Salaviinanpolttajat (Lost 1907 Finnish Film and Screenplay)

On May 29, 1907, a Comedy film directed by Louis Sparre and Teuvo Puro called Salaviinanpolttajat was released to Finnish theaters. The Film's title in English is "The Moonshiners". Some information on the Plot of the Film is in several descriptions that are in some Newspaper Advertisements that still exist. The Plot is about Two Men who make Moonshine in the woods. A Customer comes to them, and while sampling the Moonshine, the three start a Game of Cards, which eventually leads to a fight. Then the Police arrive and arrest The Moonshiners while the Customer escapes being arrested. The story of how it was made is actually slightly interesting. The Film's Screenplay was originally in a 1907 Screenplay Writing Contest commisioned by considered Father of Finnish Cinema Karl Emil Stahlberg. The Screenplay that inspired the film also was written by Stahlberg. The contest was won by a pseudonym named "J. V-s", who's identity is speculated to be either Stahlberg himself, or a local sheriff. Eventually, the screenplay was adapted, and directed by a friend of Stahlberg, Louis Sparre. The information on the cast also comes from the Same Newspaper Advertisements as the information on the plot. The cast includes Eero Kilpi and Teppo Raikas as Salapolttajat (The Two Moonshiners), one of the directors, Tuevo Puro as Junkkari (The Customer), Alex Rautio as Nimismiehen apulainen (The Sheriff), and Jussi Snellman as Nimismies (The Police Chief). No copies of Salaviinanpolttajat have been preserved making it a lost film, along with the Original Screenplay used in the Contest, as that has also been lost.