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VERSUS SLEDGHAMMERS (1915) Snakeville comedy

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:38 am
by Richard M Roberts
How can you not love a comedy about a lovable sledgehammer swinging maniac? Rare Essanay Snakeville comedy released September 2, 1915, shot in Niles by Roy Clements, with Harry Todd, Margaret Joslyn, Victor Potel, Ben Turpin, and Robert Mckenzie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW3m5S5Gt3M

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Re: VERSUS SLEDGHAMMERS (1915) Snakeville comedy

Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:53 pm
by Chris Snowden
Steve Rydzewski discovered someone selling 16mm prints of this and the Sweedie comedy SWEEDIE THE LAUNDRESS on eBay over a decade ago. I bought one and Steve bought the other, which he later sold to me. Years later I sold off my collection, and I guess whoever ended up with this VERSUS SLEDGEHAMMERS uploaded a transfer to YouTube.

Anyway, the interesting thing is that both reels were old originals released for the home movie market by a little Chicago company in the 1930s. It's possible that Essanay founder George K. Spoor was the source of the superb pre-print material, which raises a couple of unanswerable questions: how many other Snakevilles and Sweedies did this company release, and if they were indeed printed from old original Essanay negatives, what happened to them all?

Re: VERSUS SLEDGHAMMERS (1915) Snakeville comedy

Posted: Wed May 01, 2019 5:39 am
by Richard M Roberts
[quote="Chris Snowden"]Steve Rydzewski discovered someone selling 16mm prints of this and the Sweedie comedy SWEEDIE THE LAUNDRESS on eBay over a decade ago. I bought one and Steve bought the other, which he later sold to me. Years later I sold off my collection, and I guess whoever ended up with this VERSUS SLEDGEHAMMERS uploaded a transfer to YouTube.[quote]

No, I didn't upload a transfer to youtube, I imagine that the youtuber lifted the transfer from Unknown's NICKELODIA 3 set.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Re: VERSUS SLEDGHAMMERS (1915) Snakeville comedy

Posted: Wed May 01, 2019 11:49 am
by Chris Snowden
Yep, that's David Drazin's music on the soundtrack, so that is indeed uploaded from the DVD. (I wasn't suggesting you'd done it, though.) When the guy steals the transfer and the musical score but changes the opening titles, I guess it's just partial piracy. I dunno.