The Brand of Lopez

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Directed by Joseph De Grasse
Written by J. Grubb Alexander
Richard Schayer (story)
Produced byGeorge W. Stout
Starring Sessue Hayakawa
Florence Turner
Cinematography Frank D. Williams
Production
company
Distributed by Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation
Release date
  • April 1920 (1920-04)
Running time
50 minutes; 5 reels
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Brand of Lopez is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Joseph De Grasse and produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Although the main characters are a matador and an actress, there are no bull fighting or theater scenes portrayed in the film.

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [7] matador Vasco Lopez (Hayakawa) is the idol of Spain. His engagement to actress Lola Castillo (Turner) leads to complications when another man brings her home from the theater. Lopez brands her with his cigarette and stabs her escort, Captain Alvarez (Payne). He then escapes into the mountains and becomes a leader of a band of brigands. Lola obtains a divorce and marries Captain Alvarez. Lopez, seeking revenge, sends his men to abduct Lola, but they bring her younger sister Maria (Ward) instead and Lopez rapes her. She returns to the town and dies a year later, leaving a baby which is exchanged by a nurse for a child of Lola's that dies at birth. Five years later, Lopez surrounds their home and takes Captain Alvarez and the child prisoner, and then orders them shot. He locks himself in a room with Lola. When the nurse confesses the truth of the child's paternity and the police are surrounding the villa, Lopez leaves and sacrifices himself by interjecting himself as the bandits are shooting at Alvarez and his son.

Cast

Censorship

Initially, The Brand of Lopez was rejected in its entirety by the Kansas Board of Review, but was reviewed again two months later, where it passed with cuts. The scene of girls brought before Lopez, and the intertitle "When this candle burns out, you will be the wife of Lopez" was removed. Reel 5 was altered significantly, adding the intertitle "Your wife is dying, will you not come to her?" and removing all titles and scenes related to deathbed marriage. [8]

References

  1. ↑ Miyao, Daisuke (March 28, 2007). Sessue Hayakawa: Silent Cinema and Transnational Stardom. Duke University Press. p. 316. ISBN   978-0-8223-3969-4.
  2. ↑ Langman, Larry (January 1, 1998). American Film Cycles: The Silent Era. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 61. ISBN   978-0-313-30657-0.
  3. ↑ "The Brand of Lopez". Motion Pictures. 1: 88. 1951.
  4. ↑ "The Brand of Lopez". Films in Review. 27. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures: 204. 1976.
  5. ↑ Richard, Alfred Charles (June 1992). The Hispanic Image on the Silver Screen: An Interpretive Filmography from Silents into Sound, 1898-1935. Greenwood Press. p. 227. ISBN   978-0-313-27832-7.
  6. ↑ Keller, Gary D. (1994). Hispanics and United States Film: An Overview and Handbook. Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe. p. 89. ISBN   978-0-927534-40-6.
  7. ↑ "Reviews: The Brand of Lopez". Exhibitors Herald. 10 (15). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 65. April 10, 1920.
  8. ↑ "Kansas Board of Review Movie Index - Kansas Historical Society". www.kansashistory.gov. Retrieved September 9, 2025.


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