Author Archive: Retro

The favorite slave girl of a tyrannical sheik falls in love with a cloth merchant. Meanwhile, a hunchback clown suffers unrequited love for a traveling dancer who wants to join the harem.

Animated industrial short

Abandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths.

Mabel has just gotten engaged during a housewarming party of which her mother is the hostess. When an annoying party guest persuades Mabel to dance with him, Mabel hurries through the dance and then goes to look for her fiancé, only to discover him caressing another woman. Her fiancé finds not only Mabel, but also her mother, very displeased, and not inclined to believe his explanation.

Sunshine Molly is an extant 1915 American comedy silent film directed by Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber and written by Lois Weber. The film stars Lois Weber, Phillips Smalley, Adele Farrington, Margaret Edwards, Herbert Standing and Vera Lewis. The film was released on March 18, 1915, by Paramount Pictures.

Two yeggmen hold up Helen, on night duty at Ferndale, lock her in a closet, and escape. Later, standing on a bridge over the freight yards, Helen sees the two bandits aboard an outgoing freight, and drops onto the roof of the car from above as it crosses underneath. A chase along the roofs of the speeding cars ensues, all of the participants falling into the water as the freight crosses a river. The train is brought to a halt, Helen is rescued, the thieves are arrested, and Helen looks forward to next week’s hazard.

Sam the white-washer pines for the affluent Lindy, but she has dumped him in favor of another. Sam finds a large sum of money, and goes to New York to enjoy a shopping spree, buying new clothes, jewelry and a car with a driver. Back home, Lindy flips for Sam and his newfound wealth, and dumps the rival. Sam throws an engagement party where he indulges in a friendly game of cards with his former rival and another man, who unbeknownst to Sam, is a card shark. Sam loses his bankroll, jewels, clothes and car in short order, Lindy runs off with the card shark, and Sam resigns himself once again to a life of white-washing.

Animated industrial short