So Big is a 1924 silent film based on Edna Ferber

Edna Ferber

Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...

's novel of the same name. It was produced by independent producer Earl Hudson the film was distributed through Associated First National. Unseen for decades, it is considered a lost film

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

.

Cast

• Colleen Moore
  Colleen Moore
  Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
  
   - Selina Peake
• Joseph De Grasse - Simeon Peake
• John Bowers
  John Bowers
  John Bowers was an American stage and silent film actor who starred in ninety-four films including short subjects.-Biography:...
  
   - Pervus DeJong
• Ben Lyon
  Ben Lyon
  Ben Lyon was an American film actor and a 20th Century Fox studio executive.-Life:Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film Flaming Youth , and steadily developed into...
  
   - Dirk DeJong
• Wallace Beery
  Wallace Beery
  Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
  
   - Klaus Poole
• Gladys Brockwell
  Gladys Brockwell
  Gladys Brockwell was an American actress whose career began during the silent film era.-Early life:Born Gladys Lindeman in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of a chorus girl who put her on stage at a very early age. By the time she reached her middle teens, she was already a veteran and...
  
   - Maartje Poole
• Jean Hersholt
  Jean Hersholt
  Jean Pierre Hersholt was a Danish-born actor who lived in the United States, where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi...
  
   - Aug Hempel
• Charlotte Merriam - Julie Hempel
• Dot Farley
  Dot Farley
  Dot Farley was an American film actress. She appeared in 280 films between 1910 and 1950. Mainly known for her roles in short comedies, prolific with Mack Sennett in the silent days;she was later notable as the Mother-in-law of Edgar Kennedy in most of his series of short films at the RKO...
  
   - Widow Paarleburg
• Ford Sterling
  Ford Sterling
  Ford Sterling was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4' he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops.-Biography:...
  
   - Jacob Hoogenduck
• Frankie Darro
  Frankie Darro
  Frankie Darro was an American actor and later in his career a stuntman. He began his career as a child actor in silent films, progressed to lead roles and co-starring roles in adventure, western, dramatic, and comedy films, and later became a character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Darro...
  
   - Dirk DeJong (as a child)
• Henry Hebert - William Storm (as Henry Herbert)
• Dorothy Brock - Dirk DeJong (as an infant)
• Rosemary Theby
  Rosemary Theby
  Rosemary Theby was an American film actress. She appeared in some 250 films between 1911 and 1940.-Early life and career:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Theby studied at Sargent's School in New York...
  
   - Paula Storm
• Phyllis Haver
  Phyllis Haver
  Phyllis Haver was an American actress of the silent film era.-Early life:She was born Phyllis Haver in Douglass, Kansas. When she was young, her family moved to Los Angeles, California, then a city of less than half a million people. Haver attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High...
  
  - Dallas O'Meara
• Valentine Black - Child (unbilled)
• Joe Coppa - A boy (unbilled)

Reception

Colleen Moore's role in So Big quite different from her usual jazz baby/flapper parts. Because Moore's part in the film was so different from the roles she had become known for following Flaming Youth, there was an outcry against her. Forgotten was that prior to her success in Flaming Youth, the vast majority of her roles had been dramatic in character, a few even tragic. She had not only played mothers, but mothers who had lost children (Broken Chains) and mothers who died (Dinty). Still, her performance was generally well-received. The film, however, was not so big a success as her previous few comedies, and so Sally was lined up to follow So Big. Moore wrote in Silent Star that upon meeting Edna Ferber some years after the film, the author gave her approval of Moore's performance.

External Links

• So Big at IMDb.com
• Posters for the 1924 version of So Big poster #1, poster #2