The Goose Woman

Last updated

The Goose Woman
The Goose Woman poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Clarence Brown
Written by Rex Beach (story)
Melville W. Brown (scenario)
Frederica Sagor (uncredited scenario)
Dwinelle Benthall (intertitles)
Produced by Universal Pictures
Starring Louise Dresser
Jack Pickford
Constance Bennett
Cinematography Milton Moore
Edited byRay Curtiss
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • August 3, 1925 (1925-08-03)(New York City)
  • December 27, 1925 (1925-12-27)(U.S.)
Running time
8 reels at 2,286 feet
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Goose Woman is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Louise Dresser with Jack Pickford as her son. The film was released by Universal Pictures. [1]

Contents

The Rex Beach short story is based in part on the then already sensational Hall-Mills murder case in which a woman named Jane Gibson is described as a pig woman because of the pigs she raised on her property. [1]

Plot

As described in a film magazine reviews, [2] opera singer Mary Holmes loses her voice as a result of giving birth to a boy, and develops an intense dislike of her offspring. She becomes a victim of drink, living alone in a shabby cottage and raises geese. Her son wins the love of Hazel Woods, a young actress, who repulsed the vicious advances of a millionaire theatre-owner. The latter is murdered. To gain publicity, Mary invents a wild story about having witnessed the murder. The district attorney furnishes her with fine clothes, reveals her identity as a former stage star, and she is the sensation of the day. However, the details she concocts about the crime cause her son’s arrest. Confronted with him, she experiences a sudden awakening of mother-love and confesses that her story is false. It transpires that the theatre doorman is the guilty person. The son is cleared and faces a happy future with his reformed parent and Hazel.

Cast

Reception

Both critics and audiences favorably received the film.[ citation needed ]The Goose Woman was remade in 1933 as The Past of Mary Holmes featuring Helen MacKellar and Jean Arthur. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Pickford</span> Canadian-American actress (1892–1979)

Gladys Louise Smith, known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founded Pickford–Fairbanks Studios and United Artists, and was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Pickford is considered to be one of the most recognisable women in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Dresser</span> American actress (1878–1965)

Louise Dresser was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including State Fair and David Harum.

<i>Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm</i> (1917 film) 1917 film by Marshall Neilan

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon the 1903 novel of the same name by Kate Douglas Wiggin. This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion. The film was made by the "Mary Pickford Company" and was an acclaimed box office hit. When the play premiered on Broadway in the 1910 theater season the part of Rebecca was played by Edith Taliaferro.

<i>The Little American</i> 1917 film

The Little American is a 1917 American silent romantic war drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Mary Pickford as an American woman who is in love with both a German soldier and a French soldier during World War I. A print of the film is housed at the UCLA Film and Television Archive and has been released on DVD.

<i>Lightnin</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Lightnin' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by John Ford. It was based on a successful play of the same name. The original run of the play started in 1918 at the Gaiety Theatre and continued for 1,291 performances, breaking the record for longest running play at that time. The film was remade in 1930 by Henry King for Fox as an early talkie starring Will Rogers with support from Louise Dresser and Joel McCrea.

<i>Stella Maris</i> (1918 film) 1918 film directed by Marshall Neilan

Stella Maris is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Marshall Neilan, written by Frances Marion and based on William John Locke's 1913 novel of the same name. The film stars Mary Pickford in dual roles as the title character and an orphan servant.

<i>Mile-a-Minute Kendall</i> 1918 American film

Mile-a-Minute Kendall is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by William Desmond Taylor and released by Paramount Pictures. Jack Pickford plays the title role, a wealthy, rakish young man who falls for a gold digger. The "beautiful but unscrupulous fortune hunter" who tempts Kendall is played by Lottie Pickford, Jack's sister; a contemporary review in Variety noted that "the idea of a sister 'vamping' her own brother is not exactly palatable." Louise Huff plays the "good girl" in the story.

