Blogging for Cupid
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Cullen Landis and Elinor Field in Cupid in Quarantine (1918).
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The NFPF is thrilled to announce the 2015 “For the Love of Film”: The Film Preservation Blogathon, an annual fundraising event where bloggers and film lovers around the world show their support for preservation and access. This year’s edition starts today and continues through Sunday. And for the third time, the NFPF has been chosen as the charitable recipient.
In 2010, “For the Love of Film” helped the NFPF preserve three lost gems from the cache of American films found at the New Zealand Film Archive: Sunset Limited (1898), The Sergeant (1910) and The Better Man (1912)—all of which were subsequently included in the Treasures 5: The West DVD set.
In 2012, they raised money for the web premiere of the surviving reels of Alfred Hitchcock’s The White Shadow (1924)—another discovery from the New Zealand Film Archive. Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 film fans across five continents, we were able to host a no-charge, three-month engagement on our website. In recognition of this unique, public-spirited partnership, “For the Love of Film” and the NFPF were honored with a special award by the National Society of Film Critics.
This year, “For the Love of Film” will be raising money to preserve and present Cupid in Quarantine (1918), one of the films being returned to the U.S. through the NFPF's new repatriation project with the EYE Filmmuseum in the Netherlands. This charming comedy about two lovebirds faking smallpox features the forgotten actress Elinor Field, who got her start in a series of Strand Comedies and later starred in such films as The Blue Moon (1920), The Kentucky Colonel (1920), and the 15-part Selig serial The Jungle Goddess (1922). Regarding her performance in Cupid in Quarantine, Motion Picture World raved, “Miss Field’s vivaciousness permeates the entire picture, filling it with life and action and a humor that is contagious.”
A big thanks to the “For the Love of Film” organizers: Marilyn Ferdinand (Ferdy on Films), Roderick Spencer (This Island Rod), and Sam Juliano & Allan Fish (Wonders in the Dark). Check out their sites for the daily round-ups of contributions. And if you want to chip in to save Cupid in Quarantine, just click here. Let the blogging begin!