Silent Era Challenge (Official, September 2020)

[ororama]

1. The Dragon Painter (1919) * 50 min.
2. The Busher (1919) * 55 min.

Apparently Sessue Hayakawa was a big star in the silent era, and his good looks combined with his energetic performance in The Dragon Painter show why. The Busher is the story of a small town baseball star getting a shot at the big time and becoming full of himself, with Charles Ray likable in the lead and lovely Colleen Moore as his small town sweetheart and John Gilbert as his romantic rival.


*First time viewing

[klaus78]

1. Mat (1926) 8/10
2. Devushka s korobkoy (1927) 7/10
3. It (1927) 7/10

[blueboybob]

13. Behind the Door (1919)
14. The Violinist of Florence (1926)
15. Two-Buldi-Two (1929)
16. Down with Weapons (1914)
17. Eleven P.M. (1928)
18. The Flying Ace (1926)
19. Der Hund von Baskerville (1914)
20. The Fall of Babylon (1919)

[maxwelldeux]

1. Broken Blossoms (1919)

I mean, wow. You can always count on DW Griffith to make you want to poke your eyes out.

[sol]

The Great Silence

1. The Nut (1921)
2. Leap Year (1924)
3. Fig Leaves (1926)
4. Be My Wife (1921)
5. Za Schastem (1917)

6. Show People (1928)



An audience-winking comedy/drama from King Vidor. The film is full of star cameos, most notably Charles Chaplin minus makeup (who our protagonist of course does not recognise) and Vidor plays himself, though perhaps most amusing is star Marion Davies turning up her nose upon seeing an actress who she is told is Marion Davies! For all the self-referential fun, the film spins a fairly predictable character trajectory, and the slapstick is a bit 'eh'.

[sol]

From one show to the next:

The Great Silence

1. The Nut (1921)
2. Leap Year (1924)
3. Fig Leaves (1926)
4. Be My Wife (1921)
5. Za Schastem (1917)
6. Show People (1928)

7. The Show-Off (1926)



Ford Serling is charming if somewhat despicable in the title role here; the extreme effort he places into trying to look good -- from fake urgent phone calls to tearing up raffle tickets (only to later retrieve the shreds from the bin) -- is really fun to watch. The film loses its way a bit in the second half as the dramatic side of the story takes full swing; it even enters rather downbeat territory. Whenever in comedy mode though, the film works well.

[ororama]

3. Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See/ The Spiders - Episode 1: The Golden Sea (1919) 69 min.
4. Die Spinnen, 2. Teil - Das Brillantenschiff/ The Spiders - Episode 2: The Diamond Ship (1920) 104 min.

Apparently influenced by Fantômas, it is much better paced, never dragging despite the nearly 3 hour combined length of the two episodes. Adventurer Kay Hoog sometimes gets out of perilous situations too easily, and they miss a trick by not putting Spiders leader Lio Sha in a catsuit like Musidora's in Les Vampires, but on the whole very entertaining.

Spoiler

1. The Dragon Painter (1919) * 50 min.
2. The Busher (1919) * 55 min.

*First time viewing

[insomnius]

2. The Bargain (Reginald Barker, 1914)

I liked the look of this, the sepia tones, the texture, the landscapes.


3. Danish shorts (60 min):
3a. Kørsel med grønlandske hunde (Peter Elfelt, 1897) 1 min
3b. En ny hat til Madammen (Viggo Larsen, 1906) 6 min
3c. Rosen (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 9 min
3d. Fyrtøjet (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 11 min
3e. Drengen med den sjette sans (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 5 min
3f. Kameliadamen (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 14 min
3g. La Tosca (Viggo Larsen, 1908) 6 min (partially lost)
3h. Capriciosa (Viggo Larsen, 1909) 8 min

Standouts here are En ny hat til Madammen and Fyrtøjet. The former is about a fancy lady buying a hat of the latest fashion, but it's so big she wreaks havoc everywhere she goes. The later is based on HC Andersen's 'The Tinderbox' about a soldier who gets everything he wishes for from three dogs when he strikes his magic tinderbox. Quite funny both. Kørsel med grønlandske hunde is of historical interest, being the first ever Danish film. Capriciosa has some beautiful Méliès-like scenography. The rest are OK at best.



