The Family Skeleton | |
---|---|
Directed by | Victor Schertzinger Jerome Storm |
Screenplay by | Thomas H. Ince Bert Lennon |
Produced by | Thomas H. Ince |
Starring | Charles Ray Sylvia Breamer Andrew Arbuckle William Elmer Otto Hoffman Jack Dyer |
Cinematography | Chester A. Lyons |
Production company | Thomas H. Ince Corporation |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 50 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Family Skeleton is a surviving 1918 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and Jerome Storm and written by Thomas H. Ince and Bert Lennon. The film stars Charles Ray, Sylvia Breamer, Andrew Arbuckle, William Elmer, Otto Hoffman, and Jack Dyer. The film was released on March 31, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. [1] [2]
As described in a film magazine, [3] Billy Bates (Ray) believes that he has inherited the desire for strong drink from his father and, in order to live apart from his friends unmolested, he retires to a cheap saloon where each day finds him sinking lower. Poppy Drayton (Breamer) loves Billy and decides to save him from himself. She hatches a plan that makes Billy believe that she has been kidnapped, and Billy finds that he can do without John Barleycorn when the safety of the woman he loves is at stake.
Like many American films of the time, The Family Skeleton was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts in Reel 3 of four closeups of woman seated at table with men drinking and to reduce length by half of all other scenes of women shown drinking. [4]
Prints are extant in the Library of Congress collection and at the Gosfilmofond Russian State archive. [5] [6]
Bright and Early is a 1918 American short comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy. This short is preserved in the Library of Congress's collection.
We Can't Have Everything was a 1918 American silent drama film directed and written by Cecil B. DeMille based upon a novel by Rupert Hughes. The film is considered to be lost.
The Red Ace is a 1917 American adventure film serial directed by Jacques Jaccard. An incomplete print which is missing four chapters survives in the film archive of the Library of Congress.
The Girl Without a Soul is a 1917 American silent feature film featuring Viola Dana in a dual role as sisters.
Huck and Tom is a surviving American comedy drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and released in 1918. The scenario by Julia Crawford Ivers is derived from Mark Twain's novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Robert Gordon and Jack Pickford reprise the title roles from the 1917 version of Tom Sawyer, a successful adaptation that was also directed by Taylor.
Johanna Enlists is a 1918 silent film comedy drama produced by and starring Mary Pickford with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by William Desmond Taylor from a short story by Rupert Hughes, The Mobilization of Johanna. Frances Marion, a frequent Pickford collaborator, wrote the scenario. The film was made at a time during World War I when sentimental or patriotic films were immensely popular. It was an early starring vehicle for Monte Blue, the male lead opposite Pickford. The film survives in several prints, including one at the Library of Congress.
Wolves of the Rail is a 1918 American silent Western film produced, directed by, and starring William S. Hart. Thomas H. Ince assisted Hart in supervising the production.
The Unbeliever is a 1918 American silent propaganda film made towards the end of World War I. It was directed by Alan Crosland for the Edison Company towards its last days as a functioning film-making company. It stars Raymond McKee and Marguerite Courtot, who married a few years later, and Eric von Stroheim.
The Son of His Father is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ridgwell Cullum. The film stars Charles Ray, Vola Vale, Robert McKim, George Nichols, Charles K. French, and J. P. Lockney. The film was released on October 22, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
His Mother's Boy is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ella Stuart Carson. The film stars Charles Ray, Doris May, William Elmer, Josef Swickard, Jerome Storm, and Gertrude Claire. It is based on the short story "Where Life is Marked Down" by Rupert Hughes. The film was released on December 24, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Narrow Trail is a 1917 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and William S. Hart and written by William S. Hart and Harvey F. Thew. The film stars William S. Hart, Sylvia Breamer, Milton Ross, and Bob Kortman. The film was released on December 30, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
The Spirit of '17 is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and written by Judge Willis Brown and Julia Crawford Ivers. The film stars Jack Pickford, Clarence Geldart, Edythe Chapman, L.N. Wells, Charles Arling, and Virginia Ware. The film was released on January 26, 1918, by Paramount Pictures and, like several other films released shortly after the American entry into World War I, had a patriotic theme. Several of the intertitles of this film had messages at the bottom which encouraged young men to enlist.
Tyrant Fear is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill, written by R. Cecil Smith, and starring Dorothy Dalton, Thurston Hall, Melbourne MacDowell, William Conklin, Lou Salter, and Carmen Phillips. It was released on April 29, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress.
Playing the Game is a 1918 American silent comedy drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Julien Josephson and R. Cecil Smith. The film stars Charles Ray, Doris May, Harry L. Rattenberry, Robert McKim, William Elmer, and Leota Lorraine. The film was released on May 5, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a lost film.
His Own Home Town is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Larry Evans. The film stars Charles Ray, Katherine MacDonald, Charles K. French, Otto Hoffman, Andrew Arbuckle, and Karl Formes. The film was released on May 27, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.
The Kaiser's Shadow is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill and written by Octavus Roy Cohen and J.U. Giesy. The film stars Dorothy Dalton, Thurston Hall, Edward Cecil, Leota Lorraine, Otto Hoffman, and Charles K. French. The film was released on July 1, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives.
The Temple of Dusk is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by James Young. It was produced by Sessue Hayakawa's Haworth Pictures Corporation.
Woman and Wife is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Edward Jose and starring Alice Brady. It is based on the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. The Select Pictures Corporation produced and distributed the film. The film was also known as The Lifted Cross.
My Four Years in Germany is a 1918 American silent war drama film that is notable as being the first film produced by the four Warner Brothers, Harry, Sam, Albert, and Jack, though the title card clearly reads "My Four Years In Germany Inc. Presents ...". It was directed by seasoned William Nigh, later a director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and was based on the experiences of real life U. S. Ambassador to Germany James W. Gerard as described in his book. The film was produced while World War I was still raging and is sometimes considered a propaganda film.
The Sin Flood is a lost 1922 American silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Richard Dix and Helene Chadwick. It was distributed by Goldwyn Pictures.