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then convened to try the boy for his crime. Other human-sized birds assemble in the forest to act as jurors and witnesses in the outdoor court. After the jury quickly finds Tommy guilty, the judge sentences him to be beheaded. A flock of birds now forms a "death march" to escort the condemned boy to the chopping block, where the Crow, Birdland's executioner, is holding a large axe. There, Tommy is forced to place his head on the block, but just before the Crow strikes the fatal blow, Tommy awakens. He finds himself back in the reality of
Boyland. His friend is awake too, and says he is hungry again after eating the pie. He suggests that they should find a bird's nest and take some eggs. Tommy refuses. Having gained a new perspective from his nightmare, he vows never again to steal from a nest.
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other boys, Tommy shares the pie with his friend who accompanied him. The pair are tired from running and now do not feel well after devouring the stolen treat, so they lie down next to a big tree and fall asleep. Tommy begins to dream. In a bizarre nightmare he sees himself stealing again, but this time in "Birdland". He is a thief who climbs a tree and robs a bird's nest of its eggs. After taking the eggs, Tommy climbs down and then argues in his dream with his friend. The boys disagree about how to share the eggs, so they leave one another.
584:. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987, pp. 46-47. According to this reference, a full 1000-foot reel of film in the silent era had a maximum running time of 15 minutes. Silent films were generally projected at a "standard" speed of 16 frames per second, much slower than the 24 frames of later sound films. This short, as part of a split-reel, occupied about half of a 1000-foot reel, the common reel size used for theatrical releases in 1911. It therefore had an approximate running time close to seven minutes.
402:. If any master negatives and prints of this film and others by Powers were later physically transferred to Universal, that footage may have been lost in devastating fires that often occurred throughout the motion-picture industry in the silent era, including at Universal. At any given time, many millions of feet of old and new films that had been shot on unstable, highly flammable
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of New York. This short's performers are not credited in 1911 reviews, in plot summaries, or in advertisements published in trade journals at the time. The faces of most of the cast were not visible on screen, for many of the actors wore costumes with full head coverings sculpted to resemble various
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According to reviews in 1911 trade publications, the film began with scenes of a group of boys fishing by a pond in a wooded area known as "Boyland". One of the youngsters brought with him a large serving of pie, which another boy named Tommy steals and runs away from the group. Once he outruns the
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Any film that shows an attempt to depart from the beaten path and blaze a trail of its own may be very properly treated as a notable film. Such a film is "An Old Time
Nightmare," lately done by the Powers Company. There is a great field for pictures of child life and the supply of them is all too
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Later in his dream, as he walks alone across a cornfield, Tommy is confronted by a huge sparrow that is even larger in size than the boy. The bird accuses him for egg theft and calls a equally large police bird, who arrests Tommy and "jails" him in a large bird cage. A trial before Judge Eagle is
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The film in 1911 was generally well-received by reviewers, who judged it to be an amusing oddity as well as a "worthwhile" screen presentation. Powers itself promoted the release as "Without a doubt the most
Original Children's Picture by this or by any other Film Company." The trade journal
322:". Combining films onto one reel not only reduced the number of reels shipped to theaters by distributors, it also reduced the number of reel changes on the projectors at those locations. In September 1911, when Powers Moving Picture Company distributed its split-reel copies of
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The year 1922 provides examples of the scope of the film industry's losses to fires. In that year alone, Universal
Pictures lost over 1,285,000 feet of film in just two fires: "Blast Rocks Universal City...Films Worth Half-Million Are Total Loss" (185,000 feet destroyed),
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scarce...Juvenile productions have been done before, but we find it incumbent upon us to applaud the novelty of the film in question. It is a story of
Birdland. A picture with a distinct lesson and moral for boys who rob birds' nests.
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In some Powers advertisements for this film, it is noted that Fred Walton "produced" the short. During the early silent era, the terms "director" and "producer" were often used interchangeably.
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to be inconsequential releases by a short-lived, secondary production company and were discarded or perhaps were simply left unattended and allowed to decay and disintegrate over time.
