The Village Blacksmith | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Ford |
Written by | Paul Sloane [1] |
Based on | "The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
Produced by | William Fox |
Starring | Will Walling Virginia True Boardman |
Cinematography | George Schneiderman [2] |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8 reels [4] (approx. 80 mins) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Village Blacksmith is a 1922 American silent melodrama [5] [6] film directed by John Ford and produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. One of the eight reels survives at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and therefore the film is considered to be lost. [7] [8] It was loosely adapted from the poem of the same name by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. [3]
As young men, the squire (Marshall) and the village blacksmith (Walling) are in love with the same woman (Boardman), whom the blacksmith marries. This angers the squire. Years later, the squire's son Anson (Yearsley) dares the blacksmith's son Johnnie (Hackathorne) to climb a tree, from which he falls and is crippled.
As adults, Anson and the blacksmith's daughter Alice (Valli) fall in love, which angers the blacksmith, who chastises his daughter. The blacksmith's other son Bill (Butler) returns from college and is injured in a train accident. Anson steals $840 from a church fund which is currently in Alice's possession. Alice is struck by lightning. The blacksmith take Anson and the squire to church where they both repent. [5] [9] [10]
The film was well received by audiences [11] and by reviewers alike. [4] [12] [13] The photography was highly praised. [6] [14]
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.
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Virginia True Boardman was an American actress of the silent era.
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The Mailman is a 1923 American silent melodrama directed by Emory Johnson. FBO released the film in December 1923. The film's "All-Star" cast included Ralph Lewis, Johnnie Walker, and Virginia True Boardman. Emilie Johnson, Johnson's mother, wrote both the story and screenplay. The Mailman was the fourth film in Johnson's eight-picture contract with FBO.