The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous

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The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
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Directed byFrederick G. Becker [1]
Screenplay by Robert N. Lee [2]
Produced by Clem Beauchamp [2]
Starring Bessie Love
Arthur Trimble
Cinematography Hal Mohr [1]
Production
company
Arthur Trimble Productions [3]
Distributed byAnchor Film Distributors
Release date
  • April 7, 1923 (1923-04-07)(The Little Knight) [4]
Running time
2 reels [5] (each film)
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Budget$22,000 [6] (each film)

The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous, also known as The Adventures of Prince Courageous, [7] is a 1923 American silent fantasy film series [8] starring Bessie Love and five-year-old [9] Arthur Trimble, directed by Frederick G. Becker.

Contents

Although it was planned to be a series of 12 two-reelers, [10] only three films were made: [11] [12] [13] The Little Knight, The Love Charm, and The Crown of Courage (also referred to as The Crown and Courage). [13] A fourth film, The Little Defender, is documented in publications from as early as the 1930s, [14] [15] [16] but is most likely an alternate title for The Crown of Courage.

The Little Knight is preserved at the Harvard Film Archive, [17] and The Little Defender is rare, but commercially available. [18] The preservation status of "Love Charm" is unknown.

Production

Norman Kennedy was the art director for the series, [13] which re-used much of the sets and costumes from Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood (1922). [19] Director Frederick G. Becker had been an actor in Robin Hood.

Cast

Arthur Trimble and Bessie Love Arthur Trimble and Bessie Love in a short film from the series "The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous".jpg
Arthur Trimble and Bessie Love

The same cast was used throughout the series.

Plot summaries

The Little Knight

The banquet hall scene from The Little Knight The banquet hall scene from The Little Knight, starring Little Arthur Trimble.jpg
The banquet hall scene from The Little Knight

A knight (Butts) kills the giant son of a witch, and the witch (Coulson) retaliates by turning the knight into a little boy (Trimble). One day, King Lagg (Fabing) encounters the little knight in the forest, and invites him back to his castle, where the knight falls in love with the king's daughter Beatrice (Turner), who is to marry Duke Craven (Collins). The little knight saves princess from abduction, and the witch's spell is broken by the king's magicians. [22] [23] [24] [25]

The Little Defender

When King Lagg leaves on a trip, and must take his Royal Guard with him, the castle is left unprotected. His son, the little prince (Trimble) takes on the responsibility of defending the castle when a band of renegades attacks the castle. The prince pulls together a ragtag army and saves the castle. [14] [16] [26]

Release and reception

Although it is unclear whether the films were formally screened in theaters, the first film was shown at Hollywood's Granada Theater, and the audience was asked to vote whether they liked it. 95% of the votes were positive. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bessie Love</span> American actress (1898–1986)

Juanita Horton, better known as 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.

Robert N. Lee was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 31 films between 1922 and 1945. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay at the 4th Academy Awards for Little Caesar. He was born in Butte, Montana and died in Hollywood, California from a heart attack.

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<i>A Yankee Princess</i> 1919 silent film by David Smith

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<i>Slave of Desire</i> 1923 film

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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.

<i>The Woman on the Jury</i> 1924 film

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.

<i>The Vermilion Pencil</i> 1922 silent film by Norman Dawn

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.

<i>Gentle Julia</i> (1923 film) Silent film by Rowland V. Lee

Gentle Julia is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film based on the popular novel Gentle Julia by Booth Tarkington. Directed by Rowland V. Lee, the film starred Bessie Love. It was produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation, and is considered a lost film.

<i>A Little Sister of Everybody</i> 1918 silent film by Robert Thornby

A Little Sister of Everybody, sometimes called A Little Sister to Everybody, is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Robert Thornby and starring Bessie Love and George Fisher. It was produced by Anderson-Brunton Company and distributed by Pathé.

<i>Carolyn of the Corners</i> 1919 silent film by Robert Thornby

Carolyn of the Corners is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Robert Thornby, and starring Bessie Love, Charles Edler, and Charlotte Mineau.

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<i>A Fighting Colleen</i> 1919 silent film by David Smith

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<i>Penny of Top Hill Trail</i> 1921 silent film by Arthur Berthelet

Penny of Top Hill Trail is a 1921 American silent Western comedy film based on the 1919 novel by Belle Kanaris Maniates. It was directed by Arthur Berthelet and stars Bessie Love. The film was produced by Andrew J. Callaghan Productions and distributed by Federated Film Exchanges of America. The film is presumed lost.

