Between Friends (1924 Film)
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''Between Friends'' is a 1924 American silent
melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
film based on the eponymous 1914 novel by Robert W. Chambers. The film was directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Albert E. Smith. It stars
Lou Tellegen Lou Tellegen (born Isidor Louis Bernard Edmon van Dommelen;"Lou Tellegen, Idol of Stage and Silent Screen, Stabs Himself Seven Times." Spartanburg (SC) Herald, October 30, 1934, pp. 1-2. November 26, 1881 or 1883 – October 29, 1934) was a ...
,
Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her date ...
, and
Norman Kerry Norman Kerry (born Norman Hussey Kaiser,"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards,registration for Norman Hussey Kaiser, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 1942 This document lists his full name as Norman Hussey Kaiser, noting the na ...
. The feature was distributed by
Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...
, which was founded by Blackton and Smith in 1897 in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. The film is lost.


Synopsis

Jack Greylock runs away with the wife of his lifelong friend, David Drene, a sculptor. Drene only knows that his wife has fled; he does not know the identity of the man she went with. The wife kills herself from remorse, and Greylock returns to keep up the semblance of his ancient friendship with the sculptor, who buries his sorrow in his work. Cecile Waite, a model, poses for Drene and Greylock, and upon meeting her, falls honestly in love with her. She, however, loves Drene, who is apparently oblivious. Drene learns through another friend that Greylock was responsible for his wife's downfall. He first intends to kill him, but perceiving Greylock's love for the model, resolves to work his vengeance through Cecile. Drene threatens her. Greylock pleads for mercy for the girl and eventually agrees to kill himself at midnight Christmas Eve if Drene will spare her. Drene's brooding overturns his reason for a time, and after a night of delirium, he collapses. Cecile finds him and nurses him back to health. The sculptor regains consciousness on Christmas Eve, his disposition improved. He sends Cecile to tell Greylock of his changed mood, but she cannot get into the house where Greylock is slowly preparing to keep his pledge. Drene then telepathically draws Greylock to his home and absolves him of his promise. :''American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films''


Cast

*
Lou Tellegen Lou Tellegen (born Isidor Louis Bernard Edmon van Dommelen;"Lou Tellegen, Idol of Stage and Silent Screen, Stabs Himself Seven Times." Spartanburg (SC) Herald, October 30, 1934, pp. 1-2. November 26, 1881 or 1883 – October 29, 1934) was a ...
as David Drene *
Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her date ...
as Jessica Drene *
Norman Kerry Norman Kerry (born Norman Hussey Kaiser,"United States World War II Draft Registration Cards,registration for Norman Hussey Kaiser, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 1942 This document lists his full name as Norman Hussey Kaiser, noting the na ...
as Jack Greylock *
Alice Calhoun Alice Beatrice Calhoun (November 21, 1900 – June 3, 1966) was an American silent film actress. Film star Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she made her film debut in an uncredited role in 1918 and went on to appear in another forty-seven films betw ...
as Cecile White *
Stuart Holmes Stuart Holmes (born Joseph Liebchen; March 10, 1884 – December 29, 1971) was an American actor and sculptor whose career spanned seven decades. He appeared in almost 450 films between 1909 and 1964, sometimes credited as Stewart Holmes. Biog ...
as Quair * Henry Barrows as Guilder *Richard Billings as Little Boy (uncredited)


