The Belle of the Season | |
---|---|
Directed by | S. Rankin Drew |
Written by | S. Rankin Drew (Scenario) |
Based on | the poem, "The Belle of the Season" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox |
Produced by | B. A. Rolfe |
Starring | Emmy Wehlen S. Rankin Drew Walter Hitchcock |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 5 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Belle of the Season is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by S. Rankin Drew, and stars Emmy Wehlen, S. Rankin Drew, and Walter Hitchcock. It was originally scheduled to be released in 1917, but its premiere was delayed until July 28, 1919.
James Alden is the son of a rich scion, the owner of a great newspaper. When he and his father quarrel over the plight of the poor, he leaves home and goes to live and work in a settlement house. There he meets Stedman and Johnson, the first a labor leader, the latter a simple thug.
Geraldine "Jerry" Keen, known in the papers as the "Billion Dollar Baby", is a rich twenty-year-old heiress, who has just inherited her father's fortune. However, the control of the empire is in the hands of Clifton Brophy, the executor of the father's estate, until she reaches her 21st birthday. She asks Brophy to take her on a tour of her father's holdings, and is appalled by the working conditions in his mills and the living conditions in his tenements and settlement houses. When she pleads with Brophy to do something to improve the conditions, he simply refuses.
Unbeknownst to Brophy, "Jerry" disguises herself in the clothes of one of the poor, and heads back to the settlement house, where she begins to work in the evenings. While there, she meets Alden, and the two begin a romance after he comes to her rescue when she is accosted by Johnson. Eventually, Alden proposes to "Jerry", still not knowing her true identity, and the two become engaged. The day before her 21st birthday, Brophy, suspicious of her evening excursions, follows her to the settlement house. Stedmn recognizes him, after which Johnson tries to rile the occupants of the house to attack Brophy. Alden intervenes, saving Brophy, but in the skirmish he is hit in the head by a brick and taken to the hospital.
The following day "Jerry" comes of age and meets with Stedman, agreeing to his demands for improvement. When she goes to the hospital to see Alden, and tell him the good news. However, while there, Alden sees the morning paper, which shows a picture of "Jerry", and he finally understands who she is. Furious, he storms out of the hospital, grabbing a taxi. "Jerry" follows close behind, and eventually catches him, where they reconcile and move forward with their marriage.
The film was one of several based on the poetry of Ella Wheeler Wilcox, [2] of which Metro owned all the rights to. [3] The film was shot in towards the end of 1916, and was originally slated for a Spring or Summer 1917 release. However its release was delayed. [1] The picture was shot at Metro's Rolfe Studios in New York. The film was Rankin's first with Metro, having come over from Vitagraph. [4] In January 1917, Metro announced the film would be released on March 5, 1917. [5] As late as March 3, the film was still scheduled for a March 5 release, [6] however in mid-April 1918 Metro announced that the release date had been pushed back to May 13, 1918. [7] The release was again pushed back to June 18, 1918, [8] and then again to July 23. [9] In early June 1919 Metro announced that the film was to be released on July 28. [10] [11]
The Film Daily panned the film, finding virtually no redeeming quality to it. They called it one of the "more and worse" films of the year. They found fault with the production, stating that "It was tiresome, slow, confusing, unreal, uninteresting -- and about everything else uncomplimentary that could be said." They did, however, give one exemption, finding the work of Emmy Wehlen of note. [12]
This was the final film of S. Rankin Drew, who left to join the Franco-American Air Corps after production on the film wrapped. Its release was posthumous, as Rankin was killed in action in the spring of 1918. [1] [13]
Viola Dana was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films.
Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It was purchased in 1919.
Grace Cunard was an American actress, screenwriter and film director. During the silent era, she starred in over 100 films, wrote or co-wrote at least 44 of those productions, and directed no fewer than eight of them. In addition, she edited many of her films, including some of the shorts, serials, and features she developed in collaboration with Francis Ford. Her younger sister, Mina Cunard, was also a film actress.
Bessie Barriscale was an American actress who gained fame on the stage and in silent films.
Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Drew were an American comedy team on stage and screen. The team initially consisted of Sidney Drew and his first wife Gladys Rankin. After Gladys died in 1914, Sidney Drew married Lucille McVey (1890–1925), and the two performed as Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew.
