The Incorrigible Dukane

Last updated
The Incorrigible Dukane
The Incorrigible Dukane poster.jpg
The Incorrigible Dukane theatrical poster
Directed by James Durkin
Based onThe Incorrigible Dukane
by George Clifford Shedd
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyWilliam F. Wagner
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures Corp.
Release date
  • September 2, 1915 (1915-09-02) [1]
Running time
40 min.
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

The Incorrigible Dukane is a 1915 silent dramedy and farce produced by Daniel Frohman and released by Famous Players Film Company. Directed by James Durkin, it stars John Barrymore in his fifth feature film. Adapted from the novel [lower-alpha 1] of the same name by George C. Shedd, [3] it is the earliest known surviving John Barrymore feature film. [4] [5]

Contents

Synopsis

Through mistaken identity, a rich contractor's son is impressed into the labor force building his own father's dam at Silver Peak. When construction of a dam in Silver Peak, Colorado threatens their land, rancher Crofton (William MacDonald) and his daughter Enid (Helen Weir) confront New York contractor James Dukane, Sr. (William T. Carleton). Dukane sends his son James "Jimmy" Dukane, Jr. (John Barrymore) to manage construction and to deal with the dam's impact on the locals, hoping that the task will help his son mature. However, en route to the construction site, Jimmy is waylaid by a vagabond, and his clothing and identification are stolen. Dressed in the tramp's clothes, Jimmy finally meets with the construction foreman Corbetson (Stewart Baird), who scoffs at his claimed identity and instead puts him to work with a pick and shovel. During his labors, Jimmy learns that Corbetson has been using sub-par materials and embezzling monies from Dukane Sr, and that to hide his crime, Corbetson is planning to blow up the dam.

Cast

uncredited

Production

The Incorrigible Dukane was Barrymore's fifth feature film as well as his fifth film under contract to Famous Players. [6] It was James Durkin's first directorial effort for Famous Players. [7]

Style

The Day said that the film had "crystal clear photography [and] homey, every day realistic and intensely interesting settings" that made it a "superb production". [8] Joseph W. Garton said in his book, The film acting of John Barrymore, that the "direction and photography are adequate" and that the "well developed narrative line is unusually strong". [4]

Critical reception

Reviews in the Motion Picture News [9] and the New York Dramatic Mirror [10] were positive, generally acknowledging Barrymore as the main attraction. The New York trade paper Review called it the "best acrobatic show in town". [11] George Blaisdell in Moving Picture World pointed out a few directorial slips, but still predicted that the film would be liked. [12] Variety 's Sime Silverman gave it a negative notice, writing, "... 'comedy' is a misnomer unless one will accept as funny John Barrymore's attempts to imitate Charlie Chaplin." [13]

The Day called the film a "straightforward story told in a hearty boyish style with all the merriment of youth crowded into the four parts required to unfold the plot". [8] The Meriden Morning Record considered it to be a "lively and very enjoyable photoplay". [14] The Grey River Argus said that it was a "splendid drama" that, in terms of Barrymore, "gives us that legitimate actor in his happiest vein". [15] The Ohinemuri Gazette considered it to be a "picture that will be enjoyed by everyone". [16] The New Zealand Truth described it as a "thoroughly amusing filmatisation" and that it had "some exciting scenes during the industrial flare-up and plenty of dramatic and humorous happenings". [17]

Preservation

This film is extant. A 35mm print is preserved in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection, and another print is in the BFI National Archive. [18] Of Barrymore's earliest performances on film, encompassing a few shorts for Lubin and ten feature films for Famous Players, all are presumed lost except this one. [6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Some contemporary sources make it a play rather than a novel, but AFI found no confirmation of this. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Barrymore</span> American actor, director, screenwriter (1878–1954)

Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul (1931), and is known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Barrymore</span> American actor (1882–1942)

John Barrymore was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly attempted a career as an artist, but appeared on stage together with his father Maurice in 1900, and then his sister Ethel the following year. He began his career in 1903 and first gained attention as a stage actor in light comedy, then high drama, culminating in productions of Justice (1916), Richard III (1920), and Hamlet (1922); his portrayal of Hamlet led to him being called the "greatest living American tragedian".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin S. Porter</span> American film pioneer (1870–1941)

Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 250 films created by Porter, his most important include What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City (1901), Jack and the Beanstalk (1902), Life of an American Fireman (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The European Rest Cure (1904), The Kleptomaniac (1905), Life of a Cowboy (1906), Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (1908), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1913).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Niblo</span> American film director (1874–1948)

Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Pictures</span> Defunct American film studio

Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It was purchased in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madge Evans</span> American actress (1909–81)

Madge Evans was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. She began her career as a child performer and model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maude Fealy</span> American actress (1883–1971)

Maude Fealy was an American stage and silent film actress whose career survived into the sound era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Rico</span> American actress

Mona Rico was a Mexico-born American actress. Her films include Eternal Love (1929), Shanghai Lady (1929), A Devil With Women (1930), and Zorro Rides Again (1937).

<i>Are You a Mason?</i> (1915 film) 1915 film by Thomas N. Heffron

Are You a Mason? is a 1915 American silent comedy film produced by Adolph Zukor and Charles Frohman, and distributed through Paramount Pictures. Directed by Thomas N. Heffron, it starred John Barrymore as a young husband who pretends to join the Masons as an excuse to get out of the house. It was based on a 1901 play by Leo Ditrichstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Clifford Shedd</span> American novelist

George Clifford Shedd was an early 20th-century American writer. Several of his novels were adapted into films. His novel The Incorrigible Dukane (1911) was made into a film starring John Barrymore in 1915, and In the Shadow of the Hills (1919) was adapted for the screen as Cold Steel (1921).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Rankin Drew</span> American actor (1891–1918)

Sidney Rankin Drew was an American actor and film director.

