5 Star

Fantasy, Drama and Comedy from the Silent Silver Screen.

From the time when cinemas would be packed for the feature of the day, the 1920s, a time before the speaking films. The orchestra would convey the mood of the film as the intertitles show the dialogue. These films have been deemed as significant and have been restored for posterity, this is a slice of history that would not be seen today. A rare chance for cinematic history.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

From the pen of Jules Verne and directing from Stuart Paton (The Gray Ghost, The Night Hawk), including the first submarine photoplay ever thanks to the inventions of the Williamson brothers who have solved the problems of under-the-ocean photoplay.

The seas have been plagued by a monster for years, sending many souls to the bottom of the seas, now the US navy have had enough and are sending an expedition to destroy the beast for good. The French professor Aronnax (Dan Hanlon, The Great Problem) is invited along to represent France, he agrees and takes his constant companion his daughter (Edna Pendleton, The Curious Conduct of Judge Legarde). They are soon onboard the Abraham Lincoln along with top harpooner Ned Land (Curtis Benton, Jealousy) who plans to end the monster.

They soon track down the beast and try as he might Ned’s harpoon doesn’t dent the skin, so more powerful weapons are used, but again they bounce right off the floating masses’ hide. Now the monster has had enough and rams the rudder of the ship, rendering it useless. As the ship was rammed, the professor and his daughter and a few ratings are thrown overboard. The Monster stops to rescue these souls as the monster is the Nautilus Captain Nemo’s (Allen Holubar, Heart Strings) submarine. This is their adventure under the waves.

The Calgary Stampede

Now we have a slice of history in this drama, sports, romance as we see Canada’s buffalo herds roaming across the countryside. Dan Malloy (Hoot Gibson, The Hard Hombre) American champion ‘Roman rider’ meets his sweetheart Marie La Farge (Virginia Brown Faire, Trails of Danger) with her maid Nennah (Ynez Seabury, Madam Satan) who knows when three is a crowd. The lovers want to marry but her father Jean (Pierre Faunce) does not like the name Malloy, her father is the game warden for the area, that holds a lot of sway in these parts. Nennah’s partner Fred Burgess (Jim Corey, Six-Gun Gold) fell foul of Jean, and he is just out of prison, and he isn’t a nice man.

When Dan goes to see Jean about his love for his daughter, Fred is by the back door and takes his revenge on Jean. This leaves Dan looking very guilty. This is how he clears his name. A brilliant insight into the goings-on in 1920s Canada, amazing stunts at the real stampede.

What Happened to Jones?

Our third film is a romantic comedy, a farce with perfect timing and great facial expressions. As Lucille Bigbee (Marian Nixon, Face in the Sky) is with her betrothed Henry Fuller (William Austin, Redheads on Parade). He is her father’s choice of suitor, she is in love with Out-of-towner Tom Jones (Reginald Denny, Cat Ballou). Tom and Lucille plan to marry in the morning, but  Tom has to get through this night as Ebenezer Goodly (Otis Harlan, Show Boat)  ropes him and his friends into a late night illegal poker game which gets raided by the police, a scuffle ensues and soon Tom and Ebenezer are on the run. This is the story of that night. Hilarious stuff. The maid Hilda (Zasu Pitts, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World) definitely has the best time in this rip-roaring film.

“I didn’t see ‘im come in-

I didn’t see ‘im go out–

I didn’t see nothin”

Another great collection from Eureka and their Master’s of Cinema collection, who knew that having fun could be so educational.

EARLY UNIVERSAL VOL. 2 (Masters of Cinema) is available on Blu-ray

SPECIAL EDITION 2-DISC BLU-RAY CONTAINS

Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase [First Print Run of 2000 Copies Only]
1080p presentation on Blu-ray from restorations undertaken by Universal Pictures (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and What Happened to Jones?restored in 4K,The Calgary Stampede restored in 2K)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea– score by Orlando Perez Rosso
The Calgary Stampede– score by Chris Tin
What Happened to Jones?– score by Anthony Willis
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – New video appreciation by author / critic Kim Newman
The Calgary Stampede – Brand new audio commentary by professor and film scholar Jason A. Ney What Happened to Jones? – New audio commentary by film historian and writer David Kalat
PLUS: A Collector’s Booklet featuring new writing on the films included in this set