There are currently 3 collections of the pioneer Thanhouser Film Studios available on DVD. Of the three, this one, in my opinion, ranks third. There are two main reasons for this assessment. 1) The majority of the titles included are just not that interesting compared to the other two releases and 2) the condition of some of the films is not up to the standard of the other two.
I do not mean to dismiss this set as any surviving film from the early days of cinema is worthwhile to a student of film, I just want to point out that the Marengo Films edition from 2003 and the recent release of the Library of Congress set are better places to start if you want to view Thanhouser movies. This 2 disc collection of films comes from the Eye Museum in The Netherlands.
There are 9 short films dating from 1910-1915 and one feature length film from 1917. Top offerings are HER NEPHEWS FROM LABRADOR and JUST A SHABBY DOLL which are back to back on DVD 1. The lone feature A MODERN MONTE CRISTO is the highlight of DVD 2. Also included are the documentary EYE ARCHIVE TOUR showing the stored films at the Eye Museum and footage of the James Cruze/Marguerite Snow wedding in 1913.
They were 2 of Thanhouser’s top stars. Cruze would later become a major Hollywood director during the silent era responsible for THE COVERED WAGON and OLD IRONSIDES. There is also commentary provided on CINDERELLA (DVD 2) as well as a 4 page booklet and 3 post cards that reproduce original Thanhouser movie posters.
The Capsule Critic 