''Ramona'' is a 1910 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by D. W. Griffith, based on

Helen Hunt Jackson Helen Hunt Jackson (pen name, H.H.; born Helen Maria Fiske; October 15, 1830 – August 12, 1885) was an American poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the United States government. She de ...

's 1884 novel '' Ramona''. Through a love story, the early short explores racial injustice against Native Americans and stars

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

and Henry B. Walthall. A print survives in 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 ...

film archive. The film was remade in 1928 (dir.

Edwin Carewe Edwin Carewe ( Chickasaw Nation, March 3, 1883 – January 22, 1940) was a Native American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Jay John Fox was born on March 3, 1883, in Gainesville, Texas. H ...

) with Dolores del Río and in 1936 (dir. Henry King) with

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

Plot

''Ramona'' follows the romance between Ramona (

), a Spanish orphan raised by the wealthy Moreno family, and Alessandro ( Henry B. Walthall), a Native American who arrives at the family's ranch. Felipe ( Francis J. Grandon), Ramona's foster brother, confesses his love for her, but she rejects him in favor of Alessandro. Their desire to marry is opposed by Ramona's foster mother, who expels Alessandro from the estate. Alessandro returns to his village, only to find it destroyed by white settlers. Ramona, upon learning she is of partial Native American descent, chooses to leave her family and live with Alessandro. They marry and settle among the ruins of his village, where they have a child. Their peace is disrupted when settlers claim the land, resulting in the death of their baby and Alessandro's mental decline. Alessandro is killed by a white man, and Ramona returns to the ranch with Felipe.

Cast

Production

Advertisements for the film stated that it was made "by arrangement with Little, Brown, & Company," the publishers of Jackson's novel. The film was shot on location in Ventura County, California, "at identical locations wherein Mrs. Jackson placed her characters." At the time D. W. Griffith directed ''Ramona'', the Biograph production company was experiencing financial difficulties. Still based in New York and competing with the now-fragmented Edison Company, Biograph was in search of new creative direction. Griffith joined the company in 1908 as a writer and actor. Soon after, the company's head director, Wallace McCutcheon, became ill, and his son was unable to maintain the role. As a result, Griffith became the principal director, overseeing all Biograph productions between June 1908 and December 1909. During this period, Griffith produced a significant volume of work, averaging one 12-minute and one 16-minute film per week. Biograph began its expansion westward largely due to Griffith's interest in filming ''Ramona'' on location in Ventura, California. Griffith's frequent collaborator Billy Bitzer served as cinematographer. Bitzer had originally been hired as an electrician at Biograph, but his interest in photography led him to become a pioneering figure in early cinema. He was known for experimenting with lighting and close-up techniques. Bitzer and Griffith began working together shortly after '' The Adventures of Dollie'', Griffith's first film, and continued their collaboration until both left Biograph in 1913. Bitzer's innovations are evident in ''Ramona'' through the film's landscape cinematography and early use of techniques such as

cross-cutting Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time, and often in the same place. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simulta ...

References

External links

* *
''Ramona''
on

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* {{Authority control 1910 films 1910 drama films 1910 short films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films Articles containing video clips Biograph Company films Films based on American novels Films based on Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson Short films directed by D. W. Griffith Films set in California Films with screenplays by D. W. Griffith Films with screenplays by Stanner E.V. Taylor Silent American drama short films Surviving American silent films English-language drama short films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links