Maytime (1923 film)
Maytime is a 1923 American silent romantic drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Ethel Shannon, Harrison Ford and William Norris. The film also features one of Clara Bow's earliest cinema roles. The film is based on the musical of the same name composed by Sigmund Romberg with a book by Rida Johnson Young. A different film with the same name was made in 1937 also based on the musical.
Maytime | |
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Clara Bow and Ethel Shannon | |
Directed by | Louis J. Gasnier |
Produced by | B. P. Schulberg |
Written by | Olga Printzlau (adaptation) Rudolf Bernauer Rudolph Schanzer |
Based on | Maytime (play) by Cyrus Wood and Rida Johnson Young |
Starring | Ethel Shannon Harrison Ford William Norris |
Production company | B.P. Schulberg Productions |
Distributed by | Preferred Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Plot
Ottilie Van Zandt is forced to wed her cousin, despite her love for Richard Wayne, the gardener's son. Richard leaves, vowing to return a wealthy man and eligible suitor for her. He returns to find she has already married and, in turn, marries another girl on impulse. Two generations later, the grandchildren of Ottilie and Richard, who both have inherited their names as well, meet and develop a close friendship that culminates in the romance that their grandparents began but could not consummate years before.
Preservation status
Once considered to be a lost film, an incomplete print of the film was found in 2009 in the New Zealand Film Archive and underwent restoration.[1] Four out the original seven reels had survived.[2] A video of the preserved film is available for viewing on the website of the National Film Preservation Foundation.
Cast
- Ethel Shannon as Ottilie Van Zandt
- Harrison Ford as Richard Wayne
- William Norris as Matthew
- Clara Bow as Alice Tremaine
- Wallace MacDonald as Claude Van Zandt
- Josef Swickard as Colonel Van Zandt
- Martha Mattox as Mathilda
- Betty Francisco as Ermintrude
- Robert McKim as Monte Mitchell
- Julie Bishop as Little Girl (as Jacqueline Wells)
- Pat Wing as Little Girl (as Madison Wing)
- Louise Emmons as Gypsy Fortune Teller (uncredited)
- Maxine Tabnac as Child (uncredited)
- Edna Tichenor as Cleo (uncredited)
- Bess True as Society Lady (uncredited)
- Hortense O'Brien as Bit Role (uncredited)
References
- Dave Kehr (June 6, 2010). "Long-Lost Silent Films Return to America". The New York Times.
- "Maytime (1923)". National Film Preservation Foundation.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maytime (1923 film). |
- Maytime on IMDb
- Maytime at the TCM Movie Database
- Synopsis at AllMovie
- Lantern slide plate