PATHS TO PARADISE (United States, 1925, Clarence Badger)

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Raymond Griffith is one of the best kept secrets of silent comedy. During a 25-year career, he not only wrote, directed and produced movies, but was also the star of nine comedy features for Paramount Pictures. Eminent critic Walter Kerr once remarked that Griffith belonged in the pantheon of such legendary screen comedians as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Harry Langdon.

Yet, because of the disappearance and lack of availability of his work, Griffith has been largely forgotten. Therefore, GME is proud to digitally distribute the comedian’s 1925 comedy PATHS TO PARADISE, recently restored in 2K by Undercrank Productions, which spotlights Griffith’s many talents and serves as an introduction to his overlooked body of work.

In the expertly-written, directed, and acted PATHS TO PARADISE, Griffith is presented in all his smarmy elegance alongside a top-notch comedy ensemble. Griffith plays “The Dude from Duluth,” a con man posing as an undercover detective posing as a tourist from Duluth. He tricks Molly (played by Betty Compson), a Chinatown thief, into giving him all of her money as a bribe to avoid getting arrested. Later, Molly and “The Dude from Duluth” decide to form an alliance to steal a valuable jewel necklace. In an effort to flee the California State Police, they cross the United States-Mexico border into Baja California, where mischief and mayhem ensue.

PATHS TO PARADISE was based on a 1914 play, titled THE HEART OF A THIEF, by Paul Armstrong. The film was lost for many decades until an incomplete print surfaced in the 1970s. Essentially complete, the film is still missing its final reel.

Aside from the vanished reel, PATHS TO PARADISE presents a gorgeous print from the Library of Congress. Keene Thompson, a big deal at Paramount, wrote the script… [and] director Clarence Badger knows that he need only tell the story clearly and highlight his two stars, who play off each other well with plenty of clever business. —Michael Barrett, PopMatters

GME is proud to present this new 2K digital restoration of the archival 35mm print of PATHS TO PARADISE preserved by the Library of Congress. This restoration features a new musical score by Ben Model, silent film accompanist and founder of Undercrank Productions.

PATHS TO PARADISE
(United States, 1925)

Director: Clarence Badger

  • 67 minutes
  • 35mm
  • Black & white
  • Silent
Distribution Format/s: DSL/Downloadable 2K .mp4 file on server

Published By: Undercrank Productions

Institutional Price: $500

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.