Wild and Woolly (1917 film)

Last updated

Wild and Woolly
Wild and Woolly.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by John Emerson
Written by Anita Loos
Based onWild and Woolly
by Horace B. Carpenter
Starring Douglas Fairbanks
Eileen Percy
Walter Bytell
Sam De Grasse
Cinematography Victor Fleming
Production
company
Douglas Fairbanks Pictures
Distributed by Artcraft Pictures
Release date
  • June 24, 1917 (1917-06-24)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
Languages Silent
English intertitles

Wild and Woolly is a 1917 American silent Western comedy film which tells the story of one man's personal odyssey from cowboy-obsessed Easterner to Western tough guy. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell and Sam De Grasse. The film was adapted by Anita Loos from a story by Horace B. Carpenter and was directed by John Emerson.

Contents

Plot

Wild and Woolly ad in Motion Picture News, 1917 Wild and Woolly ad in Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1917) (IA motionpicturenew161unse) (page 16 crop).jpg
Wild and Woolly ad in Motion Picture News , 1917

As described in a film magazine review, [1] Jeff Hillington, son of railroad magnate Collis J. Hillington, tires of the East and longs for the wild and woolly West. He has his apartment and office fixed up in his understanding of the accepted Western style, which he has gleaned from dime novels. A delegation from Bitter Creek comes to New York City seeking financial backing for the construction of a spur line, and go to Collis to explain their proposition. Collis sends Jeff to investigate. The citizens of Bitter Creek, Arizona, realizing that a favorable report from Jeff is necessary, decide to live up to Jeff's idea of a Western town. They set up a program with a wild reception for Jeff, a barroom dance, and a train holdup. Steve Shelby, a grafting Indian agent, knowing that he is about to be caught by the government, decides to do "one more trick" and enters into the plan to rob the train, turning it into a real scheme. Events turn earnest and Shelby kidnaps Nell Larabee, with whom Jeff has fallen in love. The entire crowd has been trapped in the dance hall, which is surrounded by Indians, and Jeff's revolver loaded with blanks. When the situation is finally explained to Jeff, by superhuman efforts (and typical Fairbanks surprises) he rounds up the Indians, rescues the girl, completely foils the scheme of Steve, and becomes the hero of the hour, getting to marry Nell.

Cast

Production

Wild and Woolly (1917) - 3.jpg

Wild and Woolly was filmed in Manhattan and the Paragon Studio in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century. [2] [3] [4] The scenes of the Arizona town were shot over a week's time in Burbank, California. Joseph Henabery served as an assistant to director John Emerson. [5]

Reception

Like many American films of the time, Wild and Woolly was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required cuts of the intertitle "Say, that's a chance for us to clean up big," all scenes of the Indian Agent and Indians with a basket containing flasks of liquor, the three intertitles "Whoop it up and all you capture is yours," You watch every door of the hotel and after I get the girl you kill," and "They can't hurt you, their guns are loaded with fake bullets," scene where Fairbanks is shot, an Indian shoots a man, four scenes of Indians falling after being shot, and the shooting of the express messenger, taking his keys, and the rifling of the express box. [6]

Edward Wietzel offered the following in his contemporaneous review for The Moving Picture World: "A cow in a clover field, a cat with a catnip ball or a monkey with a bushel of peanuts never had a more enjoyable time than the gloom-dispersing Mr. Douglas Fairbanks extracts from each of the situations in the photoplay. Most of these situations are not new, but the method of their working out is frequently novel and often exceedingly funny." [7]

Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance, writing in 2008, believes Wild and Woolly "is the finest of the surviving Fairbanks-Emerson-Loos collaborations and perhaps the best of the thirteen films he made for Artcraft. It was also one of Fairbanks's personal favorites." [8]

Preservation status

Copies of Wild and Woolly are preserved in several film collections and archives, and it has been released on DVD. [9] In 2002, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam De Grasse</span> Canadian actor (1875–1953)

Samuel Alfred De Grasse was a Canadian actor. He was the uncle of cinematographer Robert De Grasse.

<i>A Fool There Was</i> (1915 film) 1915 American silent film

A Fool There Was is an American silent drama film produced by William Fox, directed by Frank Powell, and starring Theda Bara. Released in 1915, the film was long considered controversial for such risqué intertitle cards as "Kiss me, my fool!"

<i>Camille</i> (1917 film) 1917 film by J. Gordon Edwards

Camille is a 1917 American silent film based on the play adaptation of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, first published in French as a novel in 1848 and as a play in 1852. Adapted for the screen by Adrian Johnson, Camille was directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starred Theda Bara as Camille and Albert Roscoe as her lover, Armand.

<i>Headin South</i> 1918 film

Headin' South is a 1918 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Arthur Rosson with supervision from Allan Dwan and starring Douglas Fairbanks. The film is now considered to be lost.

<i>The Bulls Eye</i> (serial) 1917 film

The Bull's Eye is a 1917 American film serial directed by James W. Horne. It is now considered to be a lost film.

<i>The Fatal Ring</i> 1917 film

The Fatal Ring is a 1917 American action film serial directed by George B. Seitz. Silentera.com reports that the UCLA Film and Television Archive may have a complete print. A deteriorating fragment roll containing a scene is discovered in France by Australian filmmaker Robert Hoskins in 2021 who then scanned it and uploaded it to his YouTube channel.

