THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN (1928) silent serial on Sprocket Vault DVD
Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 2:12 am
Okay Gang, here's the skinny on the latest Sprocket Vault DVD release:
https://vciclassicfilms.files.wordpress ... creen4.pdf
(Phoenix AZ) The Sprocket Vault announces its DVD release of the
1928 silent serial THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN, a ten-part “Super
Chapterplay of the Air” starring silent era-serial superstar Walter
Miller and Eugenia Gilbert produced by the long-lasting Poverty
Row Producers, The Weiss Brothers.
Featuring vintage biplanes and exciting action, THE MYSTERIOUS
AIRMAN was the last silent serial produced by The Weiss Brothers
and one of the last silent serials ever produced. Thought to be a “lost”
film, Producer Kit Parker, who purchased the holdings of Weiss
Global International in 2004, was approached by film archivist, Jeff
Joseph of SabuCat Productions, who offered to loan a near-complete
original 35mm tinted nitrate print which was missing only the first
reel of Chapter Nine. The print was lovingly restored and transferred
(recreating the missing reel from stills and plot synopses), and a new
piano score was commissioned from ace silent film accompanist
Dr. Andrew Simpson, main accompanist of the Library of Congress
Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia.
The Sprocket Vault’s DVD release of THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN also features a complete and
comprehensive commentary track by noted film historian Richard M. Roberts. He weaves a story about
the production and the people involved, from stars Miller and Gilbert, co-stars like Robert Walker and
Dorothy Talcott to Director Harry Revier and the production staff of Weiss Brothers-Artclass Pictures, a
family of low-budget film producers whose filmmaking operations kept them in business from the 1910s
up to the 1990s, outlasting some of Hollywood’s major studios.
The Sprocket Vault’s release of THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN heralds an important rediscovery in
film history, as few silent serials exist today in anything resembling complete form, much less in lovely
tinted original print quality. It’s a fun, light-hearted cliffhanger that shows the joys of Saturday Matinee
moviegoing and what could be done on less-than-spectacular budgets as well as illustrating the early days
of flying, seat of your pants filmmaking from the seat of your pants days of Aviation.
WHAT WAS ONCE LOST, IS NOW FOUND...
After 89-Years, Silent Serial Makes Its DVD Debut!
The MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN
DVD and Special Features Produced by Kit Parker and Richard M. Roberts
BONUS FEATURES:
DVD BASICS:
Retail: $24.99
Amazon Price: $19.99
Language: English title cards
Running Time: 185 minutes
Color: Original color tints
Year: 1928
Rating: Not Rated
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 – 4X3
Audio: Music Score - Dolby Digital Stereo
1. “Flying Cadets” (1928) 2-reel short with great vintage plane shots filmed at Brooks Field, TX
2. New York Censor Board File (some scenes were required to be cut for the serial to be shown in the
State of New York!)
3. Gallery of original posters and lobby cards
And you can pre-order it from Amazon now:
https://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Airma ... ous+airman
Available April 21st.
RICHARD M ROBERTS
https://vciclassicfilms.files.wordpress ... creen4.pdf
(Phoenix AZ) The Sprocket Vault announces its DVD release of the
1928 silent serial THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN, a ten-part “Super
Chapterplay of the Air” starring silent era-serial superstar Walter
Miller and Eugenia Gilbert produced by the long-lasting Poverty
Row Producers, The Weiss Brothers.
Featuring vintage biplanes and exciting action, THE MYSTERIOUS
AIRMAN was the last silent serial produced by The Weiss Brothers
and one of the last silent serials ever produced. Thought to be a “lost”
film, Producer Kit Parker, who purchased the holdings of Weiss
Global International in 2004, was approached by film archivist, Jeff
Joseph of SabuCat Productions, who offered to loan a near-complete
original 35mm tinted nitrate print which was missing only the first
reel of Chapter Nine. The print was lovingly restored and transferred
(recreating the missing reel from stills and plot synopses), and a new
piano score was commissioned from ace silent film accompanist
Dr. Andrew Simpson, main accompanist of the Library of Congress
Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia.
The Sprocket Vault’s DVD release of THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN also features a complete and
comprehensive commentary track by noted film historian Richard M. Roberts. He weaves a story about
the production and the people involved, from stars Miller and Gilbert, co-stars like Robert Walker and
Dorothy Talcott to Director Harry Revier and the production staff of Weiss Brothers-Artclass Pictures, a
family of low-budget film producers whose filmmaking operations kept them in business from the 1910s
up to the 1990s, outlasting some of Hollywood’s major studios.
The Sprocket Vault’s release of THE MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN heralds an important rediscovery in
film history, as few silent serials exist today in anything resembling complete form, much less in lovely
tinted original print quality. It’s a fun, light-hearted cliffhanger that shows the joys of Saturday Matinee
moviegoing and what could be done on less-than-spectacular budgets as well as illustrating the early days
of flying, seat of your pants filmmaking from the seat of your pants days of Aviation.
WHAT WAS ONCE LOST, IS NOW FOUND...
After 89-Years, Silent Serial Makes Its DVD Debut!
The MYSTERIOUS AIRMAN
DVD and Special Features Produced by Kit Parker and Richard M. Roberts
BONUS FEATURES:
DVD BASICS:
Retail: $24.99
Amazon Price: $19.99
Language: English title cards
Running Time: 185 minutes
Color: Original color tints
Year: 1928
Rating: Not Rated
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 – 4X3
Audio: Music Score - Dolby Digital Stereo
1. “Flying Cadets” (1928) 2-reel short with great vintage plane shots filmed at Brooks Field, TX
2. New York Censor Board File (some scenes were required to be cut for the serial to be shown in the
State of New York!)
3. Gallery of original posters and lobby cards
And you can pre-order it from Amazon now:
https://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Airma ... ous+airman
Available April 21st.
RICHARD M ROBERTS