('Fyrtøjet' & 'Capriciosa')

Spoiler

1. Der Tunnel / The Tunnel (William Wauer, 1915)
2. The Bargain (Reginald Barker, 1914)
3. Danish shorts (60 min):
3a. Kørsel med grønlandske hunde (Peter Elfelt, 1897) 1 min
3b. En ny hat til Madammen (Viggo Larsen, 1906) 6 min
3c. Rosen (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 9 min
3d. Fyrtøjet (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 11 min
3e. Drengen med den sjette sans (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 5 min
3f. Kameliadamen (Viggo Larsen, 1907) 14 min
3g. La Tosca (Viggo Larsen, 1908) 6 min (partially lost)
3h. Capriciosa (Viggo Larsen, 1909) 8 min

[insomnius]

Étude de la Lumière (Maurice Audibert, 1923)

Beautiful film!

[Traveller]

25. Carmen (1915) - 5/10
26. Riders of the Purple Sage (1925) - 3/10
27. Seven Footprints to Satan (1929) - 8/10
28. Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926) - 5/10
29. The Open Road (1926) - 6/10
30. The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) - 5/10
31. The Queen of Spades (1916) - 7/10
32. West of Zanzibar (1928) - 7/10
33. While the City Sleeps (1928) - 4/10
34. Why Worry? (1923) - 7/10

[maxwelldeux]

But deadly

1. Broken Blossoms (1919)

2. Shorts: (63m)
Filmstudie (1926, 4m)
Jeux des reflets et de la vitesse (1925, 8m)
Lichtspiel Opus 1. (1921, 12m)
The March of the Machines (1927, 9m)
Frankenstein (1910, 13m)
Comte de Montebello et général de Boisdeffre se rendant au Kremlin [Moscou] (1896, 1m)
Francfort-sur-le-Main, Alter-Marktplatz (1896, 1m)
L.L. M.M. le Tsar et la Tsarine entrant dans l'église de l'Assomption [Moscou] (1896, 1m)
l'Impératrice mère et la grande duchesse [de Turquie] Eugénie [Xénia] en carrosse [Moscou] (1896, 1m)
Réception de S.M. l'Empereur Guillaume II: Réception de S.M. l'Empereur d'Allemagne à Francfort-sur-le-Main (1896, 1m)
Sightseeting Through Whisky (1907, 6m)
The Diabolic Tenant (1909, 6m)

Highlight of this batch was Frankenstein, which I thought was a pretty clever and interesting approach to the story. Mostly, I'm just working my way through shorts on lists.

[burneyfan]

Spoiler

01. Thomas Graals bästa barn a.k.a. Thomas Graal's Best Child -- Stiller, 1918.

02. Cinderella -- Kirkwood, 1914.

Mary Pickford stars. Nice adaptation that was probably much more spectacular in its day; if I were a little girl in 1914, I think I'd have been enchanted.

[jdidaco]

(Screenshots from 'Sorok serdets' & 'Dvadtsat shest komissarov'),



7. Ungarische Rhapsodie (Hungarian Rhapsody, Hanns Schwarz, 1928) 8/10
8. Die Abenteurer G.m.b.H. (Adventures Inc., Fred Sauer, 1929) 6.5/10
9. Sorok serdets (Forty Hearts, Lev Kuleshov, 1931) 7.5/10
10. Dvadtsat shest komissarov (Twenty-Six Commissars, Nikoloz Shengelaia, 1932) 8/10

Spoiler

1. Protéa (Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset, 1913) 8/10
2. Les gaz mortels (The Deadly Gases, Abel Gance, 1916) 7.5/10
3. Haceldama ou Le prix du sang (Julien Duvivier, 1919) 7/10
4. Étude de la Lumière (Maurice Audibert, 1923) 9/10 (27 min), Harmonies de Paris (Lucie Derain, 1929) 7.5/10 (29 min), Jeux arborescents: Fugue en mineur (Émile Malespine, 1931) 7.5/10 (4 min) (Total: 60 min)
5. Âme d'artiste (Heart of an Actress, Germaine Dulac, 1924) 8/10
6. Paris en cinq jours (Paris in Five Days, Pierre Colombier & Nicolas Rimsky, 1926) 7.5/10

[jdidaco]

Étude de la Lumière (Maurice Audibert, 1923)

Beautiful film!

insomnius!!!

