The Red Mill | |
---|---|
Directed by | William Goodrich (Roscoe Arbuckle) |
Written by | Frances Marion Titles: Joseph Farnham |
Based on | The Red Mill 1906 musical by Victor Herbert Lyrics by Henry Blossom |
Produced by | King Vidor (uncredited) |
Starring | Marion Davies Owen Moore Louise Fazenda George Siegmann |
Cinematography | Hendrik Sartov |
Edited by | Daniel J. Gray |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Budget | $539,000 [1] |
The Red Mill is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle (as William Goodrich) that starred Marion Davies and was produced by King Vidor. [2] Although Arbuckle was acquitted in the third trial for the death of Virginia Rappe, he could not obtain work in Hollywood under his own name, so he adopted the pseudonym William Goodrich for directing the comedy shorts he made under his contract with Educational Film Exchanges. [3]
Tina (Marion Davies), the drudge of the Red Mill Tavern in Holland, works hard and long hours, with her only company being a mouse, named Ignatz. Willem (George Siegmann) is the mean Tavern proprietor who catches her feeding the mouse. He is outraged and scares away the mouse and takes it out on Tina.
Dennis Wheat (Owen Moore), a foreigner who came to the Netherlands for the damsels, is accompanied by his valet Caesar Rinkle (Snitz Edwards). One day, Tina notices Wheat and immediately falls in love with him. She sneaks out of the tavern to be closer to him and hears him saying he will judge an ice skating race. The winner of the race will be kissed by him.
Tina decides to enter the race and wins. When Dennis is about to kiss her, Willem storms out and takes Tina with him. She later finds out Dennis is leaving town and becomes sad. Tina goes back to her hard working days and fantasizes about Dennis returning. Dennis returns in the spring and takes an interest in the Burgomaster's daughter Gretchen (Louise Fazenda), who is about to marry the Governor (William Orlamond) but actually is in love with Captain Jacop Van Goop (Karl Dane).
Jacop sends Gretchen a letter, begging her to elope with him at night. Gretchen has to cross her overprotecting father if she wants to leave the house, and does not think there is any chance she will be able to leave the house. Tina, however, helps her escape successfully by dressing up like her and Gretchen dressing up like Tina. After Gretchen has left, Dennis sneaks into the house to meet the woman he noticed. He kisses Tina, thinking it is Gretchen.
Gretchen goes back home when she is scared after Tina's mouse runs into her shoe. Meanwhile, Caesar overhears someone saying Gretchen will inherit her grandfather's estate the day she marries and immediately informs Dennis. Jacop climbs on a ladder leading to Gretchen's room to reunite with her. Dennis sees this and thinks Jacop is kissing the same girl he kissed. He is mad and throws a stone to him, making him fall off his ladder through the window of the tavern.
Tina comes up, still dressed up as Gretchen, and tells Dennis Jacop was a relative and it was only a formal kiss. She promises to elope with him in the morning. The next day, Gretchen is forced to marry the governor. She begs Tina to save her, before she leaves with her father. Tina eventually scares everyone away with her mouse, and sneaks off with Gretchen. Gretchen is soon reunited with Jacop, but Tina is left being chased by both the wedding guests and the burgomaster.
Willem finds her hiding in the tavern and locks her up in a mill, which is rumored to be haunted by ghosts. Tina is scared, but Dennis comes after her and protects himself with a gun. An accident causes him to shoot Tina in the back. They kiss and are happy, but find out Willem is after them with a shotgun. Dennis and Tina escape through a window and can now finally love each other carefree.
The film, produced by Cosmopolitan Productions , is based on the 1906 musical The Red Mill that had starred comedian Fred Stone and was based on the book and music of the same name. The show was produced by famed theatrical impresario Charles Dillingham. Henry Blossom wrote the lyrics to Victor Herbert's music. The musical was revived again in the mid-1940s. [5]
In her 23rd film, Marion Davies played a Dutch kitchen drudge who gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. An entire Dutch village was constructed on the MGM lot, complete with windmills and canals. While Davies fondly remembered working with Louise Fazenda and Owen Moore, she had quite different memories of being repeatedly dunked in a hole in the ice. This film started the behind-the-scenes comeback of Roscoe Arbuckle. Although his on-screen credit for direction was a "William Goodrich," it was widely reported in the trade papers that he was directing the Davies film. [6] This was the second film in which Davies ice skated. She had previously learned to skate for The Young Diana . [7]
The film aired on the cable channel Turner Classic Movies on January 3, 2008, which was the birthday of leading role actress Marion Davies. [8] It was released on DVD directly from The Warner Archive on March 22, 2009. [9]
Sherlock Jr. is a 1924 American silent comedy film starring and directed by Buster Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. It features Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, and Ward Crane.
