Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Accidentally Preserved Volume 5 (1925-1929)

Contents: Lorraine of the Lions (1925), The Fourth Commandment (1927), Love at First Flight (1928) and Hoofbeats of Vengeance (1929).

This collection brings together four diverse films (three feature dramas and a comedy short) randomly surviving in 16mm reduction prints.

Lorraine of the Lions tells a tale of a circus orphan marooned on a Pacific island for years with a group of surviving circus animals: several lions, an elephant and a gorilla. For 12 years her millionaire grandfather searches for any sign of his granddaughter heir. With the help of an amateur mystic, Lorraine is rescued but must now learn the ways of the civilized world. For fun, we noted that at 56:26 Patsy Ruth Miller catches her toe on a carpet, deftly frees it, and steps forward to continue the scene; Norman Kerry noted the flub and discreetly tamps the carpet back down with his foot. Whether intended or not we don’t know but we fancy that this is an example of saving a take. We also like how often Patsy makes fun of Norman’s moustache.

The Fourth Commandment, a romantic drama, follows the progress of two couples’ marriages tested by yearnings and misunderstandings. Belle Bennett’s performance plays a little forced, with exaggerated glee early in the film bordering on the interminably cute that doesn’t let up much in later scenes when the character is a perky but petty adult. Frank Elliott makes a smarmy antagonist and Henry Victor an unappealing leading man. The source print utilized for this edition may have been abridged as credited actors and their characters do not appear in this presentation and may have only appeared in the eight-reel preview version of the film.

Love at First Flight is a two-reel Sennett comedy, directed by Eddie Cline, starring Daphne Pollard, Lige Conley and Madeline Hurlock. Typical Sennett nonsense is buoyed by the likable Pollard.

Hoofbeats of Vengeance presents an action story of smuggling, murder, and diligent law enforcement as Jack Perrin plays Mountie Dudley Do-Right along side the revenge-seeking Mountie horse Rex, King of the Wild Horses. This childish fare likely pleased contemporary juvenile audiences but may invite scuffing and snickers from modern audiences. Perrin is OK as the hero (in his comically oversized cowboy hat) but Helen Foster is quite pleasing as the film’s feisty heroine. Al Ferguson plays a eminently hissable villain in an over-the-top performance.

These films, scanned for the most part from the only known surviving print materials, are an enjoyable excursion through just a few of the late 1920s’ B-movie offerings.

— Carl Bennett

The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed on synthesizers and digital piano by Jon C. Mirsalis. While the music admirably does its job, there is a faint hissing and buzzing in the soundtrack to Lorraine of the Lions that comes to the fore when the music goes quiet. The remainder of the scores are presented without flaw.

This is our recommended home video editions of these films.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition from Amazon.com. Purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition from Amazon.ca. Purchase supports Silent Era.

The films are accompanied by music scores composed and performed on synthesizers and digital piano by Jon C. Mirsalis.

This is our recommended DVD home video editions of these films.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Other WESTERN FILMS of the silent era available on home video.