<i>The Seven Pearls</i> 1917 film

The Seven Pearls is a 1917 American silent action film serial directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Donald MacKenzie. Fragments are held by the Library of Congress.

<i>The House of Hate</i> 1918 film serial

The House of Hate is a 1918 American film serial directed by George B. Seitz, produced when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

<i>Triumph</i> (1917 film) 1917 film

Triumph is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Fred Myton, starring Lon Chaney and Dorothy Phillips. The screenplay was adapted from a short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams. It was produced by Bluebird Photoplays and released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Only the first three of the five reels of this film survive, and the third reel is heavily decomposed. Two stills exist showing Lon Chaney as the terminally ill Paul Neihoff.

<i>The Fall of the Romanoffs</i> 1917 American film

The Fall of the Romanoffs is a 1917 silent American historical drama film directed by Herbert Brenon. It was released only seven months after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917. This film is notable for starring Rasputin's rival, the monk Iliodor, as himself. Costars Nance O'Neil and Alfred Hickman were married from 1916 to Hickman's death in 1931. The film was shot in North Bergen, New Jersey, nearby Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based at the beginning of the 20th century.

<i>Thais</i> (1917 American film) 1917 American film

Thais is a 1917 American silent drama film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and based on the 1890 novel Thaïs by Anatole France. This film featured opera prima donna Mary Garden, making her film debut at the then-lavish weekly salary of US$15,000. Other cast members include Lionel Adams, Crauford Kent, and Charles Trowbridge. This film is considered "one of the most colossal flops in movie history, both artistically and financially".

<i>His Picture in the Papers</i> 1916 film by Erich von Stroheim, Emmett J. Flynn, John Emerson

His Picture in the Papers is a 1916 American silent comedy film written and directed by John Emerson. Anita Loos also wrote the film's scenario. The film stars Douglas Fairbanks and Loretta Blake and features Erich von Stroheim in a minor role.

<i>The Bargain</i> (1914 film) 1914 film

The Bargain is a 1914 American silent Western film starring William S. Hart. It was the first feature film starring Hart, who would go on to become the most popular Western actor of the silent film era. In 2010, it was one of the 25 films added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." The second Hart Western to be named to the National Film Registry, The Bargain was said to have been selected because of Hart's charisma, the film's authenticity and realistic portrayal of the Western genre.

<i>The Savage</i> (1917 film) 1917 American film

The Savage is a 1917 American silent drama film starring Colleen Moore and Monroe Salisbury that is set in Canada and was directed by Rupert Julian. The film is presumed to be lost.

<i>The Man from Painted Post</i> 1917 film

The Man from Painted Post is a 1917 American Western drama film produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks. The scenario by Fairbanks is based on a short story Silver Slippers by Jackson Gregory. Joseph Henabery is the official director, with probably a lot of input by Fairbanks himself, and future director Victor Fleming is the cinematographer. A copy of the film survives in 16mm format.

<i>A Modern Musketeer</i> 1917 film by Allan Dwan

A Modern Musketeer is a 1917 American silent adventure comedy film directed and written by Allan Dwan. Based on the short story, "D'Artagnan of Kansas" by E. P. Lyle, Jr., the film was produced by and stars Douglas Fairbanks. A now complete and restored print of the film still exists and is currently in the public domain.

<i>The Girl Without a Soul</i> 1917 film directed by John H. Collins

The Girl Without a Soul is a 1917 American silent feature film featuring Viola Dana in a dual role as sisters.

<i>Men</i> (1918 film) 1918 American film

Men was a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Perry N. Vekroff based upon a play by Harry Sophus Sheldon. It starred Anna Lehr, Charlotte Walker, and Robert Cain. It is considered to be a lost film.

<i>Uncle Toms Cabin</i> (1918 film) 1918 American film

Uncle Tom's Cabin was a 1918 American silent drama film directed by J. Searle Dawley, produced by Famous Players–Lasky Corporation and distributed by Paramount Pictures under the Famous Players–Lasky name. The film is based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin and George Aiken's eponymous play.

Baree, Son of Kazan is a 1918 American silent film based on the 1917 adventure novel of the same name by writer James Oliver Curwood. The film was directed by David Smith, the brother of Albert E. Smith, one of the founders of Vitagraph studio. Nell Shipman, an influential female actress and producer, stars in the film. In 1925, David Smith produced a new film based on this novel, starring Anita Stewart.

References

  1. "Reviews: Douglas Fairbanks in Wild and Woolly". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (1). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 25. June 30, 1917. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  2. Koszarski, Richard (2004), Fort Lee: The Film Town, Rome, Italy: John Libbey Publishing -CIC srl, ISBN   0-86196-653-8
  3. "Studios and Films". Fort Lee Film Commission. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  4. Fort Lee Film Commission (2006), Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN   0-7385-4501-5
  5. Goessel, Tracey (2018). The First King of Hollywood The Life of Douglas Fairbanks. United States: Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. pp. 150–152. ISBN   9781613738948.
  6. "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 5 (3). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 33. July 14, 1917. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  7. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company (1917). Moving Picture World (Apr-Jun 1917). Media History Digital Library. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company.
  8. Vance, Jeffrey. Douglas Fairbanks (Berkeley, 2008), 47. ISBN   978-0-520-25667-5.
  9. Progressive Silent Film List: Wild and Woolly at silentera.com
  10. "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  11. "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 14, 2020.