''Shark Monroe'' is a 1918 American silent

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

William S. Hart William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integ ...

and written by C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars William S. Hart,

Katherine MacDonald Katherine Agnew MacDonald (December 14, 1891 – June 4, 1956) was an American stage and film actress, film producer, and model. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was the older sister of actresses Miriam MacDonald and Mary MacLaren. ...

Joseph Singleton Joseph Edward Victor Fairfield Daveran Singleton (1 March 1879 – 24 October 1946) was an actor of the silent film, silent era. An Australian, he appeared in 74 films between 1913 and 1925. He was born in Melbourne. Selected filmography ...

, George A. McDaniel, and

Bert Sprotte Bert Sprotte (9 December 1870 – 30 December 1949) was a German actor. He appeared in more than 70 American films between 1918 and 1938. He was born in Chemnitz, Saxony, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * '' Selfi ...

. The film was released on June 30, 1918, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

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 ...

, Shark Monroe (Hart), owner of a sealing vessel, agrees to take Marjorie Hilton (MacDonald) and her brother Webster (McDaniel) to Skagway, provided Webster works his own passage. Majorie falls into the power of Big Baxter (Singleton), a notorious character of the Alaskan coast, and agrees to marry him. Shark appears and, while his men hold the wedding party at bay, marries and runs off with Marjorie. At the end of two weeks he agrees to safely return her to Baxter's camp. Webster and Baxter arrive, however, and to restore the young man confidence Shark allows Webster to beat him in a fist fight. Later, after overhearing Baxter lie about him, Shark kills Baxter with one blow, and Marjorie has her eyes opened as to the bigness of the man.

Cast

as Shark Monroe *

as Marjorie Hilton *

as Big Baxter * George A. McDaniel as Webster Hilton *

as Onion McNab

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Shark Monroe'' was subject to restrictions and cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors cut, in Reel 2, the intertitle "Prospering through the degradation of women" and, in Reel 5, the intertitle "He's dead".

Preservation status

A copy of the film is preserved in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, New York.Progressive Silent Film List: ''Shark Monroe''
at silentera.com

References

External links

* 1918 films Silent American adventure films 1918 adventure films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by William S. Hart American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1910s English-language films 1910s American films English-language adventure films {{1910s-adventure-film-stub