The Silent Voice (film)

Last updated
The Silent Voice
The Silent Voice 01.JPG
L-R Marguerite Snow, Francis X. Bushman and Frank Bacon
Directed by William J. Bowman
Written byI. K. Freedman
Eve Unsell
Starring Francis X. Bushman
CinematographyWilliam F. Adler
Production
company
Quality Pictures
Distributed by Metro Pictures
Release date
  • September 13, 1915 (1915-09-13)
Running time
6 reels
CountryUSA
LanguageSilent ...English titles

The Silent Voice is a six-reel silent film melodrama produced in 1915 by Quality Pictures and distributed by Metro Pictures. The motion picture was directed by William J. Bowman and was adapted from the Jules Eckert Goodman play The Silent Voice [1] by I. K. Freedman and Eve Unsell.

Contents

Goodman’s play, that originally starred Otis Skinner, was based on the Gouverneur Morris short story, The Man Who Played God which also served as the geneses for the 1932 film The Man Who Played God and the 1955 Liberace vehicle, Sincerely Yours . [2]

The Silent Voice was released on September 13, 1915 with Francis X. Bushman and Marguerite Snow in the principal roles.

Plot

The film tells the story of Franklyn Starr, a gifted musician who becomes embittered after he is stricken with a sudden onslaught of deafness and then suffers the loss of his beloved mother. He soon retreats to a remote cottage in the country with his loyal servant Spring to live out his life as a recluse.

Hiking in the woods one day, Starr stumbles upon a group of workers about to set off explosives and, oblivious to their warning cries, is injured in the detonation. Marjorie Blair, a young woman out horseback riding, comes to his aid, an act that would lead to courtship and marriage. Starr is happy, for once again life is good; until his cousin Bobby flirts with Marjorie giving him the mistaken impression the two were having an affair.

Starr’s despair is finally lifted after he decides to use his wealth to help others and is rewarded by the return of his hearing and reconciliation with Marjorie. [2]

Cast

Preservation status

This film is now considered a lost film. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis X. Bushman</span> American actor, director, writer (1883–1966)

Francis Xavier Bushman was an American film actor and director. His career as a matinee idol started in 1911 in the silent film His Friend's Wife. He gained a large female following and was one of the biggest stars of the 1910s and early 1920s.

<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">Dorothy Kelly</span> American actress

Dorothy Dupre Kelly was an American motion picture actress of the early silent film era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Clark</span> American actress (1883–1940)

Helen Marguerite Clark was an American stage and silent film actress. As a movie actress, at one time Clark was second only to Mary Pickford in popularity. With a few exceptions and some fragments, most of Clark's films are considered lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly Bayne</span> American silent film actress (d. 1982)

Beverly Bayne was an American actress who appeared in silent films beginning in 1910 in Chicago, Illinois, where she worked for Essanay Studios.

<i>The Man Who Played God</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

The Man Who Played God is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John G. Adolfi. George Arliss stars as a concert pianist embittered by the loss of his hearing, who eventually finds redemption by helping others; it also features a then little-known Bette Davis as the much younger woman engaged to the protagonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Stonehouse</span> American actress

Ruth Stonehouse was an actress and film director during the silent film era. Her stage career started at the age of eight as a dancer in Arizona shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Snow</span> American actress

Marguerite Snow was an American silent film and stage actress. In her early films she was billed as Margaret Snow.

<i>Carmen</i> (1915 Cecil B. DeMille film) 1915 film

Carmen is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée. The existing versions of this film appear to be from the re-edited 1918 re-release.

<i>The Seven Sisters</i> (film) 1915 film by Sidney Olcott

The Seven Sisters is a 1915 American silent romantic comedy directed by Sidney Olcott. Based on the 1911 ensemble play Seven Sisters by Edith Ellis Furness and Ferenc Herczeg, the film starred Madge Evans, Marguerite Clark, and Conway Tearle. The film is now presumed lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Leslie</span> American actress

Gladys Leslie Moore was an American actress in silent film, active in the 1910s and 1920s. Though less-remembered than superstars like Mary Pickford, she had a number of starring roles from 1917 to the early 1920s and was one of the young female stars of her day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bowman (director)</span> American actor, writer, and director (1884–1960)

William J. Bowman was an American stage and film actor, writer, and director noted for his work in the early 1900s on silent productions for studios in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and in Los Angeles during the first decade of filmmaking in and around Hollywood. His direction of a series of films with matinee idol Francis X. Bushman in 1915 and his direction of the serials The Invisible Hand in 1920 and The Avenging Arrow in 1921 form only a small part of Bowman's extensive filmography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis X. Bushman filmography</span>

This page is devoted to the film and television work of Francis X. Bushman. They encompass the years 1911-66.

<i>Romeo and Juliet</i> (1916 Metro Pictures film) 1916 silent film by John W. Noble and Francis X. Bushman

Romeo and Juliet is a lost 1916 American silent film based on William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet. John W. Noble is credited as director and Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne star as the lovers. This film was produced in 1916, the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, and was released amongst many other commemorations of his works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jules Eckert Goodman</span> American dramatist

Jules Eckert Goodman was an American playwright and author. He was best known for his plays The Man Who Came Back (1916), The Silent Voice (1914), Chains (1923), and a series of plays featuring Potash and Permutter written with Montague Glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis B. Thayer</span> American actor

Otis Bryant Thayer was an American actor, director, producer and owner of silent era film production companies. Before his film career he was a stage actor and operatic comedian. By 1910, he piloted the Chicago based Selig Polyscope Company filming westerns on locations at Canon City. He founded the Art-O-Graf film company of Denver in 1919. And by 1920, he was the president of the "Superior Foto Play Company."

<i>The Silent Voice</i> (play)

The Silent Voice is a four-act play by Jules Eckert Goodman adapted from the short story The Man Who Played God by Gouverneur Morris. The play was produced by Charles Frohman and made its Broadway debut at the Liberty Theatre on December 29, 1914. The Silent Voice closed on March 19, 1915 after a run of 71 performances and later was taken on tour. Morris’ story also served as the basis for four motion pictures produced between 1915 and 1955.

<i>Penningtons Choice</i> 1915 film by William Bowman

Pennington's Choice is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by William Bowman and starring Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne a popular film acting team of the era. It was distributed by Metro Pictures.

<i>The Second in Command</i> 1915 film by William Bowman

The Second in Command is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by William J. Bowman and starring Francis X. Bushman and Marguerite Snow. The film is based on a 1901 Broadway play of the same name by Robert Marshall.

The Adopted Son is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne, and Leslie Stowe. It was released on October 29, 1917.

References

  1. "The Silent Voice – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".
  2. 1 2 "The Moving Picture World". World Photographic Publishing Company. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017 via Google Books.
  3. "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". Silentera.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.