Dennis J. Duffy
@djduffy.bsky.social
Retired audio-visual archivist (ca. 2017). I write about BC & Canadian film history (& maybe Japanese cinema) and hope to find an outlet for my ramblings. Meanwhile my blog, Seriously Moving Images, is at https://movingimagesweb.wordpress.com
A film trove: video of 1937 footage that Oscar Burritt shot & hand-processed (but never edited/finished), labelled "Bats Out of Hell." It shows midget-car-racing (6-ft-long cars) at Hastings Park, Vancouver. The source film had many processing & exposure issues, & MANY TAKES! #bcfilm #silentfilm
July 30, 2025 at 10:26 PM
A film trove: video of 1937 footage that Oscar Burritt shot & hand-processed (but never edited/finished), labelled "Bats Out of Hell." It shows midget-car-racing (6-ft-long cars) at Hastings Park, Vancouver. The source film had many processing & exposure issues, & MANY TAKES! #bcfilm #silentfilm
From 85 years ago: a fascinating amateur film made by three Vancouver cinephiles. "Three There: Galiano Island 1940," an "experimental travelogue/memoir," was shot by the trio during a long weekend on one of BC's Gulf Islands.
#Silentfilm #BCfilm #Cdnfilm
STORY/VIDEO LINK: tinyurl.com/3vrzksud
#Silentfilm #BCfilm #Cdnfilm
STORY/VIDEO LINK: tinyurl.com/3vrzksud
July 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM
From 85 years ago: a fascinating amateur film made by three Vancouver cinephiles. "Three There: Galiano Island 1940," an "experimental travelogue/memoir," was shot by the trio during a long weekend on one of BC's Gulf Islands.
#Silentfilm #BCfilm #Cdnfilm
STORY/VIDEO LINK: tinyurl.com/3vrzksud
#Silentfilm #BCfilm #Cdnfilm
STORY/VIDEO LINK: tinyurl.com/3vrzksud
Here you can view a Canadian experimental film from Vancouver [ca. 1940] that hasn't been seen publicly for decades. It's "and--", by Dorothy Fowler & Margaret Roberts of Vancouver. #silentfilm #cdnfilm #bcfilm tinyurl.com/yw2n357b
July 6, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Here you can view a Canadian experimental film from Vancouver [ca. 1940] that hasn't been seen publicly for decades. It's "and--", by Dorothy Fowler & Margaret Roberts of Vancouver. #silentfilm #cdnfilm #bcfilm tinyurl.com/yw2n357b
The 1949 documentary film "In the Daytime" is an impressionistic portrait of life in Vancouver on a summer day. Made by two talented amateurs, Stanley Fox and Peter Varley, it holds an important place in the history of British Columbia filmmaking. tinyurl.com/4p55w5r6
June 30, 2025 at 9:46 PM
The 1949 documentary film "In the Daytime" is an impressionistic portrait of life in Vancouver on a summer day. Made by two talented amateurs, Stanley Fox and Peter Varley, it holds an important place in the history of British Columbia filmmaking. tinyurl.com/4p55w5r6
What's the greatest line in cinema?
May 14, 2025 at 10:10 AM
What's the greatest line in cinema?
The wonderful #SilentFilm star Sumiko Mizukobo; she made 39 films before retiring from the screen as the Japanese film industry transitioned to sound. She is best remembered for her luminous appearances in Naruse's Apart from You and Ozu's Dragnet Girl (both 1933).
April 26, 2025 at 11:13 PM
The wonderful #SilentFilm star Sumiko Mizukobo; she made 39 films before retiring from the screen as the Japanese film industry transitioned to sound. She is best remembered for her luminous appearances in Naruse's Apart from You and Ozu's Dragnet Girl (both 1933).
I Flunked, But... (1930), Tokyo Chorus (1931), and Dragnet Girl (1933) are more remarkable silents from Ozu.
April 26, 2025 at 9:51 PM
I Flunked, But... (1930), Tokyo Chorus (1931), and Dragnet Girl (1933) are more remarkable silents from Ozu.
a film that takes place where you’re from
April 17, 2025 at 2:59 AM
a film that takes place where you’re from
Yes, indeed, a memorable film--overshadowed only by MIzoguchi's other feature from 1936, "Sisters of the Gion."
