We're in the Movies

This Blackhawk Films anthology features two documentaries on film culture, along with a handful of "itinerant films" from the first half of the 20th century. Palace of Silents: The Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles (2010) chronicles the long history of what remained for over 50 years the only exclusive silent movie theater in the country, launched in 1943 by John Hampton, closed in 1979, and reopened in 1991 by Lawrence Austin. Film love gives way to real-life melodrama as the documentary explores Austin's murder in a contract killing in 1997, while also revealing tawdry details about his private life and shady dealings. While the seedy elements certainly spice up the history, Palace of Silents is still first and foremost the story of how passion and dedication kept the theater running for years and how subsequent owners have maintained the venue's viability by expanding its offerings. The second documentary, When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose (1983), examines the origins and production of the short film The Lumberjack (1914), which was made in Wausau, WI, by an itinerant production company (i.e., one that traveled from town to town and made films using local talent). While somewhat meandering, director Stephen Schaller (who also restored the original The Lumberjack, which is included on the disc) shines an interesting spotlight on a specialized quarter of the early film industry. This Blu-ray/DVD Combo release also includes six examples of itinerant filmmaking from both silent and sound eras, including a new restoration of the 1937 film "The Kidnapper's Foil," which was selected for the National Film Registry in 2012. Bundled with an accompanying booklet, this is a specialized set that will be of interest to die-hard film history buffs but few others. Recommended, with the aforementioned caveat. Aud: C, P. (S. Axmaker)