Glad to see you reporting your silent discoveries on the Challenge thread! Beautiful, yes, absolutely, and not just the fascinating trichrome process, but the carefully constructed tableaux displaying it, especially the Natures Mortes.

Those Viggo Larsen shorts sound fun, I’ll look out for them. Thank you!

[insomnius]

Étude de la Lumière (Maurice Audibert, 1923)

Beautiful film!

insomnius!!!

Glad to see you reporting your silent discoveries on the Challenge thread! Beautiful, yes, absolutely, and not just the fascinating trichrome process, but the carefully constructed tableaux displaying it, especially the Natures Mortes.

Those Viggo Larsen shorts sound fun, I’ll look out for them. Thank you!

You can find the Danish films here:
https://www.stumfilm.dk/stumfilm/se-film

Most of the ones I saw had none to very few intertitles. Some in Danish, some in German and I think one in Swedish. There's a lot more to be found there for anyone interested.

[sol]

The Great Silence

1. The Nut (1921)
2. Leap Year (1924)
3. Fig Leaves (1926)
4. Be My Wife (1921)
5. Za Schastem (1917)
6. Show People (1928)
7. The Show-Off (1926)

8. The Extra Girl (1923)



With her wide, expressive eyes, Mabel Normand is excellent throughout here with great comic timing. Her interactions with a dog that she has dress up as a lion -- and with a real lion let loose indoors -- stand out in particular. Unfortunately, a large section of the film is dedicated to her parents being conned out of tons of money and her retrieving of the funds, none of which is particularly funny. The cute ending also reinforces some 20s stereotypes.

[Traveller]

35. Moscow That Weeps and Laughs (1927) - 5/10
36. Hula (1927) - 3/10
37. 3 Bad Men (1926) - 5/10
38. Burning Soil (1922) - 7/10
39.—43. Judex (1916) - 7/10

[ororama]

5. Harakiri (1919) * 86 min.

Takes a long time (nearly 40 minutes) to get to the actual Madame Butterfly story, and the standard introductory evil Buddhist priest tries to gain control over innocent maiden storyline tends to undermine what I think is supposed to be the point of the story (innocence betrayed). The set design is beautiful and the story well told, but I would have preferred if it was told differently. However, it does slander Buddhism and misrepresent 19th century Japanese politics.

Spoiler

1. The Dragon Painter (1919) * 50 min.
2. The Busher (1919) * 55 min.
3. Die Spinnen, 1. Teil - Der Goldene See/ The Spiders - Episode 1: The Golden Sea (1919) 69 min.
4. Die Spinnen, 2. Teil - Das Brillantenschiff/ The Spiders - Episode 2: The Diamond Ship (1920) 104 min.

*First time viewing

[Lilarcor]

1. The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England (Maurice Tourneur, 1914) 7/10
The craft in the mise-en-scene in this is at times outstanding, perhaps only matched by The Avenging Conscience for this year. It makes for a memorable film and gives it so much life. Vivian Martin does a great debut role.

2. The Great K & A Train Robbery (Lewis Steiler, 1926) 5/10
Star vehicle for a pasty looking Tom Mix with decent stunts. The film has an unfortunate sense of what is funny that is cheap and bad.

[blueboybob]

21. Moscow (1927)
22. Something New (1920)
23. P.K.P. (1926)
24. One Exciting Night (1922)
25. Godovshchina revolyutsii (1918)
26. Sherlock Holmes (1916)
27. Broadway (1929)
28. La revue des revues (1927)
29. Shiraz (1928)
30. Smilin' Through (1922)
31. Die Pest in Florenz (1919)
32. The Conquering Power (1921)
33. The Hell Ship (1923)
34. The Coward (1915)
35. Fanchon, the Cricket (1915)

[3eyes]

1. Riders of the purple sage (1925)

This was the only Zane Grey book I ever read and as I remember it was full of dastardly Mormons. In this movie, there's nary a Mormon in sight, dastardly or otherwise.

Not sure I've seen Tom Mix before but I sure remember the 40s radio serial, sponsored by Hot/Shredded Ralston (cereal), depending on the season.
In the movie he wears a black hat while the villains all wear white hats. Don't be misled.

[PUNQ]

I'm not going to compete with the big boys in this challenge. Just going to watch what "new" silent movies comes my way that I haven't seen before. Have only been saving up a month, so it's not that many, but we'll see what else turns up.