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were stored in film vaults and in various studio warehouses. It is more likely, however, that subsequent studio managers deemed this short and its split-reel companion
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The bird accusing Tommy of theft is identified as a sparrow in one published summary of the film and as a wren in a story description by another trade journal in 1911.
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During the silent era, it was common practice for production companies to load two short films onto a single reel, creating what was referred to then as a "
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240:. While the short was identified upon its release as a comedy, it was also characterized in several contemporary reviews as a morality lesson and ideal
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Historical
Newspapers, Ann Arbor Michigan; subscription access through The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
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Not one of the performers is credited in reviews of the film, in plot summaries, or in Powers' advertisements for the production published in
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Powers Moving
Picture Company continued producing films as a single, independent studio for only seven months after the release of
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Online and hard-copy searches for this comedy/fantasy in the cited collections were conducted in June 2020, as well as in the
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The film's title varies in form in 1911 reviews, release listings, and advertisements. It is chiefly cited as
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provides examples of the frequent use of split reels in film distribution during the early silent era.
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594:"List Of Films And Their Release Dates/Powers/An Old-time Nightmare (comedy) (split reel)"
571:(New York, N.Y.), September 30, 1911, p. 1004. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
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653:, The Bulletin, September 30, 1911, p. 43. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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and selectively transferred in 1915 to
Universal's new, burgeoning studio complex in
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No copy of this Powers short is listed among the motion-picture holdings of the
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390:. In May 1912 Powers formally merged with other production companies to form
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The boy Tommy prepares to be executed for stealing eggs from a bird's nest
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625:, September 16, 1911, p. 778. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
535:, September 16, 1911, p. 809. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
682:(Cincinnati, Ohio), September 16, 1911, p. 71. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
641:, September 16, 1911 p. 824. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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Banner advertisement for 1911 films of Powers Moving
Picture Company,
565:"Independent Release Dates/Powers/September 19—An Old Time Nightmare"
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600:, October 7, 1911, p. 41. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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Horsley, David (1914). "David
Horsley Tells History of Hollywood",
669:, October 7, 1911 p. 41. Internet Archive. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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Powers advertisement for the film as second half of split reel
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Uncredited performer as the Sparrow, the victim of egg theft
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The Survival of American Silent Feature Films: 1912-1929
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Uncredited performer as the Police Bird of Birdland
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547:advertisement for this film and other releases,
185:was released as the latter half of a 1000-foot "
551:(Cincinnati, Ohio), September 16, 1911, p. 71.
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105:Motion Picture Distributors and Sales Company
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529:"LOST IN A HOTEL” and "An Oldtime Nightmare"
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300:Uncredited performers as Bird Jurors
830:American children's adventure films
663:"'The Old-Time Nightmare' (Powers)"
635:"The Old-Time Nightmare (Sept. 19)"
297:Uncredited performer as Judge Eagle
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619:"'An Old-Time Nightmare' (Powers)"
195:. Both films were produced by the
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27:1911 American film by Fred Walton
18:An Old-Time Nightmare (1911 film)
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314:Split-reel release and reception
285:Uncredited child actor as Tommy
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200:species of birds, including a
138:7 min (approximately 500 feet)
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870:Lost American adventure films
845:Children's comedy-drama films
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156:intertitles
62:Produced by
56:Fred Walton
52:Directed by
785:1911 films
779:Categories
507:References
320:split reel
187:split reel
122:1911-09-19
81:Production
242:photoplay
83:companies
745:June 15,
720:ProQuest
246:juvenile
226:bluebird
151:Language
72:Starring
202:sparrow
143:Country
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451:, and
379:, the
375:, the
367:, the
236:, and
234:linnet
181:, the
175:silent
739:(PDF)
414:Notes
326:and
244:for "
230:robin
222:stork
206:eagle
183:short
169:is a
770:IMDb
747:2020
473:The
265:Cast
252:Plot
238:crow
218:wren
210:dove
171:lost
768:at
214:owl
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