GME Presents Rare Silent Features as DSLs from Undercrank Productions
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In celebration of Silent Movie Day earlier this week (September 29th), Gartenberg Media is pleased to announce our new partnership with Undercrank Productions to distribute rare silent films to North American academic institutions on digital formats.
Undercrank Productions was founded in 2013 by silent film historian and composer Ben Model. Undercrank works with archives and private collectors to bring undiscovered classics of silent cinema from film cans to film fans. Each digital restoration has been spearheaded by Model and is presented in new digital scans in either HD or 2K, and features new musical scores on piano or theatre organ.
Undercrank Silents Now Available as DSLs
Sky High (1922, Lynn Reynolds)
Tom Mix was one of the silent era’s biggest stars, appearing in 83 feature-length films from 1918 to 1929 — most of which are lost. His name, his face, and trademark white 10-gallon hat are known to classic film fans, but most people have never seen Mix’s iconic Westerns.
GME is therefore proud to distribute Mix’s 1922 western Sky High as a digital site license (DSL), in a new 2K digital restoration featuring a new score by silent film accompanist Ben Model.
Paths to Paradise (1925, Clarence Badger)
Raymond Griffith is one of the best kept secrets of silent comedy. 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.
In the expertly-written, directed, and acted Paths to Paradise, Raymond Griffith is presented in all his smooth elegance alongside a top-notch comedy ensemble. The film was based on a 1914 play, titled The Heart of a Thief, by Paul Armstrong. It was lost for many decades until an incomplete print surfaced in the 1970s, which GME now distributes in a new 2K restoration.
You'd Be Surprised (1926, Arthur Rosson)
You'd Be Surprised again stars the top-hatted bon vivant Raymond Griffith as a police coroner who is called in to solve the murder of an important district attorney. Dorothy Sebastian is the leading lady who helps Griffith sort through numerous red herrings to find the killer. Veteran supporting players, including Edward Martindel, Earle Williams, and Roscoe Karns, add comic seasoning to the proceedings. The film was lost for many decades until a print surfaced in 2022 and was preserved by the Library of Congress. GME now distributes this title as a 2K digital restoration.
Back Pay (United States, 1922, Frank Borzage)
Actor and filmmaker Frank Borzage, winner of the first Academy Award for Best Director, is perhaps best known for helming the Hollywood features Seventh Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), and Lucky Star (1929). GME distributes one of the director’s earlier works, 1922’s Back Pay, as a new 2K digital restoration from the Library of Congress’ 35mm preservation materials. The film is a morality tale that follows Hester Bevins (Seena Owen), a restless small-town girl who leaves her hometown and her boyfriend Jerry (Matt Moore) behind for luxury in the big city.
The Valley of Silent Men (1922, Frank Borzage)
Available digitally for the first time, Frank Borzage’s The Valley of Silent Men is an adventure story based on James Oliver Curwood’s novel of the same name. Curwood, who was the highest-paid author in the world by the time of his death in 1927, specialized in stories of Canadian Mounties and/or animals in the far north. THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN, shot entirely on location in Canada, is one of his Mountie tales. It follows a string of bizarre and identical murders surrounding the mysterious Marette Radisson, played by Alma Rubens, who becomes the prime suspect. Or is the man who loves her — Corporal James Kent of the Mounties (Lew Cody) — the killer?