“The resounding mythology around the start of Macpherson’s film career is that she, with immeasurable pluck, simply walked into D.W. Griffith’s office and waited for him for days on end. Finally, the assistant asked about her. “I told him my stage experience. He ignored it, scorned it. ‘We want to know what you can do before a camera,’ he said.”
Jeanie Macpherson: A Life Unknown by Amelia Phillips
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch
Don’t Tell Everything is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gloria Swanson and Wallace Reid. Wood apparently created this film in part from outtakes left over from Cecil DeMille’s The Affairs of Anatol (1921).[1] — Wikipedia
Marian Westover ( Gloria Swanson ) is loved by wealthy young Cullen Dale ( Wallace Reid ) and his best friend, Harvey Gilroy ( Elliott Dexter ), but the latter’s loyalty to Dale keeps him silent. After they both sustain injuries in a polo game, Cullen shows particular solicitude in caring for his friend. Cullen proposes to and is accepted by Marian, but she becomes jealous of his former girl friends, and when Jessica Ramsey ( Dorothy Cumming ) arrives and tries to capture Cullen, Marian fails in emulating her athletic prowess. Jessica invites the couple to a mountain lodge, but when Marian refuses to go Cullen sweeps her into an automobile and has a marriage ceremony performed. She returns home, and Cullen goes on to the lodge, keeping his marriage secret. A storm prevents Cullen from returning home, and Marian, in alarm, enlists the aid of Gilroy; at the lodge everything is explained to the satisfaction of all but Jessica.
This 1921 silent comedy/drama directed by Sam Wood, starring Wallace Reid and Gloria Swanson. Produced by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. The film began as an outtake sequence from Cecil B. DeMille’s The Affairs of Anatol (1921), and was expanded by director Sam Wood into a new feature. The survival status of Don’t Tell Everything (1921) is listed in the American Silent Feature Film Database as; No holdings located in archives. — Pamala Short, IMDB Information Page
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
These 23 essays cover a range of female screenwriters from the early years of film through the 1940s, women whose work helped create the unforgettable stories and characters beloved generations of audiences but whose names have been left out of most film histories. Not this one. This collection is dedicated to those women and written by a group of women grateful to stand on the shoulders of those who came before – as a beacon to those who will come after.
Many thanks to the essay contributors who joined us and spoke so eloquently about the women writers they had researched: Toni Anita Hull, Laura Kirk, Amelia Phillips, Sarah Phillips, Julie Berkobien, Khanisha Foster, Lauren Smith, and to Cari Beauchamp, who wrote the Forward to the collection.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
These 23 essays cover a range of female screenwriters from the early years of film through the 1940s, women whose work helped create the unforgettable stories and characters beloved generations of audiences but whose names have been left out of most film histories. Not this one. This collection is dedicated to those women and written by a group of women grateful to stand on the shoulders of those who came before – as a beacon to those who will come after.
Many thanks to the essay contributors who joined us and spoke so eloquently about the women writers they had researched: Toni Anita Hull, Laura Kirk, Amelia Phillips, Sarah Phillips, Julie Berkobien, Khanisha Foster, Lauren Smith, and to Cari Beauchamp, who wrote the Forward to the collection.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch
Lorna Moon (born Nora Helen Wilson Low; 16 June 1886 – 1 May 1930[1]) was a Scottish author and screenwriter from the early days of Hollywood.
An anecdote tells how she contacted Cecil B. DeMille and offered a critical appraisal of the screenplays of the day. He challenged her to come to Hollywood and write them herself if she thought she could do better; and by 1921 she did just that, working as a script girl and screenwriter. During her career in Hollywood she had a third child by Cecil B. DeMille’s brother William. This child, Richard, grew up unaware of his mother’s identity; in later years he discovered his parentage and wrote the memoir My Secret Mother, Lorna Moon.[2] Lorna Moon contracted tuberculosis and died in a sanatorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1930, aged 44.— Wikipedia
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
These 23 essays cover a range of female screenwriters from the early years of film through the 1940s, women whose work helped create the unforgettable stories and characters beloved generations of audiences but whose names have been left out of most film histories. Not this one. This collection is dedicated to those women and written by a group of women grateful to stand on the shoulders of those who came before – as a beacon to those who will come after.
