{"id":6445,"date":"2015-12-29T20:41:10","date_gmt":"2015-12-29T20:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/?p=6445"},"modified":"2026-04-08T16:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:10:03","slug":"one-hundred-trips-around-the-sun-a-look-back-at-1915","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tenkmovies.com\/?p=6445","title":{"rendered":"One thousand nine hundred and fifteen trips around the sun: A look back at 1915"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1915:<\/p>\n

The first transcontinental telephone call\u00a0took place;<\/p>\n

The Rocky Mountain National Park\u00a0was established;<\/p>\n

The US Congress designated the US Coast Guard\u00a0as a military branch;<\/p>\n

Typhoid Mary\u00a0was placed in a quarantine;<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Millionaires\u00a0defeated the Ottawa Senators to win the Stanley Cup;<\/p>\n

Babe Ruth\u00a0hit his first career home run;<\/p>\n

Leo Frank\u00a0was lynched for the alleged murder of a thirteen year old girl;<\/p>\n

Frank Kafka’s novel The Metamorphosis\u00a0<\/em>was published;<\/p>\n

The Ford Motor Company\u00a0produced its one millionth car;<\/p>\n

US President Woodrow Wilson married his second wife, Edith Wilson;<\/p>\n

Zero Mostel, Billie Holiday, Anthony Quinn, Orson Welles, Les Paul, Ring Lardner Jr., Arthur Miller, Bob Kane, Sargent Shriver, Augusto Pinochet, Roland Barthes, Eli Wallach, Frank Sinatra, and Edith Piaf were born;<\/p>\n

While outlaw Frank James and Booker T. Washington died.<\/p>\n

The following is list of my ten favorite films released in 1915:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10)\u00a0The Italian<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Poor Venetian gondolier Pietro “Beppo” Donnetti loves Annette Ancello, but her father refuses to allow the marriage until Beppo can prove his worth, so\u00a0Beppo emigrates to America. There, he borrows money from an Irishman, Bill Corrigan, and repays him by helping Corrigan win an election.<\/p>\n

Annette arrives and the two are married and have a child, but their son is sickly and needs expensive, pasteurized milk. When Beppo is robbed on his way to buy the milk, he attacks the thieves and is arrested. He begs Corrigan to help the sick child while he’s in jail, but the cold-hearted Irishman refuses and the baby dies. Beppo briefly considers retaliation against Corrigan’s family, but decides against it.<\/p>\n

Despite what many modern viewers will see as uncomfortable stereotypes, this is an excellent film about the immigrant experience: the pitfalls, the potential, the highs, and the lows. Beppo’s experience is similar to many who came to a new world seeking opportunity. Hard work pays off, but chance plays a large role in determining the immigrant’s success.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9) A Fool There Was<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A rich lawyer and diplomat is sent to England without his wife and daughter. During the journey, he’s seduced by a “vampire” (Theda Bara).<\/p>\n

Because of this infidelity, his seemingly perfect life falls apart.<\/p>\n

Beyond Bara, there’s not a lot to recommend in this anti-adultery PSA.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\u200eThe<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8) The Golden Chance<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Mary, a judge’s daughter who grew up surrounded by the finer things in life, lives in poverty with her day laborer husband, Steve. She works as a seamstress to make ends meet, while her alcoholic husband turns to a life of crime.<\/p>\n

When Mary’s wealthy employer requests her help in negotiating a lucrative business deal, it leads to an unexpected (and unconsummated) romance with the client, Mr. Manning.<\/p>\n

When Steve discovers what Mary’s been doing, the ensuing confrontation ends with tragic results.<\/p>\n

Cecil B. Demille’s film about a woman of means who marries below her station is a snapshot of a bygone attitude about women. Despite the subtle character work and inventive cinematography, this is an elaborate morality play. Mary is redeemed, but we are meant to chastise her for not being more selective in her choice of husband. Demonstrating the complexity of women’s rights issues in the early twentieth century, Mary’s simultaneously a victim of circumstance and the cause of her own misery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7) The Cheat<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Acting on a tip, Edith Harvey takes $10,000 out of a charity fund and foolishly invests it with her friend.<\/p>\n

An eavesdropping wealthy Japanese man, Hishituru Tori (Sessue Hayakawa) pays her debt, but expects sex as payment.<\/p>\n

When Edith’s husband, Richard, has an unexpected financial windfall, Edith attempts to repay Tori, but he refuses to alter their deal and\u00a0brands her on the shoulder to reinforce his claim. After a struggle, Edith shoots her tormentor, but Richard arrives and takes the blame.<\/p>\n

At her husband’s sentencing, Edith reveals the brand, exposing Tori and exonerating her Richard.<\/p>\n

Early sex symbol Hayakawa was effective as the lecherous Tori, but the film’s attitudes about race are unsettling, suggesting non-white men want nothing more than to bed the white wives of rich Americans.<\/p>\n

Cecil B. Demille’s film is a fascinating look at the importance of honesty to a successful marriage, and a reminder of the often ugly realities of America’s melting pot in the early twentieth century.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Charlie<\/p>\n

6) The Tramp<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The debut of Chaplin’s Tramp is a rousing success. The hapless hobo thwarts some bad guys and falls in love, but after realizing the girl is better off without him, sends her off to be happy.<\/p>\n

It’s formulaic, but when the formula is this good and the execution this great, no one cares.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Les<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5) Les Vampires: Episode Three – The Red Cryptogram<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Phillipe stole a ledger from the body of the Grand Inquisitor and uses it to decode their crimes, leading him to a club where he meets the intoxicating Irma Vep (who’s inspired every femme fatale since).<\/p>\n

Phillipe’s mother is kidnapped by The Vampires and escapes by killing her captor. Even by episode three, it’s obvious Feulliade was not holding anything back. The plot is a little incredulous. How does this criminal gang operate with such impunity?<\/p>\n

Having Phillipe’s whole family at risk is as ballsy as anything which has come since.<\/p>\n

As far as silent films goes, this is the introduction everyone should experience.<\/p>\n

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