Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
Pioneers of The Cinema
History of Cinema Pages
History of Cinema Timeline Page
Great Films Before The Academy Awards
 | "Oldest Video Ever Recorded, 1874 ?!" [YouTube 2020] fan-made compilation of very earliest motion pictures, starting with 1874 test shot of Venus and the Sun; other clips are: "Roundhay Garden Scene" [1888] by Louis Le Prince; "Workers Leaving Lumiere Brothers Factory" [1895]; "Olympics" [1896/1906]; "Arrival of 2-Stage Train in France" [1897] by August Barone; "Early Roller Coaster, Britain" [1898] by Robert Hall & Bert Akers; "A Trip Thru Paris, France" [1890s] by Lumiere Brothers (moving sidewalks!); Lumiere Brothers Film Clips [1895-1900]; "Living Wigan, Lancashire" [1902]; "A Trip Down Market Street (San Francisco)" [1906] by Miles Brothers; "London Olympic Games" [1908]; and "A Trip Through New York City" [1911] by a Swedish newsreel company watch full compilation [8/2020 upload; 9:17] online at YouTube |
Cinema Pioneers, A to Z
 | Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson [1880-1971] Page at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore He wrote, produced, directed & starred in almost 400 silent movies |
director Dorothy Arzner [1897-1979]
browse Dorothy Arzner on DVD • book about career • IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
actress 'diva' Francesca Bertini [1892-1985; Italy]
Italy's first great film star in the Silent Era; made over 140 short & feature films in a 12-year career
biography {out of print} •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"Assunta Spina" silent feature [Italy Oct 1915]
 |
Filmed in Naples, Italy; a beautiful laundress is engaged to a violent butcher, while also being courted by another. Feeling ignored by her fiance, she dances with the other man and the butcher slashes her face, and is arrested. She lies to try to keep him out of prison, but the jury convicts him anyway. She makes a deal to become the mistress of a corrupt official in return for placing the boyfriend in a prison close enough for her to visit. Then the prisoner is released unexpectedly and discovers the girl's betrayal . . . Movie was released tinted in four colors. Co-directed & co-written by & starring Gustavo Serena; co-directed & co-written by & starring Francesca Bertini; also starring Carlo Benetti, Luciano Albertini, Amelia Cipriani, Antonio Cruichi & Alberto Collo
Kino Video 85-minute b&w DVD [8/2003] for $22.21 as double feature with docufilm below Kino Video 72-minute b&w VHS [8/2003] for $2.16 {sic} credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "The Last Diva (L'Ultima Diva: Francesca Bertini)" TV docufilm [RAI-TV 1982] Written & directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi; in Italian with English subtitles Kino Video 85-minute DVD [8/2003] for $22.21 as double feature with "Assunta Spina" above credits at IMDb |
Theodore W. Case [1888-1944]
meager IMDb listing • no entry at Wikipedia
Case Research Laboratory Museum [built 1916] in Auburn, NY
a history of motion picture sound, 1910-1929 {at University of San Diego}
 | "Now We're Talking: The Story of Theodore W. Case & Sound-On-Film" [2003] by Antonia K. & Luke P. Colella Authorhouse 9¼x6¼ pb [11/2003] for $13.95 Authorhouse hardcover [1/2003] out of print/rare |
Magic Lantern's
Sir Charles Chaplin [1889-1977] Page
Segundo de Chomón [1871-1929; Spain & France]
Often discounted as an imitator of Méliès, his 500 films [1902-27] rank him as a cinema pioneer in his own right
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"Los 500 Films de Segundo de Chomon" [1988]
Universidad de Zaragoza Spanish-language hardcover [1988] out of print/imported
Benjamin Christensen [1879-1959; Denmark]
credits at IMDb •
entry at Wikipedia
"Häxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages" silent documentary
[Svensk Filmindustri Sept 1922]
  | 91-minute silent fictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe • Written & directed by Benjamin Christensen; original 1922 music score by Ludwig van Beethoven; starring Benjamin Christensen {multiple roles}, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan, Elith Pio, Oscar Stribolt, Tora Teje, John Andersen, Poul Reumert, Karen Winther, Kate Fabian, Else Vermehren, Astrid Holm, Johannes Andersen, Gerda Madsen, Aage Hertel, Ib Schønberg, Emmy Schønfeld, Frederik Christensen, Ella La Cour {as Troldkvinde / Magician}, Elisabeth Christensen, Henry Seemann, Alice O'Fredericks, Knud Rassow, Ellen Rassow, Holst Jørgensen, H.C. Nielsen, Albrecht Schmidt
Criterion Collection b&w Blu-ray [10/2019] for $19.99 87-minute Criterion Collection subtitled b&w DVD [6/2010] for $20.46 71-minute A2ZCDs remastered DVD [11/2015] for $9.95 91-minute Criterion Collection b&w VHS [9/2001] for $28.45 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch full b&w movie [10/2015 upload; 1:44:52] online at YouTube |
76-minute version was re-released in 1968 with narration by beat poet Wm. S. Burroughs [1914-97];
soundtrack features violinist Jean Luc Ponty • Alpha Video b&w DVD [9/2015] for $6.99
 | "The Witch and The Hysteric: The Monstrous Medieval In Benjamin Christensen's Häxan" [2014] by Alexander Doty & Patricia Clare Ingham 84-page Punctum Books 8x5 pb [8/2014] for $9.79 |
 | "Witchcraft Through The Ages: The Story of Häxan, The World's Strangest Film, and The Man Who Made It" [2015] by Jack Stevenson 'widely considered both the most morbid and perverse film ever made, as well as a sober, scientific and thoroughly human document' F.A.B. Press 9x6 pb [2/2015] out of print/used |
 |
"Realizing The Witch: Science, Cinema, and The Mastery of The Invisible" [2015] by Richard Baxstrom & Todd Meyers "... more than a meticulous analysis of Benjamin Christensen's masterpiece "Häxan", more than a model monograph, [this book] finds and charts undiscovered tracks in the field of film studies, tracks that the authors invest with methods of analysis inspired by Warburgian iconology" Kindle Edition from Fordham Univ Press [11/2015] for $25.49 Fordham Univ Press 8¾x6 pb [11/2015] for $29.95 Fordham Univ Press 9x6 hardcover [11/2015] out of print/used |
French animation pioneer Émile Cohl [1857-1938]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"Fantasmagorie" animated short film [1908] and other animated works by Émile Cohl
watch 11 shorts with piano music online at YouTube { may require different browser }
documentary film [1978] by Michel Patenaude & François Porcile {not found on IMDb}
"Hommage à Émile Cohl" 32-minute documentary [1989] by Fabien Ruiz { IMDb }
 | "Émile Cohl: L’Agitateur aux Mille Images" [2008] contains 43 films by Émile Cohl produced at Gaumont between 1908 and 1910, and 14 films made for other studios (Pathé, Eclipse & Éclair), plus the 1978 documentary by Michel Patenaude & François Porcile {not found on IMDb} and the 32-minute 1989 documentary by Fabien Ruiz { IMDb } Region 2 Gaumont DVD set [4/2008] 2 disks - out of prodn/used Region 2 Gaumont DVD set [4/2008] 2 disks - out of prodn/used via Amazon France |
 | "Émile Cohl: L’Inventeur du Dessin Animé (Inventor of The Cartoon)" with 2 DVDs [2008] by Pierre Courtet-Cohl & Bernard Génin Omniscience French-language 8½x11½ hardcover [10/2008] for $35.46 Omniscience French-language 21.5cm x 29cm hardcover [10/2008] for €42,00 via Amazon France |
Edison's chief assistant
William K.L. Dickson [1860-1935]
Dickson made between 500 and 700 films, of which 320+ are listed on IMDb [1890-1903] •
Wikipedia
 | "The Life and Inventions of Thomas Alva Edision" [1894] by William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson Nabu Press 9¾x7½ facsimile pb [3/2010] for $25.65 |
 | "The Man Who Made Movies: W.K.L. Dickson" [2008] by Paul Spehr John Libbey Publng 9x6 hardcover [11/2008] for $45.97 |
Magic Lantern's
animator Walt Disney [1901-66] Page
Magic Lantern's Walt Disney Studios Page
Magic Lantern's Disney Films Page
George Eastman [1854-1932]
no data on IMDb • Wikipedia
Kodak website
George Eastman House Museum of Photography [built 1905; chartered 1947]
P.B.S. George Eastman bio
P.B.S. bio on VHS
Thomas Alva Edison [1847-1931] Page
at Spirit of America Bookstore
Magic Lantern's
Sergei M. Eisenstein [1898-1948] Page
Magic Lantern's
Douglas Fairbanks [1883-1939] Page
Douglas Fairbanks was married to Mary Pickford [1892-1979] from 1920 to 1936.
