The Squaw Man (1918 film)

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The Squaw Man
SquawmanII 1918.jpg
Film still with Jack Holt and Elliott Dexter
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Written by Beulah Marie Dix (scenario, story)
Based on The Squaw Man
1905 play
by Edwin Milton Royle
Produced byCecil B. DeMille
Starring Elliott Dexter
Cinematography King D. Gray
Alvin Wyckoff
Edited by Anne Bauchens
Production
company
Famous Players–Lasky Corporation
Distributed byArtcraft Pictures Corporation
Release date
  • December 15, 1918 (1918-12-15)
Running time
6 reels
CountryUnited States
Languages Silent
English intertitles
Lobby card The Squaw Man - lobby card 2 - 1918.jpg
Lobby card

The Squaw Man is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. [1] It is a remake of DeMille's 1914 film of the same name, which is based upon a 1905 play by Edwin Milton Royle. The film was reportedly [2] made as an experiment to prove DeMille's theory that a good film is based on a good story. It cost $40,000 to make and grossed $350,000. [2] It would be remade again by DeMille in 1931.

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [3] Jim Wynnegate (Dexter), a young Englishman, assumes the guilt for the embezzlement of trust funds that were lost in speculation by his cousin Henry (Hall). He embarks to the United States and settles in the west, where he buys a ranch. In a quarrel with Cash Hawkins (Holt), Jim is saved from death by Naturich (Little), a young Indian woman, who shoots the outlaw. He marries her out of gratitude and becomes known as the squaw man. Soon a son is born, and five years pass. His cousin Henry dies and Jim is summoned back to England to assume the title Earl of Kerhill, he having been exonerated by the deathbed confession of his cousin. He decides to send his son home to England, and the parting between the mother and son are most pathetic. Naturich, about to be arrested for the killing of Hawkins, commits suicide while huddled among her child's playthings.

Cast

Reception

Like many American films of the time, The Squaw Man was subject to restrictions and cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut, in Reel 4, of the intertitle "By God, you've got to make her happy", the shooting of Cash Hawkins, the shooting of the man in an ambush, and the modification of the plot by the transposition of the scenes of baby moccasins, etc., to indicate that the marriage had taken place prior to when any intimacy between Naturich and Jim Wynnegate had taken place, which would include placing the intertitle "Send for the Justice of the Peace" before the moccasin scene. [4]

Preservation

Incomplete 16 mm and 35 mm prints of The Squaw Man are held by the George Eastman Museum. Otherwise, the film is considered lost. [1] [5]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Progressive Silent Film List: The Squaw Man". silentera.com. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Hampton, Benjamin B. (1931). A History of the Movies. Covici, Friede. p.  194.
  3. ↑ "Reviews: The Squaw Man". Exhibitors Herald. 7 (24). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 36. December 7, 1918.
  4. ↑ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 7 (24): 42. December 7, 1918.
  5. ↑ "American Silent Feature Film Database: The Squaw Man". Library of Congress. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
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