Wonderland Burlesque's Let's Go To The Movies: Where That Girl From? - Part V

Wonderland Burlesque's 

Let's Go To The Movies:

Where That Girl From?

Part V

Everybody's from somewhere. In theory. Even in the abstract.

Today's cinema excursion dares to ask the poignant question: Where That Girl From?

And who has the answer? 

Hollywood, of course. For Tinseltown has the 411 on anything or anyone who has ever graced the silver screen.

So, off we go... seeking answers, which these vintage films offer up in spades.

Yes, never fear. When it comes to the movies?

You are never truly lost.

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The Girl From Marsh Croft

(1917)

AKA: Tösen från Stormyrtorpet

Helga is a young single lady who has a baby by a much older married man. After the older man tells Helga's father that he refuses to pay child support because he isn't the child's father, her father insists that Helga take him to court. On court day, just as the older married man is about to swear on the Bible that he is not the father of Helga's child, Helga suddenly tells the court that she's dropping the case because although the man did father her child, she doesn't want him to commit perjury, which is not only a serious crime but a mortal sin as well.

Based on Nobel Prize-winner Selma Lagerlof's novel, this silent drama was directed by Victor Sjöström and stars Greta Almroth, Nils Aréhn and Josua Bengtson.

This was the first time that popular Swedish author Selma Lagerlof, who was receiving international attention as the first woman to get a Nobel Prize for literature, had one of her books made into a film.

This film was remade three times: 1935 (German), 1947 (Swedish), and 1958 (German). 

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Girl From God's Country

(1921)

Randall Carslake, a millionaire airplane manufacturer, his daughter, Marion, and her fiancé are on a hunting expedition in Canada. There they meet Neeka, a half-breed Native American, who rescues Carslake after her grandfather accuses the millionaire of betraying the girl's mother. Unaware that Neeka is actually his daughter, Carslake adopts the girl and takes her to California. Carslake is entered in a trans-Pacific flying race against Otto Kraus, who recruits Neeka as an ally after she and Marion quarrel over social blunders. Kraus obtains the secret of a "solidified gasoline," which Carslake himself has obtained fraudulently from a demented inventor. The inventor's consciousness returns during a hangar fire, and Neeka, realizing she has been duped, goes to his rescue. Carslake's pilot, Owen Glendon, is injured in fire, so Neeka volunteers the services of her sweetheart, blinded French aviator Pierre LeMort, for whom she will act as his eyes. Over the Pacific Ocean, Kraus attempts to ram the Carslake airplane, causing his own to crash. Neeka pursues the villain and he drowns during the ensuing fight.

This Canadian drama was written, co-directed and stars Nell Shipman. Her co-director was Burt Van Tuyle.

Nell Shipman was a successful Canadian actress, author, screenwriter, producer, director, animal rights activist and animal trainer. Her works often had autobiographical elements to them and reflected her passion for nature. She is best known for making a series of melodramatic adventure films based on the novels by American writer James Oliver Curwood in which she played the robust heroine known as 'the girl from God’s country'. Her first independent production, Back To God's Country (1919) grossed $1.5 million on an estimated budget of $67,000.

Nell Shipman Productions was created in partnership with actor Bert Van Tuyle in 1919. Shipman established herself as an independent producer during this time. She focused on the major themes she enjoyed: wild animals, nature, feminist heroes, and filming on location. She produced, wrote, co-directed and starred in The Girl From God’s Country (1921). It was not a success, nor were the other nine films created by Nell Shipman Productions which eventually went bankrupt.

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The Girl From Marsh Croft

(1935)

AKA: Das Mädchen vom Moorhof 

In this rural film drama, an unwed mother, shunned by her conservative community, goes to court to try to salvage her reputation.

Based on Nobel Prize-winner Selma Lagerlof's novel, this German drama was directed by Detlef Sierck and stars Hansi Knoteck, Ellen Frank and Eduard von Winterstein. It has been described as a "prototype Heimatfilm (Homeland film)".

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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Girl From God's Country

(1940)

Jim Holden, a young doctor practicing in Alaska, eagerly awaits the arrival of his new nurse, Anne Webster. All of his previous nurses have been driven home within a few weeks by the rigors of the Alaskan winter, the primitive conditions and the surly disposition of their employer. Will Anne be tough enough to endure not only her new desolate surrounding, but also the harshness of nursing challenging people in such severe conditions?

 

This American drama was directed by Sidney Salkow and stars Chester Morris, Jane Wyatt, Charles Bickford, Ray Mala, Kate Drain Lawson and John Bleifer.

You can watch this movie in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Girl From Marsh Croft

(1947)

AKA: Tösen från Stormyrtorpet

A story about poverty, unrequited love and manslaughter.

Based on Nobel Prize-winner Selma Lagerlof's novel, this 1947 Swedish drama was directed by Gustaf Edgren and stars Margareta Fahlén, Alf Kjellin and Sten Lindgren.

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The Girl From Marsh Croft

(1958)

AKA: Das Mädchen vom Moorhof 

Helga is a young single lady who has a baby with a much older married man.

Based on Nobel Prize-winner Selma Lagerlof's novel, this West German drama was directed by Gustav Ucicky and stars Maria Emo, Claus Holm and Eva Ingeborg Scholz.

You can watch this movie in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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And that's all for now, folks.

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel.

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 Tösen från Stormyrtorpet - Hilmer Borgeling