Louis Feuillade [1873-1925; France]
browse Louis Feuillade on DVD • IMDb listing 1905-24] •
Wikipedia
 | "Fantômas: The Complete Saga - Five Film Collection" DVD Box Set [2010]
Kino Intl. b&w DVD set [9/2010] 3 disks for $23.93 contains 5 silent feature films, restored in 1998 by Gaumont; starring René Navarre {as Fantômas}, Bréon {as Juve), Georges Melchior {as Fandor} & Renée Carl {as Lady Beltham}: "In The Shadow of The Guillotine (Fantômas: À l'Ombre de la Guillotine)" (May 1913) {IMDb}; "Juve Against Fantomas (Juve contre Fantômas)" [Sept 1913] {IMDb}; "The Dead Man Who Killed (Le Mort Qui Tue)" [Nov 1913) {IMDb}; "Fantomas Against Fantomas (Fantômas contre Fantômas)" [March 1914] {IMDb}; "The False Magistrate (Le Faux Magistrat)" [May 1914] {IMDb}; extras include commentary, image gallery, and 3 bonus films, including Louis Feuillade bio short • Fantômas entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Les Vampires" [Gaumont silent serial Nov 1915]
A vast gang of crooks who call themselves 'The Vampires' is undone by an intrepid reporter and a reformed member of the gang. Written & directed by Louis Feuillade; starring Musidora {as Irma Vep}, Édouard Mathé, Marcel Lévesque, Jean Aymé, Fernand Herrmann & Stacia Napierkowska Image Ent. subtitled silent b&w DVD [4/2005] 2 disks for $34.99 full credits from IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Judex" [Gaumont silent serial Dec 1916] Following French movie pioneer Louis Feuillade's classic "Les Vampires" [1915], he made another great early serial, 12 episodes about a 'caped crusader' avenging wrongs, a precursor to Batman and The Shadow". • Co-written & directed by Louis Feuillade; starring René Cresté {as Judex}, Musidora, René Poyen, Édouard Mathé, Gaston Michel & Yvonne Dario Flicker Alley subtitled silent b&w DVD [6/2004] 2 disks for $39.95 full credits from IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913" DVD Box Set [2009]
Kino Video b&w DVD set [9/2009] 85+ films on 3 disks for $79.95 DISK 2 contains 13 silent short films written and-or directed from 1907 to 1913 by Louis Feuillade [1873-1925], plus the documentary "Louis Feuillade: Master of Many Forms" [2009] DISK 1 is films of Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968]; DISK 3 is of Léonce Perret [1880-1935] |
actress Margarita Fischer {Pollard} [1886-1975]
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing [1910-27] • Wikipedia
{husband} producer-director Harry A. Pollard [1879-1934]
no browse/Amazon entry • IMDb listing [1910-32] • Wikipedia
 | "Margarita Fischer: A Biography of The Silent Film Star" [2008] by Theresa St. Romain McFarland & Co. 10x7 hardcover [3/2008] for $55.00 |
 | "Uncle Tom's Cabin" silent feature [Universal Pictures Nov 1927] Based on the 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe novel; one of the most expensive silent films ever made; the stereotypes and Victorian melodrama are counter-balanced by many moving moments and nail-biting action sequences, especially Eliza's escape across the ice floes. Kino's restoration includes a new recording of the original Movietone orchestral score • Presented by Carl Laemmle; co-produced & directed by Harry A. Pollard; starring Margarita Fischer, James B. Lowe, Arthur Edmund Carewe, George Siegmann, Eulalie Jensen, Mona Ray & Virginia Grey Kino Video b&w DVD [11/99] out of prodn/used Kino Intl. b&w VHS [11/99] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
animators Max & Dave Fleischer
producers of the Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman & Inkwell / Koko the Clown cartoons
more details (history, characters, books, DVDs, posters, links) on
Magic Lantern's Fleischer Studios [1921-42] Page
first cinematographer Wm. Friese-Greene [1855-1921; U.K.]
Friese-Greene's claims to have invented various methods for motion picture photography are considered
to be false; virtually all of his inventions and patents, including a stereoscopic {3-D} camera (1898),
were either impractical or unsuccessful in the marketplace, and he died a pauper. Yet he is honored
as a cinema pioneer in Britain, because many of his ideas were later manifested by others.
