''Hawthorne of the U.S.A.'' is a 1919 American silent

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

James Cruze James Cruze (born Jens Cruz Bosen;Sadoul, Georges (1972). Dictionary of Films'. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 53. . See also: * Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (1974). Film Directors: A Guide to Their American Fi ...

and starring

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Lou ...

and

Lila Lee Lila Lee (born Augusta Wilhelmena Fredericka Appel; July 25, 1905 – November 13, 1973) was a prominent screen actress, primarily a leading lady, of the silent film and early sound film eras. Early life The daughter of Augusta Fredericka App ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''Hawthorne of the U.S.A.''
at silentera.com The film is based on the play of the same name by

James B. Fagan James Bernard Fagan (18 May 1873 – 17 February 1933) was an Irish-born actor, theatre manager, producer and playwright active in England. After turning from the law to the stage, Fagan began his acting career, including four years from 1895 ...

. It had run on Broadway in 1912 with

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

in the title role. The scenario for the film was written by Walter Woods. The film was produced by

Famous Players–Lasky The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Companyoriginally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Playsan ...

, and distributed by Famous Players under the Paramount-Artcraft Picture banner. A print of ''Hawthorne of the U.S.A.'' is preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Anthony Hawthorne (Reid), an American with modern ideas, stirs fashionable Europe when he breaks the bank at Monte Carlo. Prince Vladimir (Stevens), a covetous member of the royal family of a small principality, makes an attempt to obtain the fund Hawthorne has on in order to purchase the army of Augustus III (Brower), whom he seeks to depose. Hawthorne joins the prince in his plot but changes his mind when he meets Princess Irma (Lee) and learns that the prince plans to murder her father. Hawthorne works to foil the plot of the prince and ends up establishing a republican form of government and marrying Irma.

Cast

as Anthony Hamilton Hawthorne *

as Princess Irma *

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

as Rodney Blake *

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

as Nitchi * Charles Ogle as Colonel Radulski *

Guy Oliver George Guy Oliver (September 25, 1878 – September 1, 1932) was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent film era motion pictures and 32 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at least ...

as Count Henloe * Edwin Stevens as Prince Vladimir *

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

as Fredericks *

Theodore Roberts Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor. Early life Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disap ...

as Senator Ballard *

Ruth Renick Ruth Renick (born Ruth Griffin; September 23, 1893 - May 7, 1984) was an American actress on stage and in films. She made her debut in film in 1919, in a silent film. Her career spanned the shift to "talkies", and Renick had her last role in a ...

as Kate Ballard * Robert Brower as King Augustus III *Frank Bonner as De Witz

References

External links

* 1919 films 1910s adventure comedy films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Famous Players-Lasky films American films based on plays Films directed by James Cruze Paramount Pictures films 1919 comedy films 1910s American films Silent American adventure comedy films English-language adventure comedy films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-comedy-film-stub