The Dream (1911)

Dream or no dream?  It's not Inception

Directed by Thomas H. Ince, George Loane Tucker
Starring Mary Pickford, Owen Moore, William Robert Daly
Produced by Independent Moving Pictures Company of America

The Dream is a simple short film about a carousing husband who comes home and verbally abuses his wife while throwing the carefully prepared dinner about.  He falls asleep on the couch and wakes to find his wife has become a lot like... well, him.  She rips curtains, tears into him and heads out for a night on the town.  The husband, despondent at this turn of events, ultimately shoots himself in the belly and collapses.  But did it all actually happen?  Or was it simply... you read the title of this movie, right?

Another very simple tale starring Mary Pickford.  She's very good in the dual role as the put-upon wife and the vampish dream girl.  On the other hand, Owen Moore chews the scenery like it was dipped in hot fudge.  It's a bizarre dichotomy between the two.

This is a 1911 film, which means we are back to the time of camera set up in front of a set with no movement or editing.  The film looks like someone set up the camera at a play and walked away.  This, of course, makes sense for the time, but won't be engaging for modern audiences.

The only interesting aspect of the film is how it mirrored real life.  Pickford and Moore were secretly married this year and their relationship was much like that shown in the first act of the film.  The movie was reportedly written by Pickford.  Is it autobiographical?  Seems odd that Moore would participate in such an exercise.  If it is, the end may be a bit of Pickford's hope for the future.  A hope that didn't come to fruition as they divorced nine years later.

** of *****

Watched on DVD through NetFlix
Photo from Silent Volume

Note: Yes, I know this one is way out of order.  It was featured as an extra on Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley.  I've gotten into Pickford's work and could not resist.

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1916: Star Power!

20,000 Leagues in 1916? Mind=blown

We are leaving behind 1915 and the historic but personally frustrating Birth of a Nation for 1916 and the birth of star power.  Charlie Chaplin signs an unprecedented $10,000 per week contract with Mutual Film Company.  Mary Pickford signs her own $10,000 per week contract plus half of her film's profits, making her the first million dollar movie actor.  That's the equivalent of $20 million today, putting her in the same league as the biggest stars in modern film.

This year also featured the first true vampire film (the German Night of Horrors), the first full female nude scene (Daughter of the Gods, also the most expensive film at $1 million), and the first original orchestral score (Thomas Ince's Civilization).

As far as my movie watching goes, I feel like I've hit a rut. The last few (except for Chaplin) have been meh, with the exception of Birth, which got my Irish up for all the wrong reasons. It's like I am running a marathon and the initial excitement of leaving the starting gate has worn off.  Hopefully, 1916 get me more excited.

Speaking of which, this year, I'll be catching D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation followup, Intolerance and black comedian Bert Williams' A Natural Born Gambler, but...

20,000 Leagues under the Sea!  There's a 1916 version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea!  I love all movies, but I'm a genre guy at heart so seeing Jules Verne on here just made me smile.  I'm excited about Intolerance, but I cannot wait for 20,000 Leagues.  I'm dying to see how they pull this one off!

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1915: Birth of an Industry

Let's leave behind 1914 (which truth be told was somewhat of a disappointment) and move to 1915. On the face of it, this is a year of masterpieces.  First and foremost is of course D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation.  Hailed for its technical achievements but controversial for its positive depiction of the Ku Klux Klan, Birth is the first movie I have been chomping at the bit to get to.  It's available on NetFlix Watch Instantly, so this will definitely be on my review list.


Beyond Birth, AMC's Film Site recognizes The Tramp as Chaplin's first masterpiece.  I'll try to track that down.  Theda Bara became one of the first "sex symbols" in A Fool There Was.  And Lois Weber served as actress, director, writer and producer in The Hypocrites, a controversial film for its nudity.

Technically, a lot of innovations this year.  The first camera that allowed for close-ups without picking the whole thing up and moving it was used.  Thomas Ince created an assembly line system for producing movies that cut down on costs (as well as creativity).

Finally, a couple of important court cases get decided in 1915.  First, Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company was declared an illegal monopoly.  When the film industry was getting its start, Edison used his patents on camera equipment to control every aspect of film making and distribution.  After this case, Edison's company was broken up and all of the component studios except one almost immediately folded.

Second,the Supreme Court upheld the right of states to censor movies.  I discussed the censorship issue previously, but this is the decision that would lead to decades of oversight.


So what are we watching?  Birth of a Nation obviously and The Tramp if I can find it.  Cecil B. DeMille's The Cheat is available on Netflix Watch Instantly so that seems likely.  Beyond that, I'm sure there will be a couple of surprises.

On a personal note, doing 100 years of movies leads to some easy mat so I can say I am officially 5% done!  I expect my pace will slow as we enter into the feature film era, but I am enjoying the experience so far.

Picture from iGuide

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1912: Birth of a Studio (or Three)

Time to leave 1911 and jump ahead to 1912.  The theme in this year is the birth of a lot of things we all take for granted today.  IMP and other studios merge to form Universal Pictures Company.  That's right: the studio that brought you Jaws, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and E.T. got its start in 1912.  Paramount's precursor, the Famous Players Film Company, and the Fox Film Foundation are founded this year as well.  And notably, the Technicolor Company forms to start development of early color film.

Beyond the studios, some simple innovations occur.  Thomas Ince gains prominence for developing shooting scripts and production budgets, both unheard of at the time.  Fanboys get their start with Photoplay, the first magazine devoted to film.  Oliver Twist becomes the first feature-length U.S.-produced movie shown in its entirety.  Two films based on the sinking of the Titanic appear in theaters mere months after the disaster.  Moviegoers also get their first gangster film (D.W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley).

So what am I looking forward to this month?  I need to check availability, but I want to track down Richard III, the oldest surviving feature length U.S. film.  Quo Vadis? is considered one of the first successful feature films so that will likely be on the list. I am also trying to make a point of following Griffith and Ince moving forward, so films from them will likely be on the list.

Picture from Magazine Art.org

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