News & Features
Starts Thursday
The World of Motion Picture Advertising Slides
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Lupe Velez: The Life and Career of Hollywood’s “Mexican Spitfire”
August 10, 2012
Guest contributor Michelle Vogel introduces her latest book, "Lupe Velez: The Life and Career of Hollywood’s “Mexican Spitfire.”
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Heading Down to the Sea for Clara Bow's Birthday
July 29, 2012
Starts Thursday! celebrates Clara Bow's 107th birthday with the coming attraction slide from her first screen appearance.
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Gelukkig Koninginnedag from Annie Bos!
April 28, 2012
Netherlands first major film star, Annie Bos.
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Restored THE SPANISH DANCER Premieres at EYE Grand Opening
April 6, 2012
EYE Filmmuseum opens their (new) doors unveils the new restoration of "Spanish Dancer" (1925)
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And Now a Word from Our Sponsors...
March 16, 2012
There's nothing new about movie stars shilling for advertisers. The practice is as old as the movies themselves.
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Take a Gamble - Identify the Mystery Woman
February 20, 2012
The enduring mystery of the woman in this slide. Who could she be?
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Twenty-Five New Inductees for National Film Registry
December 28, 2011
Announcing the 25 new inductees to the National Film Registry.
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These Amazing Shadows
December 25, 2011
The documentary "These Amazing Shadows" and the National Film Preservation Act."
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This Week! The (Original) Gold Rush in San Rafael
December 23, 2011
Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush."
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Solve the Mystery! Name the Stars!
December 9, 2011
Dancing with the stars! Can you identify these six actors?
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Play Ball with Doraldina!
November 13, 2011
It's Doraldina, "The World's Dancing Sensation!"
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Seeing Double with Eva Novak
November 4, 2011
Eva Novak's seaside image repurposed for multiple film advertisements.
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Trick or Treat with King of the Zombies
October 31, 2011
More than you ever wanted to know about "King of the Zombies."
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Happy Birthday Baby Peggy!
October 29, 2011
Celebrating Diana Serra Cary's 93rd birthday.
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Barbara Kent: 1906-2011
October 25, 2011
A tribute to actress Barbara Kent.
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Gloria Swanson Heads for Buenos Aires in "My American Wife"
October 1, 2011
Venue-produced slides from Oakland, California for Gloria Swanson in "My American Wife."
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The Pharaoh Returns (or) Restoring Like an Egyptian
September 20, 2011
Regarding the restoration of Ernst Lubitsch's 1922 "The Loves of Pharoh."
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A Depressing Slide into the Fifties
September 8, 2011
Is there anything uglier than the mass-produced American slides of the 1950s? Probably not.
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Inverting Negativity - Walter Huston in "A House Divided"
August 31, 2011
Looking at the negative of an amateur-produced slide for William Wyler's "A House Divided."
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Special Feature: Thanhouser Picture
August 18, 2011
Guest contributor Ned Thanhouser on the history and legacy of the pioneering Thanhouser Company.
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The Mystery of Charlie's Stormy Romance
August 10, 2011
Investigating the faux Chaplin film, "Charlies' Stormy Romance."
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Birthday Greetings to The It Girl!
July 29, 2011
A birthday tribute to Clara Bow.
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An Archivist's Insight: Cinema Slides at George Eastman House
June 11, 2011
Guest contributor Nancy Kauffman shares her insight from the George Eastman Museum.
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Mother, I Need You!
May 8, 2011
Tracking down the scoop on "Mother I Need You!" (1918).
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Washing and Greasing with Mom
May 7, 2011
Celebrating Mother's Day.
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Propaganda Between Reels: The Four Minute Men, 1917-1918
May 5, 2011
Guest contributor Krystina Benson on WWI propaganda slides used in American cinemas.
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Gas 'er Up Lindy!
March 30, 2011
Charles Lindbergh lends his name (presumably) to promote Mobile Oil.
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Twin Bill Excitement!
March 15, 2011
Two action-packed pre-war slides and the trailers that go with them.