1. Der Tunnel [The Tunnel] (1915, William Wauer) - 6/10
--- I've seen two of the three language versions of Bernhard Kellermann novel released in the 1930s, but this was the ambitious silent adaptation done nearly 20 years earlier. And I must say, this was the most impressive. Relies a little too much on the disastrous tunnel malfunctions, but there's a lot of effort put into those images, so while the story lacked a sympathetic face, the gimmickry of the story shines through.




2. La danseuse Orchidée [Woman of Destiny] (1928, Léonce Perret) - 6/10 - FIRST CHECK!
--- While European stars had a tendency to work all over Europe in the silent era, what you didn't see that often was Hollywood stars coming over to Europe to do a movie. Pioneer director Léonce Perret would actually try that on a few occasions during the later stages of his career, and for La danseuse Orchidée [Woman of Destiny] (1928) he brought over the smooth working Ricardo Cortez. And it's really interesting how professional he comes across here. He really does carry this movie from start to finish. There is a lot or courting and heartbreak, so the length does wear you down, but the pace feels natural and there are a lot of good scenes. Definitely didn't need to be 2 hours and 20 minutes, but as long as you have patience, Perret's second-to-last silent is quite good.




3. Carlos und Elisabeth [Carlos and Elisabeth] (1924, Richard Oswald) - 5/10
--- The print I had available was a bit blurry and fairly rough at points, so the grandeur of Richard Oswald's royal melodrama didn't shine as bright as it possibly needed. Does have Conrad Veidt, so you'll know you'll feel his presence. And I mean that in a big way. But I didn't really get caught up with all the intrigue of the story, unfortunately.




4. I promessi sposi [The Betrothed] (1922, Mario Bonnard) - 5/10
--- I'd already seen the 1941 version of this story, and felt even that one had its difficulty in telling the story effective for the right emotional boost. And I felt the silent movie has the same issues. The story is too complex to handle, but I did feel more for the main characters with things feeling less forced, though because of the silent medium it's even harder to follow the plot(s) and their layers. No denying they tried hard with the source material, but it would've probable been better to simplify it for a easier viewing experience.

[St. Gloede]

Spoiler

1. Dva-Buldi-dva / Two-Buldi-Two (1929, Nina Agadzhanova, Lev Kuleshov) 5/10
2. Iz-pod svodov mecheti (1928, Kazimir Gertel) 4/10.
3. Be My Wife (1921, Max Linder) 8/10
4. Die Tango-Königin / The Tango Queen (1913, Max Mack) 4/10.
5. Der Tunnel (1915, William Wauer) 5/10
6. Mädchen am Kreuz / The Crucified Girl (1929, Jacob Fleck, Luise Fleck) 6.5/10

7. Godovshchina revolyutsii / Anniversary of the Revolution (1918, Dziga Vertov)

Likely the biggest disappointment of the entire challenge and almost a complete waste of time. I was not expecting the full power of Vertov this early, but this is literally just an introductory title card of someone's position (or previous positions) and 10-30 seconds of footage of said person, often in the same location as others, and either just staring at the camera or speaking to someone - that's almost it. There are some scenes in the beginning and end trying to "recreate" the situation before the revolution, and a few in the present after - but nothing looks great. The only thing saving it from a dislike is the historical importance, but some interesting historical observations, such as the Anarcho-Communist party leader getting positive exposure not too long after Lenin, or Trotsky in a full leather suit pretending to drive a boat. 4/10.


8-10. Miss Mend (1926, Boris Barnet, Fyodor Otsep)

Consisting of three 80 minute episides, Miss Mend is an adventure serial that manages to capture the same kind of excitement as we feel in so many of the classic Feuillade serials; only with a slightly more political backdrog. It is not the greatest writing in the world, but as Miss Mend, her clumsy colleague and two newspaper men get involced into a conspirary of a wealthy capitalist, we get full on action, intruigue and twists - including the potential love affair between Miss Mend and the capitalists' son, which would likely have played differently in France. It is light, easy to watch, not very complicated, but shot well (especially for this kind of project) and is very enjoyable. 7/10.

*Boris Barnet's debut as a director at just 24 years old, he is also the male lead.

[3eyes]

You can find the Danish films here:
https://www.stumfilm.dk/stumfilm/se-film

Most of the ones I saw had none to very few intertitles. Some in Danish, some in German and I think one in Swedish. There's a lot more to be found there for anyone interested.

