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

Paths to Paradise (1925)

This feature comedy stars Raymond Griffith and Betty Compson, with support from Tom Santschi, Bert Woodruff, Leo White and Edgar Kennedy.

Confidence man (Griffith) meets confidence woman (Compson) and the pair independently persue the largest diamond in the country, owned by rich codger (Woodruff). Protecting the diamond are three detectives (including Santschi and Kennedy) who are nonetheless helpless to keep the theft from happening. As there is no honor among thieves, Griffith and Compson must learn to trust each other while they fall in love and conspire to remove the diamond from its safe right under the detectives’ noses.

Sparklingly directed by Clarence Badger, the film is a prime example of an American feature comedy of the 1920s. Smart, bubbly and slick, the film avoids falling into a routine formula through the combined boyant charms of Griffith and Compson. The chase sequence is buoyed by a hairraising subjective car chase down a curving mountain road. With the combined motorcycle squads of (ostensibly) San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego in pursuit, the sequence builds to a motorcycle chase version of Cops (1922).

The final reel of the film is thought to have been lost to print decomposition.

— Carl Bennett

This Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition has been mastered in 2K high-definition from an excellent but incomplete 35mm nitrate positive held by the Library of Congress film archive. The scan is relatively free of dust, speckling and other flaws, with only some very slight frame jitters and occasional exposure fluctuations. Some digital image repair is evident in the final minutes of the presentation to hide the advancing nitrate decomposition that destroyed the final reel of the source print. Two sections lost to decomposition have footage inserted from a 35mm safety duplicate negative. Missing footage in the presumed lost seventh reel is represented by new intertitles explaining the remaining action and dialog. Overall, what a delight to watch.

The film is accompanied by a fun and entertaining music score composed and performed on virtual theatre pipe organ by Ben Model.

Supplementary material includes “Raymond Griffith: Silent Comedy’s Silk-Hatted Secret,” a video overview of Griffith’s career (11 minutes).

This is currently our recommended home video edition of the film, and not likely to be surpassed by another soon.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Ben Model.

Sight unseen, this is currently our recommended DVD home video edition of the film.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

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

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (BD-R) edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
This Region 0 Blu-ray Disc (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.
This Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is also available directly from . . .

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

Probably not a great presentation.

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

This DVD edition has been mastered from a good quality 8mm reduction print, which is flecked with dust, debris and speckling, flat in contrast and blurry.

The film is accompanied by a hodge-podge of preexisting recordings. The supplemental section is nothing more than a set of still frames from this subpar print.

Not at all recommended, and not worth $20.00.

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.