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Personally Picked Vitagraph Programs - Just For You
March 11, 2011
Vitagraph slides that promote a paired film program, not just a single title.
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Cyrano de Bergerac in Living (Stencil) Color
March 2, 2011
The magic of stencil-coloring in early film.
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Chaplin at (and after) Keystone
February 22, 2011
Chaplin at Keystone. An original advertising slide has yet to surface but there is no shortage of later re-issues, often with new titles.
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For the Love Film Blogathon: Louise Platt, Forgotten No Longer
February 18, 2011
A bit about Louise Pratt and the proto-noir "Forgotton Girls." In support of the Film Noir Foundation blogathon.
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For the Love of Noir: The Film Preservation Blogathon
February 17, 2011
Supporting the Film Noir Foundation's drive to preserve "The Sounds of Fury."
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Oh... So That's What That Stuff Is
February 14, 2011
All about isinglass, an occasional alternative to glass.
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La Boheme: "Virtually Flawless"
February 7, 2011
Lillian Gish is transcendent in King Vidor's "La Boheme."
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Chaplin in San Francisco: A Treat for Our Patrons
January 31, 2011
Charlie Chaplin and his timeless Mutual short comedies.
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Dutch Cigarette Advertisments - Light Up and Enjoy
January 23, 2011
Dutch (or perhaps Belgian) advertising slides for "American" cigarettes.
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A Girl In Every Port
January 1, 2011
Guest contributor Thomas Gladysz on Howard Hawks' "A Girl in Every Port."
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Wishing You a Glori(a)ous New Year
December 31, 2010
Celebrating the new year with a tribute to Gloria Swanson.
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The Management Wishes You a Merry Christmas
December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas from STARTS THURSDAY!
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Dorothy: The (Almost) Forgotten Gish
December 23, 2010
Guest contributor Donna Hill on Dorothy Gish, the other Gish sister.
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Lon Chaney Gets Slapped Around
December 22, 2010
Lon Chaney in the 1924 classic "He Who Gets Slapped.""
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Hollywood Does Its Part
December 19, 2010
Film stars rally to sell Liberty Bonds and in support of U.S. war effort.
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Are You Doing Your Bit?
December 15, 2010
Wartime slides, patriotism and propaganda.
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Pola Negri Loses Her Head in "Passion"
December 14, 2010
Ernst Lubitsch's 1919 German film "Madam DuBarry" released as "Passion." Pola Negri called it the most important film of her career.
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William S. Hart: Hamlet on Horseback
December 6, 2010
A tribute to William S. Hart.
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"Wild Orgie Parties" (!!!)
December 4, 2010
Theater management creates a slide to assure audience that no immoral actors appear in their films.
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Carla Laemmle Remembers Lon Chaney
December 2, 2010
Guest contributor Galen Wilkes with silent film actress Carla Laemmle recalling her times on the set with Lon Chaney.
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"Big Rock's Last Stand" Pushes Back the Envelope
November 22, 2010
Bison's 1912 feature "Big Rock's Last Stand," an early coming attraction example.
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Introducing Alice Calhoun
November 20, 2010
Guest contributor Susann Gilbert talks about her cousin, silent film star, Alice Calhoun.
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Mary Pickford's "worst film ever made"
November 8, 2010
Guest contributor Charles Morrow on Mary Pickford's first, and possibly worst, motion picture.
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Abel Gance's J'Accuse
November 6, 2010
Abel Gance's 1919 masterpiece, "J'Accuse."
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Special Guest Baby Peggy Recalls "The Darling of New York"
November 3, 2010
Guest contributor Diana Serra Cary recalls filming "The Darling of New York."
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Introducing German Kinodia
November 1, 2010
Kinodia: German coming attraction transparencies.
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Happy Birthday Baby Peggy!
October 29, 2010
Celebrating Diana Serra Cary's 92nd birthday.
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Directors Get Into the Picture
October 22, 2010
In slide advertising, the names of some director outshine the stars.
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Slides on TV? Don't Touch That Dial!
October 18, 2010
TELOPs, early television's version of coming attraction slides.