B.F.I. profile •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
 | "Friese-Greene: Close-Up of An Inventor" biography [1948] by Ray Allister Arno Press facsimile edition hardcover [3/72] out of print/scarce Marsland Publns hardcover [1948] out of print/used |
 | "The Magic Box" [Festival of Film 1951, U.K. & USA 1952]
Produced by and for Britain's 1951 'Festival of Film', later released as a theatrical feature. Uses double flashback design to tell the story of the British portrait photographer obsessed with inventing a practical motion picture camera, and later a method for color cinematography. Directed by John Boulting; script by Eric Ambler, based on Ray Allister's biography; Technicolor cinematography by Jack Cardiff; with an all-star cast including Robert Donat {as Friese-Greene}, Margaret Johnston, Maria Schell, Richard Attenborough, Frederick Valk, Eric Portman, Laurence Olivier, Stanley Holloway, Michael Hordern, Michael Redgrave, Margaret Rutherford & Peter Ustinov Region 1 DVD or VHS not available • full credits at IMDb • movie entry at BFI |
William's son cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene [1898-1943]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Friese-Greene
Abel Gance [1889-1981; France]
search for Abel Gance on VHS & DVD •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Léon Gaumont [1864-1946; France]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
 | "Gaumont: Le Cinema Premier, Volume 1 - Alice Guy • Louis Feuillade • Léonce Perret" [2008]
Region 2 Gaumont DVD [4/2008] 7 disks - import/used - PAL format Region 2 Gaumont DVD box set [4/2008] 7 disks for €51,88 via Amazon France PAL format - via Amazon.FR DISKS 1 & 2 Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968]: many silent shorts including "La Vie du Christ" [1906], hour-long docu-mentary "Portrait", probably TV episode {not found on IMDb}; DISKS 3 & 4 Louis Feuillade [1873-1925]: 11 silent shorts and many elements from the film series "La Vie Telle qu’Elle Est (Life As It Is)" [1909-12]; DISKS 5-7 Léonce Perret [1880-1935]: 11 silent shorts, tinted silent feature "L’Enfant de Paris" [1913]; and silent feature "Le Roman d’Un Mousse" aka "The Curse of Greed" [1914] — plus a 98-page booklet |
| | "Gaumont: Le Cinema Premier, Volume 2 - 1907-1916" [2009]
Region 2 Gaumont DVD [10/2009] 6 disks - import/used - PAL format Region 2 Gaumont DVD box set [10/2009] 6 disks for €45,81 via Amazon France PAL format - via Amazon.FR DISKS 1 & 2: animator Émile Cohl [1857-1938] made films for Gaumont (43 here), Pathé (5 here), Eclipse (2 here), and Eclair (4 here) from 1907 to 1921; DISKS 3 & 4: Jean Durand [1882-1946] made over 200 films from 1908 to 1929, with 40 films here; DISKS 5 & 6: L'Ecole des Buttes Chaumont, a filmmaker collective in northern Paris; short films here are by Etienne Arnaud (5), Roméo Bosetti (3), Henri Fescourt (1), Jacques Feyder (3), Georges-André Lacroix (1), René Le Somptier (1), Maurice Mariaud (1), Gaston Ravel (1), non-attributed (8), and five suppléments — probably plus a booklet |
 | "Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913" DVD Box Set [2009]
Kino Video b&w DVD set [9/2009] 85+ films on 3 disks for $42.00 DISK 1 contains 70+ silent short films produced and-or directed from 1897 to 1907 by Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968], including the 33-minute religious epic "La Vie du Christ" aka "The Birth, The Life and The Death of Christ" [1906]; DISK 2 is films of Louis Feuillade [1873-1925]; DISK 3 is films of Léonce Perret [1880-1935] |
 | "Gaumont Treasures, Volume 2: 1908-1916" DVD Box Set [2011]
Kino Video b&w DVD set [4/2011] 75+ films on 3 disks for $43.05 DISK 1 contains 40+ silent short films by animator Émile Cohl [1857-1938], including his famous "Fantasmagoria" [1908]; DISK 2 contains 22 silent short films by Jean Durand [1882-1946], who made over 200 films from 1908 to 1929, with many featuring characters Calino, Onesime & Zigoto; DISK 3 contains films from Gaumont's L'École des Buttes Chaumont group: 3 films by Anon-ymous, "La Marseillaise" [1912] by Etienne Arnaud, "The Long Arm of The Law" [1909] by Romeo Bosetti, "Child's Play" [1913] by Henri Fescourt, 3 films by Jacques Feyder, "The Barges" [1911] by Georges-Andre Lacroix, "A Drama of The Air" [1913] by Rene Le Somptier, and "Feet and Hands" [1915] by Gaston Ravel; extras on Disk 3 include Jean Durand documentary, three early Phonoscenes synchronized-sound music shorts, actualities clips offering rare glimpses behind the scenes at Gaumont, and excerpts of Gaumont's revolutionary full-color film process [Trichromie Films 1913-19] |
 | "Alice Guy, Léon Gaumont et Les Débuts du Film Sonore (..and The Beginnings of The Sound Film)" [2012] by Léon Gaumont, [Compiled] under the direction of Laurent Mannoni {French Cinémathèque in Paris} & Maurice Gianati
John Libbey Publng French-language 9¾x7½ pb [11/2012] for $36.57 more details on Magic Lantern's Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968] Page |
 | "Charles Pathé et Léon Gaumont: Premiers Géants du Cinéma" TV documentary [Arte TV Aug 2016] • Un Film de Emmanuelle Nobécourt et Gaëlle Royer; featuring Ferdinand Zecca, and archive footage of Léon Gaumont, Alice Guy, Joë Hamman, Charles Pathé • The DVD is in French with English subtitles; bonus material includes 8 silent short films, 1901-1927 and 15 minutes of Gaumont newsreels, 1902-1915 Gaumont/Arte DVD [12/2018] import/scarce Gaumont/Arte DVD [12/2018] for €19,99 via Amazon France full credits at IMDb • no entry at Wikipedia |
L'École des Buttes Chaumont : The School of the Buttes Chaumont in northern Paris, France
also known as the Cité Elgé Studios [1905-1990s]
these known or anonymous figures were the other pillars of the Studio Gaumont from 1907-1916
each member wore the titles 'metteur en scène' or 'réalisateur' (both mean 'director')
Etienne Arnaud [1879-1955]
Roméo Bosetti [1879-1948]
Henri Fescourt [1880-1966]
Jacques Feyder [1888-1948]
Georges-André Lacroix []
René Le Somptier [1884-1950]
Maurice Mariaud [1875-1958]
Gaston Ravel []
actress-writer-director {Ms.} Gene Gauntier [1885-1966]
IMDb listing [1906-20] •
Wikipedia
"The Girl Spy: An Incident of The Civil War" silent short [Kalem/G.F.C. May 1909]
Written by & starring Gene Gauntier; VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available;
bare credits at IMDb
"The Further Adventures of The Girl Spy" silent short [Kalem/G.F.C. April 1910]
Directed by Sidney Olcott; written by & starring Gene Gauntier; VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available;
bare credits at IMDb
"The Girl Spy Before Vicksburg" silent short [Kalem/G.F.C. Dec 1910]
Directed by Sidney Olcott; written by & starring Gene Gauntier; VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available;
bare credits at IMDb
"A Hitherto Unrelated Incident of The Girl Spy" [Kalem 1911]
Many questions exist about this film (or films): one version points to a two-year-long serial starring Gene Gauntier,
based on the success of prior shorts; if so, those episodes may be keyed onto IMDb as separate short films.
Written by & starring Gene Gauntier;
bare credits at IMDb
"Blazing The Trail" autobiography serialized in Woman's Home Companion Magazine in 1928
Magic Lantern's
D.W. Griffith [1875-1948] Page
Magic Lantern's
director Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968] Page
The only woman filmmaker to this day who owned her own studio.
