Author and preservationist Tracey Goessel is the founder of the Film Preservation Society and is in the thick of restoring all of the D.W. Griffith Biograph films. So it makes sense that she selects two films he made in his first year of directing, while also addressing comedy, morbidity, and the enduring appeal of dogs doing things.

Tracey is the author of The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks. She is also on the board of directors of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, has published numerous articles on silent film history, and has lectured on Fairbanks widely.

Films mentioned:

• The Adventures of Dollie (1908) - D.W. Griffith
• Troubles of a Grass Widower (1908) - Max Linder
• The Thieving Hand (1908) - J. Stuart Blackton
• The Dog and His Various Merits (1908) - unknown
• An Awful Moment (1908) - D.W. Griffith
• The Good Bad-Man (1916) - Allan Dwan
• The Half-Breed (1916) - Allan Dwan
• The Guerilla (1908) - D.W. Griffith
• The Little Tease (1913) - D.W. Griffith
• Gold and Glitter (1912) - D.W. Griffith
• The White Rose of the Wilds (1911) - D.W. Griffith
• The Scarlet Drop (1918) - John Ford
• The Great Train Robbery (1903) - Edwin S. Porter
• Life of an American Fireman (1903) - Edwin S. Porter
• Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896) - Auguste and Louis Lumière
• Rough Sea at Dover (1895) - Birt Acres
• Rescued by Rover (1905) - Cecil Hepworth and Lewin Fitzhamon
• Robin Hood (1922) - Allan Dwan
• The Birth of a Nation (1915) - D.W. Griffith
• His Trust (1911) -...