Newly restored, and premiered at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in October 2026. Music by Leslie and Barbara McMichael.
A father won't let his daughter marry a reporter with an arrest on his record, until a pickpocket hands him a stolen watch and he lands in jail himself.
Brought to you by
Thanhouser Company Film Preservation, Inc.
A family-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit recovering, preserving and publishing what survives of the Thanhouser Film Corporation — New Rochelle's pioneering silent-film studio, active 1909 to 1917.
About our workThe Collection
New to silent film? Start here
The Evidence of the Film
A woman working as an editor at a motion picture factory uses footage to prove her brother's innocence and catch the real culprit. A great early example of a film about filmmaking.
The Cry of the Children
A film speaking out against the horrors of child labor, inspired by the poem of the same name by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. On the US National Film Registry.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
One of the first film adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's novella, it uses dissolve transitions to bring this classic cautionary tale to life.
A Dog’s Love
The “Thanhouser Kidlet" and Shep, the studio's collie, join forces in this "perfectly delightful little film" about the steadfast bond between a girl and her dog.
The Research Center
Resources for scholars and enthusiasts
Read a narrative history of the studio, research the lives and filmographies of leading actors, or browse our poster and portrait gallery.
The EncyclopediaQ. David Bowers’ Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History, published in full: the studio told film by film and person by person.
Posters and mediaLithographed posters, glass slides, heralds and other advertising the studio produced, scanned in full.
Actor profilesProfiles of the 1,180 actors, directors and crew who made the studio’s films, from leading men like James Cruze to its child stars.Preservation
Early silent films: restored, shared, and celebrated
We find the studio’s films in archives around the world, see that they are preserved, and give them a new score and a permanent free home online. Of the 1,076 films Thanhouser released, here is where we stand today.
Find
Prints turn up in strange places — a Montana projection booth, a Dutch collector’s vault, a Norwegian film library, and in New Zealand's film archive. We work with archives around the globe to chase every lead to find surviving Thanhouser productions.
Preserve
Since 1988 the Thanhouser Film Preservation Trust at the Library of Congress has funded the acquisition and preservation of nitrate-based Thanhouser films. We work with archives around the world to assure preservation and access to surviving films.
Publish
A preserved film nobody can see is only half saved. Restorations get a new score, English intertitles where they are needed, and a permanent free home online. Today over 100 copies of Thanhouser films are online for viewing at no charge.