THE TWO ORPHANS (1915) with Theda Bara

Post by **silentfilm** » Tue May 17, 2011 11:09 am

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.

barafan · Post by **barafan** » Tue May 17, 2011 11:18 am

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?

silentkermy · Post by **silentkermy** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:12 pm

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

missdupont · Post by **missdupont** » Tue May 17, 2011 2:04 pm

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.

Henry Nicolella · Post by **Henry Nicolella** » Tue May 17, 2011 2:08 pm

Could be the Selig 1911 version. That's around.
Henry Nicolella

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Wed May 18, 2011 8:30 am

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

Post by **silentfilm** » Wed May 18, 2011 8:43 am

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.

spadeneal · Post by **spadeneal** » Wed May 18, 2011 9:16 am

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

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Wed May 18, 2011 10:32 am

EAST LYNNE? How much of that survives? I never saw the Documentary so I did not know any of that was still available.

Danny

Post by **silentfilm** » Wed May 18, 2011 10:41 am

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.

barafan · Post by **barafan** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:38 am

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!

missdupont · Post by **missdupont** » Fri May 20, 2011 11:07 am

Which has now been auctioned off and sold in pieces to the highest bidder, rather than going to any museums.

barafan · Post by **barafan** » Fri May 20, 2011 12:22 pm

"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

Post by **silentfilm** » Fri May 20, 2011 12:45 pm

http://entertainment.ha.com/common/view ... t_No=49209

http://entertainment.ha.com/common/view ... 696-100004

http://entertainment.ha.com/common/view ... otNo=49208

http://entertainment.ha.com/common/view ... t_No=49210

Among several other auctions...

Post by **silentfilm** » Tue May 31, 2011 5:54 pm

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!

missdupont · Post by **missdupont** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 12:27 am

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.

Beyond Rare · Post by **Beyond Rare** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:11 am

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

THE TWO ORPHANS (1915) with Theda Bara

THE TWO ORPHANS (1915) with Theda Bara

Re: THE TWO ORPHANS (1915) with Theda Bara