Expert: DM - 12/25/2008

Question
Hi, I remember watching a French comedy from the 1890s, one of the first movies with a plot! All I remember from the film is a scene of someone being whisked across rooftops in a wheel chair. Any ideas what that film was or where I can look for it? (silently bowing in thanks) Scott

Answer
Dear Scott,

Thank you for asking such an interesting question.

The Apaches of Paris (1905)was a Pathe film, and that may be the film you recall. One could say that any silent film was "one of the first films made," but the truth is that there were many hundreds of films made between the late 1890s and 1905.

Sincerely,
David W. Menefee
Web site: www.thegreatstars.com
Author
Sarah Bernhardt in the Theater of Films and Sound Recordings
The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era
The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era
Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures
George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood

PS: my latest book, The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era, is now available in both hard back and soft back. Please check out www.bearmanormedia.com for more information.

This same publisher is about to put out Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures, a richly researched work about one of the greatest stars of the silent era. I hope you will get several copies for yourself and your friends.