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, signing a contract in 1920 with Paramount Pictures for $1,000,000 a year.
Show People is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by King Vidor. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the day, including stars Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart and John Gilbert, and writer Elinor Glyn. Vidor also appears in a cameo as himself, as does Davies.
Alice Lake was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
Seven Chances is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton, based on the play of the same name by Roi Cooper Megrue, produced in 1916 by David Belasco. Additional cast members include T. Roy Barnes, Snitz Edwards, and Ruth Dwyer. Jean Arthur, a future star, has an uncredited supporting role. The film's opening scenes were shot in early Technicolor. The film includes Keaton's famous rock avalanche sequence.
The Butcher Boy is a 1917 American two-reel silent comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Al St. John, Buster Keaton and Alice Lake. This was the first in Arbuckle's series of films with the Comique Film Corporation, and Keaton's film debut.
The Red Mill is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in the Netherlands, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musical premiered on Broadway on September 24, 1906, at the Knickerbocker Theatre and ran for 274 performances, starring comedians Fred Stone and David C. Montgomery. It also had a London run and toured extensively, and in 1945 had a long-running Broadway revival. The Red Mill includes the famous songs "Every Day is Lady's Day with Me", "The Streets of New York", "You Never Can Tell About a Woman", and "Because You're You".
Good Night, Nurse! is a 1918 American two-reel silent comedy film written by, and directed by, and starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Buster Keaton. Roscoe's character's wife reaches the last straw with his drinking and admits him to the No Hope Sanatorium, which promises to cure all cases of alcoholism. Hilarity ensues.
The Round-Up is a 1920 American silent Western film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Wallace Beery. The movie was written by Edmund Day and Tom Forman, directed by George Melford, and based on Day's play that was a huge hit for Roscoe Arbuckle's older cousin Macklyn Arbuckle and Julia Dean on the Broadway stage in 1907. It was Macklyn in the play who created the famous phrase used in advertisements of the film, nobody loves a fat man.
The Bell Boy is a 1918 American two-reel silent comedy film directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle for the Comique film company.
A Noise from the Deep is a 1913 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The film was directed and produced by Mack Sennett and also features the Keystone Cops on horseback. A Noise from the Deep still exists and was screened four times in 2006 in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of a 56-film retrospective of all known surviving Arbuckle movies.
Coney Island is a 1917 American two-reel silent comedy film starring, written and directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Buster Keaton.
Fatty's Plucky Pup is a 1915 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. A print of the film survives.
Fool's Luck is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle as William Goodrich. Although Arbuckle was acquitted in the third trial for the death of Virginia Rappe, he could not obtain work in Hollywood under his own name, so he adopted the pseudonym William Goodrich for directing the comedy shorts he made under his contract with Educational Film Exchanges.
Special Delivery is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle starring Eddie Cantor, Jobyna Ralston and William Powell. It was written by Cantor, John F. Goodrich, and George Marion Jr.. It was released by Paramount Pictures. The film's copyright was renewed in 1954, so it entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2023.
The Restless Sex is a 1920 American silent drama film starring Marion Davies, and Ralph Kellard. It was directed by Leon D'Usseau and Robert Z. Leonard and written by Frances Marion. The film is based upon the 1918 novel of the same name by Robert W. Chambers and was distributed by Paramount Pictures under the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation name.
Zander the Great is a 1925 American silent comedy drama film directed by George W. Hill, in his first directing role for MGM. The film stars Marion Davies. The screenplay by Frances Marion is based upon the Edward Salisbury Field 1923 play of the same name.
Kiki is a 1926 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Norma Talmadge and Ronald Colman. The film is based upon a 1918 play of the same name by André Picard, which was later adapted by David Belasco and performed on Broadway to great success in 1921 by his muse Lenore Ulric.
Tillie the Toiler is a 1927 American silent film comedy produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and released through Metro Goldwyn Mayer studios. It is based on Russ Westover's popular comic strip Tillie the Toiler. The film was directed by Hobart Henley and stars Marion Davies.
The Kiss Barrier is a lost 1925 American silent drama film directed by Roy William Neill and written by Eugenie Magnus Ingleton. The film stars Edmund Lowe, Claire Adams, Diana Miller, Marion Harlan, Thomas R. Mills, and Charles Clary. The film was released on May 31, 1925, by Fox Film Corporation.