''Madame Butterfly'' is a

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

directed by

Sidney Olcott Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott, September 20, 1872 – December 16, 1949) was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great direc ...

. The film is based on the 1898 short story "

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

" by

John Luther Long John Luther Long (January 1, 1861 – October 31, 1927) was an American lawyer and writer best known for his short story "Madame Butterfly", which was based on the recollections of his sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husba ...

and the opera '' Madama Butterfly''.

Production

Reportedly, leading actress

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

fought constantly with

about the character. Olcott wanted Pickford to be more reserved and thought she was "too Americanized to play a Japanese".

Plot

The film takes place in Japan in 1904. Lieutenant Pinkerton ( Marshall Neilan) marries Cho-Cho-San 'Butterfly' (

), a 15-year-old Japanese

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...

. Cho-Cho-San is lucky with her new husband and takes the marriage very seriously. Pinkterton, however, regards it as entertainment. He is not in love with her and plans to break off the wedding in a month. The American Consul (William T. Carleton) begs him to break off the wedding as soon as possible, to avoid hurting her feelings. The lieutenant laughs him off. After Pinkerton forces Cho-Cho-San to end their wedding reception early, her disapproving family disowns her. When Pinkerton is ordered to return to America, he promises Cho-Cho-San he will return before he leaves. Three years go by. Cho-Cho-San, now a mother, still believes Pinkerton will return someday, while he is engaged to an American woman. He sends her a letter to announce he will marry another woman, but Cho-Cho-San can't read. Meanwhile, The Prince of Japan (David Burton) takes interest in Cho-Cho-San, but she refuses his company and claims she is still waiting for her husband. Sometime later, Pinkerton returns to Japan but he hands the American Consul some money as compensation for Cho-Cho-San and leaves again. When Cho-Cho-San comes to ask about her husband, she runs into Pinkerton's new American wife. The American woman asks Cho-Cho-San to give them her child, as he will be given better opportunities and prosperity under their parenting. Cho-Cho-San is crushed but complies and hands over her child. She kills herself in the final scene by walking into a river and drowning.

Cast

- Cho-Cho-San * Marshall Neilan - Lieutenant Pinkerton * Olive West - Suzuki * Jane Hall - Adelaide * Lawrence Wood - Cho-Cho-San's father *

Caroline Harris Caroline E. Harris (November 11, 1867 – April 23, 1937) was an American actress. She appeared in 12 films between 1909 and 1917. Her last film was ''The Gulf Between'', the first film released in the Technicolor process. Harris was the mother ...

- Cho-Cho-San's mother * M.W. Rale - The Nakodo *

William T. Carleton William T. Carleton (1859–1930) was an English-born actor, and producer. He died in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1930. Some sources erroneously list him as being related to William P. Carleton, another actor. He is also not to be mista ...

- The American Consul * David Burton - The Prince *

Cesare Gravina Cesare Gravina (23 January 1858 – 16 September 1954) was an Italian actor of the silent era who appeared in more than 70 films between 1911 and 1929. Born in Naples, Gravina was an orchestra conductor in his native Italy. As the conduct ...

- The Soothsayer * Frank Dekum - Naval officer

DVD release

''Madame Butterfly'' was released on

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to ...

DVD-R by Alpha Video on July 7, 2015.

References

External links

*
''Madame Butterfly'' stats at silentera.com
*

website dedicated to Sidney Olcott {{DEFAULTSORT:Madame Butterfly (1915 Film) 1915 films 1915 drama films Silent American drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on short fiction American films based on plays Films based on operas by Giacomo Puccini Films directed by Sidney Olcott Films set in the Meiji period Films set in the 1900s Paramount Pictures films Films about interracial romance Articles containing video clips 1910s American films