Java Head (1923 film)

Last updated

Java Head
Java Head poster.jpg
Lobby poster
Directed by George Melford
Story by Waldemar Young (story and adaptation)
Based onJava Head
by Joseph Hergesheimer
Starring Leatrice Joy
Jacqueline Logan
Alan Roscoe
Cinematography Bert Glennon
Charles G. Clarke
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • January 28, 1923 (1923-01-28)(U.S.)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Budget200,000

Java Head is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by George Melford and starring Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Frederick Strong, Alan Roscoe, and Betty Bronson in a bit part. It is based on a popular novel of the same name by Joseph Hergesheimer, [1] which in turn is named after the geographical feature.

Contents

Java Head was remade in a 1934 British sound film starring Anna May Wong which was released by Associated Talking Pictures.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [2] during the late 1840s wealthy retired sea captain Jeremy Ammidon (Strong) lives with his children and grandchildren in a house known as "Java Head" in Salem, Massachusetts. Jeremy's son William (Hall) manages the family business. Gerrit Ammidon (Roscoe), skipper of the Nautilus in its oriental trade, loves Nettie Vollar (Logan), a granddaughter of Barzil Dunsack (Fawcett), an enemy of Jeremy. Barzil orders Gerrit out of his house. In China, Gerrit rescues Taou Yuen (Joy) from a gang of ruffians. Her father, a Manchu noble, orders the two to be wed or slain. Gerrit marries Taou and brings her to Salem where her appearance causes consternation among the Ammidon family and Nettie to become ill. Edward Dunsack (Hatton), a drug addict, is fascinated by Taou and tries to turn her mind against Gerrit. Edward tells her that Gerrit loves Nettie, whom she has seen at a party, but Taou repulses him. Nettie learns that Gerrit still loves her and is visited by Taou, who then takes an overdose of opium and dies. Nettie and Gerrit are wed and sail away on the Nautilus.

Cast

Production notes

Exterior scenes were shot on location in Salem, Massachusetts, where the film is also set. [3]

Preservation

No copies of Java Head are listed in any film archives, [4] [1] which suggests that it is a lost film.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Gilbert (actor)</span> American actor and film director (1897–1936)

John Gilbert was an American actor, screenwriter and director. He rose to fame during the silent era and became a popular leading man known as "The Great Lover". His breakthrough came in 1925 with his starring roles in The Merry Widow and The Big Parade. At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leatrice Joy</span> American actress (1893–1985)

Leatrice Joy was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Logan</span> American actress

Jacqueline Medura Logan was an American actress and silent film star. Logan was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922.

<i>Code of the Sea</i> 1924 film by Victor Fleming

Code of the Sea is a 1924 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Victor Fleming and starred Rod La Rocque and Jacqueline Logan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Roscoe</span> American actor (1886–1933)

Alan Roscoe was an American film actor of the silent and early talking film eras. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1933.

<i>The Trail of the Lonesome Pine</i> (1923 film) 1923 film

The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Charles Maigne and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was adapted by Will M. Ritchey from the play and novel of the same name by John Fox Jr. This was the second time that Maigne had directed Minter in an adaptation of a Fox novel, the first being 1920's A Cumberland Romance. This was Minter's final film; her contract with Paramount Pictures was not renewed, and she stated that she was "through" with films. As with many of Minter's features, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is thought to be a lost film.

<i>Nan of Music Mountain</i> 1917 film

Nan of Music Mountain is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and Cecil B. DeMille. The film is based on Frank H. Spearman's novel of the same name and stars Wallace Reid and Anna Little.

<i>Manslaughter</i> (1922 film) 1922 film

Manslaughter is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Thomas Meighan, Leatrice Joy, and Lois Wilson. It was scripted by Jeanie MacPherson adapted from the novel of the same name by Alice Duer Miller. The film portrays its main character, Lydia Thorne, as a thrill-seeking, self-entitled, and wild woman who does not have a reputation of thinking before acting. She acts selfishly by dancing with other men in the presence of her husband and not providing help to her maid who is in dire straits due to her son's health. She is eventually taken to court after she crashes into a motorcycle cop during a high-speed chase. She is then prosecuted by her husband, Daniel O'Bannon, a lawyer, and is imprisoned for manslaughter. After her sentence, Lydia comes out of jail to find her husband has become an alcoholic.

