film also stars Ricardo Cortez as the son of a domineering mother, played by Martha Mattox. The title refers to a flood that occurs in the small town where most of the action takes place, which draws the two romantic leading characters closer together. (1hr27min36sec)

In DVD/CD sleeves, photo labels and 4x6 promo photo as shown.
Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Miss Lillian Gish Tributes

2011-03-16T18:04:00.001-07:00

American Film Institute: Lillian Gish (Life Achievement Awards - 1988; 1hr12min)

An Actors Life For Me: Lillian Gish (1988; 55min)

The Great Director, narrated Clive Swift BBC (1966; 51 min)

1 no-region DVD.

In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown.

Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Lillian Gish in Annie Laurie & The Enemy

2011-03-16T07:56:00.000-07:00

Lillian Gish very rare ....

Collector to Collector

Annie Laurie (1927)

Lillian Gish ... Norman Kerry, Creighton Hale, Joseph Striker, Hobart Bosworth, Patricia Avery, Russell Simpson, Brandon Hurst, David Torrence ... Director: John S. Robertson ... Writers: Marian Ainslee (titles) ... Ruth Cummings (titles) ... Release Date: 11 May 1927 (USA) ... 90min

From a collector in the U.K. Almost pristine picture - yet occasionally movement of Camera ... there are the numbers at the bottom of the screen that indicate footage used and they change as the "kinescope" type project continues. They are there - noticeable, but does not detract from the image or story. Generic, public domain music added.

Following such prestige projects as La Boheme (1926) and The Scarlet Letter (1926), The Enemy (1927) was Lillian Gish's fifth and final film for MGM (it was completed after, but released before, THE WIND). Based on a play by Channing Pollock, this is a vehemently anti-war film, well-directed by Fred Niblo and expertly edited by Margaret Booth. Though it is difficult to tell where Niblo's direction ends and Booth's editing begins (or to what degree they were close collaborators), it must be stated that the fluid, eloquent visual language of the silent cinema is exemplified here -- as in so many other films of the late 1920s -- at its apogee. This film certainly must be counted among Booth's finest artistic work (for film editing is indeed an art) -- and her resumé is indeed impressive.

Lillian Gish ... Ralph Forbes, Ralph Emerson, Frank Currier, George Fawcett, Fritzi Ridgeway,

Hans Joby, Karl Dane, Polly Moran ... Director: Fred Niblo ... Writers: John Colton (titles) ... Willis Goldbeck (writer)

Release Date: 8 December 1927

Synopsis:

Carl Behrend (Ralph Forbes), son of a wealthy businessman, marries Pauli Arndt (Lillian Gish), daughter of a pacifist professor. When World War I breaks out, Carl is drafted. Pauli and her family and friends are left behind to experience the suffering which befell civilians during the war. Her luck worsens when her father is dismissed from his professorship for teaching that war is evil. Her father argues violently with Carl's father, and degradation and despair descend on Pauli and her family as they await Carl's return from the front.

THE ENEMY would probably be regarded as a major silent film if the final reel could be found.

This is a Gish film, and she is stunning. At age 34 she easily passes as a twenty- something bride. As always, Gish is the consummate actress, going here from blushing bride to desperate mother to sorrowful prostitute ... After the success of THE BIG PARADE, MGM was anxious for another anti-war hit. This film was based on the 1925 hit Broadway play that starred Fay Bainter ... Supporting cast is quite good here with Frank Currier solid as the professor, Karl Dane as Jan, and Polly Moran as the brusque housekeeper. Joel McCrea appears as an extra. For those who persist in thinking that Gish only played frail virgins, this film is a real eye opener.

It is unfortunate that the last reel to this film is apparently lost. This will probably prevent the film from being screened on television or released to DVD -- which is unfortunate, since this is a work that deserves to be seen and appreciated as a fine example not only of late-silent movie-making, but also of the anti-war film.

Enhanced sharpness with generic music added. Good to average picture of a film that has NEVER been released.

PLEASE READ carefully ... For silent film collector's ~ especially Miss Gish fans who want to see TWO films that are actually RARE and may never be available to the public. The DVD is what it is and is honestly described ...

In DVD/CD sleeve with 4x6 photo as shown. No-region DVD. No rights implied or inferred and intended for Collectors from a Collector. Price for shipping and costs to duplicate. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

FYI - Cat and Dog - People Years - Actual Ages!

