The Film Preservation Blogathon Blasts Off!

Blogathoners, we’re all strapped in and ready to go. 3…2…1…Blast off! For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon is underway!

Our film is Cupid in Quarantine (1918), a one-reel Strand Comedy that tells the story of a young couple conspiring to stay together by staging a smallpox outbreak. The amount we’re shooting for is $10,000 to go to the to cover laboratory costs for the film’s preservation as well as a new score for the film’s web premiere. The streaming film will be available free of charge to everyone online at the NFPF website.

Ferdy on Films will play host May 13 and 14. Then will take over May 15 and 16. Bringing us home on May 17 will be our new host blog . Blogathoners, please post the link to your blog post in the comments section of the host blog, and it will be added to the home page for that day. Remember, every blog post must include the donate link (with or without button) or it will not be included on the host pages. The link is https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1397805?code=Blogathon%202015.

Donors, we have a number terrific prizes that will be awarded through random drawing at the end of the blogathon. They include Farran Smith Nehme’s outstanding screwball novel , Mike Smith’s fascinating , three DVD sets of American Treasures from the New Zealand Film Archive, a collection of , and more.

According to estimates, at least 50 percent of all films made for public exhibition before 1951 have been lost. Move into the silent era, and the estimate shoots up to about 90 percent. We are very lucky to have this opportunity to restore this irreplaceable part of our history. Please join us in having fun and help us reach our goal by donating today!

Wednesday, May 13

Steve Bailey at Movie Movie Blog Blog kicks us off with a post on , a lost film that fans of the duo hope will one day be found. Thanks for the fascinating post, Steve, that tells us why we’re holding the blogathon!

Le from Critica Retro in Brazil offers a post on . Yes, of course Metropolis is included! The translator will help you read her post easily.

Katherine at Silents, Please! has a stunning article on complete with gifs and many versions of the man in the moon. You’re going to want to spend some time with this one!

The always entertaining David Cairns of Shadowplay joins us with a post about the cult classic (?) . Ouch!

Beth Ann Gallagher of Spellbound by Movies opens with a stunning photo of Kay Francis. That would be enough, but then she talks about . Read and learn – and enjoy Kay!

Our good friend Peter Nellhaus at Coffee, coffee and more coffee takes on an earthbound space flick from Hammer Film Studios, helmed by Terence Fisher: . It’s a bit of a duffer of a film, says Peter, and not only because it stars Howard Duff.

The indomitable Lee Price at 21 Films has given us a master class in early scifi and disease in film with his post on Excellent info, Lee, as always!

Michaël Parent of Le Mot du Cinephiliaque offers us a look at master genre director Paul Verhoeven’s . As Verhoeven is a big favorite around here, we are especially excited about this blogpost!

Mike Smith, a great friend to film and a generous prize donor to this blogathon, has a typically excellent post on . The Flicker Alley DVD is one of his favorite DVD releases, and Mike will tell you why.

Joe Thompson brings an entertaining twist to this blogathon with his appreciation of the first cowboy movie star . Check out all the fascinating photos, newspaper clippings and more at his fine blog The Big V Riot Squad.

Christianne Benedict at Krell Laboratories turns her superb writing and critical talents to three films based on scifi writer Robert Heinlein works, . Thanks for watching the last one, Christianne, so we don’t have to!

Good friend Jamie Uhler at Attractive Variance has a cinephile dream post on recently departed , which explores his characteristic themes of memory and guilt. Great work, Jamie.

John Hitchcock at Hitchcock’ World has a unique post on as seen through the films Conquest of Space and Gravity. His look at changing gender roles is very timely and useful. Thanks for the thoughtful post, John!

The delightful Donna Hill muses on a very strange scifi film from Russia, (1924) at her excellent blog Strictly Vintage Hollywood. Donna really knows her silents, so this is must-reading!

Ben Alpers is rallying the writers at U.S. Intellectual History Blog who will be writing blogathon posts all week. Check out their sure-to-be-fascinating posts .

Following on the heels of Ben Alpers’ introductory post at U.S. Intellectual History Blog is Andrew Hartman’s post on “. He looks at a prime example in the much-beloved TV series “Battlestar Galactica.” Strong post, Andrew!

Ferdy on Films’ own Rod Heath has a classic post for a truly inspired scifi classic that just gets better with age: Blade Runner.

Thursday, May 14

Our second day leads off with WB Kelso of Micro-Brewed Reviews and a review of . He says, “It was pretty terrible, and yet, I kinda dug it.” Well, we dig your great review!

David Cairns of Shadowplay returns with a second post, an wonderfully unique that deliver a socko scifi message. So much fun, David!

Lee Price at 21 Films returns with another post on First Men in the Moon dealing with ! There are some great screencaps of both, especially the humanoid insects! Cool stuff, Lee!

Kimberly Lindbergs, one of the TCM Movie Morlocks, previews the line-up of British science fiction films airing on the station today with a . Something about monsters and outer space really brings out the best in illustrators!

My own post for Ferdy on Films is a reboot of an earlier review of a film that seems to hold a very warm place in the hearts of fascists and carpetbaggers everywhere, an adaptation of an H. G. Wells story, Things to Come (1936).