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

Norma Talmadge at Vitagraph (1911-1916)

Contents: A Tale of Two Cities (1911), His Official Appointment (1912), An Old Man’s Love Story (1913), Father’s Hat Band (1913), Sawdust and Salome (1914), The Helpful(?) Sisterhood (1914), John Rance, Gentleman (1914) and The Devil’s Needle (1916) [excerpt].

This collection of Norma Talmadge short films (plus a feature film excerpt) focuses on her years as a supporting and featured player at The Vitagraph Company of America. Ranging from historical dramas through contemporary light comedy, the films become a showcase for standout Norma Talmadge, who by 1916 would be a leading lady in feature films.

— Carl Bennett

This DVD-R edition has been mastered from an older analog video master that was prepared for release on VHS videotape in the 1990s. The source prints appear to range from 16mm reduction positives to 8mm reduction positives. And, as would be expected, the visual quality ranges from good (The Devil’s Needle) to poor (John Rance, Gentleman). Several of the source prints have little highlight or shadow detail and are soft in their image details.

The films are accompanied by compiled music scores of preexisting recordings.

This collection is likely to be rough going for most viewers, with the dedicated Talmadge fan being the most forgiving viewer of all. Unfortunately, the charming Norma Talmadge isn’t quite enough to buoy this collection above its so-so source prints.

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