Copyright Comedies and More

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).

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"

N/A

Harry L. Rattenberry

Archive Footage, "Pruning the Movies"

N/A

Carmen de Philippi

Archive Footage, "Pruning the Movies"