Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Squaw Man - 1914


Country: USA
Writers: Edwin Milton Royle (play), Cecil B. DeMille (picturizer), Oscar Apfel (picturizer) (as Oscar C. Apfel)
Stars: Dustin Farnum
Release Date: 15 February 1914 (USA)
Also known as: Az asszonyember (Hungary), O Exilado (Portugal), The White Man (UK)
Filming locations: Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA; Green River, Wyoming, USA; Hollywood Heritage Museum - 2100 North Highland Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (studio); Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA; Railroad Station, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA; San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA; Vine & Selma Corner, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (near)
Budget: $20,000 (estimated)
Gross: $244,700 (USA)
Production Co: Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Trivia
The first film made by (and involving) Cecil B. DeMille.
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The Motion Picture Patents Trust, headed by Thomas A. Edison, was at that time engaged in an attempt to control all motion picture production in the U.S., and went to great lengths - often including destruction of property and physical violence - to do so. The Trust was based on the East Coast, which is why many independent producers, such as Cecil B. DeMille, began shooting their films in California. The Trust's intimidation tactics probably explain why DeMille - who was one of their most vocal opponents - put no cast or crew credits on this film.
The site where most of the interior scenes were filmed, on the corner of Sunset and Vine in Hollywood, is now a bank. A mural on one interior wall of the building commemorates the production with four scenes from the film.
Several one-act versions of the play were produced as early as 1904. The complete play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 23 October 1905 and closed about 1 April 1906 after 222 performances. The opening night cast included George Fawcett, William S. Hart and William Faversham.
Film debut of Raymond Hatton.
Cecil B. DeMille's ledger noted that he hired an extra named Hal Roach for $5 per day, and rejected actress Jane Darwell, who was already commanding $60 per week.
The musical composition "Nat-u-ritch: An Indian idyll. Intermezzo from The Squaw Man" by Theodore Bendix was published to promote the picture.
Revealing mistakes
When he is in his hotel room in New York, Captain Wynnegate looks out of his window. This is followed by a cut to an obvious still photograph of the Broadway/Times Square district by night, meant to represent the view from the Captain's window.
Early in the film, when Captain James Wynnegate (played by Dustin Farnum) is on board the sailing ship, he writes a note asking that a "check" enclosed with the note be cashed for him. Since Captain Farnum is an Englishman, he would have spelled the word as "cheque", the standard British spelling. (Moreover, the handwriting in the note is scarcely that of an educated British military officer: the lines of writing are crooked and the letters are crudely formed.)
Quotes
Lady Diana: If you are an honest man, you may kiss me goodbye.
Nat-U-Rich: Me kill 'um.
Captain James Wynnegate: [on death of Nat-U-Rich] Poor little mother!
Lady Diana: Jim, I want you to go away for my sake!
Big Bill: Come out West where people keep their hands in their own pockets.
Captain James Wynnegate: I won't drink with a man who robbed the orphans of the King's soldiers!
Lady Diana: We're going to find Jim and bring him home.
Big Bill: Get a-goin', Bud, and don't stop to pick flowers!
Captain James Wynnegate: I'm broke. Tell the boys I'll pay 'em somehow.
Lady Diana: Whose little boy are you?
Plot Keywords: Earl | England | Mountain Climbing | Ranch | Embezzlement  | Suicide | Ship Fire | Rescue | Fire | Ship | Constable | Aunt | Race Track | Scotland Yard | Confession Of Crime | Honor | Gambling | Jealousy | Feud | Falling From Height | Times Square Manhattan New York City | Wyoming | Pacific Northwest | Native American | Alcoholic | Historical Landmark | Saloon | Snow Blindness | Gunfire | Fight | Accidental Death | Medicine Man | Marriage | Cousin Cousin Relationship | Transatlantic Trip | Little Boy | Train | New York City | Rescue At Sea | Interracial Marriage | Drunkenness | Alps |
Old West | Manhattan New York City | Handcuffs | Native American Chief | Forgery |
Family Honor | Horse Race | Loneliness | Miscegenation | Nobility | Snowblind | Chivalry | Self Sacrifice | Frontier | Drunken Indian | Murder | Pickpocket | Based On Play
Genres: Drama | Western 
A chivalrous British officer takes the blame for his cousin's embezzlement and journeys to the American West to start a new life on a cattle ranch.

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