Post by Terry Harbin on Jun 14, 2005 8:43:09 GMT -5
'Beatrice Fairfax'
A new DVD compiles silent films made in Ithaca in 1916
By JIM CATALANO
Journal Staff
A new DVD compiles silent films made in Ithaca in 1916
By JIM CATALANO
Journal Staff
Saturday at 2 p.m., the History Center in Tompkins County will host a special showing of silent films from the new DVD "Beatrice Fairfax, Vol. 1." The DVD compiles several episodes of the 1916 serial that was filmed in Ithaca by the Wharton Brothers for the William Randolph Hearst-owned International Film Service.
Based on actual letters from the "Advice to the Lovelorn" column answered by "Beatrice Fairfax," the Ann Landers of her era, the episodes feature many familiar Ithaca landmarks.
Local film historian Terry Harbin has been working on the project for years, originally tracking down rare footage in the Marion Davies Collection in the Library of Congress for Ithaca's Centennial in 1988.
Since then, he's been putting a lot of efforts in to making these films accessible to the general public, establishing the Wharton Foundation for Ithaca-Made Movies to help that goal.
"I'm still trying to get other movies that exist, with the goal of producing a documentary that encompasses all the movie-making that's been here," says Harbin.
The new DVD, the first of three volumes that will comprise the 14 "Fairfax" episodes, is part of that effort. Film restorer Eric Stedman, of Newtown, Pa., who runs the Serial Squadron web site, donated his time to the Fairfax project and will provide Harbin with 100 copies of the DVD to raise funds to retrieve the films from various archives. (They'll be available for $15 at Saturday's event, and $20 afterwards at the History Center.)
Worth the effort
The episodes have been digitally restored and color tinted. "I worked about six months on it, and it will take that long for the next group," says Stedman. "The original footage that exists was separated into scenes for tinting.
The original 35mm film would've been printed from the negative either on to tinted stock to be projected in the theater, so it would change color according to scenes. These shots were grouped by colors and were all out of order.
I had to read the notes on the original film itself to discover what shots were to go in order and what color they were to be. So I actually followed 90 year-old instructions."
While it took a long time, Stedman says it was worth the effort. "The films are cheerful and fun compared some of the other films of the era, which are kind of dry," he says. "Hearst wanted the films to be a lively happy fun thing, and that's what turned out."
Ahead of her time
The "Beatrice Fairfax" films, along with other Wharton serials "The Exploits of Elaine" and "The Mysteries of Myra," showcased strong female characters.
"What serials did at that time was take women's fantasies of being more empowered and able to vote and take jobs and do things that men do, and making that real," Stedman says. "Beatrice Fairfax had a job at a newspaper, and she looked good and dressed good and she held her own with the men."
Played by Grace Darling, Beatrice, with the assistance of Jimmy Barton (played by Harry Fox) investigate calls for help from readers.
"Even though Jimmy does the footwork and beats up the crooks sometimes, she's still the focus," Stedman says. "She's got her own office and got it together. That type of a person is what a lot of women at the time wished they could be, instead of being home washing the clothes and diapering the babies. She was kind of an ideal at the time.
She doesn't go as far as the 'Pearl White' serials or 'Perils of Pauline,' where the women take the gun, jump off a cliff and fly the plane. But she's a more realistic type of fantasy."
The serials also were a good barometer of what society's fears were at the time, and also the fears. "The old Batman serial from 1943 had him fighting this old Japanese villain who was going to take over the country with a mind-control ray guy.
That's what every body was afraid of back then," Stedman says. "You see a lot of that kind of stuff in 'Beatrice Fairfax.' There are Japanese spy villains in Episode 5, and there are nondescript Indian Buddhist people in Episode 4. Maybe that floated down from Hearst, but it was certainly the good white people versus the evil foreign people back in those days."
A local treasure
Harbin thinks it's important for local residents to be aware of Ithaca's role in movie history. "There's a number of things I want to get because I want people to see them to know what was done here," he says of his efforts to retrieve these Ithaca-made movies.
"What Terry is trying to do is going to be very expensive," says Stedman. "The people who have the film archive with the 'Exploits of Elaine,' it's going to take a lot of money to get that film out of there. But it's something that should be shown in Ithaca And it's something the town should support.
"I hope it works out because it's important to save these films if we can," continues Stedman. "A lot of them just get chucked, even nowadays, because of the money and copyright law being changed--copyright has been extended longer than the life of the nitrate film itself, which is ridiculous and means you can't touch something to save before it crumbles.
"It's going to take a lot of money to restore these things--I'm not charging anybody to do what I'm doing, but I'm hoping the time I spend on these things will make their money back," Stedman concludes. "I can't guarantee it, but I want to save them anyway. It's good for Ithaca to see what was going on in town 90 years ago. It's so unique, how could people not be interested in it?"
Go to www.serialsquadron.com/ithacamademovies for more information.
Originally published Thursday, March 17, 2005