Thanks for this, Insomnius. I've seen several of the WWI-era films (interesting because Denmark was neutral and had the guts to make pacifist films) and would love to see more. I'm fairly fluent in Norwegian so no trouble with the intertitles. (may keep a finger over the pause button, tho.)

[burneyfan]

Spoiler

01. Thomas Graals bästa barn a.k.a. Thomas Graal's Best Child -- Stiller, 1918.
02. Cinderella -- Kirkwood, 1914.

03. Reggie Mixes In -- Cabanne, 1916.

Early Douglas Fairbanks. Reggie falls (temporarily) for the wrong girl and gets mixed up with a crime boss. Not very impressive, unfortunately.

[cinephage]

01. Der Student von Prag, by Henrik Galeen (1926) 6/10

02. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by John Robertson (1920) 7/10

[Lonewolf2003]

3. Die Austernprinzessin (1919, Ernst Lubitsch): 6.8 - Standard in plot, but still quite enjoyable and funny.

I was left speechless

1. Ich möchte kein Mann sein [I Don't Want to Be a Man] (1918, Ernst Lubitsch) rewatch: 6.5 > 7.2
2. Die Puppe [The Doll] (1919, Ernst Lubitsch): 7.5

[sol]

The Great Silence

1. The Nut (1921)
2. Leap Year (1924)
3. Fig Leaves (1926)
4. Be My Wife (1921)
5. Za Schastem (1917)
6. Show People (1928)
7. The Show-Off (1926)
8. The Extra Girl (1923)

9. The Hoodlum (1919)



Mary Pickford is radiant in the lead role here; while the film shies over how old her character is (she often acts like a teenager despite looking older), she does well gradually progressing from stuck up to loving the "hoodlum" life. The film is frequently funny too - from causing all sort havoc as she is taught to drive, to shadowing an umbrella salesman to stay dry in the rain, to hilariously trying to run away from a baffled mouse, Pickford is just great.

[Traveller]

44. Michael (1924) - 7/10
45. Moana (1926) - 6/10
46.—51. Tih Minh (1918) - 7/10

[Knaldskalle]

1. The Symbol of the Unconquered (Micheaux, 1920). Sadly a chunk of this movie is missing, the climax of the movie where the KKK is beaten back by our black heroes. The rest of the film is a drama about race relations with Micheaux's typical ambiguity and fondness for complexity (nothing is black and white, if you'll pardon the terrible pun).

[maxwelldeux]

But deadly

1. Broken Blossoms (1919)
"2. Shorts: (63m)
Filmstudie (1926, 4m)
Jeux des reflets et de la vitesse (1925, 8m)
Lichtspiel Opus 1. (1921, 12m)
The March of the Machines (1927, 9m)
Frankenstein (1910, 13m)
Comte de Montebello et général de Boisdeffre se rendant au Kremlin [Moscou] (1896, 1m)
Francfort-sur-le-Main, Alter-Marktplatz (1896, 1m)
L.L. M.M. le Tsar et la Tsarine entrant dans l'église de l'Assomption [Moscou] (1896, 1m)
l'Impératrice mère et la grande duchesse [de Turquie] Eugénie [Xénia] en carrosse [Moscou] (1896, 1m)
Réception de S.M. l'Empereur Guillaume II: Réception de S.M. l'Empereur d'Allemagne à Francfort-sur-le-Main (1896, 1m)
Sightseeting Through Whisky (1907, 6m)
The Diabolic Tenant (1909, 6m)"

3. By the Law (1926)

I'm lazy... comments in Russia.

[Knaldskalle]

Spoiler

1. The Symbol of the Unconquered (Micheaux, 1920).

2a. Two Knights of Vaudeville (1915). 12 minutes.
2b. Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled (Philips,1918). 11 minutes.
2c. A Reckless Rover (David, 1918). 14 minutes.
2d. By Right of Birth (Gant, 1921). FRAGMENT. 4 minutes.
2e. Regeneration (Norman, 1923). FRAGMENT. 10 minutes.
2f. Reverend SS Jones' Home Movies (1924-1926). 16 minutes.

Should add up to a little more than 60 minutes. Regeneration was like watching a black-and-white Brakhage movie, the only remaining 10 minutes are so damaged it's psychedelic.

