The Ocean Waif/49-17

One of three volumes in the First Ladies: Early Women Filmmakers 1915-1925 series (the others are: Hypocrites/Eleanor's Catch and The Red Kimona), exemplifying the "golden age" of women directors in Hollywood, The Ocean Waif/49-17 offers two silent films on one tape from, respectively, Alice Guy-Blache and Ruth Ann Baldwin. The Ocean Waif deals with a romance between an abused girl and a famous writer, while the somewhat satirical 49-17 concerns a rich Easterner who commissions a group of actors to recreate an old Western town that reminds him of his youth. Both films have their occasional charms, but the heavily deteriorated condition of the archival material makes them all but impossible to watch for anyone but the most devoted silent-movie buffs or students with an academic interest in early female filmmakers. Highly optional. (T. Rich)