Last week Biograph Entertainment (aka: Images Film Archive, aka: Sprockets & Such, the latter being my favorite name for them) decided to retire some of their 16mm films – and they were kind and generous enough to donate over 50 of these to the university film program where I work. Yes, our faculty still show 16mm films in their classes – and for my part, now that summer has rolled around and I’ve gotten around to putting up my backyard screen, I’m excited to do a bit of “quality control.” Here are some of the feature-length titles I’ll probably get to first, along with excerpts I’ve picked from my old Biograph catalog (pictured above) to describe them.

One of the things that’s nice about the Biograph catalog is that each feature film gets both a general description and a critical excerpt from a reputable critic. I’ll choose one or the other, and warn you that the first one contains spoilers.

The Earrings of Madame De (Max Ophuls, 1953) “…is one of the mast visually dazzling films in our collection. Earrings that were once given to Madame De by her husband (and sold by her to pay off debts) are later given to her by her lover. Only now to they have special meaning to her. But she is trapped by the earrings into revealing her infidelity to her husband. Because of that she loses her lover and dies of a broken heart. This is a remarkable portrait of the vanity and frivolity of the upper classes in the 19th Century.

And Then There Were None (René Clair, 1945) “Ten people are invited for a weekend to an isolated house on an island off the English coast. Once there, they soon discover that their unknown host has judged each of them guilty of some murderous crime and condemned them to die, one by one, according to the terms of a old nursery rhyme. Clair’s famous light touch with comedy works perfectly with Agatha Christie’s stylish little mystery.”

The Naked Eye (Louis Clyde Stoumen, 1957) “This swiftly moving documentary about the fun and art of still photography traces the development of the art from its primitive beginnings with da Vinci, through the pioneer work of the Daguerre and Brady to the contemporary art of Weston, Bourke-White and Eisenstadt. The film’s climactic color sequence is a soaring tribute to the life and career of Edward Weston. Footage from Willard Van Dykes’ The Photographer show the artist at work in California and Mexico; and it shows a magnificent selection of his pictures from different periods, revealing the astonishing range and development of his art.”

The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958) “In The Magician, a tale of mid-19th century Sweden, Bergman unfolds another of his cinema parables, this time in the form of a fascinating story of ghosts and the supernatural, clothed in a clash between ignorance and intelligence. His plot resembles a chess problem: seemingly impossible solution until you discover the key; and then in an instant becoming exquisitely clear. If you probe, you will uncover inner meanings within the simple story, each playing upon each other like the brilliances refelected from a cut diamond; and each, in its own way, richly rewarding.” (-CUE MAGAZINE)

Pepe le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937) “Pepe le Moko has a background of poverty and violence, a revelation of character through milieu and central character who is destroyed by a woman. Pepe is neigher explicitly nor implicitly condemned. He is trapped in urban squalor, finds love, and tries to break away with his ideal woman on a beautiful ship. He runs towards the sea through a cobweb of tenement-lined alleys, but finds his way barred by destiny in the shape of an iron gate and a police ambush.” (Georges Sadoul, FILMS)

The Thief of Bagdad (Raoul Walsh, 1924) “This Raoul Walsh – Douglas Fairbanks – William Cameron Menzies epic will still astound audiences even today. Menzies created one of the great set designs in history. Fairbanks transcended himself into a super performer with his graceful acrobatic vitality. Walsh was one of the best “action” directors ever to make a film in Hollywood. These talents created in Thief of Bagdad one of the classsic American silent films.”

Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936) “Things to Come is one of the most interesting films of prophesy ever made. It used the growing fears of the time that a new world war was about to take place as a springboard for H. G. Wells’ comments on the next hundred years. The film begins in 1936 predicting that war will begin shortly and last for the next thirty years. After that the civilized world will be destroyed. Those remaining fall back to primitive life styles, using what is left of modern technology. Slowly civilization reocovers, and by the end of the film in 2036, man is prepared to conquer space.”

Of course, with over 50 titles to choose from I’m leaving out a ton of gems. But other titles, like Los Olvidados, Wild Strawberries, Metropolis, The Trial, etc.,  are all ones I’ve already seen several times, so I’m cherry-picking the ones that I’m overdue to watch. I’d like to personally thank Bob Harris and Joanne Lawson for their massive contribution to our film archives, we’ll also be raising our glasses to you throughout the summer as we preview these great titles in my backyard.