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Can anyone help with a somewhat specialised question? I'm in pursuit of information about a film held by the BFI National Archive which it calls HALLEY'S COMET, and states is French, dating from 1910. The plot (from the BFI database, http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/5839) concerns the visit of Halley's Comet in 1910:

DRAMA. A couple at a long dinner table, attended by servants, say goodnight to their child. When the child has left, the couple excitedly notice a comet through the window. At an observatory, an aged astronomer looks at the comet through his telescope. Meanwhile the small girl is being put to bed by her nurse. The child suddenly sees the comet through the window, and calls excitedly. Her mother rushes in and, bundling the child up, rushes out. All the family and servants, with the nurse and child, climb into a car, followed by more servants in another, and flee to a cave in the hills. They arrive at the cave exhausted, and all rush to drink from a small waterfall. The comet is seen passing round a model of the globe. The garage from which the family have just fled collapses in ruins, killing a servant left behind. A miser is seen counting his gold, going to the window, he is overcome when the tail of the comet passes, and the gold left on the table is burnt completely away. Houses, farms and towns are seen consumed with the fire left by the tail of the comet. The family and the others who had fled with them, including a Red Cross worker, leave their cave to see the comet passing into the distance. They return to the city to find it in ruins. As the others sit dejectedly, the father of the family looks at the desolation through binoculars (535ft).

No such film appears in any French catalogue, but the description matches exactly that for a film called THE COMET, given in Phil Hardy's The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction. Hardy says that the film is American, made by Kalem in 1910, 11 minutes long, and that it was distributed in the UK by Kineto.

However, I can find no certain record of such a Kalem film. It is not listed in the American Film Index nor in the Library of Congress 1894-1912 catalogue. The American Film Institute catalogue lists a 1910 film called THE COMET, made by Edison, just 180 feet long and starring Anna Held. This appears to have been a different film made for a Ziegfeld stage production (in which Held played Halley's comet). The IMDb has a record for a 1910 THE COMET, which it gives as production company Edison, producer [sic] Kalem - a typical IMDB muddle. Ron Magliozzi's Treasures from the Film Archives says that it is a British film with prints in London and Denmark, which I am assuming is a misinterpretation of secondary evidence.

So, were there two US THE COMET films? And what primary source might there be for Kalem having produced it? It sounds so unlike a Kalem production. I'm away from any library sources at the moment and I'm a bit stuck. The film is due to be screened at next month's Bologna film festival, and any information would help those researching for the festival catalogue.

Here's some misc facts that I can tell you:

(1)There is a film called The Comet located at the Library of Congress. Here are the details:
THE COMET
LC CALL NUMBER: FLA 1361
COLLECTION: GEORGE KLEINE COLLECTION

(2)Clips from a film which seem to match the description you provide were used to embellish a BBC documentary entitled “The Hunt for the Doomsday Asteroid” which covered the possibility of the earth's destruction from outer space. If memory serves, the source of the clips was LOC.

(3)I found this summary in a Kineto Film Catalog.

"THE COMET.

A sensational and exciting film, full of thrilling incidents.

An interesting example of what can be done by the kinematograph in depicting imaginary events in realistic fashion.

What might happen IF the Comet touched the Earth.

(Supplied only on condition that this Film is not re-sold or used for re-exhibition in the United States of America.)

The Mansion. Anxious moments in the dining room. The rush to the observatory. The Astronomer's explanation. The Comet seen through the giant telescope.

The Garage. A motor dash for safety. The coming of the Comet. Explosion of the petrol.

The Miser's Den. The Miser's doom and melting of his hoarded gold.

The Widow's Cottage. Heat and Thirst. The Flight. The cottage fired. The Red Cross car to the rescue.

The Burning Countryside. Farm, cottage, railway station and mansion involved.

The Caves. An underground refuge from the heat. The last drop of water. The water thief. Summary justice. Deeper down. The stalactite cave.

Water at last. The passing of the Comet. Panoramic Scene of a devastated World.

No K 558 Code "COMET" Length 680 feet "

(4)Treasures from the Film Archives” by Ronald S. Magliozzi says that the 1916 film entitled The Comet's Comeback is also at LOC. However, I contacted LOC and they stated that Magliozzi's entry was based upon an error in the FIAF database.

Sending you a message to tell you more.

Steve

Oops. I can't seem to send a private message; are they disabled for this board?

Luke,

I think that I have an old email address of yours; I just hope it's still valid and that I reached you.

Steve

Private messages are not disabled on Nitrateville.

You should be able to hit the "PM" button at the bottom of Luke's post.

Thanks, Bruce. I'm doing it now.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for your reply (and private message).

1. The COMET in the Library of Congress is a different film - it's the Edison film made in the same year for a Ziegfeld Follies, and features Anna Held (as the comet).

2. I'm intrigued. The BFI's records for the film would say if it had been used for a BBC documentary - I'll ask.

3. The Kineto catalogue description is for the right film, and confirms that it was distributed by Kineto. I have been tending towards thinking that it has to have been a French or Italian film and the Kalem reference was a mistake, but the catalogue description you cite has that line about not for resale in the US, which suggests that it was a US title after all (Kineto being a UK company). So the finger points back at Kalem. Which Kineto catalogue do you have, and are there any identifiable Kalem films in it (I wasn't aware that Kineto or its owner Charles Urban had any commercial connection with Kalem).

4. Different film.


Luke