I am sorry to be slow in responding to your question -- it has been a
crazy week! By this point, most of the basic bibliography on vaudeville
has been covered. Apart from my book, WHAT MADE PISTACHIO NUTS? EARLY SOUND
COMEDY AND THE VAUDEVILLE AESTHETIC and Bobby Allen's two books, VAUDEVILLE
AND FILM (probably the most useful for your POV) and HORRIBLE PRETTINESS (on
Burlesque) and Anthony Seldes's THE VAUDEVILLIANS (really a series of profiles
of vaudeville stars), there has not been much research on film and vaudeville.
My book or Allen's will cover the basic bibliography of American Studies type
materials on vaudeville. There is a new book on early film exhibition by
Cathy Fuller coming out from Smithosian in a year or so which promises to
have some good material, though vaudeville is not its focus. And, there will
be somethings to be found by looking at writers on early cinema such as
Tom Gunning who make passing reference to the vaudeville influence. But none
of these speak to the particular permutations of vaudeville and cinema which
you cite. I know a few things which are not in the book and would be happy
to talk with you more, but I think you are moving into significant but
 unexplored terrain.
--Henry Jenkins