<i>The Past of Mary Holmes</i> 1933 film by Harlan Thompson

The Past of Mary Holmes is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film, directed by Harlan Thompson and Slavko Vorkapich, and released by RKO. The film is a remake of the silent film The Goose Woman (1925), which is based on a short story by Rex Beach, partly based on the Hall-Mills murder case.

<i>Johanna Enlists</i> 1918 American film

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.

<i>The Ghost House</i> (film) 1917 American film

The Ghost House is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by William C. deMille and written by Beulah Marie Dix. The film stars Jack Pickford, Louise Huff, Olga Grey, James Neill, Eugene Pallette, and Horace B. Carpenter. The film was released on October 1, 1917, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film.

<i>Jack and Jill</i> (1917 film) 1917 American film

Jack and Jill is a 1917 American Western silent film directed by William Desmond Taylor and written by Gardner Hunting and Margaret Turnbull. The film stars Jack Pickford, Louise Huff, Leo Houck, Don Bailey, J.H. Holland, and Jack Hoxie. The film was released on November 12, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Wild Youth</i> (film) 1918 film by George Melford

Wild Youth is a lost 1918 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and written by Beulah Marie Dix. The film stars Louise Huff, Theodore Roberts, Jack Mulhall, James Cruze, and Adele Farrington. It is based on a novel by Gilbert Parker. The film was released on March 18, 1918, by Paramount Pictures. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film.

<i>His Majesty, Bunker Bean</i> 1918 American film

His Majesty, Bunker Bean is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by William Desmond Taylor and written by Julia Crawford Ivers and Harry Leon Wilson. The film stars Jack Pickford, Louise Huff, Jack McDonald, Frances Clanton, Peggy O'Connell, and Edythe Chapman. The film was released by Paramount Pictures on April 8, 1918.

<i>The Golden Princess</i> 1925 film

The Golden Princess is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Clarence G. Badger and written by Frances Agnew based upon an 1869 story by Bret Harte. The film stars Betty Bronson, Neil Hamilton, Phyllis Haver, Joseph J. Dowling, Edgar Kennedy, George Irving, and Norma Wills. The film was released on October 5, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.

Everybody's Acting is a lost 1926 American drama silent film directed by Marshall Neilan and written by Marshall Neilan, Benjamin Glazer and George Marion Jr. The film stars Betty Bronson, Ford Sterling, Louise Dresser, Lawrence Gray, Henry B. Walthall, Raymond Hitchcock and Stuart Holmes. The film was released on November 8, 1926, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>The Silent Watcher</i> 1924 silent film by Frank Lloyd

The Silent Watcher is a lost 1924 American silent melodrama film directed by Frank Lloyd. It stars Glenn Hunter and Bessie Love. It was produced by Frank Lloyd Productions/First National and distributed by First National Pictures. It was based on the story "The Altar on the Hill" by Mary Roberts Rinehart.

<i>Playing with Souls</i> 1925 film by Ralph Ince

Playing with Souls is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Jacqueline Logan, Mary Astor, and Clive Brook. The film is considered lost.

<i>My Son</i> (1925 film) 1925 film by Edwin Carewe

My Son is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Edwin Carewe and starring Alla Nazimova. Carewe produced with First National who distributed the film.

<i>The Bandits Baby</i> 1925 film

The Bandit's Baby is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Fred Thomson and Helen Foster.

<i>The Mysterious Stranger</i> (1925 film) 1925 silent film

The Mysterious Stranger is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Jack Nelson and starring Richard Talmadge, Josef Swickard, and Carmelita Geraghty.

References

  1. 1 2 Progressive Silent Film List: The Goose Woman at silentera.com
  2. "New Pictures: The Goose Woman", Exhibitors Herald, Chicago, Illinois: Exhibitors Herald Company, 22 (11): 54, September 5, 1925, retrieved September 1, 2022PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. "The Goose Woman (1925)". UCLA film archives. Retrieved August 23, 2011.