February 5, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Yes, indeed, a memorable film--overshadowed only by MIzoguchi's other feature from 1936, "Sisters of the Gion."
Four film performances that devastated you.
May 4, 2024 at 4:16 PM
Four film performances that devastated you.
My wife collects vintage postcards, A recently-purchased auction lot included this image of the Great Daibutsu (Buddha) at Kita-Kamakura. Yasujiro Ozu is associated with Kamakura; his grave is there, and the Daibutsu appears in two of his films, "There Was A Father" (1942) and "Early Summer" (1951).
April 22, 2024 at 10:28 PM
My wife collects vintage postcards, A recently-purchased auction lot included this image of the Great Daibutsu (Buddha) at Kita-Kamakura. Yasujiro Ozu is associated with Kamakura; his grave is there, and the Daibutsu appears in two of his films, "There Was A Father" (1942) and "Early Summer" (1951).
4 films you love and gave five stars, one each from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s
#Filmsky
🎥
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Early Summer (1951)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Sorcerer (1977)
#Filmsky
🎥
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Early Summer (1951)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Sorcerer (1977)
April 20, 2024 at 8:45 PM
4 films you love and gave five stars, one each from the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s
#Filmsky
🎥
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Early Summer (1951)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Sorcerer (1977)
#Filmsky
🎥
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Early Summer (1951)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Sorcerer (1977)
Sounds interesting. I went looking for a review; this is all I could find locally.
April 11, 2024 at 2:14 AM
Sounds interesting. I went looking for a review; this is all I could find locally.
For anyone contemplating retirement--some cheery thoughts from 1931. I am now well into the "after" picture. It's not so bad. Beats going to work every morning.
February 23, 2024 at 7:48 PM
For anyone contemplating retirement--some cheery thoughts from 1931. I am now well into the "after" picture. It's not so bad. Beats going to work every morning.
[singing like Paul McCartney:] "....that leads... to my door...."
February 22, 2024 at 7:23 PM
[singing like Paul McCartney:] "....that leads... to my door...."
Oh, and "The Twenty-One Balloons" by William Pene du Bois.
February 21, 2024 at 8:53 PM
Oh, and "The Twenty-One Balloons" by William Pene du Bois.
In that case, madame, I would suggest Louis Slobodkin's "The Spaceship Under the Apple Tree" to follow.
February 21, 2024 at 8:47 PM
In that case, madame, I would suggest Louis Slobodkin's "The Spaceship Under the Apple Tree" to follow.
I skipped all of dem and went for "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet" by Eleanor Cameron. It rocked!
February 21, 2024 at 8:41 PM
I skipped all of dem and went for "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet" by Eleanor Cameron. It rocked!
If you see this, post a book you’ve read more than once 💙📚
February 20, 2024 at 4:25 PM
If you see this, post a book you’ve read more than once 💙📚
Not quite. I forgot this reference in the Similkameen Star, Sept. 28, 1917.
February 16, 2024 at 9:22 PM
Not quite. I forgot this reference in the Similkameen Star, Sept. 28, 1917.
"The Welby Stage Coach" by Jessie Ewart Bird, in The Seventh Report of the OHS (1937):
February 16, 2024 at 8:03 PM
"The Welby Stage Coach" by Jessie Ewart Bird, in The Seventh Report of the OHS (1937):
Princeton Star, June 7, 1918
February 16, 2024 at 6:32 PM
Princeton Star, June 7, 1918
Vancouver Sun, Oct. 3, 1917, p. 7:
February 16, 2024 at 5:54 PM
Vancouver Sun, Oct. 3, 1917, p. 7:
When I see photos of this stagecoach, I really regret the loss of A. D. Kean's 1917 film "Told in the Hills," which supposedly vanished after a single screening. I WANT TO SEE IT.
February 16, 2024 at 5:50 PM
When I see photos of this stagecoach, I really regret the loss of A. D. Kean's 1917 film "Told in the Hills," which supposedly vanished after a single screening. I WANT TO SEE IT.
Brilliant. Brilliant.
February 15, 2024 at 12:09 AM
Brilliant. Brilliant.