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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Sneaky Deals in Alleged Silent Films

WOBURN, Mass. (CN) - Worldview Entertainment claims it owned a treasure trove of silent films called the "Killiam Collection," featuring stars such as Rudolph Valentino and Charles Chaplin, and that a partner secretly, and illegitimately, sold 123 films from the collection to two people who were allowed to "cherry pick" the ones they wanted.

Worldview and Glenn Shealey sued Shealey's former partner, Sandra Birnhak. They also sued Kenneth Winokur and Jane Gillooly of Cambridge, Mass., dba Phantom Films and Alloy Orchestra and also dba Box 5 LLC, to whom Birnhak allegedly sold the films.

The films that were fraudulently sold included one of Valentino's most famous pics, the "Phantom of the Opera," the complaint states.

Shealey claims Birnhak illegitimately sold the 123 films for $84,000, far less than their true value. Winokur and Gillooly then allegedly transferred title to the films from Phantom Films and Alloy Orchestra to Box 5 LLC.

Shealey has sued Birnhak in a previous case involving the same thing, according to this complaint.

Worldview is represented by George Deptula of Boston, in Middlesex County Court.

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