The Purple Dawn | |
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Directed by | Charles R. Seeling |
Written by | Charles R. Seeling |
Produced by | Charles R. Seeling [1] |
Starring |
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Cinematography |
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Distributed by | Aywon Film Corporation [3] |
Release date |
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Running time | 5 reels [4] |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Purple Dawn [note 1] is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film that was produced, written, and directed by Charles R. Seeling. [2] [5] [6] It stars Bessie Love, Bert Sprotte, and William E. Aldrich.
In San Francisco's Chinatown, Mui Far (Love), a Chinese American girl, falls in love with a young white sailor (Aldrich), who is robbed when he attempts to deliver a package of opium. The sailor meets a white girl in the country, and falls in love with her. The original owners of the opium think that the sailor stole the opium, and kidnap him and his new sweetheart. Mui Far is heartbroken, but rescues the sailor and his new sweetheart. She then commits suicide by walking into San Francisco Bay at dawn. [2] [4] [5] [9]
Per the film's title, the final 100 feet of film were tinted light purple for dramatic effect. [12]
The film received good reviews, although the scene where the hero receives a beating was deemed "far too brutal to please the eye." [5] Bessie Love's performance received positive reviews. [13]
Bessie Love was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned nearly seven decades—from silent film to sound film, including theatre, radio, and television—and her performance in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Bert Sprotte was a German actor. He appeared in more than 70 American films between 1918 and 1938. He was born in Chemnitz, Saxony, and died in Los Angeles, California.
The Village Blacksmith is a 1922 American silent melodrama film directed by John Ford and produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. One of the eight reels survives at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and therefore the film is considered to be lost. It was loosely adapted from the poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Dynamite Smith is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Ralph Ince and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars Charles Ray, Bessie Love, and Wallace Beery, and was distributed through Pathé Exchange.
Torment is a 1924 American silent crime drama film produced and directed by Maurice Tourneur and distributed by Associated First National. This film stars Bessie Love, Owen Moore, and Jean Hersholt. The film is based on a story by William Dudley Pelley with script by Fred Myton and titles by Marion Fairfax. It is a lost film.
Cheerful Givers is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film produced by the Fine Arts Film Company and distributed by Triangle Film Corporation. The film stars Bessie Love and Kenneth Harlan.
A Yankee Princess is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. It was directed by David Smith and stars Bessie Love, who also wrote the screenplay. It is a lost film.
Slave of Desire is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by George D. Baker, produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. It was based on the novel La Peau de chagrin by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1831. The Balzac novel had previously been filmed in 1909 as The Wild Ass's Skin, which was more faithful to the original novel.
Forget Me Not, also known as Forget-Me-Not, is a 1922 American silent melodrama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and distributed by Metro Pictures. The film starred Bessie Love and Gareth Hughes. It is considered a lost film.
The Ghost Patrol is a 1923 American silent romantic melodrama film directed by Nat Ross from a short story by Sinclair Lewis, produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It starred Ralph Graves and Bessie Love and is now considered lost.
The Woman on the Jury is a lost 1924 American silent drama film produced and released by Associated First National and directed by Harry Hoyt. It is based on a Broadway stage play, The Woman on the Jury, and stars Sylvia Breamer and Bessie Love. The story was refilmed in 1929 as an early talkie under the title The Love Racket starring Dorothy Mackaill.
The Swamp is a 1921 American silent drama film released by the Robertson-Cole Pictures Corporation and directed by Colin Campbell. The film was written and produced by Sessue Hayakawa, who also co-stars with Bessie Love. A print of this film is preserved at the Gosfilmofond archive in Moscow.
The Vermilion Pencil is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Norman Dawn, and produced and distributed by Robertson–Cole. It is based on the eponymous 1908 novel by Homer Lea. The film stars Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa in multiple roles, and white actors Ann May, Bessie Love, and Sidney Franklin, all in Asian roles. It is now a lost film.
The Dawn of Understanding is a lost 1918 American silent Western comedy film produced by The Vitagraph Company of America and directed by David Smith. It stars Bessie Love in the first film of her nine-film contract with Vitagraph. It is based on the short story "The Judgement of Bolinas Plain" by 19th-century Western writer Bret Harte.
The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous, also known as The Adventures of Prince Courageous, is a 1923 American silent fantasy film series starring Bessie Love and five-year-old Arthur Trimble, directed by Frederick G. Becker.
The Heiress at Coffee Dan's is a 1916 American silent comedy-drama film produced by the Fine Arts Film Company and distributed by Triangle Film Corporation. It starred Bessie Love and was directed by Edward Dillon.
The Great Adventure, also known as Her Great Adventure and Spring of the Year, is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Alice Guy-Blaché, and starring Bessie Love.
Deserted at the Altar is a 1922 American silent film melodrama directed by William K. Howard and produced by Phil Goldstone Productions. It stars Bessie Love and Tully Marshall.
Three Who Paid is a 1923 American silent Western film film directed by Colin Campbell, and starring Dustin Farnum, with Bessie Love and Frank Campeau. The film was based on the 1922 short story by George Owen Baxter, and was produced and distributed through Fox Film.
Charles R. Seeling was an American cinematographer and producer and film director of the silent era.