The Films
Billy B. Van appeared in numerous silent comedies between the mid-1910s and early 1920s.
Most of his films are now lost, and surviving documentation comes primarily from contemporary trade publications, studio catalogs, and later film reference works.
This page presents the most complete and carefully documented listing currently known of the films of Billy B. Van, with notes on their production and surviving evidence.
As a living document, it will be updated as additional documentation or surviving material comes to light. Additional information about these films or their survival is always welcome.
The Early Films – Equity Motion Picture Company
Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire
“The Exploits of Emilene” (1915)
Status: lost
“The Janitor’s Birthday” (1915)
Status: lost
These early films were produced by the Equity Motion Picture Company on Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. Little documentation survives, and the films are believed lost.
Billy B. Van in the Kodascope Library
The following titles were later distributed through the Kodak Kodascope Library, a home-rental system that circulated 16mm reduction prints. These versions were often re-edited, shortened, or even retitled from the original theatrical releases.
“Van-ar-chy” (c.1919; Kodascope release 1926)
Status: survives
Surviving materials: private collection print, recently rediscovered in Japan
“A slapstick comedy without much of any plot, and designed principally to feature the antics and horse-play of the vaudeville comedian who takes the principal part. It is a tale of anarchists, bombs, dynamite explosions, kidnapping and a few other crimes or misdemeanors. It is full of ‘moving accidents by flood and field.’ For those who like this kind of a comedy, it is the sort of comedy that they will like.”
Production details
Listed as an independent production
Reel #4019
1574 feet (2 reels)
Recently rediscovered in Japan, “Van-ar-chy” will receive its first screening in nearly a century with live accompaniment in the Lake Sunapee area in fall 2026.
“The Plucky Hoodoo” (1920, reissued 1926)
Status: lost
Surviving materials: poor-quality video transfer of unknown origin (private collection)
Frequently misreported in the trade press as “The Lucky Hoodoo.”
“Slapstick comedy of the rube farmer type, featuring a country blacksmith, a lazy farmhand and a city family visiting the country in their automobile. The new farmhand has all sorts of troubles with his employer, but finally proves himself a hero (?) and wins the farmer’s daughter.”
Production details
Listed as an independent production
Reel #4020
1800 feet (2 reels)
The Reelcraft Royal Comedy Series (1920)
Reelcraft Pictures released a series of short comedies starring Billy B. Van in 1920. Trade publications confirm at least three titles in wide release.
“More Bull” (1920)
Status: lost
Mentioned as a title for the first Billy B. Van Reelcraft Royal Comedy. Subsequent reports state that the first Billy B. Van film for the Royal Comedies was titled “Snakes.”
“Snakes” (1920)
Status: lost
Variously reported as the first or second Billy B. Van film for the Reelcraft Royal Comedy series.
“Bolshevism and bombs were a much more popular topic for discussion up to about a year ago than they are today, and this Billy B. Van comedy obviously was made at that time. While it is somewhat disconnected at times, there are several humorous bits and the production as a whole is acceptable. Well photographed in most places, this maintains a reasonably good average and should get over in quite a few houses. Some of the hokum is of the rather hackneyed type, but much of it can be depended upon to hold its own. This is the second of the series of Royal Comedies.”
— The Film Daily, August 1, 1920
“Where Are Your Husbands?” (1920)
Status: fragment survives (Library of Congress)
Possibly the fifth Billy B. Van film for the Reelcraft Royal Comedy series.
“Obviously this two reeler, one of a set known as Royal Comedies and starring Billy B. Van, was made before the end of the war, for it is sort of a burlesque on the conflict. A fight of American women to protect their talcum powder forms the backbone of the piece, the effeminate habits cultivated by the men during the absence of their wives being depicted throughout most of the footage. As many people will expect, it turns out to be a dream at the finish, while the principal gleeful over the fact that what has passed was merely a nightmare. Generally an average comedy which is not timely now.”