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The Lost Battalion
October 14, 2010
"The Lost Battalion" a semi-authentic re-creation staring them men who were there.
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The Last Raid of the Zeppelin L-21
October 12, 2010
"The Last Raid" may be "stupendous, thrilling, realistic," though not necessarily authentic.
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Censored in Chicago - For Women Only
October 12, 2010
"The Unborn" too sensational for a mixed gender audience.
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The Need for "Speed"
September 20, 2010
Charles Hutchinson in the action-packed serial, "Speed."
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D.W. Griffith Meets the Mystery Woman
September 16, 2010
Is the woman in slide a familiar actress? The quest for her name continues.
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Bollywood!
September 13, 2010
Scratching the surface of Bollywood slides from India.
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Britian Goes Silent
September 11, 2010
British coming attraction slides from the silent era.
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Reporting from Hollywood: Cinecon 46
September 7, 2010
Reporting back from the classic festival, Cinecon 46.
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Sing Along With Roscoe!
September 6, 2010
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle stars in this set of song slides with a film tie-in.
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"Headin' South" with Douglas Fairbanks
August 31, 2010
Douglas Fairbanks' "Headin' South" represented by studio sanctioned slides as well a custom production.
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Going Negative
August 30, 2010
For every positive there must be a negative. The photographic process for creating lantern slides.
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Take Flight with "Dirigible"
August 28, 2010
Though lighter than air, Zeppelins have great visual appeal.
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"Peaks of Destiny"
August 23, 2010
Arnold Fanck and his German mountain epics.
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"Three Weekends" with Clara Bow
August 21, 2010
"Three Weekends" starring Clara Bow. Promotional materials, like this slide, are all that remain.
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DIY Coming Attractions
August 18, 2010
Hand-made slides for promoting film programs or local services.
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Passport to Destiny
August 16, 2010
"Passport to Destiny," that's an awful lot of information squeezed into a single slide.
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The Mystery of St. George and the Dragon
August 12, 2010
Advertising "St. George and the Dragon" (1912), but much later than you might expect.
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Sliding Down Under
August 7, 2010
Coming attraction slides in Australia.
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Shelley Stamp: Lois Weber and "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"
August 6, 2010
Guest contributor Shelley Stamp discusses Lois Weber and "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle."
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Attractions Across the Atlantic
August 4, 2010
Coming attraction slides in England in the 1940s and 50s.
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Thomas Gladysz: Louise Brooks and "The American Venus"
August 3, 2010
Guest contributor Thomas Gladsz discusses "The American Venus."
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The Same - But Different
August 2, 2010
Slide designs as related to other promotional materials.
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Scouring The Continent
July 30, 2010
A couple of venue-produced Dutch slides. Where else in Europe were slides used to advertise coming attractions?
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Dietrich and Davis
July 29, 2010
A couple of favorites for Slide of the Week.
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Remove Before Projecting
July 28, 2010
More (much more) about cardboard-frame slides.
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Coming Attraction Slides in the Middle East?
July 27, 2010
Advertising slides in the Middle East. Are there coming attractions as well?
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See Your Favorite Star in ___________!
July 26, 2010
Personality slides, generic coming attractions starring your favorite actor.
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A Star (System) is Born
July 25, 2010
Origins of the "Star System" and using slides to promote film personalities.
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Women in Bondage!
July 24, 2010
Wartime slides from the Charles Potter company.
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Variations on a (color) Theme
July 23, 2010
Variations in hand-coloring can make every slide unique.
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Anatomy of a Slide
July 22, 2010
A brief overview of slide shapes and formats.
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In the Beginning
July 21, 2010
Film trailers and the first use of commercially-produced lantern slides to advertise motion pictures.
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Slide of the Day: Hell's Angels
July 21, 2010
Howard Hughes' Hells Angels (1930) is today's Slide of the Day.
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Not Just the Silent Era
July 21, 2010
When were lantern slides last used to advertise coming attractions?
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Welcome to STARTS THURSDAY!
July 15, 2010
With STARTS THURSDAY! I hope not only to share my passion for these images, but more importantly to provide a forum for sharing and encouraging others to contribute.