The Willow Tree | |
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Directed by | Henry Otto |
Written by | June Mathis (adaptation, scenario) |
Based on | The Willow Tree by J. H. Benrimo and Harrison Rhodes |
Produced by | Screen Classics Incorporated Maxwell Karger |
Starring | Viola Dana |
Cinematography | John Arnold |
Distributed by | Metro Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The Willow Tree is a surviving 1920 American silent film directed by Henry Otto and distributed by Metro Pictures. The film is based on a Broadway play, The Willow Tree, by J. H. Benrimo and Harrison Rhodes. Fay Bainter starred in the Broadway play in 1917. The film stars Viola Dana and is preserved in the George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection. [1] [2] [3]
As described in a film magazine, [4] O-Riu (Dana), daughter of a Japanese image-maker, rebels at his command that she marry a wealthy merchant in order to provide funds for her brother to attend an American college. Due to a coincidence, her flight is misinterpreted as a suicide, and her father sells to an Englishman living in the neighborhood his most prized image. Seeking refuge, O-Riu poses as the image and then "comes to life" apparently by magic. The Englishman falls in love with her and will not answer his country's call to arms until she has apparently disappeared. While he is away for four years, she lives at his home. When he returns after the war, they find happiness. The film has a parallel story concerning Japanese legends.
Viola Dana was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan based upon the 1903 novel of the same name by Kate Douglas Wiggin. This version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter Frances Marion. The film was made by the "Mary Pickford Company" and was an acclaimed box office hit. When the play premiered on Broadway in the 1910 theater season the part of Rebecca was played by Edith Taliaferro.
The Round-Up is a 1920 American silent Western film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and featuring Wallace Beery. The movie was written by Edmund Day and Tom Forman, directed by George Melford, and based on Day's play that was a huge hit for Roscoe Arbuckle's older cousin Macklyn Arbuckle and Julia Dean on the Broadway stage in 1907. It was Macklyn in the play who created the famous phrase used in advertisements of the film, nobody loves a fat man.
Wanted: A Husband is a 1919 American silent comedy film starring Billie Burke. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount-Artcraft. The film is based on the short story "Enter D'Arcy" by Samuel Hopkins Adams. The relatively unknown Lawrence C. Windom directed this lost film.
Sick Abed is a 1920 silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures/Artcraft, an affiliate of Paramount. It was directed by Sam Wood and stars matinee idol Wallace Reid. It is based on a 1918 Broadway stage play Sick-a-bed by Ethel Watts Mumford starring Mary Boland. The spelling of the movie varies from the spelling of the play.
The Passing of the Third Floor Back is a 1918 British/American silent allegorical film based on the 1908 play The Passing of the Third Floor Back by Jerome K. Jerome and directed by Herbert Brenon. The star of the film is Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, a legendary Shakespearean actor, who starred in the 1909 Broadway presentation of the play and its 1913 revival. Forbes-Robertson had been knighted by King George V in 1913 and had retired from acting in theatre that same year. In his retirement Forbes-Robertson had only dabbled in film acting making a 1913 film version of Hamlet, the most famous role he had played on the stage. Filmed in 1916, it was released in 1918.
The Beautiful Adventure is a 1917 American silent drama film starring Ann Murdock, a stage star. The film is based on the 1913 Broadway stage play The Beautiful Adventure in which Murdock had starred. The film was directed by Dell Henderson and released through the Mutual Film company. It is a lost film.
Please Help Emily is 1917 American silent comedy-drama film starring Ann Murdock and directed by Dell Henderson. It is based on the 1916 Broadway play Please Help Emily that starred Ann Murdock. Charles Frohman's company, of whom Murdock was employed on the stage, produced the film and released it through Mutual Film. It is now a lost film.
The Brat is a 1919 American silent drama film produced by and starring Alla Nazimova and directed by Herbert Blache. The film was released by Metro Pictures, who had Nazimova under contract, and is based on Maude Fulton's 1917 Broadway play in which she starred. It was remade as the 1931 film The Brat with Sally O'Neil in the lead role. The film is lost.
The Tree of Knowledge is a lost 1920 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by William C. deMille and starred Robert Warwick. It is based on an 1897 play, The Tree of Knowledge, by R. C. Carton.
The Master Mind is a lost 1920 American silent crime drama film produced by Whitman Bennett and released by Associated First National Pictures, later just First National Pictures). Kenneth Webb directed and Lionel Barrymore stars. It is based on a 1913 play, The Master Mind, by playwright Daniel David Cohen also known as Daniel D. Carter.
Who's Your Servant? is a lost 1920 American silent drama film made by an independent studio and distributed by second tier producer Robertson-Cole Pictures. The film starred a young Lois Wilson and its director was not credited. It is based on a 1913 Broadway play Hari Kari by Julian Johnson who also wrote the scenario for this film.
Eve's Secret is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a Broadway play, Moon-Flower, by Zoë Akins, adapted from a Hungarian play by Lajos Bíró. On Broadway Elsie Ferguson starred. Clarence Badger directed Betty Compson and Jack Holt.
Clothes is a 1920 American silent drama film produced and distributed by the Metro Pictures company. It is based on a 1906 Broadway play, Clothes, by Channing Pollock and Avery Hopwood. The play starred Grace George with a young supporting player named Douglas Fairbanks. A 1914 silent film was produced and is now lost. This 1920 version from Metro starred Olive Tell. By all accounts this version is lost as well.
Civilian Clothes is a surviving 1920 American silent comedy film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It stars Thomas Meighan and was directed by Hugh Ford. This film is based on the 1919 Broadway play, Civilian Clothes, by Thompson Buchanan. Thurston Hall played Meighan's part in the play. Civilian Clothes is preserved at the Gosfilmofond Russian Archives, Moscow.
My Lady's Garter is a lost 1920 American silent mystery film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Wyndham Standing, Sylvia Breamer and Holmes Herbert. It was based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Jacques Futrelle, a writer who perished with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
All of a Sudden Peggy is a lost 1920 American silent comedy romance film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Marguerite Clark and Jack Mulhall. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a 1907 Broadway play All-of-a-Sudden-Peggy which starred Henrietta Crosman. It is Clark's third to last film. Director Edwards died in Hawaii that same year of 1920.
Oh, Lady, Lady is a lost 1920 American silent comedy romance film directed by Major Maurice Campbell and starring Bebe Daniels. It is based on a popular 1918 Broadway stage musical, Oh, Lady! Lady!!
The Woman in Room 13 is a lost 1920 American silent mystery drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Pauline Frederick. It was produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures and is based on a Broadway play of the same name, The Woman in Room 13. The film was remade at Fox in 1932 as a talkie.
False Evidence, originally titled Madelon of the Redwoods, is a 1919 American silent drama film that was directed by Edwin Carewe. It stars Viola Dana, Wheeler Oakman, and Joseph King, and was released on April 21, 1919.