How You Can Help
Snitz Edwards in "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1922).
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
In order to improve the user experience we have signed up for secure hosting. Now all pages on our website use the secure connection https://. All users can be confident that the information they submit cannot be viewed by others, and that their sensitive data - passwords, messages, credit cards, etc. - is completely safe. Welcome to the new safe and secure Silent Hall of Fame website! Happy browsing!
Dear Silent Hall of Fame users,
Silent Hall of Fame invites all classic film lovers to see our award-winning documentary.
The purpose of the film is to let the public know about Silent Hall of Fame and its efforts to restore the legacy and bring belated recognition to distinguished silent film personalities who have not been rewarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
We envision this film as the initial step that will bring the mission of Silent Hall of Fame to a broader audience and gain more supporters. We intend to create a feature biographical documentary in the near future, as soon as the necessary funds become available.
You can become a part of this effort by making a tax-deductible contribution to help your favorite silent star receive belated recognition and glory.
How You Can Help
There is much that you can do to help us here at Silent Hall of Fame. Below are just some of the ways that you can contribute to our success. Please remember that our success is your success, too. By helping us you will realize your own dreams of having your favorite star receive respect, love and public recognition.
- You can make a tax-deductible contribution to help us find and show to you the films of your beloved star(s), and support our fight to preserve the name and legacy of your favorite silent movie personality for future generations. You can do this either by credit card, using the "Donate" button, or mailing a check to the address on our Contact Us page. Our team of volunteers works long hours to promote our mission. We do not get paid salaries, but there are many expenses that we have to cover: rent, utilities, insurance, fees, gas, postage, office supplies, website maintenance and support, band fees, movie acquisition fees, such as copyright check fees, access fees and transfer fees. We can't succeed without your support.
- Here are examples of our film expenses, for which we need your help:
We discovered that the EYE Film Institute in the Netherlands has the only copy in the world of the film Under the Black Eagle (1928), but has asked for $8,000 to make a digital copy on DVD. We need your help to fund the repatriation of this film so that we can show it to the public for free.
We also discovered that the National Archive in Paris France has the only copy in the world of the films Indiscreet Corrine (1917) and The Spite Bride (1919), but has asked for $6,000 to make a digital copy on DVD. We need your help to fund the repatriation of these films so that we can show them to the public for free.
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has 60 films freaturing the stars of Silent Hall of Fame. Their price is $5,000 for each feature film. We need your help to fund the acquisition of these films so that we can show them to the public.
The Library of Congress has many films with our stars, and charges $1,200 for each feature film. We need your help to fund the acquisition of these films so that we can show them to the public.
All these finds were the result of our initial research. As we expand the scope of our investigation we will locate many more lost and misplaced masterpieces. - We are asking our users to help us find some rare films so that we can show them for free on our website. The list of films that we are looking for is posted under the Free Movies top menu item in an article entitled Help Us Find These Films.
- We need volunteers to do internet research. This is a win-win situation both for us and for you. For those who have yet to start a full-time job, volunteer work counts as job experience and we will be happy to provide a work reference. For those who are between jobs, working as a volunteer is a great way to fill gaps in the work history. For those who are retired, volunteer work is a great way to support your favorite silent star.
- If you are a descendant or a relative of any of our stars, or if you know the whereabouts of such descendant or relative, please contact us. We would like to discuss with you how we can bring recognition to our stars in a joint effort.
- You can spread the word about Silent Hall of Fame and its efforts to bring back the names and legacy of silent movie stars back from oblivion: talk to your friends, neighbors, colleagues, associates and put a nice word about us in your blogs, panels, forums and discussion boards.
- You can contribute to building this site by sending us photos of your favorite star(s).
- You can volunteer to write a biographical article for your favorite star(s).
- You can offer your time to volunteer and help us source fundraising opportunities.
- We appreciate the contributions of movie industry professionals. If you are a writer, a journalist or a historian who has written or is working on books or articles about silent movie personalities, we would like to hear from you. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your work and how you support the idea of bringing the names and legacy of under-rated but illustrious silent stars back from oblivion.
- You can write letters or send emails to Warner, Fox, Paramount, etc. urging these big companies to release the silent films that they keep in their vaults to Silent Hall of Fame or make them available to the public. Specifically, Warner keeps copies of the wonderful and critically acclaimed comedy "Rookies" (1927), as well as "Detectives" (1928).
