Thursday, September 30, 2021

Happy Spooktober! The Phantom Honeymoon (1919)

 


This a J. Searle Dawley film in every respect (written, directed and produced).  Probably the most notable thing about this 1919 release is, that not only does it survive, but is available for purchase for home viewing. And I love a ghost story.... There are also aspects of this film, while not new even in the late 1910's, show up even into this era, the new century and millennium, albeit it "period pieces." Principle among them is the exotic "Hindu" caretaker (think The Wolfman from 2010 with the great Art Malik in the part of Singh) of the British "castle."  It  also doesn't sport any special effects that are new (in fact many of them had been around for decades by the time of release, many pioneered by Méliès in the 1890's), but it is a feature length film, at just a little over 60 minutes, and it is certainly not a well known supernatural silent film. It is truly scary that this was distributed by Hallmark. Yeah...they've been around for a while! 😆 Happy October everyone!!