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
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