Top 10 Films of 1915

1. "The Birth Of A Nation" (D.W.Griffith, USA)

2. "Les Vampires" (Louis Feuillade, France)

3. "Maciste" (Luigi Romano Borgnetto, Vincenzo Denizot, Italy)

4. "Hypocrites" (Lois Weber, Paramount)

5. "After Death" (Yevgeni Bauer, Russia)

6. "A Fool There Was" (Frank Powell, Fox)

7. "Civilization" (Thomas Ince, Triangle)

8. "The Regeneration" (Raoul Walsh, Fox)

9. "Children Of The Age" (Yevgeni Bauer, Russia)

10. "Szpieg" (Aleksander Hertz, Poland)

Short Top 10:

1. "Love, Loot And Crash" (Mack Sennett, Keystone)

2. "The Tramp" (Charles Chaplin, Essanay)

3. "The Man With The Missing Finger" (A.W. Sandberg, Denmark)

4. "The Bank" (Charles Chaplin, Essanay)

5. "A Night In The Show" (Charles Chaplin, Essanay)

6. "Fatty's Tin Type Tangle" (Roscoe Arbuckle, Keystone)

7. "Work" (Charles Chaplin, Essanay)

8. "Ambrose's Nasty Temper" (Dell Henderson, Keystone)

9. "A Jitney Elopement" (Charles Chaplin, Essanay)

10. "Those Bitter Sweets" (Mack Sennett, Keystone)

Other great shorts:

The Cannon Ball
Court House Crooks
The Desperate Scoundrel
Fatty And Mabel At The San Diego Exposition
Fatty And Mabel's Simple Life

A Free Ride
Gussle's Wayward Path
His New Job
Mabel, Fatty And The Law
Mabel's New Hero

Miss Fatty's Seaside Lover
Shanghaied

Cartoon Top 3:

1. "Colonel Heeza Liar At The Bat" (John Randolph Bray, Pathé)

2. "Cartoons In A Seminary" (Raoul Barre, IFS)

3. "He Resolves Not To Smoke" (Wallace Carlson, Essanay)

Other great cartoons:

Ever Been Had ? (UK)
Lilia Belgii (Poland)
Der Zahnteufel (Germany)

Weak films of 1915:

The Cheat

Weak shorts:

Ambrose's Fury
Ambrose's Lofty Perch
Ambrose's Sour Grapes
By The Sea
The Champion
Fox-Trot Finesse
Gussle's Backward Way
Gussle's Day Of Rest
Gussle Tied To Trouble
Le Hasard et l'amour (France)
Her Painted Hero
In The Park
Love, Speed And Thrills
Mabel And Fatty's Married Life
Mabel And Fatty's Wash Day
Mabel And Fatty Viewing The World's Fair
Mabel's Wilful Way
Night Out, A
Operating On Cupid
That Little Band Of Gold
When Ambrose Dared Walrus
Wilful Ambrose
Wished On Mabel
A Woman

Weak cartoons:

Cartoons In The Country
Cartoons In The Hotel
Cartoons On A Yacht
Feet Is Feet
Phable Of A Busted Romance

Lost films:

Inspiration

Hypocrites (1915) ***

After Death (1915) ***

Maciste (1915) ****

Italian thriller about a young woman asking the hero of "Cabiria" for help. The first film in a long series.

Civilization (1915) ***

A Fool There Was (1915) ***

Theda Bara in her film debut. She plays a vamp, a worthless woman who seduces a married man and ruins his life. Directed by Frank Powell.

Szpieg (1915) ***

A 19-minutes fragment has been preserved.

The Regeneration (1915) ***

Directed by Raoul Walsh.

Children Of The Age (1915) ***

The Cheat (1915) **

This silent melodrama directed by Cecil B. DeMille is actually just as racist as another 1915 film, "The Birth Of A Nation", though not nearly as notorious.

The Man With The Missing Finger (1915) ****

An excellent suspense thriller from Denmark.

Mabel's New Hero (1915) ***

Mabel Normand plays one of the Bathing Beauties in this amusing Keystone comedy.

Inspiration (1915)

A Free Ride (1915) ***

Der Zahnteufel (1915) ***

Cartoon commercial for a toothpaste.

Wished On Mabel (1915) **

Keystone comedy set in a park.

Operating on Cupid (1915) **

An imitation of a Keystone comedy, written by Al Christie and released by Universal.

Le Hasard et l'amour (1915) *

Lovers hiding in closets and other clichés in this weak Max Linder comedy.

