Century-old silent film made in New Hampshire found in Japan antique shop
Photograph: Film Video Digital via YouTubeView image in fullscreenA scene from the 1919 film Van-ar-chy. While researching early cinema related to the word “anarchy”, Okita bought several old film reels at an antique store in Japan and found the comedy starring Van, whom he did not recognize, according to a Van-ar-chy news release.Internet searching then connected Okita with John Tariot, a Van archivist. Tariot identified the comedy as Van-ar-chy, one of Van’s films made in New Hampshire in the communities of Newport and Sunapee.Van, who lived from 1870 to 1950, began his career performing on Broadway and in vaudeville before turning to film-making.
- ▪Photograph: Film Video Digital via YouTubeView image in fullscreenA scene from the 1919 film Van-ar-chy.
- ▪While researching early cinema related to the word “anarchy”, Okita bought several old film reels at an antique store in Japan and found the comedy starring Van, whom he did not recognize, according to a Van-ar-chy news release.Internet sea
- ▪Tariot identified the comedy as Van-ar-chy, one of Van’s films made in New Hampshire in the communities of Newport and Sunapee.Van, who lived from 1870 to 1950, began his career performing on Broadway and in vaudeville before turning to fil
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| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/sep/28/century-old-silent-comedy-new-hampshire-found-japan |
| Publication time | Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:25:25 GMT |
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A scene from the 1919 film Van-ar-chy. Photograph: Film Video Digital via YouTubeView image in fullscreenA scene from the 1919 film Van-ar-chy. Photograph: Film Video Digital via YouTubeSilent filmCentury-old silent film made in New Hampshire found in Japan antique shopBilly B Van’s 1919 comedy Van-ar-chy found by student in Sendai will be shown in early November in New HampshireMaya YangMon 28 Sep 2026 13.25 EDTLast modified on Mon 28 Sep 2026 13.48 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleA silent comedy filmed in New Hampshire more than a century ago was recently found in Japan, and plans have been set to show the film in early November in the state where it was created.Van-ar-chy, a 1919 film starring the US entertainer and film-maker Billy B Van, was rediscovered by Kohei Okita, a film…
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