<i>Triumph</i> (1924 film) 1924 film

Triumph is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Leatrice Joy.

<i>Java Head</i> (1934 film) 1934 British film

Java Head is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by J. Walter Ruben and an uncredited Thorold Dickinson. It stars Anna May Wong, Elizabeth Allan and Ralph Richardson.

<i>The Ace of Hearts</i> (1921 film) 1921 film by Wallace Worsley

The Ace of Hearts is a 1921 American crime drama film produced and directed by Wallace Worsley. The screenplay by Ruth Wightman is based on Gouverneur Morris's story The Purple Flask, which was serialized in two parts in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1917. The film stars Leatrice Joy, John Bowers, Raymond Hatton and Lon Chaney. One unique feature of this film is that the main title of the movie isn't written on the screen; rather an Ace of Hearts card is shown in its place instead.

<i>Hollywood</i> (1923 film) 1923 film by James Cruze

Hollywood is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, co-written by Frank Condon and Thomas J. Geraghty, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is a lengthier feature follow-up to Paramount's own short film exposé of itself, A Trip to Paramountown from 1922.

<i>Icebound</i> (film) 1924 film by William C. deMille

Icebound is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by William C. deMille, produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and based on a 1923 Pulitzer Prize Broadway produced play of the same name by Owen Davis. This film production was made at Paramount's Astoria Studios in New York City. Actress Edna May Oliver returned to the role that she played in the Broadway version.

<i>Ebb Tide</i> (1922 film) 1922 film by George Melford

Ebb Tide is a 1922 American silent adventure film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by George Melford, and based on the 1894 novel The Ebb-Tide by Robert Louis Stevenson and his step-son Lloyd Osbourne. The story had been filmed before in 1915 by the Selig Polyscope Company.

<i>Bluebeards 8th Wife</i> 1923 film by Sam Wood

Bluebeard's 8th Wife is a 1923 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Sam Wood and stars Gloria Swanson. The film is based on the French play La huitième femme de Barbe-Bleue by Alfred Savoir which is based on the Bluebeard tales of the 15th century. The play ran on Broadway in 1921 starring Ina Claire in the Swanson role.

<i>A Trip to Paramountown</i> 1922 film

A Trip to Paramountown is a 1922 American short silent documentary film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures, to celebrate 10 years of Paramount's founding. The film runs about 20 minutes and features many personalities then under contract to Famous Players–Lasky and Paramount.

<i>The Silent Partner</i> (1923 film) 1923 film by Charles Maigne

The Silent Partner is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures. It was based on a series of articles from the Saturday Evening Post by Maximilian Foster and directed by Charles Maigne. Leatrice Joy and Owen Moore star in the feature. The film is a remake of the 1917 film of the same name.

<i>Jules of the Strong Heart</i> 1918 American film

Jules of the Strong Heart is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by Donald Crisp and written by William Merriam Rouse, Frank X. Finnegan' and Harvey F. Thew. The film stars George Beban, Helen Jerome Eddy, Charles Ogle, Raymond Hatton, Guy Oliver, and Ernest Joy. The film was released on January 14, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Drums of Fate</i> 1923 film by Charles Maigne

Drums of Fate is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Charles Maigne and starring Mary Miles Minter. It was adapted by Will M. Ritchey from the novel "Sacrifice" by Stephen French Whitman. It was also referred to as "Drums of Destiny" in some promotional material. As with many of Minter's features, it is thought to be a lost film.

<i>The Marriage Cheat</i> 1924 film

The Marriage Cheat is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by John Griffith Wray and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars Leatrice Joy, Adolphe Menjou, Percy Marmont, Laska Winter, Henry A. Barrows, and J. P. Lockney. The film was released on April 5, 1924, by First National Pictures.

References

  1. 1 2 Progressive Silent Film List: Java Head at silentera.com
  2. "Java Head: Paramount Photoplay in Eight Parts". Exhibitor's Trade Review. East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania: Exhibitor's Trade Review, Inc. 13 (12): 627. February 17, 1923.
  3. Sherwood, Robert Emmet (1923). The Best Moving Pictures of ... Also Who's who in the Movies and the Yearbook of the American Screen. Small, Maynard. p. 104.
  4. Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: Java Head