Ramona | |
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Directed by | Donald Crisp |
Based on | Ramona 1884 novel by Helen Hunt Jackson |
Produced by | W. H. Clune |
Starring | Adda Gleason Mabel Van Buren |
Cinematography | Bert Glennon Enrique Juan Vallejo |
Production company | Clune Film Producing Company |
Distributed by | State's Rights basis |
Release date |
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Running time | 10-14 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Ramona is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Donald Crisp based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona . The film's runtime is about three hours [1] and is considered to be lost with only reel 5 preserved at the Library of Congress. [2]
The film opens to a ceremony occurring in Santa Barbara, California. Ramona Gonzaga (the title character's mother), a Native American woman, and Angus Phail (Richard Sterling), a white man, are getting married. Soon after their marriage, a half-Indian, half-White girl named Ramona (Mabel Van Buren) is born. Meanwhile, in another part of America, the film depicts land-hungry white settlers driving off Native Americans from their lands to occupy them.
The film cuts to Ramona (Ann Dvorak) growing up as a child, dearly loved by her mother. In this phase of Ramona's life, her mother passes away and gives Ramona to the care of Senora Moreno (Lurline Lyons) before her death. Ramona grows up in Senora Moreno's household with Felipe, Senora Moreno's son.
As Ramona (Adda Gleason) becomes a young woman, she becomes very beautiful with hair like her mother's, and eyes like her father's. She begins a relationship with Felipe (Nigel De Brulier). One day, Ramona sees a young Indian man named Alessandro (Monroe Salisbury), son of an Indian chief, playing the violin and meets him. They immediately fall in love with each other, but are discovered by Senora Moreno, who forbids them from seeing each other and locks Ramona in her room.
Alessandro goes back to his village, to find it burned down by white settlers. Despite his loss, he isn't too hurt by it due to his newfound love for Ramona. He goes back to Ramona's village and leaves with her. They get married in secret by Father Salvierderra (Martin Best) and move to the little settlement of San Pasqual, where they are able to live in peace for a while.
The film shows the white settlers moving closer and closer to San Pasqual, threatening the peace and quiet of Ramona's life. With this danger imminent, Ramona moves into the mountains with her family, which now consists of Alessandro, their young child, and a dog. While venturing in the mountains, Ramona and her family face many hardships, including a blizzard. However, they finally find a shelter.
Driven mad by the hardships his family has had to endure due to encroaching white settlers, Alessandro confronts a white man on horseback and is killed. Ramona is now alone with her child and her dog. Meanwhile, Felipe leaves his home to search for Ramona. After getting help along the way, Felipe finally finds Ramona and her family and brings them his home. Soon after, Ramona and Felipe get married and have several children, with the oldest of them named Ramona. [3]
The New York Times commended it for "excellent photography, a wealth of picturesque and carefully considered detail, good work by a multitudinous company," but complained that "no very stirring scenario was inspired by the long, uneventful stretches of the novel." The same article praised California as an "attractive and richly varied background for a movie romance" and praised it for its representation of Ramona from infant to child to grown woman. [1]
Ramona is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish–Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and hardship. The story was inspired by the marriage of Hugo Reid and Victoria Reid. Originally serialized in the Christian Union on a weekly basis, the novel became immensely popular. It has had more than 300 printings, and been adapted five times as a film. A play adaptation has been performed annually outdoors since 1923.
The Ramona Outdoor Play, formerly known as The Ramona Pageant, is an outdoor play staged annually in Hemet, California since 1923. It is based on the 1884 novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.
Ann Dvorak was an American stage and film actress.
Donald William Crisp was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1942 for his performance in How Green Was My Valley.
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Antonio Garrido Monteagudo, better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s.
Mabel Van Buren was an American stage and screen actress.
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Ramona is a 1910 American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. Through a love story, the early silent short explores racial injustice to Native Americans and stars Mary Pickford and Henry B. Walthall. A copy of the print survives in the Library of Congress film archive. The film was remade in 1928 with Dolores del Río and 1936 with Loretta Young.
NoraDorothy Bernard was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1908 and 1956.
Ramona is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Edwin Carewe, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona, and starring Dolores del Río and Warner Baxter. This was the first United Artists film with a synchronized score and sound effect, but no dialogue, and so was not a talking picture. The novel had been previously filmed by D. W. Griffith in 1910 with Mary Pickford, remade in 1916 with Adda Gleason, and again in 1936 with Loretta Young.
Ramona is a 1936 American Drama Western film directed by Henry King, based on Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona. This was the third adaptation of the film, and the first one with sound. It was the fourth American feature film using the new three strip Technicolor process. It starred Loretta Young and Don Ameche.
Monroe Salisbury was an American actor. He appeared on the stage for several years and then became an early film star.
The Sins of Rosanne is a surviving 1920 American silent drama film starring Ethel Clayton and directed by actor/director Tom Forman. The Famous Players-Lasky studio produced the film with release by Paramount Pictures.
The Beloved Brat is a 1938 American comedy-drama film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Bonita Granville, Dolores Costello, and Donald Crisp. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kimble from an original story by Jean Negulesco.
Señora Acero, also known as Señora Acero: La Coyote as of season three, is an American telenovela created by Roberto Stopello and produced by Argos Comunicación and Telemundo Studios, and distributed by Telemundo Internacional. The series debuted on American broadcast channel Telemundo on 23 September 2014, and concluded on 29 January 2019.
Young Mrs. Winthrop is a lost 1920 American silent drama film starring Ethel Clayton. It is based on the 1882 Victorian era Broadway play by Bronson Howard. The film was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The Prank is a 2022 American comedy horror film directed by Maureen Bharoocha and written by Rebecca Flinn-White and Zak White. It stars Rita Moreno, Connor Kalopsis, and Ramona Young. The plot follows two students who falsely accuse their teacher of murder because she threatened to fail them. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 13, 2022.