The Scarlet Letter (1911 film)
Encyclopedia
The Scarlet Letter is a silent
drama
motion picture
short starring King Baggot
, Lucille Young
, and William Robert Daly.
Directed
by Joseph W. Smiley and George Loane Tucker
and produced
by Carl Laemmle
's IMP Studios
, the screenplay
was adapted
by Herbert Brenon based on the historical novel
of the same title
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
.
This second silent version of The Scarlet Letter was IMP's first "IMP Film De Luxe." While only 1000 feet (300 m) in length, it was at that time considered a feature film
. It was a critical success and showcased IMP star
King Baggot as a serious actor
.
community to wear a scarlet
"A" (for adultery
) because she had a daughter by another man while her husband was away.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
short starring King Baggot
King Baggot
William King Baggot was an American actor, director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent era...
, Lucille Young
Lucille Young
Lucille Young was a French actress of the early silent film era.Young was born Lucia Medina in Lyon, France, appearing in vaudeville on American stage prior to moving to Hollywood to pursue a career in the pioneering days of early film making...
, and William Robert Daly.
Directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Joseph W. Smiley and George Loane Tucker
George Loane Tucker
George Loane Tucker was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 61 films between 1911 and 1921. Tucker had been an actor before moving to directing. In 1913 he directed Traffic in Souls, which concerned the topic of white slavery. The film, over 70 years later, remains an early...
and produced
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
by Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
's IMP Studios
Independent Moving Pictures
The Independent Moving Pictures Company was a movie studio/production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle, and was located at Eleventh Avenue and 53rd Street New York City, and in Fort Lee, New Jersey....
, the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
by Herbert Brenon based on the historical novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of the same title
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an...
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
.
This second silent version of The Scarlet Letter was IMP's first "IMP Film De Luxe." While only 1000 feet (300 m) in length, it was at that time considered a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
. It was a critical success and showcased IMP star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
King Baggot as a serious actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Synopsis
Set in 17th century Massachusetts, it is the classic story of a young woman, Hester Prynne (played by Lucille Young), who is forced by her PuritanPuritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
community to wear a scarlet
Scarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
"A" (for adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
) because she had a daughter by another man while her husband was away.
Cast
- King BaggotKing BaggotWilliam King Baggot was an American actor, director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent era...
as Reverend Dimmesdale - Lucille YoungLucille YoungLucille Young was a French actress of the early silent film era.Young was born Lucia Medina in Lyon, France, appearing in vaudeville on American stage prior to moving to Hollywood to pursue a career in the pioneering days of early film making...
as Hester Prynne - William Robert Daly as Roger
- Anita HendrieAnita HendrieAnita Hendrie was an American actress. She appeared in 67 silent motion pictures between 1908 and 1912....
as (undetermined role) - Robert Z. LeonardRobert Z. LeonardRobert Zigler Leonard was an American film director, actor, producer and screenwriter.He was born in Chicago, Illinois...
as (undetermined role) - J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonaldJoseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
as (undetermined role)
External links
- The Scarlet Letter at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- The Scarlet Letter at the Complete Index to World Film DatabaseComplete Index to World FilmThe Complete Index to World Film is an online database of information related to movies. Citwf, compiled online by Alan Goble and Valan Publishing since 2004, is a Guinness Record as the world's largest published film-related database, with over 694,400 title entries.In 1990, The Complete Index to...