Les Vampires (1915) *****

Le plus célèbre roman-feuilleton du cinéma français, presenté en dix épisodes. Mise en scène de Louis Feuillade. Avec Musidora et Stacia Napierkowska.

Le premier épisode introduit le personnage principal, le journaliste Philippe Guérande, qui enquête sur les Vampires, une mysterieuse organisation criminelle. L'action se déroule dans un chateau de province. A la fin de l'épisode, on voit un personnage mysterieux, habillé en noir, marcher sur les toits.

Dans le seconde épisode, une actrice (Stacia Napierkowska) est tuée avec une bague empoisonnée, tandis que Guérande est emprisonné par les Vampires, mais reussit à s'échapper grace à Mazamette.

Le troisième épisode introduit Irma Vep (Musidora). Engagé par Guérande comme femme de chambre, elle essaie de lui voler un document precieux. Entre-temps, la mère de Guérande est enlevée par les Vampires, mais réussit à s'échapper grace à un stylo empoisonné.

Dans "La spectre", les Vampires tuent un employé de banque. Un autre bandit, un dénomé Juan-José Moreno, prend sa place et réussit à voler beaucoup d'argent. La police, aidée par Guérande, arrête Moreno.

Moreno s'enfuit du prison dans l'épisode suivant. Les Vampires enlèvent Guérande, mais lui-aussi s'échappe. Plus tard, les Vampires organisent un coup spectaculaire. A l'aide d'un gas, ils asphyxient les invitées pendant une reception chez un aristocrate. Ils volent beaucoup d'objets précieux, mais Moreno réussit à leur enlèver le butin.

L'action du sixième episode se déroule dans un hotel de luxe. Irma Vep (très seduisante dans son costume noir) est enlevée par Moreno qui tombe amoureux d'elle. Hypnotisée par lui, elle tue le chef des Vampires. Entre-temps, Mazamette et Guérande retrouvent une grande somme d'argent.

On apprend dans le prochain épisode que l'homme tué par Irma n'était pas le chef des Vampires. Le vrai chef est Satanas, qui force Irma et Moreno de collaborer avec lui. Entre-temps, George Baldwin, un millionaire américain, arrive à Paris. A l'aide de Lily Flower, Irma et Moreno lui volent beaucoup d'argent, mais ils sont arretés par la police.

Dans le huitième épisode, Moreno est executé, mais Irma s'enfuit d'un bateau en destination d'une colonie pénale. Condamné à mort par les Vampires, Guérande échappe de justesse à un attentat à la bombe. Mais grace à Mazamette et son fils, la police arrête Satanas.

Satanas se suicide en prison et Venemous prend sa place comme chef des Vampires dans le neuvième (et meilleure) épisode. Il essaye d'empoisonner Guérande et ses amis, tandis que Irma Vep (aidée par Lily Flower) réussit à assommer Mazamette. Plus tard, Guérande attrape Irma Vep et la ligote, mais elle est liberée par Venemous. L'épisode se termine avec des pursuites en voitures et en train.

Dans le dernier épisode, Guérande et Mazamette découvrent enfin la repère des Vampires.

"La tête coupée" ***
"La bague qui tue" ***
"Le cryptogramme rouge" ***
"Le spectre" **
"L'évasion du mort" ***
"Les yeux qui fascinent" ***
"Satanas" ***
"Le maître de la foudre" ***
"L'homme des poisons" ****
"Les noces sanglantes" ***

The Birth Of A Nation (1915) *****

Widely hailed as a masterpiece of silent cinema and widely denounced as the most racist film in Hollywood history, this D.W.Griffith's epic Civil War drama will retain its power to create divisive controversies for centuries to come. One of very few films to present the life in the Deep South from a white suprematist point of view, it's also a rare pre-60's film, where Blacks aren't just simple servants or happy-go-lucky handymen. Here, they are a group of well motivated, properly organized and dangerous villains - people to be reckoned with! A case could be made that such portrayal is actually less offensive than the horribly patronizing representation of African-Americans in countless other Hollywood movies. Nevertheless, the enormous popularity of the film had a disastrous side-effect of reviving Ku-Klux-Klan activities in the early 20's.

The Tramp (1915) ****

Classic Chaplin comedy about a tramp who becomes a farmhand.

The Bank (1915) ***

Fine comedy with Charlie working as a janitor in a bank. Surprising ending.

A Night In The Show (1915) ***

A drunken spectator disrupts a vaudeville performance.

Love, Loot And Crash (1915) ****

Two crooks rob a banker's house, while his daughter is eloping with her beau. The Keystone Kops get involved as well and the climactic chase ends with all protagonists in the ocean. A terrific Mack Sennett farce, hilarious from start to finish. Young Charley Chase is in the cast. Directed by Mack Sennett.

