Vintage original 35 x 24 in. (89 x 61 cm.) Swedish poster from the historic and important early feature-length white slavery-themed silent film drama, TRAFFIC IN SOULS (or WHILE NEW YORK SLEEPS), released in 1913 by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company and directed by George Loane Tucker.
Released in Sweden as Kampen Mot Den Vita Slavhandeln, the design features striking artwork of a white slaver who has kidnapped a young woman and threatens violence to control her. The artist's signature is featured near the left border above the film's title. Folded as originally issued, is it in fine+ condition.
*"With aid from her police-officer sweetheart, a woman endeavors to uncover the prostitution ring that has kidnapped her sister and the philanthropist who secretly runs it."
*(source: IMDb)
*"Traffic in Souls (also released as While New York Sleeps) is a 1913 American silent crime drama film focusing on forced prostitution (white slavery) in the United States. Directed by George Loane Tucker and starring Jane Gail, Ethel Grandin, William H. Turner, and Matt Moore, Traffic in Souls is an early example of the narrative style in American films. The film consists of six reels, which was longer than most American film of the era.
Traffic in Souls was based on a story by the film's director George Loane Tucker. The scenario was written by Walter MacNamara who also served as producer with Jack Cohn. Executive producers include King Baggot, Herbert Brenon, William Robert Daly, and Carl Laemmle. The film was shot and produced by Universal Film Manufacturing Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century.
Additional footage was shot on location at Ellis Island and Manhattan. Its subjects were working women who had immigrated to the United States, and it was released at a time when the country was undergoing a "moral panic" over the issue of prostitution. While the film was passed by the National Board of Review as suggesting methods of controlling prostitution or reform of a prostitute, the film's release eventually resulted in the adding of "white slavery" to the list of topics banned under the Hays Code.
Terry Ramsaye, an early film historian, wrote in his book A Million and One Nights, that Traffic In Souls was made in under four weeks with a small budget of $5,000. He also claimed that all the money came from George Loane Tucker, Herbert Brenon, William Robert Daly, King Baggot, and Jack Cohn. Furthermore, he also wrote that the film had to be made in secret because Carl Laemmle (the future head of Universal Film) tried to stop the film's production and did not want to release it when completed. While Ramsaye's account of the Silent Era is influential, many of his claims have been challenged or rejected by contemporary scholars. Film historian Kevin Brownlow found evidence that the film actually started with $25,000 provided by theater magnate Lee Shubert, former U.S. Representative Joseph L. Rhinock, and others. And rather than being made in secret, the film actually had a large cast and expensive shooting locations in two states, while Laemmle supported the film because the public's intense interest in white slavery promised substantial profits.
The film is notable for its pioneering use of camera movement while shooting scenes. Most films made prior to 1913 relied heavily on scenes shot head-on with a stationary camera. Some filmmakers had been moving tilting or panning their cameras to track a moving object or follow action. For example, Harold M. Shaw panned his camera during one of the final moments of The Land Beyond the Sunset (1912) while Alice Guy-Blaché mounted a camera on the back of a moving truck in Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913). What made Henry Alder Leach's cinematography so groundbreaking is how he deliberately choreographed his camera movements to convey meaning and anticipate action—a technique that predicted the future of film-making."
*(source: Wikipedia)
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