1914 E2 - Susan Potter

Susan Potter, Senior Lecturer in the School of Art, Communication and English at the University of Sydney, wrote the book Queer Timing: The Emergence of Lesbian Sexuality in Early Cinema. While its scope is broader than any one year, and just one of Susan’s 1914 selections is referenced within it, she also mostly highlights female agency and subversion before and behind the screen with her picks.

Susan’s research investigates the relation of cinema as modern mass medium to the intensification of sexuality since the late nineteenth century and audiovisual media's role in queer identity and culture formation. Their essay on Filibus (1915) is forthcoming in The Silent Film Companion: A Recovered and Expanded History, edited by (former guests!) Martin Johnson and Liz Clarke.

Visit the5bestfilmsofeveryyearever.com/list to submit your own top five for 1914!

Films and resources mentioned:

The Perils of Pauline (1914) - Louis J. Gasnier and Donald MacKenzieFantômas (1914) - Louis FeuilladeA Florida Enchantment (1914) - Sidney DrewMabel’s Strange Predicament (1914) - Mabel NormandKid Auto Races at Venice (1914) - Henry LehrmanPandora’s Box (1929) - G.W. PabstFilibus (1915) - Mario RoncoroniShoulder Arms (1918) - Charlie ChaplinThe Tramp (1915) - Charlie ChaplinFantômas (1913) - Louis FeuilladeOne A.M. (1916) - Charlie ChaplinMabel’s Dramatic Career (1913) - Mack SennettMädchen in Uniform (1931) - Leontine SaganGilda (1946)...