2011-03-09T22:37:00.001-08:00

The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) Elizabeth Montgomery

2011-03-09T06:55:00.001-08:00

The Legend of Lizzie Borden stars Elizabeth Montgomery

The Legend of Lizzie Borden
"Lizzie Borden took an axe/And gave her mother forty whacks/When she saw what she had done/She gave her father forty-one". New England spinster Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the charge of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892, but this made-for-TV movie, like most recreations of the murders and subsequent trial, adheres to the popular consensus that Borden was guilty. Elizabeth Montgomery takes a break from playing victims to portray the enigmatic Borden. The trial scenes are lifted directly from the original court records; scripter William Bast's speculation as to what really happened the night the elder Bordens were hacked to death is pure (but credible) conjecture. Accompanied by a "parental guidance suggested" tag, The Legend of Lizzie Borden was first broadcast February 10, 1975.

No region DVD. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label.
4x6 glossy promo photo of Miss Montgomery.
90 minutes; TV release as aired.

Ann-Margret A TIGER'S TALE (1988)

2011-03-08T16:38:00.001-08:00

A Tiger's Tale is a 1987 film written and directed by Peter Douglas, based on the novel by Allen Hannay III starring Ann-Margret & C. Thomas Howell,
Charles Durning, Kelly Preston
Music by Lee Holdridge
Cinematography Tony Pierce-Roberts
Editing by David Campling
Studio Vincent Pictures
Distributed by Atlantic Releasing
Release date(s) 12 February 1988
Running time 97 minutes

Ross Hunter's Lost Horizon (1973) Peter Finch, Michael York

2011-03-08T05:38:00.000-08:00

Lost Horizon is a 1973 musical film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Peter Finch, John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, Michael York, Sally Kellerman, Bobby Van, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey, James Shigeta and Charles Boyer.

The film is a remake of Frank Capra's film of the same name, with a screenplay by Larry Kramer. Both the 1937 film and this one had their story from James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon.

Widescreen - no-region DVD - plays world-wide.
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 colour glossy photo of the original theatrical poster (so you can make your own case).
Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Cher, Clara Bow, Karen Black, Victor Fleming, Sandy Dennis

2011-03-08T01:56:00.001-08:00

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a 1982 film adaptation of Ed Graczyk's 1976 play of the same name.

The Broadway and screen versions were directed by Robert Altman, and starred Sandy Dennis, Cher, Mark Patton, Karen Black, Sudie Bond and Kathy Bates.

As with the original play, the film version takes place inside a small Woolworth's five-and-dime store in a small Texas town, where an all-female fan club for actor James Dean reunites in 1975.
Through a series of flashbacks, the six members also reveal secrets dating back to 1955.

Jimmy Dean was the first of several feature adaptations of plays by Altman in the 1980s, after the director's departure from Hollywood.

It was screened at various film festivals in North America and Europe, and won the top prize at the 1982 Chicago International Film Festival. This was the first release for New York-based independent outlet Cinecom, which Altman chose over a major studio "to guarantee a long play" in arthouse venues.

Mantrap (1926) Clara Bow, Ernest Torrence and Percy Marmont
Director: Victor Fleming (also directed "The Wizard of Oz" & "Gone With the Wind")
Writers: Ethel Doherty (scenario), Adelaide Heilbron (scenario)
Original Score, Brian Pinette

A sexy young manicurist living with her older backwoodsman husband in a small Canadian town finds herself attracted to a young, rich and famous divorce lawyer who comes to town on vacation.

No-region DVDs. In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy promo photo as shown for each DVD. Guaranteed/replaced with same title.

Google Checkout ~

Martyrs of the Alamo (1915) Directed by Christy Cabanne

2011-03-03T20:30:00.001-08:00

Martyrs of the Alamo (1915) Directed by Christy Cabanne
Produced by D. W. Griffith ... Written by Christy Cabanne (writer)
Theodosia Harris (novel) ... Cinematography William Fildew
Distributed by Triangle Film Corporation ... Release date(s) 21 November 1915
Running time 71 minutes
Cast:
Sam De Grasse as Silent Smith
Allan Sears as David Crockett
Walter Long as Santa Anna
Alfred Paget as James Bowie
Fred Burns as Captain Dickinson
John T. Dillon as Colonel Travis
Douglas Fairbanks as Joe / Texan Soldier
Juanita Hansen as Old Soldier's Daughter
Ora Carew as Mrs. Dickinson
Tom Wilson as Sam Houston
Augustus Carney as Old Soldier

Original Score by Brian Pinette

No-region DVD from Alamo Releasing Ltd. EXCLUSIVE LISTING
In DVD/CD sleeve, photo label and 4x6 glossy photo promo photo as pictured.