Some Interesting Footage From an Unknown Silent Film (1920s)

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I have no idea what film this footage is from. It looks like a British feature made in the 1920s, if so there's a good chance that the rest of this film is lost.

[archenema]

The street sign indicates it's English, but the MC has the whiff of Weimar.

[osborn.illustration]

A beautiful bit of a lost film. So mysterious! Most old silent films are completely lost, so much creative effort turned to ash. It's good when we get to see a few seconds of these old films that survive, even out of context, they are still beautiful and compelling. Thanks for sharing.

[willoughby]

My grandmother, born in 1897, would have probably grabbed a chair and fit right in back then. She would be 125 years old if alive right now. She lived to be 87, the same age at which my sweet grandfather had passed 20 years earlier. Seeing videos of people who have come and gone makes me happy that they got to be alive and breathe air. Seeing them having a good time and being happy for awhile is even better. It proves that this world always has been better than it hasn't been. Having a 'good life' is living well, laughing often, and loving much. Giving thanks and being content no matter what goes a long way also. Hello from Maine. Thank you for sharing this vintage moment in time with us.

[detroyes]

Don't have many ideas on how to identify this one, but I will point out that the look of the scene at 0:25 plus the street name of "Crown Court" (aka, The Old Bailey criminal courts) tells me this might have been some kind of drama, possibly a crime drama. Other than that, I got nothing.

[TheEnabledDisabled]

Every one of those actors, where people, if we could just localize the production, maybe then we could find living relatives in genealogical societies, who might have some information about the production, it would also just be really nice

[glennm]

I could be very much off and I apologize if I am, but I think the band playing in this feature might be Alfredo and His Band or Alfredo's New Prince's Orchestra. From the information I could gather, they were playing in England at the time, and the banjo player does have a similar hairline to the banjo player in the film(at least from photos I saw circa 1925-26). Also, while you can't get a good glimpse in this video, Alfredo(the bandleader) did play the violin and had dark hair, much as the bandleader did here. Unfortunately, I couldn't get much information on them w/r/t any movies they may have starred in around the mid-20s and I could be totally off, but I figured I might as well mention it.

[SpringNotes]

I love this footage. So frustrating that we can't see the rest of the film, or even know the name of this movie...

[geoffolehane]

It could be a censored clip. The woman in black is wearing a man's suit, which sometimes got banned back then. And those white dresses may have been deemed too short.

[glennm]

I did some more research on this and I'm certain that the performance part of it took place at the New Princes Restaurant in London. I have seen a lot of photos of where they did their Frivolities, and the place looks exactly the same. This could mean the first part is part of a performance of the New Princes Frivolities, a cabaret show that was popular in London in the 1920s. The woman might be Jean Rai. She was the big star of New Princes Frivolities from what I've read about it, and she does have a bit of a resemblance to the woman in the video. It also might be Bea Zoltana, a Hungarian dancer who also worked there at the time. The dancers might be the Athos Beauties who also were part of the Frivolities, but I can't confirm either of these being the case. I feel pretty confident now that the band is Alfredo's New Princes Orchestra.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a more definitive answer as to what this was a part of, nor can I connect it to the Crown Court scene. I searched through a lot of documents but can't find any mention of a film being filmed at the New Princes Restaurant. Still, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon and it was really cool when I saw photos of New Princes and they matched the setting perfectly. Hopefully, someone more adept at this can carry the rest of the way. I am happy I was able to get a little more information on this, as it made for an intriguing mystery to solve, and I saw some videos and learned some things that I otherwise wouldn't have had I not looked into this. It was fun.

[lekmirn.hintern]

This is almost certainly not from a feature film: several shots clearly suggest it was a filmed as a record of stage performances, perhaps at that restaurant named below, and likely shot for an early newsreel or something. There is a lot of similar footage shot of performers on British stages in the sound era, and my guess is that this is the same thing from a few years earlier.

[s.deegan]

This sort of reminds me of those old Gold Digger films you know what I’m talking about?

[mumzy]

This looks so cool! I love the female figure in all black. Could someone @ me some day when they find out what this or who they are?