Blaché made over 700 films; 130 films survive, but only 3 of her 40 features
| | "Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913" DVD Box Set [2009]
Kino Video b&w DVD set [9/2009] 85+ films on 3 disks for $79.95 DISK 1 contains 70+ silent short films produced and-or directed from 1897 to 1907 by Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968], including the 33-minute religious epic "La Vie du Christ" aka "The Birth, The Life and The Death of Christ" [1906], and performances by Félix Mayol with 'Phono-Cinema' synchronous sound DISK 2 is films of Louis Feuillade [1873-1925] DISK 3 is films of Léonce Perret [1880-1935] |
cowboy star William S. Hart [1864-1946] Page
at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Magic Lantern's
studio head Thomas H. Ince [1882-1924] Page
Magic Lantern's
comedian Buster Keaton [1895-1966] Pages
inventor Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince of France
[1842 - disappeared 1890]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Victorian Cinema's Le Prince page
 | "The Missing Reel: The Untold Story of The Lost Inventor of Moving Pictures" [1990] by Christopher Rawlence Penguin 7¾x5¼ pb [3/92] out of print/used Atheneum hardcover [12/90] out of print/rare |
Henry Lehrman [1886-1946]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lehrman
Magic Lantern's
silent-era comedian Max Linder [1883-1925; France] Page
Lumière Brothers of France
Louis [1864-1948] at IMDb •
Auguste [1862-1954] at IMDb
browse videos/DVDs • Wikipedia
Institut Lumière museum [est. 1982] in Lyon, France
![Festival Lumière [Oct 2016 = #8]](images/FestivalLumiere.jpg)
"Our invention has no commercial future whatsoever." — Antoine Lumière, in 1895
 | "Landmarks of Early Film" Volume 1 [1994]
Image Ent b&w DVD [7/98] for $26.99 includes Edison Kinetoscope films (1894-96), films by the brothers Lumière (1895-97), films by French special effects pioneer Georges Méliès, documentary 'actualities' {1897-1910), and selected short films from 1903 to 1913 |
 | "Lumière and Company" [France Dec 1995, USA March 1996] French producers asked 40 modern movie directors to use the 100-year-old Lumière camera to film 52-second shorts; other rules included non-synchronous sound, and maximum of three takes. Participating directors include Merzak Allouache, Theodoros Angelo-poulos, Vicente Aranda of Spain, Gabriel Axel of Denmark, John Boorman, Youssef Chahine of Egypt, Alain Corneau, Costa-Gavras, Raymond Depardon, Francis Girod, Peter Greenaway, Lasse Hallström, Michael Haneke, Hugh Hudson, Gaston Kaboré, Abbas Kiaro-stami of Iran, Cédric Klapisch, Andrei Konchalovsky of Russia, Patrice Leconte, Spike Lee, Claude Lelouch, Bigas Luna, David Lynch, Ismail Merchant & James Ivory, Claude Miller, Sarah Moon, Idrissa Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso, Arthur Penn, Lucian Pintilie, Jacques Rivette, Helma Sanders-Brahms, Jerry Schatzberg, Nadine Trintignant, Fernando Trueba, Liv Ullmann, Jaco van Dormael of Belgium, Régis Wargnier, Wim Wenders, Yoshishige Yoshida & Zhang Yimou: participating actors include Bruno Ganz, Isabelle Huppert, Liam Neeson, cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Lena Olin, Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Rickman & Max von Sydow Fox Lorber color/b&w DVD [1/98] for $95.64 Fox Lorber color/b&w VHS [11/97] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
scientist Étienne-Jules Marey [1830-1904; France]
French scientist, medical doctor & physiologist, and chronophotographer
credits [1891-94] at IMDb •
Wikipedia
The Étienne-Jules Marey Collection {400 photos} at Cinémathèque Française
"La Machine Animale (Animal Mechanism)" [1873]
"Le Vol des Oiseaux (The Flight of Birds)" [1890]
"Picturing Time: The Work of Etienne-Jules Marey" [Univ Chicago Press, 1992] by Marta Braun
http://www.amazon.com/Picturing-Time-Etienne-Jules-Marey-1830-1904/dp/0226071758/
 | "Marey/Muybridge, Pionniers du Cinema" [1996] by Jean-Francois Bazin & Alain Suguenot catalogue for the May 1995 exhibition at the Palais des Congres in Beaune, Burgundy, Côte d'Or, France; full title: "Actes du Colloque Marey/Muybridge, Pionniers du Cinema - Rencontre Beaune/Stanford" Universite de Stanford 10x8½ French-language pb [1996] out of print/used more on Muybridge at Magic Lantern's Eadweard Muybridge [1830-1904] Page |
director & actor J.P. {John Paterson} McGowan [1880-1952]
browse DVDs • credits [1911-51] at IMDb •
Wikipedia
http://www.sidneyolcott.com/mcgowan.htm
 | "J.P. McGowan: Biography of A Hollywood Pioneer" [2005] by John J. McGowan book was published & reviewed in 2005, but there is no record at publisher website and not much more on Amazon McFarland & Co. 10¼x7¼ pb [1/2005] out of print/used |
"Stunt Love" half-hour TV docufilm [Australia 2011]
Written & directed by Matthew Bate • credits at IMDb •
official movie site •
watch official trailer [1:21] at Vimeo
Magic Lantern's
Georges Méliès [1861-1938; France] Page
 | "Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema" DVD box set [2008]
Flicker Alley b&w/color DVD set [3/2008] 5 disks for $80.99 more than 170 short films by Méliès, fifteen in hand-tinted color, from fragments to half-hour works, including "Partie de Cartes" [1896], "After The Ball" [1897], "The Misfortunes of An Explorer" [1900], "A Trip To The Moon" [1902], "The Kingdom of Fairies" [1903], "The Impossible Voyage" [1904], "The Untamable Whiskers" [1904], "The Palace of The Arabian Knights" [1905], "The Merry Frolics of Satan" [1906], "Conquest of The Pole" [1912], and "Voyage de la Famille Bourrichon" [1913]; extras include Georges Franju's touching filmed tribute "Le Grand Méliès" [1953] (which features son André Méliès & second wife Jeanne d'Alcy Méliès), and a booklet of essays |
 | "Méliès Encore: 26 Additional Rare and Original Films By The First Wizard of Cinema, 1896-1911" [2010] Flicker Alley b&w DVD [2/2010] for $19.95 contains 23 short films by Méliès, from fragments to half-hour works, plus imitator "Excursion To The Moon" and two 'in the Méliès style' by Segundo de Chomon |
'race' filmmaker Oscar Micheaux [1884-1951]
| Oscar Micheaux, the son of freed slaves, worked as a Pullman porter and homestead farmer, and wrote autobiographical novels; when Hollywood wouldn't buy his stories, he took up filmmaking in 1919 (at age 35). He was more skilled at marketing movies than at making them, yet the 40-plus film library that he produced over a 30-year span sheds valuable light on the harsh realities of African-American life. His career began to fizzle, along with race films, in the late 1930s, and he died in obscurity. Two-thirds of Micheaux's films are lost, and those surviving are mostly truncated by censorship. |
Magic Lantern's Oscar Micheaux Page
cowboy star Tom Mix [1880-1940] Page
at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Magic Lantern's
F.W. Murnau [1888-1931; Germany] Page
Magic Lantern's
Eadweard Muybridge [1830-1904] Page
'The Compleat Eadweard Muybridge' fansite
director Sidney Olcott [1873-1949]
www.sidneyolcott.com + http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646058/
director G.W. Pabst [1885-1967] of Austria
Pathé Brothers of France
Charles Pathé [1863-1957]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
with Émile, Théophile & Jacques Pathé founded
Société Pathé Frères [est. 28 September 1896] of Paris, France
company website • Wikipedia
 | "The Red Rooster Scare: Making Cinema American, 1900-1910" [1999] by Richard Abel During the era of the nickelodeon theater, the French company Pathé dominated film distribution in America & Europe. But then American filmmakers fought back ... Univ CA Press 8¾x6 pb [3/99] for $32.95 Univ CA Press 9¼x6 hardcover [3/99] for $55.00 |
| | "Charles Pathé et Léon Gaumont: Premiers Géants du Cinéma" TV documentary [Arte TV Aug 2016] • Un Film de Emmanuelle Nobécourt et Gaëlle Royer; featuring Ferdinand Zecca, and archive footage of Léon Gaumont, Alice Guy, Joë Hamman, Charles Pathé • The DVD is in French with English subtitles; bonus material includes 8 silent short films, 1901-1927 and 15 minutes of Gaumont newsreels, 1902-1915 Gaumont/Arte DVD [12/2018] import/scarce Gaumont/Arte DVD [12/2018] for €19,99 via Amazon France full credits at IMDb • no entry at Wikipedia |
Léonce Perret [1880-1935; France]
search for Léonce Perret on DVD •
IMDb listing [1909-35] •
Wikipedia
 | "Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913" DVD Box Set [2009]
Kino Video b&w DVD set [9/2009] 85+ films on 3 disks for $79.95 DISK 3 contains two silent features written & directed in 1912 & 1913 by Léonce Perret [1880-1935], including the 100-minute silent feature "L'Enfant de Paris (The Child of Paris)" [1913] and the 45-minute silent feature "The Mystery of The Rocks of Kador" [1912], plus the docu-mentary "Léonce Perret: The Filmmaker's Filmmaker" [2009] DISK 1 is films of Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968]; DISK 2 is of Louis Feuillade [1873-1925] |
| | Magic Lantern's Mary Pickford [1892-1979] Page |
Mary Pickford was married to Douglas Fairbanks [1883-1939] from 1920 to 1936.
