Joan the Woman | |
---|---|
Directed by | Cecil B. DeMille |
Written by | Jeanie MacPherson |
Produced by | Jesse L. Lasky Cecil B. DeMille |
Starring | Geraldine Farrar |
Cinematography | Alvin Wyckoff |
Edited by | Cecil B. DeMille |
Music by | William Furst |
Production companies | Cardinal Film Corporation Famous Players–Lasky Corporation |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 138 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Budget | $302,976 [1] [2] |
Box office | $605,731 [1] |
Joan the Woman is a 1916 American epic silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc. The film premiered on Christmas Day in 1916. This was DeMille's first historical drama. The screenplay is based on Friedrich Schiller's 1801 play Die Jungfrau von Orleans ( The Maid of Orleans ). [3] This film was considered to be the "first cinematic spectacle about Joan of Arc." [3]
This was the first film to use the Handschiegl Color Process (billed as the "Wyckoff-DeMille Process") for certain scenes. This process is especially noticeable in the scene of Joan burning at the stake, the use of red and yellow gave this a heightened dramatic effect. A print of the film still exists. [4] DeMille has said that in the weeks before shooting he became obsessed with historical research, costume and set design, and casting decisions. [5]
A British officer (Reid) in World War I has a dream of the life of Joan of Arc (Farrar). The officer pulls a sword out of the wall of the trench he is in, the sword used to belong to Joan of Arc. Removing the sword conjures up the ghost of Joan, leading to her telling her story. The setting then changes to France where the story of Joan of Arc is told, of her leading the French troops to victory and her subsequent burning at the stake. The story ends back in the trench with the officer deciding to go on a suicide mission, using Joan's story and sword as inspiration. [6]
The original plan for Joan the Woman was for it to be the first of two shorter, unrelated films starring Farrar and directed by DeMille. However, in the early stages of filming in May 1916, producer Jesse L. Lansky convinced DeMille to combine the two efforts into a single, longer film about Joan of Arc. [7]
The film was released on December 25, 1916 and grossed $605,731 at the box office.
The film has been criticized by some as propaganda for World War I. The film begins and ends with the story of a British officer in the trenches fighting in World War I. He is prompted with the decision to participate in a suicide mission. He discovers a sword that belonged to Joan, and after hearing her story, decides to go on the mission. Robin Blaetz in her book Studies in Medievalism points out the sexism that exists in the film. While Joan was the inspiration for the British soldier's heroic acts, he is ultimately the hero at the end of the film. [6] Blaetz points out that this sends the message that "women and war do not mix", alluding to the idea that in World War I women should stay behind the front lines, but still be supportive of those at war.
In his review of the film, Leonard Maltin said this was "DeMille's first historical epic is nicely mounted, spotlighting the heroism and sacrifice of Joan of Arc (a miscast Farrar) as she evolves from peasant girl to saint-like figure and becomes involved with Englishman Reid. Fashioned as an accolade to France, with the story bookended by sequences set during WW1 involving a soldier who is inspired by Joan's bravery. Some of the effects are in color." [8]
In 1917 three men were arrested for the theft of a print of the film from a New York film exchange, which they took to New Jersey for the making of a new master negative. Both the missing print and the master were recovered. At that time there was an active criminal practice in making master negatives of American films for shipment to other countries for the production of new prints, [9] an early example of motion picture piracy.
Julia Faye Maloney, known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ranged from maids and ingénues to vamps and queens.
The Volga Boatman is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who reportedly said the film was, "his greatest achievement in picture making". The film's budget was $479,000 and it grossed $1.27 million. The film was highly successful, turning William Boyd into matinee idol overnight. The filming location was Wood Island, near Rio Vista, California, in 1925.
Abbie Jean MacPherson was an American silent actress, writer and director. She is known for her collaborations with directors D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Captive is an American silent-era film released on April 22, 1915. It was released on five reels. The film was written, directed, edited, and produced by Cecil B. DeMille. Jesse L. Lasky was another producer and Jeanie MacPherson worked with DeMille to write the screenplay. The film is based on a play written by Cecil B. DeMille and Jeanie MacPherson. The Captive grossed over $56,000 on a budget of $12,154. Blanche Sweet stars as Sonia Martinovich, alongside House Peters who stars as Mahmud Hassan. The film details the romantic war-era plight of Sonia and her lover Mahmud.
Carmen is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée. The existing versions of this film appear to be from the re-edited 1918 re-release.
Temptation is a 1915 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille. The film starred Geraldine Farrar and Theodore Roberts and was written by and based on an original story by Hector Turnbull. Additional writing was done by DeMille and Jeanie MacPherson, who did not receive screen credit. Temptation is now considered a lost film.
Maria Rosa is a surviving 1916 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was based on a 1914 Broadway stage play Maria Rosa by Àngel Guimerà. On the stage the principal parts were played by Dorothy Donnelly and Lou Tellegen, future husband of this film's star Geraldine Farrar.
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. A print of the film is housed at the UCLA Film and Television Archive and has been released on DVD.
The Woman God Forgot is a 1917 American silent romance film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. A copy of the film is in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection.
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.
The Devil-Stone is a 1917 American silent romance film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, co-written by his mother Beatrice deMille and Jeanie MacPherson, and starring Geraldine Farrar. The film had sequences filmed in the Handschiegl Color Process. Only two of six reels are known to survive, in the American Film Institute Collection at the Library of Congress. This was the last of Farrar's films for Paramount Pictures.
Old Wives for New is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Prints of the film survive at the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House.
We Can't Have Everything was a 1918 American silent drama film directed and written by Cecil B. DeMille based upon a novel by Rupert Hughes. The film is considered to be lost.
Don't Change Your Husband is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was the third of six "marriage films" directed by DeMille and the first DeMille film starring Gloria Swanson. A print of the film is stored at the George Eastman House. The film was released on DVD by Image Entertainment with The Golden Chance. A Chinese silent film, Don't Change Your Husband (1929), used the same English title, and a similar plot arc.
Something to Think About is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Elliott Dexter and Gloria Swanson. Prints of the film exist at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York, and at the Filmmuseum in Amsterdam.
Fool's Paradise is a 1921 American silent romance film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Dorothy Dalton and Conrad Nagel and was based on the short story "Laurels and the Lady" by Leonard Merrick. Prints of Fool's Paradise are preserved at the George Eastman House, the Library of Congress, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Triumph is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Leatrice Joy.
The Road to Yesterday is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is significant because it was Cecil B. DeMille's first release from his new production company, DeMille Pictures Corporation. It was also upcoming actor William Boyd's first starring role. In DeMille's next picture, The Volga Boatman, which was a tremendous success, he cast Boyd as the solo leading man.
The Cheat is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is a remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film of the same name using the same script by Hector Turnbull and Jeanie MacPherson. This version stars Pola Negri and was directed by George Fitzmaurice.
The Dressmaker from Paris is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy drama film directed by Paul Bern. The story was written by Howard Hawks and Adelaide Heilbron. Heilbron also wrote the screenplay. The film starred Leatrice Joy and was her last film for Paramount Pictures. The film was costume designer Travis Banton's first assignment.