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THE TWO ORPHANS (1915) with Theda Bara
Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:09 am
by silentfilm
Anybody ever order anything from Beyond Rare video before?
I was perusing the latest Classic Images a couple of nights ago and they have an ad for a Theda Bara DVD featuring the public domain The Unchastened Woman plus the Fox feature The Two Orphans (1915). I contacted them and they did say that this Theda Bara feature is included, although the picture quality is not as good as The Unchastened Woman. Since The Two Orphans is a known lost film, I guess I'll have to order it to find out if he has identified the film correctly.
Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:18 am
by barafan
Hmm - it would be interesting if that really turned out to be the Bara film, though (being the cynical soul that I am), I expect it's either a misidentified Orphans of the Storm, some small clip from a compilation program or a completely different movie entirely. You'll have to let us know what happens.
But indulge an ignorant question for a moment: imagine that it really is The Two Orphans. Presumably, the "dirty" copy is the only source there is. How difficult - and expensive - would it be to do some digital trickery to scrub a little grime off the film, if not to restore it to pristine condition?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 1:12 pm
by silentkermy
hey dont forget to keep us updated, cuz now you have a few us a little giddy at the fact that another bara film might be available. also a link to beyond rare would help i searched for it but couldent find it
Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 2:04 pm
by missdupont
Bruce, you should ask Hugh Monroe Neely, he would know if this film has really been found or not, since they did the Bara documentary.
Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 2:08 pm
by Henry Nicolella
Could be the Selig 1911 version. That's around.
Henry Nicolella
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 8:30 am
by Danny
Bruce, you should ask Hugh Monroe Neely, he would know if this film has really been found or not, since they did the Bara documentary.
And when, oh when, will that Documentary ever get a DVD release?
Danny
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 8:43 am
by silentfilm
The last time I talked with Hugh, he was hoping to raise enough funds to release the documentary along with A Fool There Was, The Unchastened Woman, East Lynne, and Madame Mystery as a set.
Lee from Beyond Rare Video says that The Two Orphans is 38 minutes long and is from a 16mm print, so as far-fetched as this sounds, I'll be ordering a disc just to check it out myself.
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 9:16 am
by spadeneal
AFI puts the 1915 Two Orphans at 5-7 reels with a 1918 reissue. The reissue version probably was shorter (perhaps 5 reels) but not so short as to cut it back to three reels. If it is the authentic Bara title, a 38 minute edition would either mean a condensation or an incomplete copy.
spadeneal
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 10:32 am
by Danny
EAST LYNNE? How much of that survives? I never saw the Documentary so I did not know any of that was still available.
Danny
Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 10:41 am
by silentfilm
East Lynne does survive, and has been shown at Cinecon. There are excerpts shown in Hugh's documentary. Unfortunately, the film is very allegorical, and according to the documentary and the Cinecon comments, the film does not go over well with modern audiences.
Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 10:38 am
by barafan
Bruce, I haven't spoken at all with Hugh and haven't e-mailed Andi Hicks in a while, but do you know if Hugh has set up a site where people could make contributions to funding that Bara box set? I'd certainly give money and would naturally put a link to it on my site.
And as far as The Woman. . . (a marvelous documentary by the way, Hugh and Andi were kind enough to send me a preview copy), it ended up being a good thing that the release was delayed, as they were able to find Joan Craig and her marvelous costume collection!
Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 11:07 am
by missdupont
Which has now been auctioned off and sold in pieces to the highest bidder, rather than going to any museums.
Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 12:22 pm
by barafan
"Which has now been auctioned off and sold in pieces. . ."
Oh, God, don't remind me, missdupont. I don't know which I regret more - that I didn't have enough money to even bid for so much as a pearl off the Madame duBarry dress or that nobody will ever see those beautiful things in public again
Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 12:45 pm
by silentfilm
Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 5:54 pm
by silentfilm
I got the disc in today. I quickly checked the disc, and the main title for The Two Orphans says "Selig", not Fox. The Unchastened Woman looks terrible, like it is off a VHS tape. The Two Orphans looks like a 16mm transfer.
I don't have time to watch it tonight -- there's a very important basketball game on!
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:27 am
by missdupont
THE TWO ORPHANS from Selig stars Kathlyn Williams, and she's a large-boned woman like Theda Bara, and looks a little like her. Someone who knew little about silents could easily confuse the two.
Re: THE TWO ORPHANS (1915) with Theda Bara
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:11 am
by Beyond Rare
BRUCE CALVERT - you are entirely correct and I am entirely wrong about TWO ORPHANS. It was misidentified as being the Theda Bara film by the rare video joint I go to. At all other times they are reliable.
Please write me at
[email protected]" target="_blank" , you can have any BRV product you want, or a refund of your money. If anyone else reading this board has purchased TWO ORPHANS from me, contact me for the same deal.
many thanks,
Lee Harris
Burbank CA