Many thanks to the essay contributors who joined us and spoke so eloquently about the women writers they had researched: Toni Anita Hull, Laura Kirk, Amelia Phillips, Sarah Phillips, Julie Berkobien, Khanisha Foster, Lauren Smith, and to Cari Beauchamp, who wrote the Forward to the collection.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
Many thanks to the essay contributors who joined us and spoke so eloquently about the women writers they had researched: Toni Anita Hull, Laura Kirk, Amelia Phillips, Sarah Phillips, Julie Berkobien, Khanisha Foster, Lauren Smith, and to Cari Beauchamp, who wrote the Forward to the collection.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
“When interviewing Hollywood stars, St. Johns saw beyond the glamour. She knew the extravagant woman on the red carpet was not that different from the average woman. Both fight to make a living and that battle is worthy of recognition.”
Adela Rogers St. Johns: Survival of the Feisty by Sarah Whorton
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
To highlight the wonderful yet largely forgotten work of a collection of female screenwriters from the early years of Hollywood (and as a companion to the book, When Women Wrote Hollywood) we will be posting quick bits about the many films they wrote along with links to further information and clips from their works which are still accessible online. Take a few moments once or twice a week to become familiar with their names and their stories. I think you’ll be surprised at how much bold material these writers tackled at the birth of this new medium. — Rosanne Welch
From the Manger to the Cross or Jesus of Nazareth is a 1912 American motion picture that was filmed on location in Egypt and in Palestine.[1] It tells the story of Jesus’ life. Directed by Sidney Olcott who also appeared in the film, actress and screenwriter Gene Gauntier wrote the script and portrayed the Virgin Mary.
The film received excellent reviews at the time of its original release. After Vitagraph Studios acquired Kalem, the film was re-released in February 1919.[2]
Herbert Reynolds has shown[3] how Olcott used James Tissot’s illustrations for his The Life of our Saviour Jesus Christ (1896-1897)[4] as the basis for numerous shots in the film. The head of Kalem, Frank J. Marion, presented a copy to the troupe as they departed for the Middle East.[3]
According to Turner Classic Movies, the film cost $35,000 to produce (roughly between $1,600,000 and $3,300,000 adjusted to 2007 dollars);[5] another source[6] says that Olcott spent $100,000 of his own money on the project. Although the film’s profits eventually amounted to almost $1 million (roughly $46,000,000 to $95,000,000), the Kalem directors refused to increase Olcott’s basic salary and he resigned.
In later years, Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, would say this was the premiere film for his movie theater in Haverhill, Massachusetts and a major boost for him in the movie business.[7] However, most sources place the release date of this film as 1912, long after the opening of Mayer’s theater.[8]
At around 5,000 feet it was one of the longer films to be released to date,[6][9][10] although the Kinemacolor documentary With Our King and Queen Through India released in February 1912 ran to 16,000 feet;[11] and another religious film The Miracle (the first full-colour feature film) – was released in the UK at 7,000 feet in December 1912.[12] — Wikipedia
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
Many thanks to the essay contributors who joined us and spoke so eloquently about the women writers they had researched: Toni Anita Hull, Laura Kirk, Amelia Phillips, Sarah Phillips, Julie Berkobien, Khanisha Foster, Lauren Smith, and to Cari Beauchamp, who wrote the Forward to the collection.
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs ** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out! † Available from the LA Public Library
![Amelia Phillips, Author of “Jeanie MacPherson: A Life Unknown” from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” [Video] (3:51)](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/w3h-a.phillips.jpeg)
![Laura Kirk, Author of “Smart Girl In Charge: Eve Unsell” and “Marriage of Words: Bella And Sam Spewack” from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” [Video] (2:59)](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/w3h-kirk.jpeg)
![Toni Anita Hull, Author of “Anita Loos: A Girl Like Her” from “When Women Wrote Hollywood” [Video] (2:42)](https://rosannewelch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/w3h-hull.jpeg)
