Carolyn of the Corners

1919 silent film by Robert Thornby

  • March 9, 1919 (1919-03-09) (U.S.)[3]
(original release)
  • June 11, 1922 (1922-06-11) (U.S.)[4]
(re-release)
Running time
  • 60 minutes;[5] 5 reels[6] (original release)
  • approx. 30 minutes; 3 reels (re-release)
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Carolyn of the Corners is a 1919 American silent drama[7] film directed by Robert Thornby,[1] and starring Bessie Love, Charles Edler, and Charlotte Mineau.

The screenplay by Frank S. Beresford[1] was based on the 1918 novel by Ruth Belmore Endicott.[8]

The film is presumed lost.[9]

Plot

Young Carolyn May Cameron (Love), is orphaned when her parents are lost at sea. She and her dog Prince leave the family's Harlem flat to go to live with her uncle Joe (Edler) in Maine. She becomes friends with her uncle's former fiancee, Amanda (Mineau), and slowly helps repair their relationship.

While visiting an ill friend, Carolyn and Amanda are trapped in a forest fire. Joe rescues them, and he and Amanda fall back in love. They get married, and Carolyn decides to return to Harlem.

Once home again, she is overcome by sadness, but is interrupted by her parents, who were not actually lost at sea.[1][6]

Cast

  • Bessie Love as Carolyn May Cameron[6]
  • Charles Edler as Joe Stagg
  • Charlotte Mineau as Amanda Parlow
  • Eunice Moore as "Aunt Rose" Kennedy

Production

For the snow scenes, "an extra force of technical experts" were required to create the effect "in spite of the heat of the California sun."[10]

Reception

One reviewer praised the film for not being melodramatic, and for being suitable for and entertaining to children.[11] Multiple reviewers cited the 20-year-old Love as being quite convincing as a child,[12] one calling her performance "a triumph of natural acting."[6]

Re-release

In 1922, the film was edited down to 3 reels, and released as a "Pathé Playlet".[4][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Palmer, Frederick; Howard, Eric (1922). Photoplay Plot Encyclopedia. Los Angeles: Palmer Photoplay Corporation. pp. 74–75.
  2. ^ Love, Bessie (1977). From Hollywood with Love: An Autobiography of Bessie Love. London: Elm Tree Books. p. 149. OCLC 734075937.
  3. ^ "Carolyn of the Corners Leads Pathé March 9". The Moving Picture World. March 15, 1919. p. 1512.
  4. ^ a b "Index to Photoplays". Moving Picture World. June 24, 1922. p. 749.
  5. ^ "Carolyn of the Corners; Human Story, Well Acted". Exhibitor's Trade Review. Vol. 5, no. 13. p. 991.
  6. ^ a b c d McElravy, Robert C. (March 1, 1919). "Carolyn of the Corners". The Moving Picture World. p. 1242.
  7. ^ "Carolyn of the Corners (1919)". American Film Institute.
  8. ^ Goble, Alan, ed. (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. London. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-85739-229-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ "Carolyn Of The Corners / Robert Thornby [motion picture]". Library of Congress. 1919.
  10. ^ "Dramatic Mirror of Motion Pictures and the Stage". Vol. 78, no. 2055. May 11, 1918. p. 663. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  11. ^ Metcalfe, Lyne S. (March 1919). "Carolyn of the Corners". Reel and Slide. pp. 22–23.
  12. ^ "Amusements and Functions". Ashburton Guardian. Vol. 41, no. 9277. July 27, 1920. p. 1. Wee Bessie… makes you feel at home by her charming actions
  13. ^ "Pathé Playlets". Moving Picture World. June 17, 1922. p. 635.

External links

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