Kindling

(Cecil B. DeMille, US 1915, 74 min., 35mm)

Silent Tuesdays. Despite a reputation for providing escapist entertainment, a large number of early films concerned themselves with social problems. Kindling, dealing with urban poverty, is one of the early efforts by the great Cecil B. DeMille, and it represents one of the finest examples of such socially committed cinema at the start of the twentieth century. Live piano by Philip C. Carli. Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.