<i>Deserted at the Altar</i> 1922 silent film by William K. Howard

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<i>Three Who Paid</i> 1923 film

Three Who Paid is a 1923 American silent Western 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.

<i>Night Life in Hollywood</i> 1922 film

Night Life in Hollywood, called The Shriek of Hollywood in Europe, is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by Fred Caldwell. It starred J. Frank Glendon, Josephine Hill, and Gale Henry, and featured a number of cameo appearances of celebrities with their families.

<i>Mary of the Movies</i> 1923 silent film by John McDermott

Mary of the Movies is a 1923 American silent semi-autobiographical comedy film based on the career of Marion Mack. It was written by Mack and her husband Louis Lewyn, and stars Mack and Creighton Hale. Hale and director John McDermott play fictionalized versions of themselves in the film, which was also directed by McDermott.

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 Love 1977, p. 151
  2. 1 2 3 "Prince Courageous". Holly Leaves. Vol. 11, no. 34. September 2, 1922. p. 34.
  3. ↑ "Jessen's Studio Notes by Wire". Motion Picture News. Vol. 26, no. 9. August 26, 1922. p. 1020.
  4. ↑ "Short Subjects". Exhibitors Herald. April 7, 1923. p. 89.
  5. ↑ "Short Subjects". Motion Picture News. Vol. 27, no. 9. March 3, 1923. p. 1094.
  6. ↑ "Loaning Her Out". Close-Up. Vol. 8, no. 3. August 20, 1922. p. 12.
  7. ↑ "Signs Bessie Love". Moving Picture World. Vol. 58, no. 3. September 16, 1922. p. 200.
  8. ↑ "Lee Writing Fourth 'Script for Trimble". Motion Picture News. Vol. 26, no. 26. December 23, 1922. p. 3231.
  9. ↑ "Costume Screen Plays Rapidly Coming to Front". The Omaha Morning Bee. Omaha, Nebraska. September 3, 1922. p. 5-C – via Library of Congress.
  10. ↑ "Coast Brevities". The Film Daily. Vol. 21, no. 45. August 15, 1922. p. 10.
  11. ↑ "Kipling Signs Arthur Trimble". The Film Daily. Vol. 24, no. 64. June 4, 1923. p. 2.
  12. ↑ "Short Subjects". Exhibitors Herald. Vol. 16, no. 15. April 7, 1923. p. 89.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Three Out of Twelve Trimble Productions Ready for Showing". Exhibitors Trade Review. Vol. 13, no. 6. January 6, 1923. p. 303.
  14. 1 2 National Film Library 1931 , p. 57
  15. ↑ See and Hear: The Journal on Audio-Visual Learning. Eau Claire, WI: E.M. Hale and Co. 1945. p.  48.
  16. 1 2 "Jim Thompson Co. Home Movies Library, The Little Defender". Knox County Public Library: Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.
  17. ↑ "little knight". Harvard University HOLLIS.
  18. ↑ "Unidentified Bessie Love and Arthur Trimble abridgement". NitrateVille.
  19. ↑ Love 1977 , pp. 82–83
  20. ↑ "Anchor Film Will Distribute Product of Arthur Trimble". Exhibitors Trade Review. Vol. 13, no. 2. December 9, 1922. p. 75.
  21. ↑ "Casts of the Week". Camera!. Vol. 5, no. 20. August 26, 1922. p. 18.
  22. ↑ Catalog of 16 mm Silent Motion Picture Film Library. Mogull's Camera & Film Exchange, Inc. 1945. p.  32.
  23. ↑ "Twas the Night before Christmas". Amateur Movie Makers. Vol. 2, no. 12. December 1927. p. 8.
  24. ↑ National Film Library 1931 , p. 50
  25. ↑ "Christmas Home Movies". Home Movies. Ver Halen Publications. 1949. p. 607.
  26. ↑ 1000 and One: The Blue Book of Non-Theatrical Films (12 ed.). Chicago, IL: The Educational Screen, Inc. 1936. p.  120.
  27. ↑ "Theatre Audience Votes on New Trimble Picture". Exhibitors Herald. September 30, 1922. p. 52.
Works cited


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