Edwin S. Porter [1870-1941]
search for Edwin S. Porter on VHS & DVD •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Edison's "Jack and The Beanstalk" [1902 silent]
watch [10:00] free online at Internet Archive
 |
"Before The Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S. Porter" [Oct 1982]
Co-produced, directed & edited by Charles Musser; written by Warren Leight; narration by silent-era star Blanche Sweet Kino Video b&w/color DVD [4/2008] for $21.99 Kino Video color/b&w VHS [11/98] out of prodn/rare full credits at IMDb |
 | "Before The Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter & The Edison Manufacturing Company" [1991] by Charles Musser
Univ CA Press 9¼x6 pb [6/91] out of print/used Univ CA Press 9¾x6¾ hardcover [6/91] out of print/used Thomas Alva Edison Page / Edison Motion Pictures Section |
Magic Lantern's
studio head Hal Roach [1892-1992] Page
Magic Lantern's Laurel & Hardy Page
Magic Lantern's Little Rascals / Our Gang Page
Magic Lantern's Charley Chase [1893-1940] Page
Magic Lantern's Thelma Todd [1906-35] Page
U.S. Army First Motion Picture Unit {at Hal Roach Studios in WWII) Page
 | "A History of The Hal Roach Studios" [2005] by Richard Lewis Ward S.I.U. Press 9x6 pb [8/2006] for $16.88 S.I.U. Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/2005] out of print/used |
Charles Taze Russell [1852-1916]
![autographed portrait of Charles Taze Russell [1852-1916]](images/CharlesTazeRussell-sepia.jpg) |
No need here to go into the ministerial career of Charles Taze Russell, except to mention that he is a founder of the Jehovah's Witness religion and a hundred years later remains accused of bogus prophecies and of being a Mason. What matters for this Magic Lantern 'Pioneers of Cinema' Page is that Pastor Russell began a project in 1912 to proselytize his Christian teachings using the cinema; his multimedia show "The Photo Drama of Creation" was exhibited with great success starting in 1914, running on a daily basis for months in many locations around the world. The show was comprised of audio recordings of music and of Pastor Russell preaching, with silent film segments (some in color) and glass slides all inter-mixed; the show ran in four segments for a total of eight hours.
IMDb listing • Wikipedia Eric P's Pastor Russell fansite {legacy version} placeholder C.T. Russell fansite {black screen 2013-2016} EG's C.T. Russell archive & fansite |
 | "Charles Taze Russell: His Life and Times - The Man, The Millennium, and The Message" [2009] by Fredrick Zydek Kindle Edition from Winthrop Press [3/2012] for $9.99 - status unclear 12/2013 CreateSpace 9x6 pb [12/2009] for $26.96 |
"The Photo Drama of Creation" multi-media show [1914]
 | Produced under the direction of Charles Taze Russell. The show ran in four segments for a total of eight hours and premiered in January 1914 in New York City; it is honored as the first major screenplay to incorporate synchronized sound, moving film, and color slides. The free-admission presentation and a shortened version entitled "The Eureka Drama" are said to have been viewed by over 9 million people (at a time when the U.S. population was 100 million).
watch the show on YouTube (unfortunately in 96 segments) watch modern edited version [3:41:22} on YouTube bare credits at IMDb • movie entry on Wikipedia |
 | "The Photo-Drama of Creation" [1914] Companion book of photographs with explanatory text CreateSpace 9¾x7¾ pb [2/2009] for $44.99 Associated Bible Students 9¾x7¾ pb [2011] out of print/used |
William Selig [1864-1948]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
| | Magic Lantern's 'The King of Comedy' Mack Sennett [1880-1960] Page |
actress-writer-director Nell Shipman [1892-1970]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Nell Shipman academic fansite at University of Toronto
"The Silent Screen and My Talking Heart" autobiography [] by Nell Shipman
 | "The Girl From God's Country: Nell Shipman and The Silent Cinema" [2003] by Kay Armatage Univ Toronto Press 9¼x6 pb [6/2003] for $39.95 Univ Toronto Press 9½x6 hardcover [6/2003] for $72.00 |
Magic Lantern's
director Wm. Desmond Taylor [1872-1922] Page
"16 Silent Film Celebrities & The William Desmond Taylor Case"
watch full movie [10/2007 upload; 4:57] online at YouTube
director Maurice Tourneur [France & USA; 1876-1961]
"Motion pictures, first of all, should be impressionistic." ~~ Maurice Tourneur
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"The Wishing Ring" [World Film 1914 feature] /tt0004825/ adapted & directed by Maurice Tourneur
"Alias Jimmy Valentine" [1915] /tt0004872/
"The Cub" [1915] is being restored
"A Girl's Folly" [World Film 1917]
"The Poor Little Rich Girl" [Artcraft March 1917] /tt0008443/
directed by Maurice Tourneur; adapted by Frances Marion; starring Mary Pickford
"The Pride of the Clan" [1917] /tt0008458/ starring Mary Pickford
"The Blue Bird" [1918] /tt0008891/
"A Doll's House" [1918] /tt0009020/
"Treasure Island" [1920] /tt0011785/
"The Last of The Mohicans" [1920] /tt0011387/
"Lorna Doone" [1922] /tt0013332/
"Carnival of Sinners" aka "La Main du Diable {The Devil's Hand)" [1943] /tt0035017/
Charles Urban [1867-1942]
Born in Ohio, made silent films (many in colour) in U.K. then made more in U.S.A.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Urban + http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0881616/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Urban_Trading_Company [1903-1916] + http://www.imdb.com/company/co0062506/
"A Yank In Britain: The Lost Memoirs of Charles Urban, Film Pioneer" [1999] Edited by Luke McKernan
http://www.amazon.com/Yank-Britain-Memoirs-Charles-Pioneer/dp/095239412X/
"A Canine Sherlock Holmes" silent short [Urbanora Films Dec 1912]
 | British 1-reeler silent comedy about a Jack Russell terrier who helps the police solve crimes. Produced by Charles Urban [1867-1942] thru his Urban Trading Company; written & directed by Stuart Kinder; starring Spot the Urbanora Dog VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb |
"Alexander Hamilton" silent short [Kineto Films/Vitagraph Aug 1922] /tt0960723/
Produced by Charles Urban
Magic Lantern's
director King Vidor [1894-1982] Page
Magic Lantern's
Erich von Stroheim [1885-1957] Page
co-wrote & directed "Greed" [1924]
acted in Jean Renoir's "The Grand Illusion" [France 1937]
acted in Billy Wilder's "Sunset Blvd." [1950]
director Lois Weber [1881-1939]
search DVDs by Lois Weber • IMDb listing [1911-34] • Wikipedia
Pioneer Movie Studios
Thomas Alva Edison [1847-1931] built the world's first motion picture studio in West Orange, New Jersey in 1893.
