A Fool and His Money (1912 film)

A Fool and His Money
Directed byAlice Guy-Blaché
Release date
  • October 11, 1912 (1912-10-11)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

A Fool and His Money is an American silent comedy film from 1912. It is either the first film[1] or one of the earliest films[2][3] with an African-American cast. It was directed by Alice Guy-Blaché, who is widely considered the first female film director.[1][2][3] The plot involves a man who becomes suddenly wealthy, takes on an aristocratic lifestyle, and becomes engaged to a woman who had scorned him when he was poor. He soon loses his money to a card sharp who immediately wins the affection of his fiancée.

The film was rediscovered by California engineer David Navone, who found four reels of early 1910s films in a trunk he purchased at an estate sale.[4] He gave them to the American Film Institute (AFI).[1] It was preserved by the AFI's National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the Library of Congress Motion Picture Conservation Center.[1] It was shown publicly on July 29, 2018, at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d "A Fool and His Money". AFI FEST. Archived from the original on 2021-04-03. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  2. ^ a b c Justin Chang (July 26, 2018). "Critic's Choice: 'Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers' series gives Alice Guy-Blaché her due". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ a b "The Black Kino Fist: A Fool and His Money (1912)". Scalar Summer Institute at USC.
  4. ^ Alison McMahan (August 2014). Alice Guy Blaché: Lost Visionary of the Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 147. ISBN 978-1501302695.