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The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted, characters and for his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces".
Daredevil Jack is a 1920 American silent 15-chapter action film serial directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and featuring Lon Chaney as a villain. The chapters were shown weekly between February and May 1920. The serial's working titles were Daredevil Durant or Dead or Alive. An incomplete copy of the film is housed in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Poor Jake's Demise is a 1913 American silent short slapstick comedy film directed by Allen Curtis featuring Max Asher, Louise Fazenda, and Lon Chaney. The film focuses on Jake who finds his wife in a compromising position with another man and later takes his revenge with a seltzer bottle. It is one of several slapstick comedy films Chaney made for Universal at the start of his career and is also his first credited screen role.
Red Margaret, Moonshiner is a 1913 American silent short romance film directed by Allan Dwan, starring Pauline Bush, Murdock MacQuarrie and Lon Chaney. This film, now considered lost, is a good example of Chaney's early attempts at creating bizarre makeups to enhance his roles, wearing a long beard and wild hair here as "Lon", the old moonshiner. The film's original working title was Warrington's Honor. Some sources say the film was later edited down to one reel and re-released in theaters as Moonshine Blood in 1916.
The Tragedy of Whispering Creek is a 1914 American silent short Western film directed by Allan Dwan and featuring Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush, and Lon Chaney. Chaney expert Jon Mirsalis says Chaney also wrote the screenplay, based on a story by Elliott J. Clawson, but the Blake book says the film's director Allan Dwan wrote the screenplay himself. A print exists in the Deutsche Kinemathek film archive, making it Chaney's earliest surviving moving picture. A still exists which shows Chaney in his role as "The Greaser".
The Forbidden Room is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and featuring Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush and Lon Chaney. The film's working title was originally The Web of Circumstance. The film is now considered to be lost.
A Ranch Romance is a 1914 American silent Western film featuring Murdock MacQuarrie and Lon Chaney. A still from the film exists showing Chaney in action. The film is now considered to be lost.
Her Bounty is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and written by his wife Ida May Park, and featuring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush. This was the first film Chaney worked on with the filmmaking team of Joe De Grasse and Ida May Park, to be followed by many more. The film is now considered to be lost.
Her Escape is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush. Lon Chaney not only acted in this film, he also wrote the screenplay. The Blake book on Chaney states the film was actually released earlier on December 13, 1914, but all other sources say December 27. The film is now considered to be lost.
The Threads of Fate is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Tom Forman, and featuring Pauline Bush, William C. Dowlan and Lon Chaney. The film is now considered to be a lost film. A still exists showing Lon Chaney made up as "The Count" trying to persuade the heroine of the film to marry him.
Such Is Life is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Olive Carey. The film is now considered to be lost.
Stronger Than Death is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Bess Meredyth, and featuring Lon Chaney and Arthur Shirley. The film is notable for featuring two expatriate Australian actors together in the cast, Louise Lovely and Arthur Shirley. This was Louise Lovely's first American film - indeed it was the first time the actor, whose real name was Louise Carbasse, was credited as "Louise Lovely". The stage name was given to her by Carl Laemmle. Chaney had a relatively small role in this film as the attorney.
Dolly's Scoop is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney. It was written by Ida May Park, based on a story by Hugh Weir. This was one of the few silent films that subtitled the actors' dialogue at the bottom of the screen, instead of using title cards. Also, this was one of the only Lon Chaney films in which Chaney wound up getting the girl at the end of the picture. A still exists showing Lon Chaney in the role of the reporter, Dan Fisher.
Bobbie of the Ballet is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Louise Lovely, Gretchen Lederer and Jay Belasco. It was written by Ida May Park, based on a story by Grant Carpenter.
Accusing Evidence is a 1916 American silent Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie.
The Rescue is a 1917 American silent drama film written and directed by Ida May Park and starring Lon Chaney, William Stowell and Dorothy Phillips. The screenplay was based on a story by Hugh McNair Kahler. The film is today considered lost. A photo exists showing Lon Chaney in his role as Thomas Holland, a rare occasion when Chaney did not play a villain.
Riddle Gawne is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by William S. Hart and Lambert Hillyer, and featuring William S. Hart, Katherine MacDonald and Lon Chaney. The film was co-produced by William S. Hart and Thomas H. Ince. The screenplay was written by Charles Alden Seltzer from his earlier novel The Vengeance of Jefferson Gawne. Chaney historian Jon C. Mirsalis claims that William S. Hart contributed greatly to the screenplay but all other sources credit the writing of the screenplay solely to Charles Alden Seltzer.
Victory is a surviving 1919 American action film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt, Seena Owen, Lon Chaney, Wallace Beery and Bull Montana. The film is an adaptation of the 1915 eponymous novel by Joseph Conrad. The screenplay was written by Jules Furthman and Ben Carré was the art director.
A Man's Country is a 1919 silent Western drama film directed by Henry Kolker, and starring Alma Rubens, Alan Roscoe, and Lon Chaney. It was written by Richard Schayer based on a screen story by John Lynch. The poster's tagline was "A forceful and spectacular drama of the primitive West in the days of the Gold Rush, when men fought hard, women lived fast and human life was cheap."
References
- ↑ Mirsalis, Jon C. "Almost an Actress". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ↑ "Silent Era: Almost an Actress". silentera. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- ↑ Ohlheiser, Abby (December 4, 2013). "Most of America's Silent Films Are Lost Forever". The Wire. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ↑ Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Page 6. Vestal Press Inc. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
- ↑ Bennett, Carl. "Almost an Actress". silentera.com. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ↑ Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Page 6. Vestal Press Inc. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
