Runtime: 5 Minutes. Studio: Vitagraph.
When someone mentions silent comedy, images of Charlie Chaplin and Keystone Kops come to mind. Yet silent comedy is much more diverse than just slapstick. One of my favorite types of silent comedy dates back to the beginning of narrative cinema. That is the trick film. These films centered on special effects and outrageously absurd stories. Though not well known, The Thieving Hand is a perfect example of one of these films.
Like many of the best films of this kind, the story is very simple and delightfully weird. In this film a one arm is working as a street peddler, when a stranger gives him a new arm from a store that sells "limb replacements." However, the new arm has a mind of its own and ends up stealing jewels which naturally the one-armed man gets blamed for.
This is simply a wonderful little short. The film has a wonderfully absurd and fun premise that I simply find irresistible. Yet the execution is also fantastic. This is one of those films where you get the feeling that the filmmakers had a lot of fun making it. There is a sense of complete freedom and playfulness here. That feeling can be felt by the audience throughout the whole short. The special effects are not only impressive for their time but still hold up very well. They may be simplistic when compared to special effects from later films, but this does not make them any less impressive.
Some sources state that the director of this film was J. Stuart Blackton (best known for the early animated films The Enchanted Drawing (1900) and Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) as well as the trick film Princess Nicotine; or The Smoke Fairy (1909)). However, there is little evidence for this claim and the film's director continues to remain unknown. The film was shot on location in Brooklyn and this look at turn of the century Brooklyn only adds to the fun.
For anyone interested in watching this short, it can be seen on YouTube below. The film is also available on the must-own DVD set, Treasures from American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films.
Resources Used
Treasures from American Film Archives: 50 Preserved Films DVD set program notes by Scott Simmon.
https://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/t1-the-thieving-hand-1908
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