The Devil-Stone | |
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Directed by | Cecil B. DeMille Cullen Tate (asst. director) |
Written by | Beatrice deMille Jeanie MacPherson Leighton Osmun |
Produced by | Jesse L. Lasky Cecil B. DeMille |
Starring | Geraldine Farrar Wallace Reid Hobart Bosworth Tully Marshall |
Cinematography | Alvin Wyckoff |
Edited by | Cecil B. DeMille |
Production company | Famous Players–Lasky/Artcraft |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Devil-Stone is a 1917 American silent romance film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, co-written by his mother Beatrice deMille and Jeanie MacPherson, and starring Geraldine Farrar. [1]
The film had sequences filmed in the Handschiegl Color Process (billed as the "DeMille-Wyckoff Process"). [2] Art direction for the film was done by Wilfred Buckland. [3] This was the last of Farrar's films for Paramount Pictures.
As described in a film magazine, [4] Silas Martin (Marshall), a miser, marries Marcia Manot (Farrar) in order to gain possession of a valuable emerald she owns that once belonged to a Norse queen and is now cursed. After the wedding Marcia learns the true side of her husband and realizes that the marriage was a mistake. Silas steals the stone and places Marcia and Guy Sterling (Reid), his business partner, in a false light in order to get a divorce. Marcia sneaks in one night and discovers that Silas has the stone. She gains possession of it, but Silas attempts to regain it. They struggle, and Marcia kills him in self-defense. Sterling is accused of the murder, but the evidence clears him and the crime remains a mystery. Sterling marries Marcia and has an expert criminologist investigate the murder. He traces the crime to Marcia and, when confronted, she confesses. He gives her one month's leave of absence, after which she is to turn herself into the law. Marcia returns to her old home and gives the priest the emerald so he can make provision for homeless orphans. She returns and gives herself up to the criminologist. However, finding that her good deed has redeemed her, the criminologist does not turn her over to the law, and she and Sterling are happily reunited.
An incomplete 35 mm print of The Devil-Stone is held by the Library of Congress. Only two reels of the film are known to survive, the other four reels are considered lost. [1] [5] [6]
Alice Geraldine Farrar was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." In the 1910s, she also found success as an actress in silent films. She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".
A Burlesque on Carmen is Charlie Chaplin's thirteenth film for Essanay Studios, originally released as Carmen on December 18, 1915. Chaplin played the leading man and Edna Purviance played Carmen. The film is a parody of Cecil B. DeMille's Carmen 1915, which was itself an interpretation of the popular novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée.
Abbie Jean MacPherson was an American silent actress, writer and director. She is known for her collaborations with directors D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Secret Man is a 1917 American silent Western film, directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. Two of the five reels of the film survive at the Library of Congress film archive.
Carmen is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée. The existing versions of this film appear to be from the re-edited 1918 re-release.
Temptation is a 1915 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille. The film starred Geraldine Farrar and Theodore Roberts and was written by and based on an original story by Hector Turnbull. Additional writing was done by DeMille and Jeanie MacPherson, who did not receive screen credit.
Maria Rosa is a surviving 1916 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was based on a 1914 Broadway stage play Maria Rosa by Àngel Guimerà. On the stage the principal parts were played by Dorothy Donnelly and Lou Tellegen, future husband of this film's star Geraldine Farrar.
Joan the Woman is a 1916 American epic silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc. The film premiered on Christmas Day in 1916. This was DeMille's first historical drama. The screenplay is based on Friedrich Schiller's 1801 play Die Jungfrau von Orleans. This film was considered to be the "first cinematic spectacle about Joan of Arc."
The Woman God Forgot is a 1917 American silent romance film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar. Art direction for the film was done by Wilfred Buckland.
Nan of Music Mountain is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and Cecil B. DeMille. The film is based on Frank H. Spearman's novel of the same name and stars Wallace Reid and Anna Little.
The Whispering Chorus is a 1918 American silent psychological drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is the first and earliest film considered a psychological drama.
Old Wives for New is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the 1908 novel of the same title by David Graham Phillips.
We Can't Have Everything was a 1918 American silent drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and adapted for the screen by his brother, William C. De Mille. The film was based upon a 1917 novel of the same name by Rupert Hughes. Art direction for the film was done by Wilfred Buckland.
The Squaw Man is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is a remake of DeMille's 1914 film of the same name, which is based upon a 1905 play by Edwin Milton Royle. The film was reportedly made as an experiment to prove DeMille's theory that a good film is based on a good story. It cost $40,000 to make and grossed $350,000. It would be remade again by DeMille in 1931.
Something to Think About is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Elliott Dexter and Gloria Swanson.
The Cheat is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is a remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film of the same name using the same script by Hector Turnbull and Jeanie MacPherson. This version stars Pola Negri and was directed by George Fitzmaurice.
The World and Its Woman is a 1919 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures and directed by Frank Lloyd. Opera singer Geraldine Farrar and her husband Lou Tellegen star.
The Hell Cat is a 1918 American silent Western film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Reginald Barker directed and Geraldine Farrar starred. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
Shadows is a 1919 American silent film drama produced by Samuel Goldwyn and directed by Reginald Barker. It stars opera singer Geraldine Farrar.
Made for Love is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Paul Sloane, produced by Cecil B. DeMille, and starring Leatrice Joy.
Unfortunately, only two reels of the original six reels of The Devil-Stone are known to survive in the American Film Institute Collection in the Library of Congress.