1924’s ‘Peter Pan’ Leads a Pack of Silent-Era Restorations

Kino on Video is ringing in the holiday season in complete silence with three restored vintage films from the 1920s.

The best of the lot is the delightful 1924 version of James M. Barrie’s beloved fantasy “Peter Pan” ($25 for VHS; $30 for DVD). Featuring the original color tinting and a new score by Philip Carli, this lavish Paramount production made a phenomenal $2 million the first weekend of its release 75 years ago.

Peter, the boy who never grows up, is played by a perky teenager, Betty Bronson. Though she poses and grins a shade too much for modern tastes, she is a sturdy, charming and believable Peter. But, because she scored so much of a success as Peter, the studio found it difficult to cast her in more adult roles. Though she made movies throughout the ‘20s, she went into semi-retirement from the screen after her marriage to a millionaire. Bronson did continue to work onstage and appear on TV series during the ‘60s. She made her final screen appearance in 1971, the year she died, in “Evel Knievel.”

Rounding out the cast is Esther Ralston as Mrs. Darling and Mary Brian, who later played Gary Cooper’s love interest in “The Virginian,” as Wendy. Ernest Torrance gives an appropriate larger-than-life performance as Peter’s nemesis, Captain Hook. Professional animal imitator George Ali, who appeared in the original 1904 stage production of “Peter Pan,” is quite a hoot as the canine nursemaid, Nana. James Wong Howe supplied the beautiful cinematography. Even the flying sequences are quite sophisticated for the time.

Filmed on location in Monument Valley and the Betatakin Cliff Dwellings in Arizona, 1925’s “Vanishing American” ($25) is one of the few early Hollywood films that shows Native Americans in a sympathetic light. Based on Zane Grey’s novel, “Vanishing American” tells the story of a courageous, stoic Navajo war chief named Nophaie (Richard Dix) who struggles to get better treatment for his tribe from the American government. The film is gorgeous to the eye and features several real Native Americans in the cast. Contemporary audiences, though, may find it too stilted and corny to stick with. Dix may have been a heartthrob at the time, but he doesn’t exactly burn up the screen with his acting talent.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” ($25 for the VHS; $30 for the DVD), which was released in 1927, was one of the most expensive productions of the silent era. Based on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Abolitionist novel, the film cost $1.8 million and had a cast of 2,000. Directed by Henry Pollard, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” quite effectively depicts the horrors of slavery and has a nice performance from James B. Lowe as Uncle Tom. There’s a riveting chase sequence on ice floes during the middle of a blizzard, but in general the film hasn’t really stood the test of time. Plus, Margarita Fischer, who plays the pivotal role of Eliza, is quite weak.