The film follows American traveler Jack Thornton, who rescues a French nobleman's daughter, Flora, from the harem of a tyrannical Turkish nobleman, Osman Bey. Jack infiltrates the Sultan's palace at night and incites a revolt that liberates Flora and deposes Osman Bey. The film exemplifies the melodramatic "Oriental adventure" genre of the time.[3]
The film was produced by the Selig Polyscope Company and shot in early 1909 in Los Angeles, California. It was filmed at an open-air lot behind a Chinese laundry at 7th and Olive Streets in downtown Los Angeles and at the Hotel Wentworth in Pasadena.[1] It was among the earliest narrative films made in Los Angeles and helped establish the city as a viable location for film production.
Some sources identify In the Sultan’s Power as the first dramatic film shot entirely in Los Angeles, though others suggest that The Heart of a Race Tout (also 1909) may have preceded it.
Historical significance
In the Sultan’s Power is considered historically significant for:
Being one of the first narrative films shot entirely in Los Angeles.
Marking the screen debut of stage actor Hobart Bosworth.[4]
Initiating Selig's production operations on the West Coast, laying groundwork for the film industry's migration to California.
Reception
Contemporary reviews are scarce. Modern film historians often reference the film for its production and historical importance rather than its artistic quality. A 1960 retrospective described it as "a miserable little picture" but praised its role in launching Bosworth's film career.[5]
Preservation
In the Sultan’s Power is presumed lost. No known prints survive, and its survival status is listed as unknown in film databases. A copyright registration for the film exists in the Library of Congress dated 1913, under "World’s Best Film Company," an alternate name used by Selig.[6]
↑ Slide, Anthony (2010). Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. University Press of Kentucky. p.35. ISBN9780813127088.
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