The Midlanders

1920 silent film by Joe De Grasse

  • December 1920 (1920-12)
Running time
5 reels[2][3]CountryUnited StatesLanguageSilent (English intertitles)Budget$75,000[4]

The Midlanders is a 1920 American silent drama film starring Bessie Love and directed by husband and wife duo Joseph De Grasse and Ida May Park.[5] It was produced by Andrew J. Callaghan Productions and distributed by Federated Film Exchanges of America. It is based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Charles Tenney Jackson, published by Bobbs-Merrill Company.[6]

Only a small fragment of this film is known to survive.[7][8]

Plot

Cast

Bessie Love in a scene from The Midlanders
  • Bessie Love as Aurelie Lindstrom
  • Truman Van Dyke as Harlan Van Hart
  • Sydney Deane as Judge Van Hart
  • Frances Raymond as Mrs. Van Hart
  • Curt Rehfeld as Captain Lindstrom
  • C. Norman Hammand as Papa John Lindstrom
  • Lloyd Bacon as Wiley Curran
  • Jack Donovan as Arne Vance
  • Howard Crampton as Boss Tanner
  • Bill White as Mins[1]

Production

Bessie Love reads a book in a scene from The Midlanders

Interiors were filmed in a studio in Los Angeles, and exteriors were filmed in Rio Vista.[9][10] To prepare for her performance, Bessie Love took dance classes at Theodore Kosloff's ballet school.[11]

After its release, producer Andrew J. Callaghan sued Federated Film Exchanges, saying that the distributor had not paid the full amount to distribute this film, Bonnie May, and Penny of Top Hill Trail.[4]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews,[12] but Love's performance was highly praised.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Who's Where on Los Angeles Screens". Camera!. Vol. 3, no. 46. February 26, 1921. p. 15.
  2. ^ "Guide to Current Pictures". Exhibitors Herald. October 1, 1921. p. 97.
  3. ^ "Guide to Current Pictures". Exhibitors Herald. November 27, 1920. p. 102.
  4. ^ a b "Callaghan Asks Injunction Restraining Federated from Exhibiting Productions". Moving Picture World. August 6, 1921. p. 592.
  5. ^ "The Midlanders (1920)". The AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  6. ^ "Federated Preparing Special Book on Bessie Love Pictures". The Moving Picture World. September 25, 1920. p. 515.
  7. ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: The Midlanders
  8. ^ Lost 35 mm Nitrate Film FOUND!; Nitrateville.com Retrieved September 5, 2014
  9. ^ "Capable Cast Assures Strong Support to Bessie Love in 'The Midlanders'". The Moving Picture World. April 17, 1920. p. 436.
  10. ^ "Bessie Love Returns from Taking Rio Vista Exteriors". The Moving Picture World. May 8, 1920. p. 854.
  11. ^ Love, Bessie (1977). From Hollywood with Love: An Autobiography of Bessie Love. London: Elm Tree Books. p. 105. OCLC 734075937.
  12. ^ "What the Big Houses Say With First Run Theatres". Motion Picture News. June 4, 1921. p. 3418.
  13. ^ Howe, Herbert (August 1920). "Some Pre-Release Impressions". Picture-Play Magazine. Vol. 12, no. 6. p. 68.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Midlanders.


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