Mary Maguire Alden was an American motion picture and stage actress. She was one of the first Broadway actresses to work in Hollywood.
Myrtle Stedman was an American leading lady and later character actress in motion pictures who began in silent films in 1910.
Helen Gilmore was an American actress of the stage and silent motion pictures from Louisville, Kentucky. She appeared in over 140 films between 1913 and 1932.
The House of Mirth is a 1918 American silent melodrama film directed by French film director Albert Capellani, starring Katherine Harris Barrymore as Lily Bart. It is a cinema adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1905 novel The House of Mirth and the first-ever cinema adaptation of any of her work. Metro Pictures put many efforts into the film in order to turn the original novel into an "all-star cast" film to earn popularity, as Metro Pictures itself announced that the film was "one of the most important productions" during 1918, and that the film contained "the strongest and the most distinguished cast ever selected for the screen". Initially, Emmy Wehlen starred in the role of Lily Bart in the film. Later, she was replaced by Katherine Harris Barrymore. The film contributed to the huge success of Metro Pictures that year. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
Who's Your Neighbor? is a 1917 silent American propaganda and drama film directed by S. Rankin Drew. The film's plot focuses around reformers who pass a law to force prostitutes, including Hattie Fenshaw, out of the red light district. Fenshaw becomes Bryant Harding's mistress and lives in an apartment next door to a reformer, and continues to ply her trade. After Fenshaw becomes familiar with Harding, his son, daughter and the daughter's fiancé, the climax of the film occurs as the cast assembles at Fenshaw's apartment. Harding returns and a fight breaks out that results in the reformers' arrival and concludes with the presumption that Fenshaw returns to a place of "legalized vice". The drama was written by Willard Mack and was his first foray into screen dramas. The film proved controversial, but is noted as a great success. The film originally debuted on June 15, 1917, but it was rejected by the National Board of Review and was later approved after a revision, but the film continued to be labeled as an immoral production. The film is presumed to be lost.
Sidney Rankin Drew was an American actor and film director.
(not to be confused with -->Emily Ann Wellman)
Cyclone Higgins, D.D. is a 1918 silent American comedy-drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne. It stars Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne, and Baby Ivy Ward, and was released on May 13, 1918.
The Beautiful Lie is a 1917 American silent drama film, directed by John W. Noble. It stars Frances Nelson, Harry S. Northrup, and Edward Earle, and was released on May 21, 1917. It tells the tale of a woman whose reputation is sullied, and then recovered. It received mostly positive reviews, and the performances by the three stars were all given high marks for their work, particularly Nelson. As of 2019, it is considered a lost film.
The Avenging Trail is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Francis Ford and starring Harold Lockwood, Sally Crute, and Joseph Dailey. It was released on December 31, 1917.
The Claim is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Frank Reicher. It stars Edith Storey, Wheeler Oakman, and Mignon Anderson, and was released on March 18, 1918.
Breakers Ahead is a 1918 American silent drama film, directed by Charles Brabin. It stars Viola Dana, Clifford Bruce, and Mabel Van Buren, and was released on March 25, 1918.
Five Thousand an Hour is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by Ralph Ince. It stars Hale Hamilton, Lucille Lee Stewart, and Gilbert Douglas, and was released on November 25, 1918.
Cora Rankin Drew was a silent film actress in the United States. Her performances included leading roles in The Burned Hand (1915), The Honor System (1917), and Southern Pride (1917). She expressed frustration with casting imbalances between men and women. In 1921, Canadian Moving Picture Digest included a favorable description of one of her performances.
Louella Maxam was an American actress who performed in over 50 silent films from 1913 until 1921. She was often cast in comedies and Westerns, most notably being identified in 1915 as a "leading lady" in a series of shorts starring Tom Mix, who during the silent and early sound eras was promoted as the "Cowboy King of Hollywood". Later, she was a female lead in other films for various studios, including several productions featuring another early cowboy star, Franklyn Farnum. Following her departure from acting, Maxam worked in county and municipal government in California, including service with the Burbank police department, where in 1943 she was hired as that city's first "police woman".