- You can write letters or send emails to the Library of Congress urging them to help repatriate silent films that we have identified in foreign archives. Specifically, the British Film Institute holds the only known copy in the world of the film "Fools of Fashion" (1926), but has refused to make a copy available to Silent Hall of Fame.
- Silent Hall of Fame also discovered that George Eastman House has the only copy in the world of 5 rare films, including Madcap Madge (1917), Broadway Arizona (1917), The Follies Girl (1919), Everybody's Sweetheart (1920) and War and the Woman (1917). They refused to let us borrow copies of these films so that we can show them for free on our website, without giving any reasons why. Writing to George Eastman House may help persuade them to make a copy of the films available to Silent Hall of Fame or make them available to the public.
- You can make suggestions to us which films of your favorite star(s) that are not available on DVD you would like us to look for in domestic and international archives.
- You can send us by mail photos, home movies and other memorabilia that you believe may be important for our research of the legacy of your favorite star(s).
- And yes, you can make a tax-deductible financial contribution if you can afford it, did we mention this? Making a donation can be very rewarding: first, you feel good about helping your favorite star(s) and second, by doing so you may also be able to reduce your taxes! It doesn't get any better than this, does it?
Here are two easy ways to help Silent Hall of Fame at no cost to you.
1/ If you buy stuff at Amazon you can help us at no cost to you. Amazon has set up a charitable foundation called AmazonSmile, which will donate to Silent Hall of Fame an amount equal to 0.5% of the purchase price that you pay. When you register please select Silent Hall of Fame as the charitable organization that you want to support.
2/ eBay has a program called Giving Works. If you sell or buy stuff on eBay you can use it to raise funds for Silent Hall of Fame. Again, please select Silent Hall of Fame as the charitable organization that you want to support.
You can also use this shortcut anywhere appropriate, from a Facebook post to a Twitter tweet to drum up support for Silent Hall of Fame:
ebay.to/1JJ1RRd
Here is a very efficient way to help Silent Hall of Fame:
Many major employers have programs that match their employees' donations to charitable organizations like Silent Hall of Fame. Such employers are big banks like Bank of America and US Bank, and large companies such as Chevron, Microsoft, etc. If you work for one of these employers and you donate to Silent Hall of Fame your tax-deductible contribution will be doubled and will go a long way towards helping your favorite silent star to receive better public recognition. Here is a list of Companies that Match Donations and/or Volunteer Hours.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT FILMS KEPT IN ARCHIVES IN THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD
As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the legacy of our stars we seek to recover their rare films from archives in the USA and round the world. We are happy to report that as a result of our extensive research we have found hundreds of films featuring our stars. All these films are waiting to be reconnected with the public after many, many years. Most of the movies have not been seen by any silent movie lovers for three or four generations.
You can help us acquire these films and show them on our website with your tax-deductible contribution. This will help your favorite silent movie personalities receive better public recognition, and in the future, improve their chances to get a nomination for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because none of these films are available for viewing anywhere else, this will also help your favorite website, Silent Hall of Fame, become really unique in the quest to bring back from oblivion the names of your favorite silent movie stars.
Here are some of the films that we located in archives that currently are not available for viewing anywhere. We want to show them to you, the classic movie lovers of the world:
His New York Wife (1926) featuring our star Alice Day,
Fools of Fashion (1926) featuring our star Marceline Day,
The Black Horse Bandit (1919) featuring our star Helen Gibson,
Life in the Balance (1915) featuring our star Helen Holmes,
Her Shattered Idol (1915) featuring our star Robert Harron,
Her Child's Honor (1911) featuring our stars Florence Lawrence and Arthur V. Johnson,
Queen of the Moulin Rouge (1922) featuring our star Martha Mansfield,
Baby Mine (1917) featuring our star John S. Robertson,
The Deerslayer (1913) featuring our star Florence Turner,
Everybody's Sweetheart (1920) featuring our star Olive Thomas,
War and the Woman (1917) featuring our star Florence La Badie,
The Lady of the Photograph (1917) featuring our star Shirley Mason,
Tropical Nights (1928) featuring our star Patsy Ruth Miller.