The Lamb | |
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Directed by | W. Christy Cabanne |
Screenplay by | Christy Cabanne |
Story by | Granville Warwick |
Based on | The New Henrietta by Bronson Howard, Victor Mapes and Winchell Smith |
Starring | Douglas Fairbanks Seena Owen |
Cinematography | William E. Fildew |
Distributed by | Triangle Distributing |
Release dates |
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Running time | 56 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent English intertitles |
The Lamb is a 1915 American silent comedy/Western film featuring Douglas Fairbanks in his first starring role. [1] Directed by W. Christy Cabanne, the film is based on the popular 1913 Broadway play The New Henrietta, in which Fairbanks co-starred with William H. Crane, Amelia Bingham and a very young Patricia Collinge. [2]
A copy of The Lamb is preserved at the George Eastman House. [1]
D. W. Griffith, writing under the pseudonym Granville Barker, along with director Christy Cabanne, essentially expanded the play beyond the plush nouveau riche apartment setting of the play, and provided a western element to the story. [3] This would give Fairbanks a chance to show his physical prowess cinematically and loosen the play from what would be stage bound constraints. [4] Griffith also altered characters; Fairbanks' character's name is changed to Gerald, with his parent being his mother (Kate Toncray), whereas in the play his character was named Nick with his parent being his father played by Crane.
Distributed by Triangle Film Corporation, the film premiered at the Knickerbocker Theater in New York City on September 23, 1915 along with the Keystone The Valet and The Iron Strain . The Lamb outperformed the other two features and was a hit with audiences and critics who praised Fairbanks' performance. [3]
Judith of Bethulia (1914) is an American film starring Blanche Sweet and Henry B. Walthall, and produced and directed by D. W. Griffith, based on the play "Judith and the Holofernes" (1896) by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, which itself was an adaptation of the Book of Judith. The film was the first feature-length film made by pioneering film company Biograph, although the second that Biograph released.
Julia Faye Maloney, known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ranged from maids and ingénues to vamps and queens.
William Christy Cabanne was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor.
The Battle is a 1911 American silent war film directed by D. W. Griffith. The film was set during the American Civil War. It was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century. Prints of the film survive in several film archives around the world including the Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Film and Television Archive, George Eastman House, and the Filmoteca Española.
Kate Toncray was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 170 films between 1905 and 1925. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri and died in Manhattan, New York City.
Claire McDowell was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945.
Heredity is a 1912 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith.
My Hero is a 1912 American short silent Western film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Dorothy Gish.
The Wanderer is a 1913 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and produced by the Biograph Company. Prints of the film exist in private collections.
Mary Jane Lee was an American actress of the stage and screen.
For His Son is a 1912 American short silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey when Biograph Company and other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based there at the beginning of the 20th century. A print of the film survives today.
The Inner Circle is a 1912 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, starring Mary Pickford and Blanche Sweet. A print of the short survives in the film archive of the Library of Congress.
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish is a 1916 American short silent comedy film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, and Alma Rubens. Directed by John Emerson, the story was written by Tod Browning with intertitles by Anita Loos. A parody of Sherlock Holmes fiction, the film adresses the topic of narcotics in a very light comedic way.
Martyrs of the Alamo is a 1915 American historical war drama film written and directed by Christy Cabanne. The film is based on the historical novel of the same name by Theodosia Harris, and features an ensemble cast including Sam De Grasse, Douglas Fairbanks, Walter Long and Alfred Paget. Fairbanks role was uncredited, and was his first role in film, although his first starring role, in The Lamb, was released prior to this picture. The film features the siege of Béxar, the Battle of the Alamo, and the Battle of San Jacinto.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker, best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films. One of the biggest stars of the silent era, Fairbanks was referred to as "The King of Hollywood",. He was also a founding member of United Artists as well as the Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929.
Double Trouble is a 1915 American silent romantic comedy film written and directed by Christy Cabanne, produced by D.W. Griffith, and starring Douglas Fairbanks in one of his earliest motion pictures. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Herbert Quick. The plot, a variant on the theme of Jekyll and Hyde, revolves around a very shy, "effeminate" banker who acquires a second, rakish and flirtatious personality after receiving a blow on the head. The film was a popular and critical success.
William Ewart Fildew, billed as either William Fildew or William E. Fildew, was an American cinematographer during the silent film era. He shot 54 films between 1915 and 1927. His first film was 1915's The Lost House, directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Lillian Gish. That same year he also shot Martyrs of the Alamo, directed by Cabanne, which was the first film in which Douglas Fairbanks appeared. Fairbanks' first starring role, also in 1915, was The Lamb, which Fildew also shot. His final film was The Wreck, directed by William James Craft and starring Shirley Mason and Malcolm McGregor.
Home Folks is a 1912 black and white silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford and Mae Marsh.
The Yaqui Cur is a 1913 American silent Western black and white film directed by D. W. Griffith, written by Stanner E.V. Taylor and starring Robert Harron, Kate Bruce, Walter Miller, Charles Hill Mailes and Victoria Forde. Griffith directed seven films with more than one reel, including The Yaqui Cur and The Little Tease (1913).
Fine Arts Film Company produced dozens of movies during the silent film era in the United States. It was one of the film production studios in Triangle Film Corporation, each run by one of the parent company's vice-presidents: D. W. Griffith, Thomas H. Ince, and Mack Sennett. Fine Arts was Griffith's studio and was located on Sunset Boulevard. It was often billed as Triangle Fine Arts.