1911: Banned in Pennsylvania

We are entering 1911 and, because we are still in the infancy of the film industry, we are still seeing a lot of firsts.  Hollywood sees the opening of its first studio (yes, there was a time when Hollywood was not synonymous with cinema).  Russia releases its first feature length film (Defence of Sevastopol).  L'Inferno (Dante's Inferno) became the first feature length movie released in the U.S., clocking in at 69 minutes.  And, Pennsylvania became the first state to pass a film censorship law.

Yes, my home state was the first in the nation to start controlling what would be shown on the screens throughout the Commonwealth.  In the early years of the film industry, Pennsylvania served as a model for federal and other state governments to follow in controlling film content.  The Pennsylvania Board of Motion Picture Censors required changes, edits and reshoots of films in order to allow them to be shown, a problem that only became worse once talkies were introduced.  To give some sense of what the Board might consider, there was an effort to influence Gone with the Wind in 1939 because of its depiction of southern soldiers. It was not until 1956 that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the act as unconstitutional.

I'm going to be doing some research on what's available to watch, but L'Inferno and The Lonedale Operator (featuring one of the first notable uses of a close-up) are available on YouTube and will definitely be on the list.

Image courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives. Record Group 22 Records of the Department of Education, State Board of Censors (Motion Picture).

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A Lad from Old Ireland (1910)

Anyone who knows me understands how this ended up as a selection for this adventure.

A Lad from Old Ireland tells the simple story of an Irishman who leaves his sweetheart and travels to America to find his fortune. After working in construction, he becomes a successful politician and travels back to his homeland just in time to save his girl's family from economic ruin.

The film was directed by Sidney Olcott and tells its story in a straightforward but effective way.  Olcott uses the camera well and frames some interesting shots that build on one another.  The shot of the main character traveling by ship receives a nice callback later.  While the execution is well done, the film suffers from the simplicity of the story.  At over 14 minutes, it still feels too long.

This was the first American film to go on location outside the U.S. and was very popular in its time.  The director and writer (Gene Gauntier) also star.

The movie is available in two parts on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2

Saved

This will close out year one.  Only 99 more to go!  The year 1911 is coming up next.

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A Christmas Carol (1910)

Once again, we have the original version of an old classic.  A Christmas Carol was directed by J. Searle Dawley and stars Marc McDermott as Scrooge.  The movie plays more like a highlight reel of the classic Dickens story than a fully realized film.  Still, it hits all of the high points of the tale and relies on the viewer's familiarity with the plot to fill in the details.  Alas, no Tiny Tim to be found here.

The movie sports some impressive special effects for the time.  I particularly liked the appearance of Marley's ghost through Scrooge's door.  All of the ghost effects were simple but very effective.  All in all, this is not as good as The Unchanging Sea, but still a fun film to view.

As a special treat, here's a second review from my 8 year-old son:

He really liked "the ghost parts."  He like the "haunting."  He did not like "pretty much none of it."  Sounds like a solid recommendation!

The movie is just under 11 minutes and is available at YouTube.

Image from silentera.com

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The Unchanging Sea (1910)

Time to leave genre films behind and take a trip into true cinematic history.  D.W. Griffith directed The Unchanging Sea a couple years after he first started directing.  A few years after this, Griffith ushers in the feature length format with Birth of a Nation, a film notable for both being commercially successful and for its racist depiction of slavery.  I can't judge that for myself as I have not seen it yet, but I'm still working toward 1916.

The Unchanging Sea is the first real film I feel like I've seen.  It tells a very simple story of a man and wife separated when he is shipwrecked and thought dead.  The way it is filmed and acted conveys every emotion the characters are experiencing without dialogue.  Definitely the best of the grand total of three films I've seen since starting this.

A few notable technical things.  This movie had the first pan I've seen with the camera following a character across the beach.  Griffith is also the first director in my marathon to understand film as a visual media.  The movie is filmed entirely outdoors with cuts within scenes.  The first two movies simply placed the action in a box with no real dimension.  Here, you can really feel the endlessness of the sea as the character stare into it.

This is another short one (less than 14 minutes).  Definitely recommended viewing!

