| The Thieving Hand | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Starring | Paul Panzer |
| Distributed by | Vitagraph Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 6 minutes (16 frames per second) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film |
The Thieving Hand (1908) is a surrealist silent short produced in the United States. As a trick film, it is known for "simple but flawless" special effects. [1] [2] No director is credited in the film, some sources say it was J. Stuart Blackton, and other sources say the director is unknown.
A one-armed street peddler, who sells pencils from a cup, receives a new arm from a kindly stranger at a strange store that specializes in "Limb" replacements. The new arm has a mind of its own, though, and brings the man nothing but trouble. The peddler is arrested for thievery and thrown into jail. The story concludes with the arm crawling back to its rightful owner, a one-armed convicted thief in the same jail wearing stripped pajamas. At this point the film abruptly ends, but missing frames from the film show the pencil vendor is set free, and is free of the cursed arm. [1]
The film was shot on location in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City and released on February 1, 1908. [1] It was among the early films of Vitagraph Studios, and was one of Paul Panzer's early films, he remained active in film until the 1950s.
No director is credited in the film. Some sources say the director is unknown [1] [3] while other sources attribute it to J. Stuart Blackton. [4] None of the sources describe how they arrived at their conclusion, nor acknowledge a difference of opinion with other sources.
It is anthologized in the DVD set Treasures from American Film Archives (2000), compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation. It is a digital reproduction from a 35mm print owned by George Eastman House, which has the only known surviving copy. [1] In this release, the film's music score is an uncredited modern rendition of the comic ragtime song "The Yama Yama Man", from the play The Three Twins, a hit on Broadway in 1908. [1]
The final frames in the final scene are missing in the sole known surviving copy of the film. They show the pencil vendor set free from jail after all becomes clear he was the innocent victim of the arm's true owner. [1]
It was reviewed in Moving Picture World , which oddly criticized the surreal film for its lack of realism, noting that criminal suspects are not housed with convicts until after they are convicted. [1] However the reviewer concludes it is "a fine trick film, full of ingenuity and good quality". [2]
According to Ryan Sweet, the plot has similarities to earlier stories that may have influenced the makers of the film. [4] The street ballad "The Thief's Arm", collected by John Ashton in 1888, tells the story of an amputee who is fitted with a new arm that has an agency of its own, like in the film it steals without the owner's direction. [5] Another possible influence according to Sweet was the popular song "The Steam Arm" from c. 1835, about an amputee fitted with a steam-powered limb that he can't control and that goes on a death and destruction rampage. [6]
The year 1909 in film involved some significant events.
The year 1908 in film involved some significant events.
Robert William Chambers was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled The King in Yellow, published in 1895.
Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.
James Stuart Blackton was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation, is considered a father of American animation, and was the first to bring many classic plays and books to the screen. Blackton was also the commodore of the Motorboat Club of America and the Atlantic Yacht Club.
A huckster is anyone who sells something or serves biased interests, using pushy or showy tactics. In historical terms, it meant any type of peddler or vendor, but over time it has assumed pejorative connotations.
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of goods. In 19th-century America the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exemplified in the popular play Sam'l of Posen; or, The Commercial Drummer by George H. Jessop.
Laurence Norwood Trimble was an American silent film director, writer and actor. Trimble began his film career directing Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine to have a leading role in motion pictures. He made his acting debut in the 1910 silent Saved by the Flag, directed scores of films for Vitagraph and other studios, and became head of production for Florence Turner's independent film company in England (1913–1916). Trimble was most widely known for his four films starring Strongheart, a German Shepherd dog he discovered and trained that became the first major canine film star. After he left filmmaking he trained animals exclusively, particularly guide dogs for the blind.
Carlyle Blackwell was an American silent film actor, director and producer.
Hand-held camera or hand-held shooting is a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base. Hand-held cameras are used because they are conveniently sized for travel and because they allow greater freedom of motion during filming. Newsreel camera operators frequently gathered images using a hand-held camera. Virtually all modern video cameras are small enough for hand-held use, but many professional video cameras are designed specifically for hand-held use such as for electronic news-gathering (ENG), and electronic field production (EFP).
El Lute: Run for Your Life is a 1987 Spanish film written and directed by Vicente Aranda, based on the memoirs of Eleuterio Sánchez, "El Lute", a young convicted murderer who became legendary in Spain for his jail escape in the 1960s. It stars Imanol Arias and Victoria Abril. The film was a hit in Spain and made a big star of his leading actor. It was nominated to four Goya Awards.
John Stuart, was born to Scottish parents, and was a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He successfully made the transition to talking pictures in the 1930s and his film career went on to span almost six decades. He appeared in 172 films, 123 stage plays, and 103 television plays and series.
Tote Du Crow was a film actor and circus performer who acted in many silent films during the early days of Hollywood.
Michael Mark was a Russian-born American film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1928 and 1969.
The Seven Who Were Hanged is a 1908 novella by Russian author Leonid Andreyev.
Norman Studios, also known as Norman Film Manufacturing Company is a former American film studio in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded by Richard Edward Norman, the studio produced silent films featuring African-American casts from 1919 to 1928. The only surviving studio from the period of early filmmaking in Jacksonville, its facilities are now the Norman Studios Silent Film Museum.
Between Friends is a 1924 American silent melodrama film based on the eponymous 1914 novel by Robert W. Chambers. The film was directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Albert E. Smith. It stars Lou Tellegen, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Norman Kerry. The feature was distributed by Vitagraph Studios, which was founded by Blackton and Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. The film is lost.
The Airship, or 100 Years Hence is an American adventure comedy-drama silent short film written, produced and directed by J. Stuart Blackton. The film stars Blackton and Florence Lawrence. It was released on April 25, 1908 by The American Vitagraph Company; a partial print of The Airship, or 100 Years Hence is preserved in the Paper Print Collection. The Airship, or 100 Years Hence advertised that it would be "a forecast of a probable means of air navigation in the coming century."
The Haunted Hotel is a 1907 American silent comic trick film written, produced, and directed by J. Stuart Blackton. One of the oldest surviving animated films, it combines live action and stop motion to animate objects.
The Bride of Lammermoor is a 1909 American silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton for Vitagraph Studios. Existing in fragmentary form, it is considered to be a lost film.
.. by a now unknown director ..
.. directed and produced by J. Stuart Blackton ..