<i>Lets Get Married</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

Let's Get Married is a 1926 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Gregory La Cava and stars Richard Dix and Lois Wilson. The film is based on an 1897 play The Man from Mexico by Henry A. Du Souchet performed by William Collier, Sr. This film is a remake of a 1914 film, The Man from Mexico starring John Barrymore which is now considered a lost film.

<i>Arsène Lupin</i> (1932 film) 1932 film by Jack Conway

Arsène Lupin is a 1932 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Jack Conway and starring John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. It was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.The film is based on a popular 1909 play by Maurice Leblanc and Francis de Croisset. Leblanc created the character Arsène Lupin, a charming, brilliant gentleman thief in 1905. Lupin preys on rich villains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio</span>

Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen, and radio. He also directed several films, wrote scripts, created etchings, sketches, and composed music. He was the eldest child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, and his two siblings were John and Ethel; these and other family members were part of an acting dynasty. Reluctant to follow his parents' career, Barrymore appeared together with his grandmother Louisa Lane Drew in a stage production of The Rivals at the age of 15. He soon found success on stage in character roles. Although he took a break from acting in 1906–1909 to train in Paris as a painter, he was not successful as an artist, and returned to the US and acting. He also joined his family troupe, from 1910, in their vaudeville act.

<i>The Red Widow</i> 1916 American film

The Red Widow is a lost 1916 American silent romantic comedy film directed by James Durkin, produced by Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was based on a 1911 Broadway musical play The Red Widow by Channing Pollock and Rennold Wolf and starring comedian Raymond Hitchcock. John Barrymore stars in this film in the Hitchcock part of Cicero Butts. Hitchcock's wife, Flora Zabelle, is the leading lady in this film.

<i>Nearly a King</i> 1916 film by Frederick A. Thomson

Nearly a King is a 1916 silent film romantic comedy directed by Frederick A. Thomson, produced by Famous Players Film Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. John Barrymore stars in a story written for the screen. Barrymore's first wife Katherine Corri Harris makes her screen debut with him in this picture. Frederick Thomson directed and this is now a lost film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Courtenay (actor)</span> American stage and film actor (1875–1933)

William Courtenay was a noted Broadway star and later film actor. He was born William Hancock Kelly. At age 19 in 1894, before his Broadway career took off, Courtenay appeared in Alexander Black's slide show Miss Jerry. This was a sort of alternative entertainment to a new device by Thomas Edison called a Kinetoscope à la moving pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio</span>

Ethel Barrymore was an American actress of stage, screen and radio. She came from a family of actors; she was the middle child of Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore, and had two brothers, Lionel and John. Reluctant to pursue her parents' career, the loss of financial support following the death of Louisa Lane Drew, caused Barrymore to give up her dream of becoming a concert pianist and instead earn a living on the stage. Barrymore's first Broadway role, alongside her uncle John Drew, Jr., was in The Imprudent Young Couple (1895). She soon found success, particularly after an invitation from William Gillette to appear on stage in his 1897 London production of Secret Service. Barrymore was soon popular with English society, and she had a number of romantic suitors, including Laurence Irving, the dramatist. His father, Henry Irving, cast her in The Bells (1897) and Peter the Great (1898).

<i>Wife Tamers</i> 1926 film

Wife Tamers is a 1926 American silent short comedy film directed by James W. Horne and produced by Hal Roach. It stars Lionel Barrymore, Clyde Cook, and Gertrude Astor. It was distributed by Pathé Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Durkin (actor)</span> American stage and film actor and director

James Durkin was a Canadian-American actor and director of the stage and screen.

References

  1. ↑ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:The Incorrigible Dukane
  2. ↑ "The Incorrigible Dukane". Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute . Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Majestic Theatre" . The Hartford Courant . September 10, 1915. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Garton, Joseph W. (1980). The film acting of John Barrymore. Ayer Publishing. pp. 64–66. ISBN   978-0-405-12910-0.
  5. ↑ Norden, Martin E. (1995). John Barrymore, A Bio-bibliography. Greenwood. ISBN   9780313292682.
  6. 1 2 Tibbetts, John C.; Welsh, James M. (2010). American Classic Screen Features. Scarecrow Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN   978-0-8108-7679-8.
  7. ↑ "James Durkin Joins Famous Producting Staff". Motion Picture News. 11 (25): 40. June 26, 1915. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  8. 1 2 "John Barrymore Again". The Day . September 17, 1915. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  9. ↑ Milne, Peter (September 18, 1915). "The Incorrigible Dukane". Motion Picture News. 12 (11): 86. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  10. ↑ "The Incorrigible Dukane" (PDF). New York Dramatic Mirror. 74 (1917): 38. September 15, 1915. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  11. ↑ Kobler, John (1977). Damned in paradise: the life of John Barrymore. Atheneum. p. 116. ISBN   9780689108143.
  12. ↑ Blaisdell, George (September 18, 1915). "The Incorrigible Dukane". Reviews of Current Productions. Moving Picture World. 25 (12): 2009–2010. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  13. ↑ Silverman, Sime (September 17, 1915). "The Incorrigible Dukane". Film Reviews. Variety. XL (3): 25. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  14. ↑ "John Barrymore at Crystal". Meriden Morning Record . October 4, 1915. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Pollard's Pictures". Grey River Argus . April 27, 1917. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Two Star Programme". Ohinemuri Gazette . March 9, 1917. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Continuous Pictures". New Zealand Truth . No. 597. November 25, 1916. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  18. ↑ Pierce, David (October 8, 2015). "The Incorrigible Dukane/James Durkin". American Silent Feature Film Survival Database. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.