The Clarendon Film Company was co-founded in 1904 by Percy Stow [1876-1919] and H.V. Lawley; Clarenden had studios at 16 Limes Road, Croydon (South London, U.K) and
produced comic films mostly, which were distributed by Gaumont. By 1906, Clarendon was distributing its own largely-dramatic films, and during 1906-1914 was one of the seven major
film companies in Britain. Lawley left the partnership in 1908, leaving it under Stow’s management. The company was taken over by Harma in 1918.
KinemaColor of U.K. built a movie studio at 4500 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood in 1909; the property was taken over
in 1913 by D.W. Griffith [1875-1948] and renamed Griffith Fine Arts; both "The Birth of A Nation" [1915] and
"Intolerance" [1916] were filmed there. (It burned down in the 1960s and is now a chain grocery store).
Thomas H. Ince [1882-1924] built three studios in the Los Angeles area (1911, 1915 & 1918)
The rural Inceville Ranch property in Pacific Palisades (1911-1922) is now Sunset Blvd.; Triangle Studios in Culver City became
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (1924-1986), then Lorimar, and is now Sony Pictures; Ince Studios in Culver City became
DeMille, R.K.O., Pathé, Selznick, and Desilu (1956-77), and is now the independent Culver Studios facility.
Cinema pioneer Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968] and her husband Herbert Blaché-Bolton [1882-1953] moved from France to America in 1910; they started the Solax Film Co.
in 1910 with third partner, George A. Magie at the former Gaumont Studio in Flushing, Queens, New York. By 1912 they had built their new Solax film studio in Fort Lee,
New Jersey - the largest pre-Hollywood studio in America. But Hollywood was soon booming and filming in New Jersey declined; Herbert Blaché left for Hollywood in 1918,
Alice followed in 1919. Solax Film Laboratories was destroyed by fire in 1919, attributed to inadequate firefighting methods. Alice & Herbert divorced and filed bankruptcy
in 1922 and auctioned off what was left of the studio, and then moved back to France.
'Broncho Billy' Anderson [1880-1971] opened Essanay West Studios in Niles, California in 1912;
the company shut down in 1916.
Mack Sennett & partners founded Keystone Studios in Edendale {today's East Hollywood} in August 1912;
went bankrupt in 1935; currently owned by micro-studio Cineville - still in operation.
Charlie Chaplin [1889-1977] built his own studio at 1416 No. La Brea Avenue in Hollywood in 1917; owned from 1967-1999
by Herb Alpert's A&M Records who renovated for music recording; currently home of Jim Henson Co. & The Muppets - still in operation.
Hal Roach [1892-1992] built Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California in 1919; rented for
U.S.A.A.F. First Motion Picture Unit during World War II; became industrial park in 1963.
Adolph Zukor's Paramount Pictures built Astoria Studios in 1920 in Astoria, Queens, New York - still in operation.
Paramount constructed a new studio facility on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood in 1927 - still in operation.
Reading Material about Pioneer Cinema
 | "The First One Hundred: Noted Men and Women of The Screen" [1920] by Carolyn Lowrey Univ Michigan Library 9x7 pb [4/2009] for $18.89 Nabu Press 9¾x7½ pb [11/2013] for $19.61 Kessinger Publng 9¾x7 hardcover [9/2010] for $28.76 Moffat, Yard & Co. hardcover [1920] out of print/scarce |
 | "The Movies Begin: Making Movies In New Jersey, 1887-1920" [1977] by Paul C. Spehr Newark Museum Assn. 10x9¼ pb [5/77] out of print/used |
 | "Hollywood: The Pioneers" [1979] by Kevin Brownlow & John Kobal Knopf hardcover [3/80] out of print/used HarperCollins hardcover [10/79] out of print/used |
 | "The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen To 1907" [1990] by Charles Musser (History of The American Cinema, Vol. 1) Univ CA Press 10x7 pb [5/94] for $34.95 Scribner's 10¼x7½ hardcover [2/90] for $99.00 |
 | "The Transformation of Cinema, 1907-1915" [1990] by Eileen Bowser (History of The American Cinema, Vol. 2) Univ CA Press 10x7 pb [5/94] for $18.21 Scribner's 10¼x7½ hardcover [12/90] for $99.00 |
 | "Who's Who of Victorian Cinema: A Worldwide Survey" [1996] Edited by Stephen Herbert & Luke McKernan British Film Institute 9¼x6½ hardcover [10/96] out of print/used |
 | "Celebrating 1895: The Centenary of Cinema" [1998] Edited by John Fullerton Indiana Univ Press hardcover [11/98] out of print/used |
 | "Silent Stars Speak: Interviews With Twelve Cinema Pioneers" [2001] by Tony Villecco McFarland & Co. 9x6 pb [2001] for $39.95 interviewees include: child star 'Baby Peggy', Priscilla Bonner, Virginia Cherrill, Pauline Curley, "Our Gang" member Jean Darling, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Francis Lederer, Molly O'Day, Anita Page, Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, David Rollins, and director Andrew Stone |
 | "Fort Lee: The Film Town" [2005] by Richard Koszarski John Libbey & Co. 9¼x7¾ pb [4/2005] for $27.95 Indiana Univ Press 9¾x8 hardcover [4/2005] out of print/used |
 | "Before Hollywood: From Shadow Play To The Silver Screen" [2005] by Paul Clee Clarion Books 9x9 pb [8/2005] for $14.96 |
 | "Images of America: Fort Lee - Birthplace of The Motion Picture Industry" [2006] by Fort Lee {NJ} Film Commission Arcadia Publng 9x6¼ pb [9/2006] for $15.59 |
 | "Images of America: Silent-Era Filmmaking In Santa Barbara" [2007] by Robert S. Birchard Arcadia Publng 9x6¼ pb [7/2007] for $19.99 |
 | "Hollywood On The Hudson: Film & Television In New York From Griffith To Sarnoff" [2008] by Richard Koszarski
Rutgers Univ Press 10x7 hardcover [7/2008] for $28.76 covers East Coast filmmakers, writers & actors: Thomas Edison, animators Max & Dave Fleischer, D.W. Griffith, Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Oscar Micheaux, Paul Robeson, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and others |
 | "Silent Women: Pioneers of Cinema" [2016] Edited by Melody Bridges & Cheryl Robson examines historical & artistic impact of filmmakers Dorothy Arzner (interview by Kevin Brownlow), Gene Gauntier, Alice Guy-Blaché, Zora Neale Hurston, Frances Marion, Eslanda Goode Robeson, Nell Shipman, Lois Weber, Maria P. Williams & Marion Wong Kindle Edition from Aurora Metro Press [1/2017] for $4.99 Aurora Metro Press 7¾x5 pb [4/2016] for $21.29 |
"Silent Film Quarterly" [est. Nov 2015; shut down 2017?]
