This Is the Life

The Film Lost To Time

July 2024 •English

A film buff's obsession with an elusive, possibly nonexistent film spirals into a dangerous descent, blurring the line between reality and madness.

Primitive Woman

April 1918 •English

A young woman of wealth revenges herself on a young author whose peculiar ideas about women have led him to act and speak in an insulting manner. This young man isolates himself in the mountains for the purpose of writing a story on the primitive woman, where he is discovered by his friends, to whom he vows that no woman shall cross his threshold. The mischievous young woman of the story, determined to place him at her feet, goes secretly to the home of a mountain woman with whom she lives in the guise of a wild girl of the hills. Purposely sliding over an embankment where she knows she will fall in his path, she is rewarded by having him pick her up and carry her to his cabin, where she pretends to be too much injured to be moved that day. The mountain woman is sent for and the two remain in the cabin of the author for several days. Finally she is discovered by her people, when it also comes to light that the woman-hating author has fallen to the charms of his pretty visitor.

Where Is My Father?

October 1916 •English

The series of adventures and hardships experienced by the Chevalier de la Graverie as seen through the eyes of his devoted dog, Black.

Not So Long Ago

September 1925 •English

Against the backdrop of New York City of the early 1850s, a young woman -- naively seeking to win the love she reads about in the romance novels she devours -- finds one prospect in an earnest denizen of the Bowery, and another in an elegant young aristocrat. Focusing on the bygone era's fashions, the novelty of the bicycle-built-for-two, and an inventor's quest for the horseless carriage, the film gently stirs the audiences' nostalgia for simpler times.

Scandalous Tongues

October 1922 •English

Nell Bradley, the daughter of a wealthy bootlegger, who is encouraged to improve herself through education by Reverend Charles Alden.

String Beans

December 1918 •English

Farmer Toby Watkinsm whose fanciful poetry does not impress his exasperated uncle, leaves the farm to become a subscription solicitor for the "Sawbert Weekly Clarion." In Sawbert, Toby meets Mayor Lot Morris' daughter Jean, and the shy young people fall in love. Crooked stock promoter Kendall Reeves arrives in town and unveils his plan to open a string-bean cannery.

The Olympic Hero

June 1928 •English

A story with a college background revolves around sprinter Charles Paddock, utilizing newsreel footage of the 1924 Olympic Games.

Perjury

August 1921 •English

Robert Moore is the general manager of the firm run by John Gibson. After Gibson makes several visits to Moore's home, unfounded rumors begin of a relationship between Gibson and Moore's wife, Martha. Moore is discovered with a revolver in his hand, standing over Gibson's dead body. In fact, Moore’s best friend committed the murder, but Moore is convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Impulsively Martha remarries to a man who proves to be a brute. When Moore is set free after the real murderer confesses, he visits his former wife just as her husband attacks her. In a struggle, Moore shoots him in self-defense and is then reunited with his family.

Garragan

October 1924 •German

Filmed and set in Germany this drama starred American leading lady Carmel Myers with sets designed by the art director Heinrich Beisenherz.

The House Behind the Cedars

January 1927 •English

Rena is a young woman of mixed race. Although she is romantically pursued by an upwardly mobile African American named Frank, Rena does not decide in his favor. Her appearance allows her to pass for white, as she is of majority European ancestry, although she has grown up in the black community. She meets and falls in love with George Tryon, a young white aristocrat. But as their relationship deepens, Rena believes she has to acknowledge her African ancestry. Considered a lost film.

Florence Nightingale

March 1915 •English

The film portrays the life of Florence Nightingale, particularly her innovations in nursing during the Crimean War (1854–56).

The Forbidden Lover

July 1923 •English

Yankee sea captain lands on the coast during the old Spanish days to trade with the ranch owners. He meets a girl who is betrothed to a man she loathes. After a series of adventures and narrow escapes he shows up the unscrupulous ranch owner and wins the girl.

Jolts and Jewelry

January 1917 •English

Pa Glitters and his daughter are beset upon by Slippery Ike who is intent on separating them from their jewels until Bunco Charley comes to their rescue in fine comic fashion.

Dr. Lauffen

January 1918 •Hungarian

Fifth Avenue

January 1926 •English

When her cotton crop is burned, Barbara Pelham, a beautiful southern girl, comes to New York to find work as a fashion designer, staying with Mrs. Kemp, a woman she meets on the northbound train. In Mrs. Kemp's house, Barbara encounters Peter Heffner, a wealthy stockbroker, and discovers from him that she has taken up residence in a whorehouse. There is a police raid, but Barbara escapes arrest and returns home. Heffner's son, Neil, goes south to inspect some family property and there meets Barbara, with whom he falls in love. They decide to be married, and she accompanies him to New York, where she meets the elder Heffner for a second time. He denounces her as a whore, but Barbara goes to Mrs. Kemp, who explains the misunderstanding to everyone's satisfaction.

What Money Can't Buy

July 1917 •English

Madison Hale, a wealthy American financier, is bidding against Govrian Texler, the financial advisor to the King Stephen III of Maritizia, for the concession to run a transcontinental railway through the country. After Madison's son, Dick, completes his college education, he decides to visit Maritizia, the birthplace of his great-grandfather. There he meets Princess Irenia and they fall in love, arousing the jealousy of Ferdinand Vaslof, Govrian's nephew, who is also in love with the princess.

Peer Gynt - 1. Teil: Peer Gynts Jugend

April 1919 •German

Based on Henrik Ibsen's play.

West of the Water Tower

January 1924 •English

Young marrieds Guy & Bee are ostracized by their supposed friends in town when Bee discovers she is expecting but the legitimacy of their union is called into question. Eventually the squire who performed their ceremony becomes aware of the scandal and produces the necessary certificate.

Turks and Troubles

March 1917 •English

Hafed, a Turkish prince, imprisons an American girl and her father. The girl sends for Jim, who attempts a rescue. Jim is captured, but Hafed's jealous wife helps them escape. When the initial escape fails, Jim returns in disguise as a dancing girl. He dances for Hafed, luring him into a private encounter where Jim's identity is revealed. A fight leads Jim to take refuge in a tree. Surrounded by guards, Jim summons a warship. A shell from the warship blows up the tree, landing Jim safely on the battleship's deck and securing his escape.

Footlights and Fakers

March 1917 •English

Short comedy set against the backstage lives of a group of performers.