Starring Grace Darling and Harry Fox
(Wharton/International 1916)
An absolutely amazing find--a lost silent serial from 1916 now viewable for the first time in over 80 years! And transferred in sparkling, pristine quality, from the Marion Davies Collection's original nitrate film negative! Amazingly clean image with excellent contrast, looking just as it did when first released. The picture quality is nothing short of stunning, especially for a film that is now 87 years old. Reassembled and tinted according to the original instructions (according to notes written on the negative itself!) and with a re-created missing chapter, new musical scores by Eric Stedman, a new recording of "Beatrice Fairfax, Tell Me What to Do" By Laura Bowman, bios and tons of extras. 1 DVD set with illustrated menus. This and two more volumes to follow will be released without pledge drives.
Filmed primarily in Ithaca, New York by the Wharton brothers, who also lensed the serials The Exploits of Elaine and The Mysteries of Myra. Includes five 25-minute episodes from the long-lost 1916 series with a new original music score. Four are complete and one (Ep. 3) is almost-complete, the last 1 minute has been reconstructed (Episode 1, which originally included a cameo by William Randolph Hearst himself, is not known to exist, but a re-creation of it by "Beatrice" herself, from an existing plot summary, is included here). Beatrice, the original advice-to-the-lovelorn reporter and her friend and not-so-secret admirer Jimmy Barton investigate calls for help and escape exotic perils and dangers.
DVD Contents:
Beatrice Fairfax written by Raymond William Stedman, a custom-made 9 minute documentary tracing Beatrice's history from newspaper feature to the screen, radio, comics and the stage, narrated by Joel Talmadge.
Episode 1: The Missing Watchman
Beatrice and Jimmy fight bank robbers and attempt to clear an innocent bank guard's name. Narrated by Kate Huston with piano accompaniment by Eric Stedman.
Episode 2: The Adventure of the Jealous Wife
Jimmy adopts a disguise to infiltrate the dangerous Black Hand syndicate, currently blackmailing a famous violinist and threatening New York with homemade bombs.
Episode 3: Billy's Romance
The romantic dreams of a 14 year old telegraph boy and the revenge of an escaped convict intersect.
Episode 4: The Stone God concerns a forbidden marriage, a murderous revenge plot by an Indian prince, and an English explorer dared to defiled a temple and steal a sacred idol.
Episode 5: Mimosa San
Beatrice and Jimmy visit the Nipponese Tea Garden and investigate the theft of the formula for a secret weapon by foreign spies.
The
Beatrice Fairfax Memorabilia
Collection,
part 1 contains material related to the first five
episodes, including production stills and behind the
scenes photos, candid cast and crew pictures and
studio portraits of actors Grace Darling, Harry Fox,
Elsie Baker, Edgar Davenport, Dick Stewart, Mike Rale,
Betty Howe, and George Connor, newspaper
advertisements, announcements, reviews, script pages,
descriptions of censored and re-shot scenes and much
more!Optional Commentary Tracks on complete episodes 2-5 featuring researcher and Wharton Studio expert Terry Harbin of Ithaca, NY are selectable for Episodes 2 thru 5.
The Masked Rider trailer
Coming Soon:
Volume two of
BEATRICE FAIRFAX,
featuring episodes 6 thru 10 of the delightful
girl-reporter series directed by the Wharton brothers, who
filmed THE EXPLOITS OF ELAINE, featuring Grace Darling as
the "advice to the lovelorn" columnist turned crimefighter
and Harry Fox as her comical and clever assistant Jimmy.
Includes exciting and fun stories of baby-napping,
blackmail, jewel thievery, disguise, counterfeiting, and
the long-unseen episode featuring entrancing cult starlet
Olive Thomas and the real New York Yankees and Giants
playing a game in the Polo Grounds. All unseen for over 90
years and beautifully restored! Olive is onscreen for
almost her entire episode -- this DVD is a must for her
fans. Crooks intending to fix the game by kidnapping
Olive's pitcher boyfriend try to convince her he's seeing
another woman -- and when Olive goes to investigate, she
ends up in big trouble as well. Can Beatrice and Jimmy
rescue the pair in time to see the big game won? 2-DVD set,
5 half-hour episodes: "The Forbidden Room," "A Name for a
Baby," "At the Ainsley Ball," "Outside the Law," and "Play
Ball," original color tints, new musical
scores.See clips from Reel 1 featuring Olive
Thomas. |
See Episode 7 "A Name for a
Baby"
NOTE: Terry Harbin has been unable to do commentary due to
health problems affecting his voice, so we have pulled this
title from further release until such time as he feels
better! If you have already
ordered this title you
will receive an edition containing all 5 episodes, tinted
and scored, and if and when we are able to offer an upgrade
with commentary and extras we will send that to you.
See the
Release Schedule for news about the
upcoming release of Beatrice Fairfax
Volume 2
Affilliate Website
Ithaca-made Movies
Dedicated to preserving films made in
Ithaca, New York, including the serials THE EXPLOITS OF
ELAINE, MYSTERIES OF MYRA, PATRIA, and THE EAGLE'S
EYE