John Bunny

A frustrated, protective father tries to stop his secretaries from falling in love with his charming daughter, Betty. He hires two secretaries— only for them to be in on the practical jokes Betty plays on her father.

Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated "trick films", such as those of Blackton and Cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by Walt Disney. The film was also the first to be created using keyframe animation.

Pioneer filmmaker J. Stuart Blackton was intrigued by the idea of a film about the history of the movies as early as 1915. He finally released a 52-minute feature called The Film Parade that was shown in New York and favorably reviewed by "Variety" in 1933. He continued tinkering with the film for the rest of the decade, and later filmmakers and distributors used Blackton's footage for stock or to produce their own variously titled and truncated versions. -UCLA Film & Television Archive

This short features clips from silent films (mostly unidentified) of the 1910's, accompanied by humorous commentary. Highlighted are early appearances of stars still recognized today (e.g., Lionel Barrymore, Norma Shearer), as well as stars whose careers did not extend to the sound era (e.g., John Bunny, Edith Storey).

Bunny and Marsh attend a show and both fall in love with a charming danseuse.

Old Von Shultz, the first violin, finds as he grows older a longing for companionship. Hurrying from the theater the old musician finds little Helen sleeping on the steps of the stage door. He picks her up and takes her to his comfortably furnished home. The old man even grows childish, he is so pleased with the little tot's presence and he gives her the love with which his heart abounds. The next day he learns from the morning papers that Helen's mother and father were lost in a fire. He spends many happy hours with her, playing with her toys. He takes her to rehearsals with him, where she is the pet of the musicians. One year later Helen shows an aptness for the stage. This delights the old musician and the child grows nearer and dearer to his heart. A sad blow, however, comes to him when the Children's Society take the little girl away from him and once more he finds himself a lonely old man.

Bunny's niece has a beau who is so addicted to drink that her father will not permit her to marry him. He has given the lad a chance, but when he comes upon him drink again, he orders his daughter to break it all off. She goes to Uncle Bunny, who thinks up a scheme to cure the drunkard. In pursuance of this, he brings the lad, so drunk that he can't see straight, to his home and by dressing up in woman gear, and by borrowed kids, makes him think he has married a fat widow with many children. The poor lad is so greatly worried that when he wakes up next morning, he really swears off. So. in the end, the lovers are happy.

A compilation of early-day silent films that serves as a glimpse back to the formative days of the movie industry as a salute to Hollywood's Golden Year, so proclaimed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce as 1953.