Being a film historian, a silent film enthusiast, and an avid baseball fan, this set was tailor made for me and I eagerly awaited its release since Kino first announced it. Perhaps it was the keen anticipation or maybe I’ve become spoiled by recent silent film releases but I was somewhat disappointed by this set at first but it quickly grew on me. Part of the reason had to do with the fact that I watched the shorter material first saving the two features for last.
I found the visual quality of HIS LAST GAME, THE BALL PLAYER AND THE BANDIT, BUTTER FINGERS, and CASEY AT THE BAT to be below the standards usually set by Kino. Most are from 16mm transfers which cut the tops off the pictures and have serious contrast issues while the source prints on a couple are really beat up. A number of these prints come from the Library of Congress which means that they are probably all that’s available but a little restoration work would have been nice. FELIX SAVES THE DAY is battered in places but this is the best looking version I’ve ever come across.
Moving on to the longer works the quality gets a lot better. It was especially nice to see HEARTS AND DIAMONDS from 1914 which would be one of the last efforts of the Falstaffian sized John Bunny (he died in 1915) once the most popular film comedian in the world. When he enters the ball park it’s clear the fans are cheering him for who he is. This and the two features make the entire 2 DVD set more than worthwhile. The completely fictionalized HEADIN’ HOME shows Babe Ruth in 1920 when he was still very athletic although there is not as much baseball action here as you would expect. Ruth has a natural ability before the camera which was later used to good advantage in other movies such as PRIDE OF THE YANKEES.
THE BUSHER is one of the few surviving features of ill-fated movie pioneer Thomas H. Ince and stars Charles Ray, Colleen Moore and a young John Gilbert. The print quality on both is very good and THE BUSHER even has its original florid intertitles. The newly recorded organ and piano music by three different performers makes for a proper accompaniment to the various offerings. Overall I’m glad to have this set and recommend it not only to lovers of silent film but to social historians and to baseball fans as well. It’s absolutely fascinating to see how they did things differently so long ago and invariably a little sad when you see a simpler time that has gone for good.
The Capsule Critic 