The Cry of the Children | |
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![]() Alice (Marie Eline, center) with other child laborers and her father (James Cruze, left) | |
Directed by | George Nichols |
Based on | "The Cry of the Children" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning |
Cinematography | Carl Louis Gregory |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 2 reels (2000 feet, original print 29 minutes) |
Country | United States |
The Cry of the Children is a 1912 American silent short drama film directed by George Nichols for the Thanhouser Company. [1] The production, based on the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning about child labor, stars Marie Eline, Ethel Wright, and James Cruze. At the time of its release, the film proved to be controversial for its use of real-life footage of children working inside a large textile factory. [2] The film in 2011 was selected into preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [3] [4]
The film incorporates original lines from the Browning's poem in the film's intertitles, presented within quotation marks without a discernible speaker. [5]
The Land Beyond the Sunset is a 1912 short, silent drama film which tells the story of a young boy, oppressed by his grandmother, who goes on an outing in the country with a social welfare group. It stars Martin Fuller, Mrs. William Bechtel, Walter Edwin and Bigelow Cooper. Produced by Edison Studios in collaboration with the Fresh Air Fund, the screenplay was written by Dorothy G. Shore and directed by Harold M. Shaw.
Wild and Woolly is a 1917 American silent Western comedy film which tells the story of one man's personal odyssey from cowboy-obsessed Easterner to Western tough guy. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell and Sam De Grasse. The film was adapted by Anita Loos from a story by Horace B. Carpenter and was directed by John Emerson.
The Thanhouser Company was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New York City until 1920, producing over a thousand films.
A Fool There Was is an American silent drama film produced by William Fox, directed by Frank Powell, and starring Theda Bara. Released in 1915, the film was long considered controversial for such risqué intertitle cards as "Kiss me, my fool!"
Marguerite Snow was an American silent film and stage actress. In her early films she was billed as Margaret Snow.
The Evidence of the Film is a 1913 American silent short crime film directed by Lawrence Marston and Edwin Thanhouser, starring William Garwood.
Marie Eline was an American silent film child actress and sister of Grace Eline. Their mother was an actress.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1912 horror film based on both Robert Louis Stevenson's novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and on the 1887 play version written by Thomas Russell Sullivan. Directed by Lucius Henderson, the film stars actor James Cruze in the dual role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and co-starred his real life wife Marguerite Snow as well.
The Bargain is a 1914 American silent Western film starring William S. Hart. It was the first feature film starring Hart, who would go on to become the most popular Western actor of the silent film era. In 2010, it was one of the 25 films added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and to be preserved for all time. The second Hart Western to be named to the National Film Registry, The Bargain was said to have been selected because of Hart’s charisma, the film’s authenticity and realistic portrayal of the Western genre.
The Star of Bethlehem is a 1912 American silent film produced by Edwin Thanhouser and Charles J. Hite, and featuring Florence La Badie, James Cruze, and William Russell. The film is a retelling of Biblical events preceding the Nativity of Jesus. Directed by Lawrence Marston, the entire film is staged as brief tableaux. With much of the original lost, the existing footage can be difficult to interpret as a coherent whole.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a 1914 American silent historical drama film directed by William Robert Daly using Vitagraph and starring Sam Lucas, Walter Hitchcock, and Hattie Delaro. It was based upon playwright George L. Aiken's theatrical adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was produced at Fort Lee, New Jersey by the newly-founded World Film studio.
Ethel Jewett was an American silent film actress.
Jane Eyre is a 1910 American silent short classic drama produced by the Thanhouser Film Corporation. Adapted from Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel, Jane Eyre, the film mirrors the events and plot of the original book. The writer of the scenario is unknown, but Lloyd Lonergan probably adapted the work. The film's director is often and erroneously claimed to be Theodore Marston, but Barry O'Neil or Lloyd B. Carleton are possible candidates. The cast of the film was credited, an act rare and unusual in the era.
The Two Roses is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on the young Tony Prolo who goes to deliver lunch to his father of the same name. After arriving and giving him his lunch, the young Tony is hit by a passing vehicle and the father rushes his son home. Mr. Sears, whose car hit the child, receives a demand for $10,000 by the "Black Hand". The Sears go to the police and set a trap for the Black Hand, but end up wrongly arresting the child's father. Tony convinces the police to investigate further and the confusion is cleared up when the real culprit is caught. Mr. Sears compensates the family by purchasing them a house in the countryside. The film features Marie Eline, cast in the role of an Italian boy, along with the leading players Frank H. Crane and Anna Rosemond as the parents. The film was released on June 7, 1910. The film survives with new inter-titles that were created to replace the lost materials.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film was adapted by from the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The plot of the Thanhouser production streamlined the actual story to portray the film over the course of a single reel. The film was released on July 26, 1910, on the same day that Vitagraph released the first reel of their own three reel version of Uncle Tom's Cabin. This prompted the Thanhouser Company to advertise against the Vitagraph film by referring to the other as being overly drawn out. The film garnered mixed, but mostly positive reception in trade publications. The film is presumed lost.
The Mermaid is a 1910 American silent short comedy produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on John Gary, a hotel owner, who wants to revitalize his business. After reading about a reported mermaid sighting, he has his daughter Ethel pose as a mermaid and gets a newspaper reporter to witness and photograph the mermaid. The publicity results in the hotel becoming famous, but Ethel eventually discloses the joke to the guests of the hotel in her mermaid suit. The film was released on July 29, 1910 and was met with mostly positive reviews. The film is presumed lost.
The Old Curiosity Shop is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film is an adaptation of the 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens that was limited to the time constrictions of the single reel format. The film focuses on the grandfather who gambles into poverty and the consequences which eventually claim the life of Little Nell. Its survival and attribution as a Thanhouser film was noted by Kamilla Elliott in her 2003 book Rethinking the Novel/Film Debate under the title Little Nell. In 2012, the work was confirmed to be a Thanhouser production at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival. The identification of the film as Little Nell arose due to head of the film having been lost.
Only in the Way is a 1911 American silent short drama film produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film focuses on a grandmother who seeks the support of her only son and makes herself comfortable in his house. The grandmother is welcomed and befriended by Marie, her crippled granddaughter. The son's wife cannot bear to live with her mother-in-law and delivers an ultimatum to her husband: "Either your mother or I must leave this house!" The husband decides to put his mother in an old folks' home and the wife informs her she is to leave immediately. Little Marie is upset that her grandmother has to leave because she was "only in the way" and decides that as a cripple, so was she. Marie pens a letter to this effect and runs away to the old people's home. The parents frantically search for Marie and discover the note. They rush to the home and are relieved to find Marie safe and the family departs together with her grandmother.
Carl Louis Gregory (1882–1951) was an American cinematographer and director.
She is a 1911 American fantasy silent film and is the first film to attempt to portray the story in the 1887 novel of the same name by H. Rider Haggard. Made by the Thanhouser Company, the film was directed by George Nichols and featured his wife Viola Alberti as Amenartes. It starred Marguerite Snow in the title role and James Cruze in the joint role of Kallikrates and Leo Vincey and was based on a scenario by Theodore Marston.