''Puritan Passions'' is a 1923

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

directed by

Frank Tuttle Frank Wright Tuttle (August 6, 1892 – January 6, 1963) was a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film director and writer who directed films from 1922 (''The Cradle Buster'') to 1959 (''Island of Lost Women''). Biography Frank Tuttle was ...

, based on

Percy MacKaye Percy MacKaye (1875–1956) was an American dramatist and poet. Biography MacKaye was born in New York City into a theatrical family. His father, Steele MacKaye, was a popular actor, playwright, and producer, while his mother, Mary, wrote a dr ...

's 1908

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' The Scarecrow'', which was itself based on

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

's short story " Feathertop". The film stars Glenn Hunter,

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

, and stage actor

Osgood Perkins James Ridley Osgood Perkins (May 16, 1892 – September 21, 1937) was an American actor. Life and career Perkins was born in West Newton, Massachusetts, son of Henry Phelps Perkins Jr., and his wife, Helen Virginia (née Anthony). His maternal ...

. It follows the play faithfully, except that Osgood Perkins' character is called Dickon in the play and Dr. Nicholas in the movie, and Justice Gilead Merton is renamed Justice Gilead Wingate in the film. It is the only

theatrical film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

version – so far – of Percy MacKaye's play, though there were previously two silent film versions of Hawthorne's original story.

Plot

Goody Rickby is impregnated by the wealthy Gilead Wingate, after which he refuses to accept the responsibility of fatherhood. Rickby decides to use black magic to get revenge on Wingate. She succeeds in summoning Satan before her, and together they concoct a scheme to punish the man who wronged her. Satan creates a living being from a scarecrow and the creature adopts the human identity of "Lord Ravensbane" so that he can function unsuspected in society. Satan instructs his creature to seduce Wingate's niece Rachel and fool the villagers into believing the Wingates are all witches. Ravensbane develops emotions and a soul, however, and ''genuinely'' falls in love with the young lady, foiling the Devil's plans.

Cast

* Glenn Hunter - Lord Ravensbane/The Scarecrow *

- Rachel *

- Dr. Nicholas *Maude Hill - Goody Rickby *Frank Tweed - Gillead Wingate * Dwight Wiman - Bugby *

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland (1843—1900), Free Church of Scotl ...

- The Minister * Elliot Cabot - Richard Talbot

Preservation status

*This film is now lost. The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:''Puritan Passions''
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References

External links

* American films based on plays American silent feature films Films directed by Frank Tuttle American black-and-white films 1923 films Films based on works by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1923 comedy-drama films Lost American comedy-drama films Films distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation 1923 lost films Films based on adaptations 1920s American films Silent American comedy-drama films {{silent-comedy-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Preservation status

References

Further reading

External links