Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Mantrap (1926)

This Paramount comedy of city/country cultural clashes stars Clara Bow, Ernest Torrence and Percy Marmont, with able support from Eugene Pallette.

A suspension of disbelief is required to think that Bow’s party-girl character would be attracted to Torrence’s gruff he-man enough to marry him and move from Minneapolis to the Canadian northwoods, but just go with it.

This DVD edition has been mastered from an excellent 35mm print preserved by the Library of Congress film archive.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed by Stephen Horne. Alternately, the film is also presented with audio commentary by Michael Sragow.

This remains our recommended home video edition of the film.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

The film is accompanied by a music score performed by David Knudtson.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 BD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 BD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 BD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

The film is accompanied by a music score performed by David Knudtson.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

This DVD-R edition of Mantrap has been remastered from a 16mm fine-grain duplicate negative copied from the 35mm nitrate print donated by Paramount to the Library of Congress in the 1960s. The source print is dusty and speckled, but respectably detailed. The windowboxed video transfer runs a little faster than natural speed, but not distractingly so. Moving away from the previous Sunrise Silents standard of digitally adding color-tinting, the film is presented here in black & white.

As is noted on the disc, the source negative contains some exterior shots that are considerably lighter than others. This is the result of the processing differences between the older orthochromatic and the new panchromatic filmstocks utilized by cinematographer James Wong Howe. Some shots, including interiors, are overexposed and highlight details are lost.

The film is accompanied by a music score of MIDI-based digital piano music compiled by Rich Oliver.

This remastered edition from Sunrise Silents is a considerable improvement over their previous disc noted below, and is recommended. Collectors wanting to improve their older copies of the film on VHS and earlier DVD releases can do so with confidence. This is the best-looking edition of Mantrap on DVD we have seen.

SUNRISE SILENTS has discontinued business and this edition is . . .

This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a 8mm reduction print that, as usual, is contrasty, soft of image details, speckled and dusty, with other flaws. Some shots in the print are flat and nearly featureless. The video transfer appears to be framed a bit low, with intertitles positioned higher than usual in the frame.

The film is accompanied by a score of MIDI-based music played on synthesizer.

In his recent releases, edition producer Rich Oliver offers more in additional disc features than any other independent home video company. Fatty and Minnie-He-Haw (1914) is presented from a good 16mm reduction print. The Selig-Tribune (1916) is presented from a very-good 16mm reduction print.

Not the best edition we have ever seen, but passable until someone releases a quality edition from the far better-looking surviving 35mm materials of this film.

SUNRISE SILENTS has discontinued business and this edition is . . .

This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a VHS videotape copy prepared from a 16mm reduction print. The picture is quite blurry and a challenge to watch.

The film is accompanied by a music score performed on piano.

Supplemental material includes a nearly worthless Clara Bow filmography.

Not a great presentation and not worth pursuing this out-of-print item.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting music recordings.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available directly from . . .