— The Film Daily, August 29, 1920
A mostly complete copy of this film was rediscovered by chance in the uncatalogued holdings of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2017. A modern reconstruction of the film, created in 2017 with a newly prepared opening and piano accompaniment, is available on this site.
“The Plucky Hoodoo” (1920)
Status: lost
Surviving materials: edited two-reel Kodascope reduction print (see above)
Possibly the fourth Billy B. Van film for the Reelcraft Royal Comedy series.
The Miller & Steen Releases
Advertised in 1925, though likely produced around 1915. Actor Walter Hiers later stated that the films were made “10 years ago.” These productions are believed to have been filmed at least partly in New Hampshire, and all are considered lost.
“Some Hero”
“The New Clerk”
“The Inventor”
“Bootlegger’s Legacy”
“The New Woman”
“The Janitor’s Birthday” (mentioned in 1915 press)
Other Confirmed Film Appearances
“The Beauty Shop” (1922)
Status: lost
A Cosmopolitan Production, released by Paramount Pictures, 1h 10min.
Adapted from the musical comedy of the same name, Billy B. Van appears as the character “Sobini,” the undertaker. He appears with his long-time vaudeville co-star Jim Corbett:
“Billy B. Van and James J. Corbett will play the parts of prominent Bolognians who conspire to make Dr. Budd’s life in their native country a series of highly uncomfortable thrills.”
“Dr. Budd, beauty doctor, faces bankruptcy—when suddenly he is told that he is the descendant of the famous Sizerellas, and a fortune awaits him in Bolognia. With his ward, Anna, and her fiancé, Briggs, Budd travels to Bolognia only to be told there is no fortune, but he must settle a family feud by fighting a duel. The only way out of the duel is by marrying the innkeeper’s funny-looking daughter. But when Budd’s beauty lotion makes the girl beautiful he is permitted to leave Bolognia and go back to America where the success of his preparation will make him rich.”
— The Film Daily, May 14, 1922
Unlike most films associated with Billy B. Van, “The Beauty Shop” was a widely distributed feature film and received substantial contemporary reviews.
Misattributed Appearances
“The White Sin” (1924)
Status: misattributed
Some advertising for this film lists Billy B. Van in the cast. This appears to be a case of confusion with the better-known comedy actor Billy Bevan, a mistake that occasionally appears in contemporary sources.
“Chances” (1931)
Status: misattributed
A casting directory listing for this feature starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. mistakenly lists Billy B. Van in the cast.
Billy B. Van Films Mentioned on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
“Screen Snapshots, Series 2, No. 9-F” (1921)
Status: lost
Federated Film Exchanges of America, Inc. Produced by Jack Cohn and Louis Lewyn. Showing life of the stars behind the scenes, it aimed to be the “fan magazine of the screen.”
Other stars mentioned as appearing in the series include Richard Barthelmess, Monte Blue, Irene Castle, James J. Corbett, Marion Davies, Jack Dempsey, Mary Hay, Johnny Hines, Raymond Hitchcock, Robert Z. Leonard, Marcus Loew, Mae Murray, Eugene O’Brien, Constance Talmadge, Norma Talmadge, Conway Tearle, David Warfield, and Winifred Westover.
“She Done Him Wrong” (1933)
Status: survives
Billy B. Van is mentioned on IMDb as appearing uncredited as a piano player in the Oscar-nominated feature starring Cary Grant and Mae West (who delivers her most famous line, “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me?”). Piano player “Rag Time Kelly” is played by Fuzzy Knight.
Digital copies of the film are widely available online; however, Billy B. Van has so far not been identified in the film.
Titles Recalled by Billy B. Van
“The Lucky Hobo”
“Zulu Nightmare” (or “Zooloo Nightmare”)
These titles were recalled by Billy B. Van late in life, but their existence has not yet been confirmed in contemporary trade publications or studio records.