Fatty's Tin Type Tangle (1915) ***

Fatty has an adorable wife, but a horrible mother-in-law. Later, he's chased by a jealous husband. Superb comedy has a wild climax with Fatty climbing light posts and hanging from power lines. Directed by Roscoe Arbuckle.

Ambrose's Nasty Temper (1915) ***

Fired by his boss, Ambrose (Mack Swain) hires two gangsters to get revenge. The Keystone Kops arrive on time to save the boss' daughter from drowning. Fast-paced, one-reel comedy.

By The Sea (1915) **

Some pratfalls in this brief comedy set on the beach.

The Cannon Ball (1915) ***

An "explosive" comedy starring Chester Conklin as a "powder inspector", who "tests" his products while smoking cigarettes. Cannon balls fly fast in this typical Keystone comedy, full of mayhem and chaos. Directed by Mack Sennett.

Court House Crooks (1915) ***

Fast-paced, exciting short about a district attorney (Ford Sterling) fooling around with a judge's wife (Minta Durfee). Harold Lloyd has a bit part as an unemployed young man.

Gussle's Wayward Path (1915) ***

A coherent and well-directed comedy about a henpecked husband (Syd Chaplin) going on a train trip and being followed by his suspicious wife. No car chases, but some moments of quiet comedy. Directed by Charles Avery.

The Desperate Scoundrel (1915) ***

A scoundrel wrecks havoc in a laundry. Fast-paced, inventive comedy starring Ford Sterling and directed by Mack Sennett. Also known as "Dirty Work In A Laundry".

Fatty And Mabel At The San Diego Exposition (1915) ***

Fatty and Mabel flirt with other people during the San Diego Exposition. Their mutual suspicions lead to many chases.

Fatty And Mabel's Simple Life (1915) ***

Farm hand Fatty loves farmer's daughter Mabel, but she's pursued by a rich son of her father's creditor. The young sweethearts decide to elope. Hilarious farce with plenty of gags, chases and fights. Directed by Roscoe Arbuckle.

His New Job (1915) ***

Carpenter Charlie wants to be a movie star. This Essenay short is an improvement over similar Keystone comedies like "A Film Johnny" (1914) or "The Masquerader" (1914). The following year, Chaplin would further improve on this material in his classic Mutual farce "Behind The Screen" (1916).

A Jitney Elopement (1915) ***

After unsuccessfully impersonating a count, Charlie finally decides to elope with his fiancee. The film concludes with a wild and exciting car chase.

Feet Is Feet (1915) *

Raoul Barré directed this rather confusing cartoon.

Mabel, Fatty And The Law (1915) ***

Masters flirt with servant girls, their wives flirt with strangers in the park, while Keystone Kops spy on everyone and throw lovebirds in jail. Typical Keystone comedy, starring Fatty Arbuckle (who also directs) and Mabel Normand. There are no car chases, but the plot is well handled.

Miss Fatty's Seaside Lover (1915) ***

This could have been an ordinary comedy about a rich heiress courted by several fortune hunters in a resort hotel, were it not for director Roscoe Arbuckle casting himself as the ingenue. Plenty of fights in this brief, but funny comedy. Young Harold Lloyd plays one of the suitors.

Shanghaied (1915) ***

Charlie is a reluctant sailor in this comedy set on a cargo ship.

Those Bitter Sweets (1915) ***

Two men are fighting over a girl. One of them works as a waiter and tries to conceal his occupation. Rejected, he poisons a box of chocolates, immediately changes his mind and the race is on. Deftly parodying Griffith's last-minute rescue melodramas, the comedy moves like a speeding bullet, even throwing in some Bathing Beauties for good measure. Directed by Mack Sennett.

Phable Of A Busted Romance (1915) *

Boring cartoon by Raoul Barré.

A Woman (1915) **

Fleeing a jealous husband (and an angry father), Charlie dresses as a woman (almost forgetting to shave his moustache). This Chaplin film resembles the "flirting in the park" comedies he made a year earlier at Keystones (like "Getting Acquainted" and "His Trysting Place").

Work (1915) ***

Charlie is a beast-of-burden, pulling a huge chariot up a steep slope. Those early scenes are quite memorable. Later, the film becomes more repetitive and routine, but the finale is quite impressive.

Cartoons In A Seminary (1915) ***

Young schoolgirls are reading cartoon comics. Excellent film directed by Raoul Barré, mixing live-action with animation.