Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF
Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF
Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF
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A corrected and expanded inventory <strong>of</strong> the collection has also<br />
been completed. This new inventory lists individual release<br />
titles, working titles (where available), production and<br />
releasing company information, and the year <strong>of</strong> release <strong>of</strong><br />
each production. It also lists the number <strong>of</strong> photographs from<br />
each production.<br />
Not only the career <strong>of</strong> Ince is documented in this collection.<br />
Many important Ince stars such as William S. Hart and<br />
Charles Ray, and directors such as Fred Niblo and Frank<br />
Borzage are also represented in this collection. Native<br />
American Sioux actors are also visually documented in<br />
numerous production photographs.<br />
There is a handful <strong>of</strong> films for which only the working titles<br />
can be determined. Many <strong>of</strong> these films are from the period in<br />
1912 when litigation over Universal’s rights to Ince’s films<br />
made for Bison/101 Bison had to be determined in court.<br />
Other films with only working tiles may never have been<br />
reviewed or released.<br />
An original studio synopsis for each film is included in the collection. An<br />
example <strong>of</strong> how a lost film was recreated from photographs and its<br />
synopsis is illustrated on the following pages.<br />
Other Important Silent <strong>Film</strong> Recreations From Surviving Still<br />
Photographs<br />
Although most <strong>of</strong> the silent films produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer<br />
survive, a few important films—the complete Greed (1925), London After<br />
Midnight (1927), The Divine Woman (1928)—seem to no longer exist.<br />
<strong>Film</strong> historians have used the original photographs in the Academy<br />
Library’s collection for recreations <strong>of</strong> complete or missing footage from<br />
these films. These have all been published in book form and are a part <strong>of</strong><br />
the Academy Library’s collection <strong>of</strong> more than 27,000 books about<br />
motion pictures.<br />
The Current Situation<br />
To date, we have been able to accomplish some form <strong>of</strong><br />
conservation work on 24,860 images from more than 1,000 lost<br />
silent-era productions. As the remaining photographic images<br />
from lost silent films continue to deteriorate into<br />
oblivion, it is extremely important that remaining<br />
photographic records <strong>of</strong> images from lost silent (and<br />
sound) films be maintained for future reference and<br />
study.<br />
The colonel’s daughter comes to the fort to spend her vacation and flirts<br />
with the “baby” who has grown to a young man. The old sergeant goes<br />
to the girl and begs her to not flirt with this boy, for she knows she can<br />
never marry him, owing to the difference in caste. The girl listens to the<br />
old sergeant and returns to school. The boy is sent as one <strong>of</strong> the escorts<br />
accompanying the coach which is to take the girl to the railroad. Indians<br />
attack the coach. The coach is sent back while the sergeant’s boy<br />
attempts to hold the Indians at bay.<br />
67 <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Film</strong> <strong>Preservation</strong> / 58/59 / 1999<br />
On the arrival <strong>of</strong> the coach at the fort, the colonel dispatches his troops to<br />
aid in the Indian attack. During the engagement, the sergeant’s boy is<br />
mortally wounded. The story closes with the funeral cortege <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sergeant’s boy passing the girl, who fully realizes that she really loved the<br />
boy and is heartbroken at his death.<br />
The Sergeant’s Boy (1912). The boy is adopted by the<br />
sergeant <strong>of</strong> the Western post. The proudest moment <strong>of</strong> the<br />
boy’s life comes when he is given a gun and drilled into the<br />
mysteries <strong>of</strong> warfare by the good old sergeant.