[Lilarcor]

3. Herr Tartüff (F.W. Murnau, 1925) 7/10
Inexplicably labelled as a drama on imdb and letterboxd, this is clearly a comedy - also based on a theatrical comedy! Murnau masters this genre too, the breaking the fourth wall moments are particularly good. The film plays with the form of film in other ways as well - the opening credit in the travelling home cinema presented as a comically large scroll was quite clever. Excellent performances by the entire cast.

Spoiler

1. The Wishing Ring: An Idyll of Old England (Maurice Tourneur, 1914) 7/10
2. The Great K & A Train Robbery (Lewis Steiler, 1926) 5/10
3. Herr Tartüff (F.W. Murnau, 1925) 7/10

[zzzorf]

Spoiler

1. Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (1926) - 8/10
2. Salomé (1922) - 2/10

3. La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) - 8/10

[3eyes]

2. Les aventures de Robert Macaire (Fr 1925) - Episode 1

First episode of a 5-part serial by Jean Epstein about an Arsene Lupin-like swindler and his comic sidekick. (Robert Macaire figures in Les enfants du paradis).
It's sort of Epstein's venture into Feuillade territory, but a comedy. The whole thing is on youtube but I doubt I'll have the energy to watch the rest.

[sol]

The Great Silence

1. The Nut (1921)
2. Leap Year (1924)
3. Fig Leaves (1926)
4. Be My Wife (1921)
5. Za Schastem (1917)
6. Show People (1928)
7. The Show-Off (1926)
8. The Extra Girl (1923)
9. The Hoodlum (1919)

10. The Monster (1925)



The true star of this film is the set design and locations. While it takes the characters a good 25 minutes to stumble upon it, the movie boasts a nicely kooky asylum full of hidden passageways and doorways, trap door entrances and wild inventions. Lon Chaney is also pretty fun as the madman in charge of the place. He's not often present though, and the overall horror/madness content is actually pretty slim too as goofy comedy is more often favoured.

[sol]

The Great Silence

1. The Nut (1921)
2. Leap Year (1924)
3. Fig Leaves (1926)
4. Be My Wife (1921)
5. Za Schastem (1917)
6. Show People (1928)
7. The Show-Off (1926)
8. The Extra Girl (1923)
9. The Hoodlum (1919)
10. The Monster (1925)

11. Helen's Babies (1924)



Looking incredibly young (in one of his first film roles), Edward Everett Horton is fine here, but it is the two young actresses cast as his nieces who steal the show. Baby Peggy is especially remarkable with such expressive facial reactions for someone so young, though it would have been nice for Jeanne Carpenter as her sister to have equal screen time. As for the story, it is all pretty simple and sketchy, but gets tense towards the end with a lost dog.

[Traveller]

2. Les aventures de Robert Macaire (Fr 1925) - Episode 1

First episode of a 5-part serial by Jean Epstein about an Arsene Lupin-like swindler and his comic sidekick. (Robert Macaire figures in Les enfants du paradis).
It's sort of Epstein's venture into Feuillade territory, but a comedy. The whole thing is on youtube but I doubt I'll have the energy to watch the rest.

How long was the first episode? If it’s a serial á la Tih Minh, the same rule applies here with 60 minutes just as shorts counting as one point. However, information is sparse and the complete version on Youtube does not have any indication when the next episode starts (having but briefly skimmed through it).

[Traveller]

52. The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) - 8/10
53. The Temptress (1926) - 7/10
54. The Ten Commandments (1923) - 5/10
55. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) - 6/10
56. The Joyless Street (1925) - 7/10

[3eyes]

2. Les aventures de Robert Macaire (Fr 1925) - Episode 1

First episode of a 5-part serial by Jean Epstein about an Arsene Lupin-like swindler and his comic sidekick. (Robert Macaire figures in Les enfants du paradis).
It's sort of Epstein's venture into Feuillade territory, but a comedy. The whole thing is on youtube but I doubt I'll have the energy to watch the rest.

How long was the first episode? If it’s a serial á la Tih Minh, the same rule applies here with 60 minutes just as shorts counting as one point. However, information is sparse and the complete version on Youtube does not have any indication when the next episode starts (having but briefly skimmed through it).

I know, it's confusing. First episode was 56m, there are apparently 5 eps and ICM puts total run time at 175m. (youtube at closer to 300 maybe?) anyway, go figure.