Available at DailyMotion (where I saw it) and YouTube

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)

As with yesterday's movie, here's a film that is an earlier version of a beloved classic.  This is the earliest filmed version of L. Frank Baum's novel.

I didn't care for it.

As with Frankenstein, the film is short less than 14 minutes, but a lot happens.  We start with Dorothy in Kansas as she chases her horse into field with a cow and a scarecrow.  The scarecrow comes to life, a cyclone blows in and off we go to Oz, where the wizard is under the control of an evil witch.  Dorothy must defeat the witch, picking up a lion and a tin man along the way.

This movie was apparently influenced by a 1902 stage production and it shows.  Unlike Frankenstein which felt like a movie, Oz feels like a camera pointed at a stage.  There are also a lot of characters so the screen starts to feel very busy as the movie progresses.  By the time we reach the end Dorothy's entourage includes Toto (turned into a human-sized dog by Glinda), the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, a mule and a cow.

There are some touches which seem to influence the version we all know so well.  The introduction of the Tin Man reminded me of the introductory shot from the 1939 version. The Scarecrow moves much like we are used to seeing. A couple of the Oz sets are fun to look at (particularly the trees in the forest).  Other than that, there's not much to recommend this one.

If you are a fan of Judy Garland's Dorothy, it may be an interesting diversion (and it's less than 14 minutes).  For anyone else, stay away.

Available at YouTube

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Frankenstein (1910)

I just started searching to assemble my list for 1910 and I stumble across the very first cinematic retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  As a kid, I was a massive fan of the Universal monsters so seeing a pre-Karloff version of the story just made me giddy.

The film was directed by J. Searle Dawley and stars Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein and Charles Ogle as the monster.  It tells the story of an ambitious student whose mind becomes clouded with evil which allows him to create the monster.  He attempts to return to his family, but the monster will not leave him alone.

I was pleasantly surprised by my first foray into 1910.  The movie is only 13 minutes long, but I found it engrossing and well-acted by the cast.  More unexpected were the special effects.  They were crude and simple, but very effective.  The monster is born in a large cauldron in shots that appear to be reversed film stock.  The design of the monster reminded me of the Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast (though not as well dressed).  There's also some very simple effects work at the end that convey the overall themes of the movie.

The limitations of the time did not occur to me until reflecting after the film.  The film is of course silent with music throughout and text cards setting up each scene.  The cameras are all static (no zooms or dolly movements).  There was also a limited number of sets (4 if memory serves).

The movie is economical storytelling.  It conveys more story in 13 minutes than some two-hour blockbusters.

Definitely recommend and it is available for free on YouTube.

Film fact: This movie was thought lost until the mid-1970s when a collector from Wisconsin realized he had the only surviving copy of this early film.

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Your Mission Should You Choose to Accept It...

Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge movie buff.  Cannot get enough.  I love my multiplex, my Blu-Ray player, my Netflix.  But...

I'm stuck.

You see, growing up, my mom helped me cultivate a love of movies by making sure I did not just watch whatever was new to the big screen or the VCR.  I watched 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird and High Noon.  I fell in love with everything Hitchcock did.  And I LOVED Godzilla movies (an obsession I carry to this day).

Fast forward to today.  I've fallen into a rut.  It seems everything I watch is either a new release or an old favorite.  I have a Netflix queue full of films that I want to watch but never get around to.  It's time to change things up.  Try a new approach.

Here's the plan:

I'm going to start watching movies from the last 100 years in order.  Starting in 1910, I'm going to watch three to five movies from each year and chronicle my journey here.  I figure this will give me some discipline to go back and revisit some glorious films from the past and also give me some context.  I've seen Citizen Kane a dozen times, but it was on a video tape with Raging Bull and Taxi Driver.  Doesn't exactly provide any prospective on what a kick in the seat Orson Welles must have been in his time.

So how will I decide what to watch?

I'm assuming early on, it will be a matter of availability.  There's no Films of the 1910s sale going on at Best Buy.  I'm going to try to find good DVD or Blu-Ray copies, but if on-line is all that is available... beggars can't be choosers.

Beyond that, I'll be consulting on-line resources.  I know IMDB, AFI, etc. can be hit-or-miss, but I have to start somewhere.

So follow this blog to see what a trip through movie history might look like.  I personally cannot wait to begin.

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