Edited & published by Charles Epting • official website {given up 2017}
watch 10/2015 official promo [0:58] online at YouTube
{ click for larger view in new window } | "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 1" [Fall 2015]
56-page LULU.com 9x6 magazine [11/2015] for $8.00 "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 2" [Winter 2015-2016] 64-page LULU.com 9x6 magazine [12/2015] for $8.00 "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 3" [Spring 2016] 60-page LULU.com 9x6 magazine [4/2016] for $8.00 "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 4" [Summer 2016] 60-page LULU.com 9x6 magazine [1/2017] for $8.00 "Silent Film Quarterly, Volume I: The First Year" [2017] 244-page LULU.com 9x6 hardcover [2/2017] for $35.46 "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 5" [Fall 2016] 54-page LULU.com 9x6 magazine [2/2017] for $8.00 "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 6" [Winter 2016-2017] issue not available on Amazon (2019) "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 7" [Spring 2017] issue not available on Amazon (2019) "Silent Film Quarterly Issue 8" [Summer 2017] issue not available on Amazon (2019) |
Videos & DVDs
"Stars of Yesterday" short film [1931]
b&w short sound film featuring Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson [1880-1971], Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle [1887-1933], Betty Blythe, Texas Guinan,
Mildred Harris, William S. Hart [1864-1946], Helen Holmes, Charles Ray, Clara Kimball Young; with archive footage of Theda Bara [1885-1955],
Sarah Bernhardt, Mary Fuller, Mary Miles Minter, Mabel Normand, and Rudolph Valentino [1895-1926]
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • incomplete credits at IMDb
watch clip of Theda Bara [0:47] online at YouTube
 | "Hollywood: A Celebration of The American Silent Film" [H.B.O. 1980] Written & directed by David Gill & Kevin Brownlow, narration by James Mason Vol. 1: "The Pioneers" HBO VHS [6/98] out of prodn/used Vol. 2: "In the Beginning" HBO VHS [6/98] out of prodn/used complete box set
|
| | "Landmarks of Early Film" Volume 1 [1994]
Image Ent b&w DVD [7/98] for $26.99 includes Edison Kinestoscope films (1894-96), films by the brothers Lumière (1895-97), films by French special effects pioneer Georges Méliès, documentary 'actualities' {1897-1910), and selected short films from 1903 to 1913 |
 | "Before Hollywood, There Was Fort Lee: Early Moviemaking In New Jersey"
Image Ent. color/b&w DVD [5/2003] for $22.49 includes 40-minute featurette produced by Fort Lee Film Commission in 1964, plus a half-hour version of Maurice Tourneur's "A Girl's Folly" [World Film 1917] showing scenes inside a movie studio; D.W. Griffith's "The New York Hat" [Biograph 1912 short] starring Mary Pickford & Lionel Barrymore; "The Wishing Ring" [World Film 1914 feature] adapted & directed by Maurice Tourneur; and portions of Edwin S. Porter's "Rescued From The Eagle's Nest" [Edison 1908 short] and D.W. Griffith's "The Curtain Pole" [Biograph 1909 short] starring Mack Sennett & Florence Lawrence |
  |
"Behind The Scenes of The Silent Screen" on DVD [2012]
Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [11/2012] out of prodn/used contains "The Incendiary Foreman" [Pathé France 1908] one-reeler silent short; 26-minute "A Tour of The Thomas H. Ince Studio" [Ince/Associated 1922] directed by Hunt Stromberg, featuring Enid Bennett, Hobart Bosworth, editor Ralph Dixon, Louise Glaum, Earl Hughes, Lloyd Hughes, Richard Ince, Thomas H. Ince, Thomas H. Ince Jr., Elinor Kershaw (Mrs. Thomas Ince), James Kirkwood, Margaret Livingston, Douglas MacLean, House Peters, J. Parker Read Jr., Lewis Stone, Florence Vidor; 32-minute "M.G.M. Studio Tour" [M.G.M. 1925] silent short subject directed by Hunt Stromberg; cinematography by William H. Daniels; featuring writers Carey Wilson, Howard Hawks, Agnes Christine Johnston, Frederic Hatton, Fanny Hatton, Waldemar Young, Jane Murfin, Max Marcin, Madame Elinor Glyn; directors Victor Sjöström, Dimitri Buchowetzki, Monta Bell, Rupert Hughes, Josef von Sternberg, Erich von Stroheim, Hobart Henley, King Vidor, Fred Niblo, Reginald Barker, Alfred Raboch, Christy Cabanne, Tod Browning, Marcel De Sano, William A. Wellman, Jack Conway, Edmund Goulding; actors Ramon Novarro, Mae Murray, Claire Windsor, Conrad Nagel, John Gilbert, Eleanor Boardman, Mae Busch, Lon Chaney, Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, Norma Shearer, Carmel Myers, Gertrude Olmstead, Zasu Pitts, Edward Connelly, Renée Adorée, Pauline Starke, Bert Roach, Frank Currier, Estelle Clark, Paulette Duval, Helena D'Algy, Joan Crawford, Sally O'Neil, George K. Arthur, Matthew Betz, Roy D'Arcy, Kathleen Key, Myrna Loy, Ford Sterling, Lucille La Verne, dancer Ruth Fanchon, Sôjin Kamiyama, William Haines; art director Cedric Gibbons, artist Ferdinand P. Earle, artist {Romaine de Tirtoff} Erté; and execs Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg & Harry Rapf watch shortened "Ince Studio Tour" movie with piano music [1/2013 upload; 21:53] online at YouTube watch full "M.G.M. Tour" movie - badly cropped [10/2018 upload; 43:11] online at YouTube watch full "M.G.M. Tour" movie with piano music [31:55] online at YouTube |
 | "Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology" DVD Box Set [2017]
Blackhawk/Flicker Alley Blu-ray/DVD combo [5/2017] 6 disks for $53.25 contains 20 silent & sound films by women pioneer filmmakers: Dorothy Arzner's "Dance, Girl, Dance (excerpt)" [1940]; Alice Guy-Blaché (five, 1902-1912); Madeline Brandeis's "The Star Prince" [1918]; Mary Ellen Bute (2); Maya Deren's "Meshes of the Afternoon" [1943]; Germaine Dulac (2); Marie-Louise Iribe's "Le Roi des Aulnes" [1929]; Mabel Normand's Mabel's "Strange Predicament" [1914]; Claire Parker's "A Night on Bald Mountain" [1933]; Olga Preobrazhenskaia's "The Peasant Women of Ryazan" [1927]; Dorothy Davenport Reid's "The Woman Condemned" [1934]; Lotte Reiniger (3); Leni Riefenstahl's "Day of Freedom" [1935]; and Lois Weber (3) |
