The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | |
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Directed by | Phillips Smalley Lois Weber |
Written by | Phillips Smalley Lois Weber |
Produced by | Phillips Smalley Lois Weber |
Starring | Phillips Smalley Lois Weber Priscilla Dean Wedgwood Nowell Evelyn Selbie Harry De More |
Cinematography | Allen G. Siegler |
Distributed by | Universal Film Manufacturing Company |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is an American silent drama film released in 1917. It was written, produced and directed by the husband and wife team Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber, who also play the lead roles. It was made in Hollywood under the working title Is a Woman a Person? [1] [2]
The plot follows the careers of a husband and wife pair of activists campaigning for sex education and family planning. The events in the film were largely inspired by the trial of Margaret Sanger.
The film was an unofficial sequel to Where Are My Children? , a 1916 film by the same team, and has been classified as a lost film. It was not a commercial success upon its release, and Weber later claimed to be unhappy with the finished product.
Mrs. Broome (Weber) is under surveillance by the police because of her efforts to educate women about birth control. Eventually she is arrested, but through the connections of her doctor husband (Smalley), she is released. In a discussion with another couple, the Grahams (Priscilla Dean and Wedgewood Nowell), Mrs. Broome tells the story of a servant, Sarah (Evelyn Selbie), and her husband (Harry deMore) who had more children than they could support. Once again, while she is holding a meeting, Mrs. Broome is arrested. She stages a hunger strike, and again is pardoned. [3]
Where Are My Children? is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber and stars Tyrone Power Sr., Juan de la Cruz, Helen Riaume, Marie Walcamp, Cora Drew, A.D. Blake, Rene Rogers, William Haben and C. Norman Hammond. The film tells the story of a district attorney who, while prosecuting a doctor for illegal abortions, finds out that society people, including his wife, used the doctor's services.
Ragtime is a 1981 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the 1975 historical novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow. The film is set in and around turn-of-the-century New York City, New Rochelle, and Atlantic City, and includes fictionalized references to actual people and events of the time. The film stars James Cagney, Mary Steenburgen, Howard Rollins, Brad Dourif, James Olson and Elizabeth McGovern, features the final film appearances of Cagney and Pat O'Brien, and features early appearances in small parts by Jeff Daniels, Fran Drescher, Samuel L. Jackson, Ethan Phillips and John Ratzenberger.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a 1992 American psychological thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson, and starring Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, and Julianne Moore. Its plot follows the pregnant wife of a Seattle obstetrician who kills himself after he is accused of sexual misconduct by his patients. The shock leads the wife to miscarry, after which she poses as a nanny for one of her husband's accusers, and slowly begins to infiltrate the family. The title is taken from an 1865 poem by William Ross Wallace and there are several nods to the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle grossed approximately $140 million worldwide. The film was remade into a Hindi film by the name Khal-Naaikaa in 1993.
Florence Lois Weber was an American silent film director, screenwriter, producer and actress. She is identified in some historical references as among "the most important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian Anthony Slide has also asserted, "Along with D. W. Griffith, Weber was the American cinema's first genuine auteur, a filmmaker involved in all aspects of production and one who utilized the motion picture to put across her own ideas and philosophies".
Wendell Phillips Smalley was an American silent film director and actor.
The Blot is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Lois Weber, who also co-wrote and produced the film. The film tackles the social problem of genteel poverty, focusing on a struggling family. It stars Philip Hubbard, Margaret McWade, Claire Windsor, and Louis Calhern.
Evelyn Selbie was an American stage actress and performer in both silent and sound films.
Suspense is a 1913 American silent short film thriller directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. Weber also wrote the scenario and stars in the film with Valentine Paul. The film features early examples of a split screen shot and a car chase. The Internet Movie Database lists Lon Chaney as having an unconfirmed and uncredited brief role; however, this is disputed by silentera.com, which states "Despite attributions to the contrary, Lon Chaney does not appear in the film."
A Chapter in Her Life is a 1923 American drama film based on the novel Jewel: A Chapter in Her Life by Clara Louise Burnham. The film was directed by Lois Weber. She had previously adapted the same novel as the 1915 film Jewel, which she co-directed (uncredited) with her then-husband and collaborator Phillips Smalley. Weber made this film shortly after her divorce from Smalley.
For Husbands Only is 1918 American silent comedy-drama film and directed by Lois Weber and her husband Phillips Smalley. The film was distributed by Universal Pictures. The film was apparently made in late 1917 but not released until just before the end of World War I. For Husband's Only is now considered to be a lost film.
A Cafe in Cairo is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Priscilla Dean, Robert Ellis and Carl Stockdale. Hunt Stromberg produced it for release by the recently established Producers Distributing Corporation. It was part of a wave of films with Middle Eastern settings which followed on from the success of Paramount's The Sheik in 1921.
Forbidden is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley and starring Mildred Harris, who was billed as Mrs. Charles Chaplin. The picture was produced and distributed by the Universal Film Manufacturing Company.
Too Wise Wives is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Lois Weber, written by Lois Weber and Marion Orth, and starring Louis Calhern, Claire Windsor, Phillips Smalley, and Mona Lisa. It was released on May 22, 1921, by Paramount Pictures. A copy of the film is in the Library of Congress.
Hop, the Devil's Brew is a 1916 American silent film directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. Inspired by an exposé of opium trafficking in the Saturday Evening Post, the semidocumentary film starred Smalley as a Customs official and Weber as his opium-addicted wife.
False Colors, also known as False Colours, is a surviving 1914 American silent drama film directed, written by and starring Lois Weber and her husband Phillips Smalley. Weber plays dual roles of a mother and her daughter.
Queen o'Diamonds is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Chester Withey and starring Evelyn Brent, Elsa Lorimer, and Phillips Smalley.
Saving the Family Name is a 1916 American drama film directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley and written by Lois Weber. The film stars Mary MacLaren, Gerard Alexander, Carl von Schiller, Jack Holt, Phillips Smalley, and Harry Depp. The film was released on September 11, 1916, by Bluebird Photoplays, Inc.
Idle Wives is a 1916 American silent drama film co-directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. The film was released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Surviving reels of the film are preserved at the Library of Congress. The film was released on DVD/Blu-ray in 2018.
The People vs. John Doe is a 1916 silent feature film about capital punishment co-directed by Lois Weber and Phillips Smalley. The film was released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company.
The Jew's Christmas is a 1913 silent film. The film was written by Lois Weber, and directed by Weber and her husband Phillips Smalley. The first American film to include a rabbi as a character, it was positively received, and novelized the year after its release. Modern analysts have described the film as encouraging Jewish assimilation and interfaith marriage in Judaism, and as incorporating prejudiced ideas about Jews.