''Silas Marner'' is a 1916 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 Ernest C. Warde and starring

Frederick Warde Frederick Barkham Warde (23 February 1851 – 7 February 1935) was an English Shakespearean actor who relocated to the United States in the late 19th century. Career He was born in 1851 in Wardington, Oxfordshire, the son of Thomas Ward and ...

Valda Valkyrien Valda Valkyrien (born Adele Eleonore Frede; September 30, 1895 – October 22, 1956) was a Danish silent film actress. Early life and career Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Valkyrien was born Adele Frede; although she may have been a student at ...

, and Morgan Jones. It is an adaptation of the 1861 novel of the same name by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

Cast

as Silas Marner *

Louise Bates Louise Emerald Bates (December 28, 1886 - June 11, 1972) was an American actress whose photo was covered in the 1915 issue of ''Motion Picture Classic''. Born in Massachusetts, U.S, she left the stage and theater productions, where she starred in ...

as His sweetheart * Morgan Jones as His supposed friend * Thomas A. Curran as Godfrey *

as Molly * Ethel Jewett as Nancy * Frank McNish as The Squire Cass *

Hector Dion Hector Dion (1881–1943) was an American film actor of the silent era.Low p.300 Selected filmography * '' Just Like a Woman'' (1912) * ''The Wrong Bottle'' (1913) * '' The Crook and the Girl'' (1913) * '' A Tender-Hearted Crook'' (1913) * '' Th ...

as Dunstan * Arthur Rankin as Lammeter

Production

The role of Marner was played by Frederick Warde, who was the father of director Ernest C. Warde. The film was originally planned that the film have a length of 5 reels, but, after filming was complete, it was found to require 7 reels for the story. Studio head

Edwin Thanhouser Edwin Thanhouser (November 11, 1865 – March 21, 1956) was an American actor, businessman, and film producer. He was most notable as a founder of the Thanhouser Company, which was one of the first motion picture studios. His wife Gertrude Th ...

justified this extension to

Mutual Film Mutual Film Corporation was an early American film conglomerate that produced some of Charlie Chaplin's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by Film Booking Offices of America, which evolved into RKO Pictures. Founding Mutual ...

president John R. Freuler under his "natural length theory," saying, "Only a naturally acted play will stand the test and justify the natural length principle. I am satisfied to let this production stand as my ideal illustration of the theory."

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1916 films 1916 drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films American silent feature films English-language drama films Films based on British novels Films directed by Ernest C. Warde Films set in England Mutual Film films Silent American drama films {{1910s-drama-film-stub