Background

The film adaption was written and credited to
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and director Charles Gaskill. However, in her book ''J. Stuart Blackton: A Personal Biography by His Daughter'' (June 1985), Marian Blackton Trimble writes that her father was unhappy with Gaskill's adaption of Chamber's novel, saying: "The script proved too involved, too scholarly, top heavy with long, platitudinous titles, the cardinal sin of the silent movie, and soggy with prolonged, unclimaxed scenes" (p. 150). Trimble says in her book that while en route by train from
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to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, she penned a script that was acceptable to her father and actor Lou Tellegen as well, but Trimble received no credit for her work. Trimble went on to receive credit for other features under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Marian Constance, mainly in films where she was working with her father. In a review of the film in ''
The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...
'', dated April 20, 1924, a list of credits for the film include Marion Constance along with Chas. L Gaskill for
scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; from Italian , "that which is pinned to the scenery") is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and actio ...
. Trimble also states in her book (p. 152) that her father "was one of the first, if not the first", to utilize the technique of montage shots in his films. When the film played at the Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, the silent film ''The Haunted Hotel'' (1907), was shown in connection with Blackton's film. The showing of the old film proved to be a hit and other exhibitors started requesting early-day pictures from Vitagraph as well. '' The Exhibitors Herald'' reported in 1924 that Blackton had purportedly "invented a new technical arrangement of lights by which he has procured effects in photography which never before have been shown on the screen...the experiments were conducted in Los Angeles and used for the first time in the studio set of ''Between Friends'', where a model poses for a statue".


Other adaptions

In February 1918, Vitagraph released ''
The Woman Between Friends ''The Woman Between Friends'' is a 1918 American silent drama film written and directed by Tom Terriss that was based on the novel ''Between Friends'' by Robert W. Chambers. The film stars Alice Joyce, Marc McDermott, and Robert Walker. It w ...
'', a silent film based upon the novel which featured Robert Walker, Edith Speare, and
Marc McDermott Marcus McDermott (also credited as Marc MacDermott; 24 July 1871 – 5 January 1929) was an Australian actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death.Nick Murphy at the Forgotten Australian Actors webs ...
. During filming, Walker accidentally shot at himself but was not injured in the mishap.


Reviews and reception

When the film premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York, local newspapers were mixed in their reviews. ''The New York Times'' review said "there are black cats, apples handed to the hero by the pretty model and an utterly overdone bit of suspense toward the end of the picture, together with scenic long-distance hypnotism". The ''
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
'' considered the film "the best thing J. Stuart Blackton has made in a long, long time". The '' Daily News'' was harsh in their criticism of the feature saying, "just as the characters in this Robert W. Chambers story were cheap and unreal, so are they in the film". ''
The Morning Telegraph ''The Morning Telegraph'' (1839 – April 10, 1972) (sometimes referred to as the ''New York Morning Telegraph'') was a New York City broadsheet newspaper owned by Moe Annenberg's Cecelia Corporation. It was first published as the ''Sunday Me ...
'' praised the film stating that "it is many a day since Mr. Blackton has made a better picture, not only has he handled a strong story with intelligent dignity and repression, but he has skillfully avoided an interpretation which easily could have made it objectionable to the censors and the censorious". A reviewer for the ''
New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertainm ...
'' blasted the film saying, "How anything so frightfully poor, so hilariously ridiculous and generally terrible could ever be screened at all, much less shown at a Broadway house, passeth comprehension...it's so thoroughly atrocious that the problem of trying to review it staggers the mind of ye reviewer". Henriette Sloane gave the film a positive review in the '' Exhibitors Trade Review'', stating that it was "armed with an unusually strong cast of noted stars...and was a very satisfactory and decidedly entertaining photoplay which should provide the average audience with a very pleasant matinee or evening". She also noted that the "story is alive with romance, thrills and suspense". A review in ''The Film Daily'' was also positive stating the film had "some new twists in this latest eternal triangle plot and there's a splendid production and fine cast that also help to make the picture interesting".


See also

*
Lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...
*
List of lost films For this list of lost films, a lost film is defined as one of which no part of a print is known to have survived. For films in which any portion of the footage remains (including trailers), see List of incomplete or partially lost films. Reas ...


References


External links

* * * {{Robert W. Chambers 1924 films American silent feature films Vitagraph Studios films Films based on American novels Films based on works by Robert W. Chambers Films directed by J. Stuart Blackton Lost American drama films American black-and-white films 1920s melodrama films Silent American drama films 1924 drama films 1924 lost films 1920s American films Films with screenplays by Robert W. Chambers 1920s English-language films English-language drama films Lost silent American films