WILLIAM POWELL - EXTANT SILENTS

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Watching FEEL MY PULSE (1928) last night led me to seek out other opinions on the film. Lawrence Quirk's handsome book on Powell in the Citadel series is (like some of the others) rather frustrating in that he doesn't say much about which films were missing at the time of writing. I would be interested to know which of his silents were still on the missing list, particularly as (being born in 1923) Quirk would have been unlikely to see them on first showing.

[Harold Aherne]

William Powell silents still extant per the Silent Film Survival Database:

Sherlock Holmes (1922) published on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino
When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922) published by Undercrank (dual-format)
The Bright Shawl (1923) UCLA
Under the Red Robe (1923) GEH
Romola (1924) UCLA, MOMA, Cinémathèque française
Too Many Kisses (1925) LOC
My Lady's Lips (1925) UCLA, GEH
White Mice (1926) private collection; abridged
Beau Geste (1926) several archives
Señorita (1927) Cinémathèque Municipale de Luxembourg, Cinémathèque Royale
Special Delivery (1927) LOC
Paid to Love (1927) MOMA, GEH, Cinémathèque Royale, Deutsches Filminstitut-Dif
Nevada (1927) GEH, LOC
The Last Command (1928) published on DVD by Criterion
Feel My Pulse (1928) LOC
Partners in Crime (1928) LOC
Forgotten Faces (1928) LOC, MOMA
The Four Feathers (1929) LOC

So 18 silent features of the 35 he made. There is also a trailer for The Great Gatsby. Anthony Slide mentioned (in Silent Players) that She's a Sheik was screened in London in November 1970, but no archival holdings are known for it.

--HA

[R Michael Pyle]

"Special Delivery" (1927) used to be available for purchase through the Cantor family. I bought a copy from them, perhaps ten years ago. There are two Eddie Cantor shorts on the same DVD, "A Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic" (1929) and "Insurance" (1930).

[Dave Pitts]

I've seen 10 of the 18. Forgotten Faces was run at Capitolfest a couple of years ago -- strikingly handsome print, and a stunning film -- it cries out to be released on DVD.

[Danny Burk]

I've seen 10 of the 18. Forgotten Faces was run at Capitolfest a couple of years ago -- strikingly handsome print, and a stunning film -- it cries out to be released on DVD.

I haven't seen it, but I'm really hoping that it makes it to the Kino list. IIRC, the print was from the camera neg.

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Thanks for that, Harold Aherne. I did know about some of those, although some of the copies I've encountered have been poor. Didn't know about WHITE MICE and PARTNERS IN CRIME, though...

[busby1959]

I'd long thought THE FOUR FEATHERS a lost film...very happy to learn that it still exists. Now to find a way to watch it....

[Danny Burk]

I'd long thought THE FOUR FEATHERS a lost film...very happy to learn that it still exists. Now to find a way to watch it....

Happily it's around, and it's a very good film. Unlike other silent Paramount films, it was accidentally included in the sale to MCA (now Universal) because it has a soundtrack (music and effects).

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

I'd long thought THE FOUR FEATHERS a lost film...very happy to learn that it still exists. Now to find a way to watch it....

Happily it's around, and it's a very good film. Unlike other silent Paramount films, it was accidentally included in the sale to MCA (now Universal) because it has a soundtrack (music and effects).

It's on YT, and also on the Internet Archive under the title FOR THE SAKE OF HONOUR. By the way, did it ever have talking sequences? The copy I watched had music and effects only, but I have seen differing accounts of this question.

[Harold Aherne]

It's on YT, and also on the Internet Archive under the title FOR THE SAKE OF HONOUR. By the way, did it ever have talking sequences? The copy I watched had music and effects only, but I have seen differing accounts of this question.

By all appearances, it had a synchronised score and effects only. Variety (19 June 1929) notes it as "no dialogue", and Harrison's Reports (22 June 1929) states "the actors do not utter a single word." Much as you sometimes feel like swearing *at* Harrison for his opinions, you can usually swear *by* him for matters of fact!

--HA

[rudyfan]

William Powell silents still extant per the Silent Film Survival Database:

Sherlock Holmes (1922) published on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino
When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922) published by Undercrank (dual-format)
The Bright Shawl (1923) UCLA
Under the Red Robe (1923) GEH
Romola (1924) UCLA, MOMA, Cinémathèque française
Too Many Kisses (1925) LOC
My Lady's Lips (1925) UCLA, GEH
White Mice (1926) private collection; abridged
Beau Geste (1926) several archives
Señorita (1927) Cinémathèque Municipale de Luxembourg, Cinémathèque Royale
Special Delivery (1927) LOC
Paid to Love (1927) MOMA, GEH, Cinémathèque Royale, Deutsches Filminstitut-Dif
Nevada (1927) GEH, LOC
The Last Command (1928) published on DVD by Criterion
Feel My Pulse (1928) LOC
Partners in Crime (1928) LOC
Forgotten Faces (1928) LOC, MOMA
The Four Feathers (1929) LOC

So 18 silent features of the 35 he made. There is also a trailer for The Great Gatsby. Anthony Slide mentioned (in Silent Players) that She's a Sheik was screened in London in November 1970, but no archival holdings are known for it.

--HA

Gosh, this is more than I thought. I will start lobbying the SFSFF, we need a Powell silent!

[WaverBoy]

I'd long thought THE FOUR FEATHERS a lost film...very happy to learn that it still exists. Now to find a way to watch it....

Happily it's around, and it's a very good film. Unlike other silent Paramount films, it was accidentally included in the sale to MCA (now Universal) because it has a soundtrack (music and effects).

It's on YT, and also on the Internet Archive under the title FOR THE SAKE OF HONOUR. By the way, did it ever have talking sequences? The copy I watched had music and effects only, but I have seen differing accounts of this question.

I'm not finding it on YouTube. Do you have a link?

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

THE FOUR FEATHERS (1929) should be here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxcFtG-Oc-M&t=1524s" target="_blank