Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history. His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. His silent films included social dramas, comedies, Westerns, farces, morality plays, and historical pageants. He was an active Freemason and member of Prince of Orange Lodge #16 in New York City.
Owen Wister was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing The Virginian and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
The Virginian may refer to:
The Virginian is a 1902 novel by the American author Owen Wister (1860-1938), set in Wyoming Territory during the 1880s. It describes the life of a cowboy on a cattle ranch and is considered the first true fictional western ever written, aside from short stories and pulp dime novels, though modern scholars debate this. The Virginian paved the way for many more westerns by such authors as Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour and several others. The novel was adapted from several short stories published in Harper's Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post between Nov 1893 and May 1902.
The Squaw Man is a 1914 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar C. Apfel, and starring Dustin Farnum. It was DeMille's directorial debut and one of the first feature films to be shot in what is now Hollywood.
Dustin Lancy Farnum was an American singer, dancer, and actor on the stage and in silent films. Although he played a wide variety of roles, he tended toward westerns and became one of the biggest stars of the genre.
Julia Faye Maloney, known professionally as Julia Faye, was an American actress of silent and sound films. She was known for her appearances in more than 30 Cecil B. DeMille productions. Her various roles ranged from maids and ingénues to vamps and queens.
The Virginian is a 1929 American pre-Code Western film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, and Richard Arlen. The film was based on the 1902 novel The Virginian by Owen Wister and adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle.
William Farnum was an American actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time.
The Virginian is a 1946 American Western film directed by Stuart Gilmore and starring Joel McCrea, Brian Donlevy, Sonny Tufts, and Barbara Britton. Based on the 1902 Owen Wister novel of the same name, the film was adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle. The Virginian is about an eastern school teacher who comes to Medicine Bow in Wyoming and encounters life on the frontier. The film is a remake of the 1929 movie with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston. There have been several versions of the story, beginning with a 1914 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and including a 1960s television series that bore little relation to the book other than the title. The film was originally distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The Virginian is a 1923 American silent Western film based upon the 1902 Owen Wister novel The Virginian and adapted from the popular 1904 theatrical play which Wister had collaborated on with playwright Kirke La Shelle. The film stars Kenneth Harlan as the Virginian and Russell Simpson as Trampas and was directed by Tom Forman. With the advent of talkies, the film was soon overshadowed by the 1929 motion picture The Virginian with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston.
The Call of the North is a 1914 American silent adventure-drama film directed by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille. It is based on the 1903 novel, The Conjuror's House; a Romance of the Free Forest by Stewart Edward White and its 1908 play adaptation The Call of the North by George Broadhurst. Robert Edeson starred in the play and reprises his role in this film. He played a dual role of both Ned Stewart and his own father, Graehme Stewart.
The Man from Home is a 1914 American drama film based on a play written by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. It was directed by Cecil B. DeMille. In 1922, the story was remade in the UK by George Fitzmaurice as The Man From Home, and released by Famous Players-Lasky. The stage play was a big hit for actor William Hodge in the role of Pike in the 1908 Broadway season.
Rose of the Rancho is a 1914 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based upon the play of the same name by David Belasco and Richard Walton Tully. The film cost $16,988 to make, and grossed $87,028. A 35mm print of this film exists in the George Eastman House film archive. The film was remade in 1936 by Paramount and starred John Boles and Gladys Swarthout.
The Wild Goose Chase is a 1915 American comedy-drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film was written by DeMille's brother William and starred Ina Claire. The Wild Goose Chase is now considered a lost film.
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.
Winifred Kingston was a British born American silent film actress.
Cameo Kirby is a 1914 American drama silent film directed by Oscar Apfel and written by Clara Beranger and William C. deMille. The film stars Dustin Farnum, Fred Montague, James Neill, Jode Mullally, Winifred Kingston and Dick La Reno. It is based on the play Cameo Kirby by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. The film was released on December 24, 1914, by Paramount Pictures.
The Corsican Brothers is a 1920 American silent historical adventure film directed by Colin Campbell and starring Dustin Farnum, Winifred Kingston and Wedgwood Nowell. It is an adaptation of the novel The Corsican Brothers by Alexandre Dumas.
The Virginian is a 1903 stage production based on the 1902 novel The Virginian by the American author Owen Wister (1860–1938) and set in Wyoming. The play was composed by Wister and playwright Kirke La Shelle, who also produced it. The story describes the life of a cowboy on a cattle ranch in northern Wyoming, where he tends cattle, identifies and hangs a rustler, kills a notorious bad guy, woos and finally marries a school teacher who had come to Wyoming from the East.