| "Les Pionnières du Cinéma" DVD Box Set [Lobster Films May 2018] films of nine influential directors: Dorothy Arzner, Mary Ellen Bute, Dorothy Davenport (Mrs. Wallace Reid), Germaine Dulac, Alice Guy-Blaché, Marie-Louise Iribe, Mabel Normand, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, and Lois Weber on 4 disks Lobster Films DVD box set [5/2018] 9 hours on 4 disks - import/used Region 2 Lobster Films DVD box set [5/2018] 4 disks for €34,73 PAL format - via Amazon France DISK 1 contains 9 silent short films by Alice Guy-Blaché: "Greater Love Hath No Man" [1911], "Falling Leaves" [1912], "L’Américanisé" [1912], "The Girl In The Armchair" [1912], "A Fool and His Money" [1912], "For Love of The Flag" [1912], "Algie The Miner" [1912], "Matrimony’s Speed Limit" [1913], "The Ocean Waif" [1916] DISK 1: Region 2 Lobster Films DVD [2/2019] for €9,99 PAL format - via Amazon France DISK 2 contains four silent films: "Suspense" short [July 1913], "Discontent" short [Jan 1916], "The Blot" silent feature [Sept 1921] by Lois Weber, and "Mabel’s Strange Predicament" short [Feb 1914] by Mabel Normand, with Charlie Chaplin & Chester Conklin DISK 3 contains 3 films: "La Cigarette" silent feature [1919] and "La Souriante Mme Beudet (The Smiling Madame Beudet)" silent short [1923] by Germaine Dulac, and "The Woman Condemned" sound feature [April 1934] by Dorothy Davenport (Mrs. Wallace Reid) DISK 4 contains 4 films: "The Village of Sin" aka "Women of Ryazan" silent feature [1927] by Soviet feature film director Olga Preobrazhenskaya [1881-1971] with the original music of Sergei Dresnin, using recordings of Russian choirs of the time; "The King of The Alders" aka "Der Erlkönig" silent feature [1931] by Marie-Louise Iribe [1894-1934]: a new restoration of a 'unique, beautiful, and long-lost work, revealing the film in its visual and musical splendor'; "Parabola" silent short [1937] by avant-garde filmmaker Mary Ellen Bute [1906-83], co-directed by Rutherford Boyd, Bill Nemeth & Ted Nemeth; "Dance, Girl, Dance" sound feature [Aug 1940] is the most famous film of Dorothy Arzner [1897-1979], the first woman director at the major studios in Hollywood DISK 4: Region 2 Lobster Films DVD [2/2019] for €9,99 PAL format - via Amazon France |
 | "Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers" [Library of Congress Nov 2018] the featured women directors include Ruth Ann Baldwin, Grace Cunard, Gene Gauntier, Alice Guy-Blaché, Helen Holmes, Zora Neale Hurston, Julia Crawford Ivers, Cleo Madison, Frances Marion, Mabel Normand, Ida May Park, Dorothy Davenport Reid, Nell Shipman, Lois Weber, Elsie Jane Wilson & Marian E. Wong Kino Lorber b&w Blu-ray box set [11/2018] 6 disks for $65.69 Kino Lorber b&w DVD box set [11/2018] 6 disks for $47.90 contains 55 films (11 of them features) and 7 short documentaries: DISK 1 features 13 silent short Solax films by Alice Guy-Blaché, Gene Gauntier's "The Colleen Bawn" [1911], Elsie Jane Wilson's "The Cricket" [1917], and Lois Weber's "On The Brink" [1911]; DISK 2 is devoted to Lois Weber: 7 shorts & 3 features; DISK 3 focuses on genre pioneers Ruth Ann Baldwin (Western feature "49-17" [1917]) and Cleo Madison and serial queens Helen Holmes (3 chapters of "The Hazards of Helen" [1915]) and Grace Cunard (3 chapters of "The Purple Mask" [1917]), five Keystone shorts by comedienne Mabel Normand including one of Charlie Chaplin's early appearances in "Caught In A Cabaret" [1914], and 3 shorts by Grace Cunard, Cleo Madison, and Zora Neale Hurston; DISK 4 has Lois Weber's featurette "Scandal" [1916] & her abortion/birth control drama feature "Where Are My Children?" [1916], Cleo Madison's two-reeler "Her Defiance" [1916], anti-racist short film "When Little Lindy Sang" [1916], Elsie Jane Wilson's feature "The Dream Lady" [1918], Nell Shipman's feature "Something New" [1920], and Marian E. Wong's "The Curse of Quon Gwon" [1916], the first film made by and featuring Chinese-Americans; DISK 5 includes Ida May Park's 2-minute clip "The Risky Road" [1918] & two-reeler "Bread" [1918], Alla Nazimova's feature "Salomé" [1923], Dorothy Davenport Reid's features "Red Kimona" [1925] & "Linda" [1929], and Lita Lawrence's feature "Motherhood: Life's Greatest Miracle" [1925]; DISK 6 includes 4 features: "The Call of The Cumberlands" [1916] by Julia Crawford Ivers, "Broadway Love" [1918] by Ida May Park, "Back To God's Country" [1919] by Nell Shipman, and "The Song of Love" [1923] by Frances Marion |
Silent Film Festival Links
Yorkshire Silent Film, Ltd. [est. 2015] in Leeds, U.K. - produces events year-round
the first Dutch Silent Film Festival [Jan 2018 = #1] in Eindhoven, NL
The Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema [once only March 2011] in Falkirk, Scotland
Toronto Silent Film Festival [April 2018 = #10] in Canada
Catalina Island Museum Silent Film Benefit [May 2017 = #30]
Yorkshire Silent Film Festival [May 2018 = #3] in Leeds, U.K. - official website (expired 2017) • Facebook
San Francisco [CA] Silent Film Festival Winter Event [May-June 2018 = #14]
Internationale Stummfilmtage / International Silent Film Festival [Aug 2018 = #34] in Bonn, Germany
Forssa Silent Movie Festival [Aug 2018 = #18] in Finland
British Silent Film Festival [Sept 2017 = #18] in Leicester, UK
Denver Silent Film Festival [Sept 2017 = #7]
Shasta County Arts Council Silent Film Festival [Oct 2018 = #12] in Redding, CA
Cinema Pioneers & Stars Links
Cinema Pioneers category at Wikipedia
![Women Film Pioneers Project [est. 1990s] at Columbia University in New York City](images/WomenFilmPioneersProject.jpg "Women Film Pioneers Project [est. 1990s] at Columbia University in New York City")
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle [1887-1933]
Theda Bara [1885-1955]
Louise Brooks [1906-85]
Charlie Chaplin [1889-1977]
Charley Chase [1893-1940]
Cecil B. DeMille [1881-1959]
Walt Disney [1901-66]
Thomas Alva Edison [1847-1931]
Sergei Eisenstein [1898-1948]
Douglas Fairbanks [1883-1939]
W.C. Fields [1880-1946]
Max & Dave Fleischer / Fleischer Studios
Abel Gance of France
Greta Garbo [1905-90]
D.W. Griffith [1875-1948]
Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968]
Jean Harlow [1911-37]
William S. Hart [1864-1946]
Thomas H. Ince [1882-1924]
Buster Keaton [1895-1966]
Harry Langdon [1884-1944]
Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy
Max Linder [1883-1925] of France
Harold Lloyd [1893-1971]
Lumière Brothers of France
J.P. McGowan
Georges Méliès [1861-1938] of France
Oscar Micheaux [1884-1951]
Tom Mix [1880-1940]
F.W. Murnau [1888-1931] of Germany
Eadweard Muybridge [1830-1904]
G.W. Pabst of Austria
Pathé Brothers of France
Mary Pickford [1892-1979]
Edwin S. Porter
Hal Roach [1892-1992]
Mack Sennett [1880-1960]
Wm. Desmond Taylor
Fred Thomson [1890-1928]
Thelma Todd [1906-35]
Rudolph Valentino [1895-1926]
King Vidor [1894-1982]
Erich von Stroheim [1885-1957]
here on the Pioneers of Cinema Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
top of page • The Pioneers, A-Z • pioneer studios • links • reading material • videos/DVDs
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