In Old California (1910 film)

Last updated

In Old California
In old California.jpg
Directed by D. W. Griffith
Written by Stanner E.V. Taylor
Starring Frank Powell
Arthur V. Johnson
Marion Leonard
Henry B. Walthall
Cinematography G. W. Bitzer
Distributed by American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
Release date
  • March 10, 1910 (1910-03-10)
Running time
17 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages Silent
English intertitles

In Old California is a 1910 American silent Western film. It was the first film shot in Hollywood, California. It was directed by D. W. Griffith [1] of the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company (then based in New York City). The film is a melodrama about the Mexican era of California.

Contents

Background

Director D. W. Griffith discovered the little village of Hollywood on his trips to California and decided to shoot there because of the beautiful scenery and friendly people. On May 6, 2004, a monument was erected at 1713 Vine Street, just north of Hollywood Boulevard. The monument was made by Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and the film which was once thought lost was screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. This was the first time the film had been seen by the public in 94 years. The film was scheduled for restoration, with the restored version to be premiered at a later date.

For years the first film thought shot in Hollywood was Cecil B. DeMille's feature film The Squaw Man (1914), which does hold the record of first feature film made in Hollywood. The discovery of Griffith's film made it the first film of any length shot in Hollywood.

Plot

This story starts some time before Mexican independence was proclaimed in California, which occurred in 1822. Perdita Lergnello, the pretty Spanish senorita, is beloved by Jr. Manuella, a wealthy young Spaniard, who has migrated to the new world in search of adventure. A man of fine qualities, he surrenders his claim upon the girl when he finds out that her heart has been given to Pedro Cortes, a handsome troubadour from the village. Of a poetic temperament, she yields to his plea and marries him.

Twenty years later, we see the result of her mistaken marriage to Cortes. Cortes has proven to be a worthless dipsomaniac and reprobate, spending his time and the money she earns at the tavern. The most unfortunate feature is that they have a son, now nearly nineteen years old. Perdita realizes that his father's example is not favorable to the boy's well-being, resolving to save him. At this time, California is in conflict, and Manuella, Perdita's former lover, is now the new Governor, so she appeals to him to provide a future for her son. The Governor takes the boy into his own company. Perdita's son displays characteristics similar to his father, including drunkenness and theft, accumulating in the robbing of his sleeping comrades-in-arms. Perdita has despatched a letter of thanks to the Governor, which he is reading as the drunken boy is brought before him. The tone of the letter induces Manuella to be more lenient with the boy in the hope that she might live in ignorance of his real nature.

However, later she writes that she is dying, and believing her son has made a name for himself, she asks to be allowed to see him before she dies. At this moment, the boy is brought before him again having been caught thieving. Manuella is thoroughly disgusted with the boy, but in order to have his mother die happy, he decorates him, making him appear before her as a hero. When she breathes her last breath the medals are torn from his breast and he is sent to prison where the punishment for the pain that he has inflicted.

[2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. W. Griffith</span> American filmmaker (1875–1948)

David Wark Griffith was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the narrative film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Pickford</span> Canadian actress and producer (1892–1979)

Gladys Louise Smith, known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian actress resident in the U.S., and also producer, screenwriter, and film studio founder. She was a pioneer in the American film industry, with a Hollywood career that spanned five decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Bitzer</span> American cinematographer (1872–1944)

Gottfried Wilhelm Bitzer was an American cinematographer, notable for his close association and pioneering work with D. W. Griffith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Crisp</span> English actor (1882–1974)

Donald William Crisp was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1942 for his performance in How Green Was My Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colleen Moore</span> American actress (1899–1988)

Colleen Moore was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable stars of the era and helped popularize the bobbed haircut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biograph Company</span> Defunct American film studio

The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over 3000 short films and 12 feature films. During the height of silent film as a medium, Biograph was the most prominent U.S. film studio and one of the most respected and influential studios worldwide, only rivaled by Germany's UFA, Sweden's Svensk Filmindustri and France's Pathé. The company was home to pioneering director D. W. Griffith and such actors as Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, and Lionel Barrymore.

<i>The Squaw Man</i> (1914 film) 1914 film

The Squaw Man is a 1914 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar C. Apfel, and starring Dustin Farnum. It was DeMille's directorial debut and one of the first feature films to be shot in what is now Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae Marsh</span> American actress

Mae Marsh was an American film actress whose career spanned over 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche Sweet</span> American actress

Sarah Blanche Sweet was an American silent film actress who began her career in the early days of the motion picture film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur V. Johnson</span> American actor

Arthur Vaughan Johnson was a pioneer actor and director of the early American silent film era, and uncle of Olympic wrestler and film actor Nat Pendleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Griffith</span> American actor

Gordon S. Griffith was an American assistant director, film producer, and one of the first child actors in the American movie industry. Griffith worked in the film industry for five decades, acting in over 60 films, and surviving the transition from silent films to talkies—films with sound. During his acting career, he worked with Charlie Chaplin, and was the first actor to portray Tarzan on film.

<i>Orphans of the Storm</i> 1921 film directed by D. W. Griffith

Orphans of the Storm is a 1921 American silent drama film by D. W. Griffith set in late-18th-century France, before and during the French Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Snow</span> American actress

Marguerite Snow was an American silent film and stage actress. In her early films she was billed as Margaret Snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Arvidson</span> American actress (1884–1949)

Linda Arvidson was an American stage and film actress. She became one of America's early motion picture stars while working at Biograph Studios in New York, where none of the company's actors, until 1913, were credited on screen. Along with Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, and other female performers there, she was often referred to by theatergoers and in trade publications as simply one of the "Biograph girls". Arvidson began working in the new, rapidly expanding film industry after meeting her future husband D. W. Griffith, who impressed her as an innovative screen director. Their marriage was kept secret for reasons of professional discretion.

<i>Ramona</i> (1910 film) 1910 film

Ramona is a 1910 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. Through a love story, the early silent short explores racial injustice to Native Americans and stars Mary Pickford and Henry B. Walthall. A copy of the print survives in the Library of Congress film archive. The film was remade in 1928 with Dolores del Río and 1936 with Loretta Young.

<i>Ramona</i> (1928 film) 1928 film

Ramona is a 1928 American synchronized sound drama film directed by Edwin Carewe, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona, and starring Dolores del Río and Warner Baxter. While the film has no audible dialogue, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. This was the first United Artists film to be released with a recorded soundtrack. The novel had been previously filmed by D. W. Griffith in 1910 with Mary Pickford, remade in 1916 with Adda Gleason, and again in 1936 with Loretta Young.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas H. Ince</span> American film producer (1880–1924)

Thomas Harper Ince was an American silent era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Fairbanks</span> American actor and filmmaker (1883–1939)

Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker, best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films. One of the biggest stars of the silent era, Fairbanks was referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He was also a founding member of United Artists as well as the Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929.

<i>Two Mothers</i> (1916 film) 1916 movie by Lloyd B. Carleton

Two Mothers is a 1916 American silent short film directed by Lloyd B. Carleton. The film is based on a story by I.A.R. Wylie. Calder Johnstone developed the adaptation for the screen. The drama's features Dorothy Davenport, Alfred Allen and Emory Johnson.

<i>Somebodys Mother</i> 1926 film

Somebody's Mother is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Oscar Apfel and starring Mary Carr, Rex Lease, and Kathryn McGuire.

References

  1. "Progressive Silent Film List: In Old California". Silent Era. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  2. The Moving Picture World (Jan-Jun 1910) p393 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .