''A Fool and His Money'' is an American silent comedy film from 1912. It is either the first film or one of the early films with an all-African American cast. It was directed by

Alice Guy-Blaché Alice Ida Antoinette Guy-Blaché (née Guy; ; 1 July 1873 – 24 March 1968) was a French pioneer filmmaker. She was one of the first filmmakers to make a narrative fiction film, as well as the first woman to direct a film. From 1896 to 1906, s ...

, who is widely considered the first female film director. The plot involves people becoming wealthy and taking on an aristocratic lifestyle. 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. He gave them to the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

(AFI). It was preserved by the AFI's National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Motion Picture Conservation Center. It was shown publicly on July 29, 2018 at

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre is a historic movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater ...

in Los Angeles.

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External links

* * * 1912 films American silent short films American black-and-white films Silent American comedy films 1912 comedy films 1910s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films 1910s American films {{1910s-comedy-film-stub