Copyright Comedies and More
2022
135 minutes
Overview
A compilation of thirteen rare silent films digitized by the Library of Congress, selected for the 2022 Domitor conference theme “Copy/Rights and Early Cinema.” Drawn from nitrate and safety film, the program spans comedies, trick films, and dramas exploring censorship, invention, adaptation, and social rights. Titles include: Pruning the Movies (Nestor, 1914); Imperial Japanese Dance (Edison, 1894); Early Edison Camera Tests (Edison, c.1890s); Censorship and its Absurdities (Edison, 1915); In Wrong (Crystal, 1914, dir. Phillips Smalley); Tillie’s Tomato Surprise (Lubin, 1915, dir. Howell Hansell); Indian Land Grab (Champion, 1910); The Stolen Play (Falcon Features, 1917, dir. Harry Harvey); And the Villain Still Pursued Her (Vitagraph, 1906, dir. J. Stuart Blackton); The Doll’s Revenge (Hepworth, 1907, dir. Lewin Fitzhamon); The Disintegrated Convict (Vitagraph, 1907); The Mexican Joan of Arc (Kalem, 1911, dir. Kenean Buel); and Fads and Fashions of 1900 (U.S., 1940s).
Top Cast
Marie Dressler
Archive Footage, "Tillie’s Tomato Surprise"
Ruth Roland
Archive Footage, "The Stolen Play"
Alice Joyce
Archive Footage, "The Mexican Joan of Arc"
Vivian Prescott
Archive Footage, "In Wrong"
Eddie Lyons
Archive Footage, "Pruning the Movies"
Paul Panzer
Archive Footage, "And the Villain Still Pursued Her"
Lee Moran
Archive Footage, "Pruning the Movies"
William Conklin
Archive Footage, "The Stolen Play"
Jane Wolfe
Archive Footage, "The Mexican Joan of Arc"
Carlyle Blackwell
Archive Footage, "The Mexican Joan of Arc"
Harry L. Rattenberry
Archive Footage, "Pruning the Movies"
Carmen de Philippi
Archive Footage, "Pruning the Movies"
Charles DeForrest
Archive Footage, "In Wrong"
Bertie Potter
Archive Footage, "The Doll's Revenge"
Gertie Potter
Archive Footage, "The Doll's Revenge"