The Diamond from the Sky

The Diamond from the Sky is a 1915 American silent adventure-film serial directed by Jacques Jaccard and William Desmond Taylor and starring Lottie Pickford, Irving Cummings, and William Russell.

The Diamond from the Sky
Movie poster
Directed byJacques Jaccard
William Desmond Taylor
Written byRoy L. McCardell
StarringLottie Pickford
Irving Cummings
William Russell
Production
company
Distributed byAmerican Film Manufacturing Company
Release date
  • May 3, 1915 (1915-05-03) (episode one)
Running time
900 minutes
(30 episodes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Budget$800,000[1]

No copies of this serial’s “chapters” have been found, so the overall production is currently classified as a lost film.[2]

Plot

The prologue in the serial's first episode, "A Heritage of Hate", depicts the discovery of a spectacular diamond inside a meteorite, a gem that later becomes the property of the Stanley family, who call their heirloom “The Diamond From the Sky”. The remainder of the first chapter portrays the intense rivalry between Colonel Arthur Stanley and Judge Lamar Stanley, Virginia aristocrats and descendants of Lord Arthur Stanley, 200 years later.

When a girl is born to the young wife of Colonel Arthur Stanley, the latter, to retain an earldom and “The Diamond From the Sky,” buys a new born Gypsy baby boy and substitutes it for his own babe. Judge Lamar Stanley visits Colonel Arthur Stanley’s home to see the child just as Hagar, the gypsy woman, bursts into the room to demand her boy, and the colonel falls unconscious across the library table.

Cast

Chapter titles
Lottie Pickford (left), Irving Cummings, and Charlotte Burton in one “chapter” from The Diamond from the Sky
Promotional banner for the serial and its $10,000 prize at a theater in Rockwall, Texas, 1915 or 1916.
  1. A Heritage of Hate
  2. An Eye For An Eye
  3. The Silent Witness
  4. The Prodigal's Progress
  5. For The Sake of A False Friend
  6. Shadows at Sunrise
  7. The Fox and The Pig
  8. A Mind In The Past
  9. A Runaway Match
  10. Old Foes With New Faces
  11. The Web of Destiny
  12. To The Highest Bidder
  13. The Man In The Mask
  14. For Love And Money
  15. Desperate Chances
  16. The Path of Peril
  17. The King of Diamonds and the Queen of Hearts
  18. The Charm Against Harm
  19. Fire, Fury And Confusion
  20. The Soul Stranglers
  21. The Lion's Bride
  22. The Rose In The Dust
  23. The Double Cross
  24. The Mad Millionaire
  25. A House of Cards
  26. The Garden of The Gods
  27. Mine Own People
  28. On the Wings of the Morning
  29. A Deal With Destiny
  30. The American Earl

Production notes
  • The serial’s overall storyline was purposely left unfinished in the same manner as The Million Dollar Mystery. A prize of $5,000 was offered for its completion, which was won by Terry Ramsaye.[4]
  • While on location during the production of the “continued photoplay”, director William Desmond Taylor was nearly electrocuted by an exposed power line. The trade magazine Motion Picture News reported the near tragedy in its August 7, 1915, issue:

    W. D. Taylor, director of “The Diamond from the Sky,” the North American Film Corporation’s $800,000 continued photoplay, had a narrow escape from death a few days ago, when he accidentally stepped on a heavy charged electric wire. The members of the company were at work in a tunnel, in which one of the scenes takes place, when Taylor, walking in advance of the players, stepped on the wire, which was uncovered. Luckily, a physician employed in the mining camp nearby had come over to watch the taking of the scene. He offered immediate assistance.[1]

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See also

References
  1. “Director Taylor Has Narrow Escape In ‘Diamond’ Episode”, Motion Picture News (New York, N.Y.), August 7, 1915, p. 60, col. 1. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  2. "Progressive Silent Film List: The Diamond from the Sky". silentera.com. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  3. Stedman, Raymond William (1971). "2. The Perils of Success". Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8061-0927-5.
  4. Lahue, Kalten C. "1. A Bolt From The Blue". Continued Next Week. p. 66.
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