Perhaps the best silent film comedian whom no one's ever heard of is Marcel Perez.

Part of the first generation of screen clowns, his career began in 1900 and flourished until 1928. During that time he helped create the ground rules for the genre in Europe and continued to refine the basics in America. An international favorite, Perez was, along with Max Linder, one of the few direct links between European and American silent comedy, and made over 200 starring shorts. The obscurity that he's fallen into today is due to the scarcity of his surviving work combined with the gypsy-like way he traveled through early screen comedy – constantly renaming himself and his screen character.

For the first time, a comprehensive selection of Perez's films has been gathered together. Ten films – five made in Italy and five from America – have been carefully chosen from the collections of the Library of Congress and the EYE Filmmuseum (Netherlands), most of them from the only known surviving print. Presented in new HD digital transfers and with new scores by Ben Model, this DVD collection provides a loving and long overdue second look at this original and most neglected of silent clowns.

The Films:

ROBINET IN LOVE WITH A SINGER (1911)

ROBINET'S WHITE SUIT (1911)

MADEMOISELLE ROBINET (1912)

ROBINET IS LOVED TOO MUCH BY HIS WIFE (1912)

ROBINET IS JEALOUS (1914)

A BATHTUB ELOPEMENT (1916)

A BUSY NIGHT (1916)

CAMOUFLAGE (1918)

YOU'RE NEXT (1919)

SWEET DADDY (1921)

new piano scores composed and performed by Ben Model. B&W – 120 minutes. Not rated. NTSC. Region 0. (region-free) Produced for video by Ben Model, Undercrank Productions. Films curated by Steve Massa and Ben Model. Musical scores © 2015 by Ben Model, all rights reserved.

*** Be sure to buy the book, Marcel Perez: The International Mirth-Maker, by Steve Massa. An essential companion to the DVD, it contains a thoroughly researched biography, an overview of Marcel Perez's career and films, and also a detailed filmography and more than 50 rare images from Perez's films.