ank
Active member
The silent film era produced many wonderful works of art which have endured for over a century now, but for every work that is celebrated, there are dozens which have been lost completely. Celluloid is flammable, and expensive to store; many studios destroyed their prints after the theatrical run, and now only promotional materials or reviews exist. This is not particularly troubling in some cases, as many of the movies were not worth saving. Many others, though, are worth remembering if only for their historical value and a glimpse of the times they provide.
These photographs were found in the personal effects of a producer who shall remain nameless; he had a long history of asking his starlets to be measured for costumes and photographed for reference by the women working there. Then the costume department would 'lose' the photographs and he would (apparently) hoard them. Some hundreds of photographs were recovered, although the names of most of the actresses have been lost. Many of them never made another film. Some of them were almost certainly molested and discouraged from staying in such a dirty industry.
But they, at least, are worth remembering.
These photographs were found in the personal effects of a producer who shall remain nameless; he had a long history of asking his starlets to be measured for costumes and photographed for reference by the women working there. Then the costume department would 'lose' the photographs and he would (apparently) hoard them. Some hundreds of photographs were recovered, although the names of most of the actresses have been lost. Many of them never made another film. Some of them were almost certainly molested and discouraged from staying in such a dirty industry.
But they, at least, are worth remembering.
