The Third Alarm

Made by Tiffany Films as an early talkie this orphanage drama features a spectacular fire and well shot special effects. An iron left on the ironing board causes the blaze and the last few reels deal with the massive fire, shot on stages and with convincing model work. A lot of the main blaze and seems silent footage and probably was; Anita Louise is the young nurse rescuing wandering orphans and of course features in the last reel 'fireman save my child' ladder sequence. Tiffany deserve a higher place in the history of film making and seemed set to straddle the transition from sound to talkies. Making mostly urban college/shop girl and society silents they made a few Ken Maynard western talkies until about 1932 when they collapsed in the Depression. One film called MAMBA was shot in color and should somehow be rescued and re evaluated as should any surviving Tiffany films. We need to know more about this interesting company.