William Surrey Hart was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity." During the late 1910s and early 1920s, he was one of the most consistently popular movie stars, frequently ranking high among male actors in popularity contests held by movie fan magazines.
A Connecticut Yankee is a musical based on the 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by American writer Mark Twain. Like most adaptations of the Twain novel, it focuses on the lighter aspects of the story. The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book by Herbert Fields. It was produced by Lew Fields and Lyle D. Andrews. It enjoyed an original run on Broadway in 1927 of 421 performances and a number of revivals.
The Quiet is a 2005 American psychological thriller film directed by Jamie Babbit and starring Elisha Cuthbert, Camilla Belle, Martin Donovan, and Edie Falco. It focuses on a deaf-mute teenage orphan who is sent to live with her godparents. She soon becomes a sounding board for the family members, who confess their darkest secrets to her, including the incestous relationship between her godfather and his teenage daughter.
The Diamond from the Sky is a 1915 American silent adventure-film serial directed by Jacques Jaccard and William Desmond Taylor and starring Lottie Pickford, Irving Cummings, and William Russell.
Sequel to the Diamond from the Sky is a 1916 American silent film directed by Edward Sloman starring William Russell and Rhea Mitchell. The film is the sequel to the very popular The Diamond from the Sky. It is now considered to be lost.
Rhea Ginger Mitchell was an American film actress and screenwriter who appeared in over 100 films, mainly during the silent era. A native of Portland, Oregon, Mitchell began her acting career in local theater, and joined the Baker Stock Company after completing high school. She appeared in various regional theater productions on the West Coast between 1911 and 1913.
Roxie Hart is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou and George Montgomery. A film adaptation of a 1926 play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins, a journalist who found inspiration in two real-life Chicago trials she had covered for the press. The play had been adapted once prior, in a 1927 silent film. In 1975, a hit stage musical premiered, and was once more adapted as the Oscar-winning 2002 musical film.
Riddle Gawne is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by William S. Hart and Lambert Hillyer, and featuring William S. Hart, Katherine MacDonald and Lon Chaney. The film was co-produced by William S. Hart and Thomas H. Ince. The screenplay was written by Charles Alden Seltzer from his earlier novel The Vengeance of Jefferson Gawne. Chaney historian Jon C. Mirsalis claims that William S. Hart contributed greatly to the screenplay but all other sources credit the writing of the screenplay solely to Charles Alden Seltzer.
The Scourge of the Desert is a 1915 American silent short Western starring William S. Hart and Rhea Mitchell. It was billed as, "A Thrilling (Broncho) Romance of the Arizona Staked Plains." It was produced by Thomas H. Ince and written by C. Gardner Sullivan, Ince, and William Clifford.
The Killing Kind is a 1973 American psychological horror film directed by Curtis Harrington, and starring Ann Sothern, John Savage, Ruth Roman, Luana Anders, and Cindy Williams. It follows a young man who, after being released from prison for a sexual assault he did not commit, submits to his impulsive urge to seek revenge against those who wronged him. The film is based on a screenplay by Tony Crechales, whose screenplay was revised by producer George Edwards, an associate producer on Harrington's previous film, What's the Matter with Helen? (1971).
Hortense Rhéa was a Belgian-born French actress whose popularity extended to the Russian Empire and later the United States of America.
The Narrow Trail is a 1917 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and William S. Hart and written by William S. Hart and Harvey F. Thew. The film stars William S. Hart, Sylvia Breamer, Milton Ross, and Bob Kortman. The film was released on December 30, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Money Corral is a 1919 American silent adventure film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by William S. Hart and Lambert Hillyer. The film stars William S. Hart, Jane Novak, Herschel Mayall, Winter Hall, Rhea Mitchell, and Patricia Palmer. The film was released on April 20, 1919, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
The Silent Man is a 1917 American Western silent film directed by William S. Hart and written by Charles Kenyon. The film stars William S. Hart, Vola Vale, Robert McKim, Dorcas Matthews, J. P. Lockney, George Nichols, and Gertrude Claire. It was released on November 26, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. The movie premiered in Los Angeles at Sid Grauman's Million Dollar Theater.
The Toll Gate is a 1920 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer, written by Lambert Hillyer and William S. Hart, and starring William S. Hart, Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Singleton, Jack Richardson, and Richard Headrick. It was released on April 15, 1920, by Paramount Pictures.
The Goat is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp and written by Frances Marion. The film stars Fred Stone, Fanny Midgley, Charles McHugh, Rhea Mitchell, Sylvia Ashton, Philo McCullough, and Winifred Greenwood. The film was released on September 29, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
White Oak is a 1921 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by William S. Hart and Bennet Musson. The film stars William S. Hart, Vola Vale, Alexander Gaden, Robert D. Walker, Bert Sprotte, Helen Holly, and Luther Standing Bear. The film was released on December 18, 1921, by Paramount Pictures. A copy of the film is in the Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, and William S. Hart Museum film archives.
Travelin' On is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer, written by William S. Hart and Lambert Hillyer, and starring William S. Hart, James Farley, Ethel Grey Terry, Brinsley Shaw, Mary Jane Irving, Bob Kortman, and Willis Marks. It was released on March 5, 1922, by Paramount Pictures. A copy of the film is in the Library of Congress.
A Wonderful Life is a 1951 black-and-white short drama film produced by the National Council of Churches of Christ and distributed by the Protestant Film Commission. It is an adaptation of Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life for the Christian film industry. Directed by William Beaudine, it stars James Dunn, Allene Roberts, and Arthur Shields. The film retells the life of an ordinary Christian family man in flashback as his family and friends remember all the good he did through his devotion to church and community. The film emphasizes the power of faith, love, and community service for living a meaningful life, together with the message that people do not realize the true worth of others until after they have died. The film was not released commercially, but was distributed to some 30,000 churches throughout the United States and Canada.
