A Jealous Guy (1916)

Another sensational find is a Dutch version of the one-reeler A Jealous Guy, one of the first films which Semon co-wrote, directed and in which he also starred¹. Young fledgling Vitagraph-director Larry acting in a larger role is an observation contrary to the claims of any Semon filmography available². They assign Larry's first feature role to the Aubrey one-reeler Boasts and Boldness (1917). Identification of the film turned out difficult for just this reason resulting in my reading, re-reading and reading again every synopsis that was released after Boasts and Boldness. Just because I eventually began to suspect the existence of a Vitagraph release that had not been filed I started to consult earlier synopses. Further difficulties emerged from the deteriorating nitrate positive copy as Elif reports. At times it was hard to see the image because of the vertical scratches (cables? what's the technical term in English?), while some other scenes were quite clearly visible. The stock that reads Kodak 1918 "The Vitagraph Co. Paris" on its edge mark has kept quite well, considering the circumstances. The perforation proves continuously chipped, but the stock is not extremely fragile. The copy was in 5 or 6 loose cuts, which were rolled in the wrong order as also a note on the old can stated. The coupures are now rolled according to the release synopsis, joined together with regular office scotch tape. The tape needs to be removed and cleaned as soon as possible because a thick layer of sticky material is spreading on the emulsion. The anyway scarce Dutch intertitles were unfortunately not numbered. There is no begin and no end. Probably the first three quarters of the film have survived, except for the head title and credit sequence. The remaining plot of A Jealous Guy goes like this:

Larry appears to be just married and deeply in love. Either he or his wife buys a pearl necklace. In the morning Larry leaves for work. He is employed in a regular, crowded office. He takes a smitten look at his wife's photo and telephones her home. Meanwhile a man [Hughey Mack] is sneaking into their house, making it to the room of Larry's wife. He appears to be her brother. When Larry calls, Hughey answers. Jealous Larry is alarmed, takes a gun from his drawer and quits the office in order to dash home. He leaps onto a fast moving car only to attract the attention of a crowded group of policemen who start following him with their auto. Larry arrives and enters the living room with the gun in his hands. His wife tries to explain but he won't listen. The cops arrive at the scene...

Comparing the synopsis' cast list with her notes Elif comes up with an intriguing observation: in the version that she saw Larry plays Wildo Winsome, husband of Mrs. Winsome. According to the cast list, however, the actor Billy Baxter took the role of Wildo Winsome. Could it be that is was Larry who had assumed the pseudonym Billy Baxter? Another Billy Baxter turns up in the cast list of The Battler only released a few weeks earlier. Although copies of The Battler are extant that might prove another alias appearance of Larry Semon they are unfortunately not available for viewing. One of the unaccessible copies is held at the Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen/Germany. My appeals to view the film were rejected by the TV station for copyright reasons.