A Mormon Maid | |
---|---|
Directed by | Robert Z. Leonard |
Screenplay by | Charles Sarver Paul West |
Produced by | Jesse L. Lasky |
Starring | Mae Murray Frank Borzage Hobart Bosworth Edythe Chapman Noah Beery, Sr. Richard Henry Cummings |
Cinematography | Charles Rosher |
Production company | Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 50 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
A Mormon Maid is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Charles Sarver and Paul West. While traveling westward with her family, Dora must face the proposal to become a Mormon elder's sixth wife. The film stars Mae Murray, Frank Borzage, Hobart Bosworth, Edythe Chapman, Noah Beery, Sr., and Richard Henry Cummings. The film was released on April 22, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. [1] [2] The film survives complete. [3]
Set in the 1840s during the Mormon migration westward, this film introduces a young woman named Dora and her family as they travel west. After being saved from an Indian attack by a Mormon community, the family joins their wagon train traveling to Utah. Throughout the film, Dora is pursued by two men, one a recent convert to the church and the other a scheming elder with multiple wives. Dora's mother ends up killing herself due to her revulsion towards polygamy, leaving Dora to consider her own future and the man she loves. [4] The elder is a former apostle of the church and is determined to have Dora as his sixth wife. After refusing to marry him, Dora eventually ends up killing the old man as he tries to capture her for his own. To summarize, the plot of this film explores the implications of Dora's rejecting becoming a polygamist wife. [5]
Like many American films of the time, A Mormon Maid was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors cut two intertitles, "I am not a –" and "You have scoffed at our faith – now you will pay." [6] Many towns received this film with open arms, misunderstanding the film as an exposé on Mormonism and the religion's practices. One newspaper even went so far as to link the film to the K. K. K. [7]
She Done Him Wrong is a 1933 pre-Code American crime/comedy film starring Mae West and Cary Grant, directed by Lowell Sherman. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hudson, and Louise Beavers. The film was adapted from the successful 1928 Broadway play Diamond Lil by Mae West. The film is famous for West's many double entendres and quips, including her best-known "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?". She Done Him Wrong was a box-office success and the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This made Beery the highest-paid film actor in the world during the early 1930s. He was the brother of actor Noah Beery and uncle of actor Noah Beery Jr.
Frank Borzage was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Award for Best Director for his film 7th Heaven (1927) at the 1st Academy Awards.
Noah Nicholas Beery was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominent character actor Noah Beery Jr. He was billed as either Noah Beery or Noah Beery Sr. depending upon the film.
Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Bosworth began his career in theater, eventually transitioning to the emerging film industry. Despite a battle with tuberculosis, he found success in silent films, establishing himself as a lead actor and pioneering the industry in California. Bosworth started his own production company, Hobart Bosworth Productions, in 1913, focusing on Jack London melodramas. After the company closed, Bosworth continued to act in supporting roles, surviving the transition to sound films. He is known as the "Dean of Hollywood" for his role in shaping the California film industry. In 1960, Bosworth was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry.
Edythe Chapman was an American stage and silent film actress.
The Little American is a 1917 American silent romantic war drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford as an American woman who is in love with both a German soldier and a French soldier during World War I. Art direction for the film was done by Wilfred Buckland. John Hay Beith was technical advisor on the film, credited under his pen name, Ian Hay.
The Whispering Chorus is a 1918 American silent psychological drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is the first and earliest film considered a psychological drama.
Old Wives for New is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the 1908 novel of the same title by David Graham Phillips.
The Rise of Jennie Cushing is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur, produced by Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. The story based upon the novel The Rise of Jennie Cushing by Mary Watts and stars Broadway's Elsie Ferguson. The film marked Ferguson's second motion picture. It is a lost film.
The Eternal Three is a 1923 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. It was directed by both Marshall Neilan and Frank Urson. Hobart Bosworth, Claire Windsor, and Bessie Love star.
Oliver Twist is a lost 1916 silent film drama produced by Jesse Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by James Young. It is based on the famous 1838 novel, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens and the 1912 Broadway stage version of the novel.
The Whip is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur that is based on the play of the same name by Henry Hamilton and Cecil Raleigh. The film stars Alma Hanlon, June Elvidge, and Irving Cummings. It also features Bobby Vernon, Wallace Beery, as well as Gloria Swanson in one of her early film roles. The film survives and has been released on DVD.
Betrayed is a 1917 silent drama film directed and written by Raoul Walsh, starring Hobart Bosworth, Miriam Cooper, and Monte Blue, and released by Fox Film Corporation. It is not known if the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film.
The Only Road is a 1918 American silent Western film starring Viola Dana. It was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures and directed by Frank Reicher.
Everywoman is a lost 1919 American silent film allegory film directed by George Melford based on a 1911 play Everywoman by Walter Browne. Violet Heming appears as the title character supported by several Paramount character stars.
A School for Husbands is a lost 1917 American comedy silent film directed by George Melford, written by Hugh Stanislaus Stange and Harvey F. Thew, and starring Fannie Ward, Jack Dean, Edythe Chapman, Frank Elliott, Mabel Van Buren and James Neill. It was released on April 5, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Hostage is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Robert Thornby and written by Beulah Marie Dix. The film stars Wallace Reid, Dorothy Abril, Gertrude Short, Clarence Geldart, Guy Oliver, and Marcia Manon. The film was released on September 10, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
On the Level is a lost 1917 American silent Western film directed by George Melford and written by Marion Fairfax and Charles Kenyon. The film stars Fannie Ward, Jack Dean, Harrison Ford, Lottie Pickford, James Cruze, and Jim Mason. The film was released on September 10, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Countess Charming is a lost 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp and written by Gelett Burgess, Carolyn Wells, and Gardner Hunting. The film stars Julian Eltinge, Florence Vidor, Tully Marshall, George Kuwa, Edythe Chapman, and Mabel Van Buren. The film was released on September 16, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.