Miss Lulu Bett | |
---|---|
Directed by | William C. deMille |
Written by | Clara Beranger |
Based on | Miss Lulu Bett (play) by Zona Gale |
Produced by | Adolph Zukor |
Starring | Lois Wilson Milton Sills Theodore Roberts Helen Ferguson |
Cinematography | L. Guy Wilky |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 71 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Miss Lulu Bett is a 1921 American silent comedy drama film based on a 1920 play and bestselling novel of the same name by Zona Gale. The screenplay was written by Clara Beranger, and the film was directed by William C. deMille. [1] The play won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. [2]
In 2001, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
As described in a film magazine, [3] Lulu Bett (Wilson) is a slave in the home of her married half-sister Ina Deacon (Van Buren). Her life of drudgery is interrupted when Ninian Deacon (Burton), the scapegoat brother of the head of the house Dwight Deacon (Roberts), "accidentally" marries her. After he confesses that he has another wife, LuLu leaves him and Dwight allows her to return. Her persecution is redoubled upon her return, but she received courage after telling her story to the town schoolmaster Neil Cornish (Sills), who falls in love with her. Her final rebellion and departure from the household are followed by the news that her marriage to Ninian was not legal, leaving her free to marry the man that she loves.
uncredited
Miss Lulu Bett depicts a transition that was prominent during the early 1920s women's suffrage movement. [4] It displays women beginning to assert their independence. It also conveys how women often lived oppressive lives during this time, and explores the spinster stereotype. Although Lulu was not abused physically, she is abused psychologically by her controlling brother-in-law, who Lulu works under and visibly dislikes. When the story was adopted as a play, two endings were written; one where Lulu decides to undertake adventures on her own, which won Gale the Pulitzer Prize, and another where Neil shows up in the nick of time and convinces her to stay with him. The latter was more commercially acceptable at the time and less challenging for audiences given women's standing in society.
In the film, although Lulu and Neil decide to get married, Lulu still evolves from slavery into a self-assured woman, prepared to take on her life independently. In accordance with Gale's original ending depicting female independence, she personally advocated heavily for women's rights and was an ardent supporter of many liberal causes of her time. She was an active member of the National Women's Party and lobbied diligently for the 1921 Wisconsin Equal Rights Law. Additionally, she was an Executive Member of the Lucy Stone League – one of the first feminist groups to arise from the suffrage movement. She believed that her activism on behalf of women was her way to solve a “problem she returned to repeatedly in her novels: women’s frustration at their lack of opportunities.” [5]
Miss Lulu Bett is a 1920 novel by American writer Zona Gale, later adapted for the stage. It was a bestseller at the time of its initial publication, but gradually fell out of favor through changing tastes and social conditions.
Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical-drama film that depicts the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as president of the United States. In the UK, the film is known by the alternate title Spirit of the People. The film was adapted by Grover Jones and Robert E. Sherwood from Sherwood's 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. It was directed by John Cromwell.
Zona Gale, also known by her married name, Zona Gale Breese, was an American novelist, short story writer, and playwright. She became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1921. The close relationship she had with her parents set the tone for her writing and her personal life. Her books based upon her home town were found to be charming and had an intimate sense of realism, in which she captures the underlying feelings and motivations of her characters. All of her works were written under her maiden name, Zona Gale.
Mary Chase was an American journalist, playwright and children's novelist, known primarily for writing the 1944 Broadway play Harvey, which was adapted into the 1950 film starring James Stewart.
The Pulitzer Prizes for 1921:
Milton George Gustavus Sills was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century.
Margaret Antoinette Clapp was an American scholar, educator and Pulitzer Prize winner. She was the president of Wellesley College from 1949 to 1966.
Mabel Van Buren was an American stage and screen actress.
Mae Georgia Giraci, also known as May Giraci, May Garcia, May Geraci, May Giracci, May Giracia and Tina Rossi, was an American child actress who appeared in silent films between 1915 and 1929.
Clara Beranger was an American screenwriter of the silent film era and a member of the original faculty of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Miss Lulu Bett may refer to:
Miss Lulu Bett is a 1920 play adapted by American author Zona Gale from her novel of the same title.
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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.
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Madame Jealousy is a 1918 American silent allegorical drama film directed by Robert G. Vignola and written by George V. Hobart and Eve Unsell. The film stars Pauline Frederick, Thomas Meighan, Frank Losee, Charles Wellesley, Isabel O'Madigan, and Elsie MacLeod. The film was released on February 4, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Emmett J. Flynn and starring Claire Windsor. Produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures, the film is based on a play by Owen Davis, which premiered on Broadway in 1906.
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