Coney Island Baby

An evening of silent comedy from the 8mm collection of Captain Zip in the shed. Gallery visuals and music Siena Barnes.

Up the Pole
Man carrying a heavy pole across Paris, is persuaded to begin his journey in a bar. Up The Pole is unlikely to be the original title. Titles were often the first part of a film to decay due to being processed in inferior chemicals. French. Circa 1905. Standard 8mm. Silent. 18fps. 8 mins.

Coney Island
Insane slapstick with a cross dressing Fatty Arbuckle, shot on location at New York’s Coney Island amusement park. A rare opportunity to see Buster Keaton smile and cry. Comique Film Corp. Paramount. 1917. Standard 8mm. Silent. 18fps. 15 mins. (one-reel extract from the two-reeler)

Just Neighbours
The joys of suburban next-door neighbours, could be the first domestic sit-com. Star Bebe Daniels went onto become a Wartime forces sweetheart on BBC Radio, and Harold Lloyd just went on…Rolin Film Co for Pathé Film Exchange. 1919. Standard 8mm. Silent. 16fps. 15 mins.

Four Fifty Footers
When Captain Zip began collecting 8mm film in 1963, he could only afford four minute fifty foot extracts. Here are four favourites; Fluttering Hearts (1927); Fight Night (1926); Our Gang (The Little Rascals) in Exploring A Haunted House; and The Keystone Kops bringing chaos to the streets of Los Angeles in Mack Sennett's Love in a Police Station (1927). USA, 1926-28. Standard 8mm. Silent. 18fps. 16 mins.

Be My King
British silent comedian Lupino Lane and his brother Wallace Lane experience desperate living on a desert island as shipwrecked mariners. Educational Pictures. 1928. Standard 8mm. Silent. 18fps. 25 mins.

His Marriage Wow
Pessimistic chauffeur Vernon Dent disturbs "part child, part dope fiend" Harry Langdon on his wedding day. Mack Sennett. Pathé Film Exchange. 1925. Super 8. Silent. 18fps. 13 mins. (one-reel extract from the two-reeler)