The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.
James Oliver Curwood was an American action-adventure writer and conservationist. His books were often based on adventures set in the Hudson Bay area, the Yukon or Alaska and ranked among the top-ten best sellers in the United States in the early and mid 1920s, according to Publishers Weekly. At least one hundred and eighty motion pictures have been based on or directly inspired by his novels and short stories; one was produced in three versions from 1919 to 1953. At the time of his death, Curwood was the highest paid author in the world.
Kathlyn Williams was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film. She began her career onstage in her hometown of Butte, Montana, where she was sponsored by local copper magnate William A. Clark to study acting in New York City. She later appeared in numerous films between 1910 and 1932 before retiring from acting. Williams died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 81.
Paul William "Tom" Santschi was an American leading man and character actor of the silent film era.
The Spoilers is a 1930 American Pre-Code Western film directed by Edwin Carewe and starring Gary Cooper, Kay Johnson, and Betty Compson. Set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, the film is about a gold prospector and a corrupt Alaska politician who fight for control over a gold mine. The film features a spectacular saloon fistfight between Cooper and William "Stage" Boyd.
The Spoilers is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer. It is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with Milton Sills as Roy Glennister, Anna Q. Nilsson as Cherry Malotte, and Noah Beery Sr. as Alex McNamara. The film culminates in a saloon fistfight between Glennister and McNamara.
The Spoilers is a 1942 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott and John Wayne.
The Spoilers is a 1955 American Western film directed by Jesse Hibbs and starring Anne Baxter, Jeff Chandler and Rory Calhoun. Set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, it culminates in a spectacular saloon fistfight between Glennister (Chandler) and McNamara (Calhoun).
William Farnum was an American actor. He was a star of American silent cinema, and he became one of the highest-paid actors during this time.
Cameo Kirby is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by John Ford which starred John Gilbert and Gertrude Olmstead and featuring Jean Arthur in her onscreen debut. It was Ford's first film credited as John Ford instead of Jack Ford. The film is based on a 1908 play by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. The story had been filmed as a silent before in 1914 with Dustin Farnum, who had originated the role on Broadway in 1909. The film was remade as a talking musical film in 1930.
Hoodman Blind is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by John Ford. It is a remake of a 1913 film of the same name directed by James Gordon and a 1916 William Farnum Fox feature titled A Man of Sorrow and based on the play Hoodman Blind.
The Plunderer is a lost 1924 American silent Western film directed by George Archainbaud and starring Frank Mayo and Evelyn Brent. An earlier version filmed in 1920 starred William Farnum.
Trimmed in Scarlet is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is based on the 1920 Broadway play, Trimmed in Scarlet, by William Hurlbut and starring Broadway's Maxine Elliott. This play marked the last time Maxine Elliott appeared on Broadway. Her role in the film is played by veteran cinema star Kathlyn Williams. All prints of this film are believed lost.
The Carpet from Bagdad is a 1915 American silent adventure film directed by Colin Campbell and based on Harold MacGrath's 1911 eponymous novel. In the story, Horace Wadsworth, one of a gang of criminals also planning a bank robbery in New York, steals the titular prayer rug from its Baghdad mosque. He sells the carpet to antique dealer George Jones to fund the robbery scheme. But the theft places both men and Fortune Chedsoye, the innocent daughter of another conspirator, in danger from the carpet's guardian.
Chip of the Flying U is a 1914 American short silent Western film directed by Colin Campbell and starring Tom Mix. It was produced by Selig Polyscope Company and distributed by the General Film Company.
The Ne'er-Do-Well is a 1916 American silent adventure crime drama film directed by Colin Campbell, and starring Wheeler Oakman, Kathlyn Williams, Harry Lonsdale, Frank Clark, and Norma Nichols. It is based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Rex Beach. The film was released by V-L-S-E, Incorporated on March 20, 1916.
Brass Commandments is a 1923 American silent Western film directed by Lynn Reynolds and starring William Farnum, Wanda Hawley, and Tom Santschi. The novel of the same name by Charles Alden Seltzer that the film is based upon was later filmed as Chain Lightning (1927).
Her Kingdom of Dreams is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Marshall Neilan and starring Anita Stewart, Spottiswoode Aitken, and Frank Currier.
The City of Purple Dreams is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Colin Campbell and starring Tom Santschi, Bessie Eyton, and Fritzi Brunette.
