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

Wonderland Burlesque's 

Let's Go To The Movies:

Where That Girl From?

Part VIII

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.

--- ---

The Girl from Porcupine

1921

Hope Dugan rescues young Jim McTavish from a beating at the hands of his cruel father, who then is himself beaten in a fight with Hope's father. Seeking revenge, Red kills Dugan and is hanged, leaving Jim and Hope orphaned. They are adopted by two old miners, Sam Hawks and Bill Higgins, who later sell their mine to send Hope to school but are robbed of the money by Brandt, who has offered to buy the claim. Jim learns of Brandt's treachery and recovers the money in a holdup but is arrested. Hope returns to find that Sam has died, and she believes that Jim is dead too until Bill tells her he is being framed for robbery. She and Bill hold up the stagecoach and rescue Jim, pretending to shoot him. United and free again, Hope and Jim face a happy life together.

This American silent Western film directed by Dell Henderson and starring Faire Binney, William Collier Jr. and Jack Drumier.

Faire Binney

Faire Binney was an American stage and film actress. She starred in a number of films during the silent era after making her debut in the 1918 film Sporting Life alongside her sister Constance Binney.

--- ---

Girl From The West

1923

AKA: A Rapariga do Far-West

At an eastern college the girl meets a boy who loves her. But the girl thinks continually of a boy who lives out west. The easterner goes out west and shows his bravery, living down the reputation of tenderfoot and capturing notorious cattle rustlers as well.

Juanita Hansen

This American silent Western film directed by Wallace MacDonald and starring Jack Richardson, Juanita Hansen and A. Edward Sutherland.

--- ---

 

A Girl of the Limberlost

1934

Elnora Comstock is the badly abused daughter of Katherine Comstock, who blames her because her father was drowned while on the way home the night she was born. She finds her comfort with Margaret and Westley Sinton, a childless neighboring couple, who help her with her school costs, as does the wealthy Mrs. Parker, who takes an interest in the talented young girl. Elnora meets and falls in love with Phillip Ammon, the nephew of Dr. Ammon, but learns that he is already engaged. The money that Elnora has saved for her college education is stolen, and when Mrs. Comstock goes to retrieve it from a suspect, she also learns of the duplicity of her husband, who had been courting a neighboring woman on the night he drowned. She begs forgiveness of Elnora, and the romance of Elnora and Phillip is allowed to flourish.

This American drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and stars Louise Dresser, Ralph Morgan and Marian Marsh.

This film is a remake of a 1924 film of the same name which was produced by the novel's author, Gene Stratton-Porter, directed by James Leo Meehan and stars Gloria Grey, Emily Fitzroy, and Arthur Currier. The 1924 version was the first of four adaptations of Stratton-Porter's famous novel. The 1924 silent film is considered a lost film.

Diana Carey, who played an uncredited role as one of the high school students, described the rushed production schedule for the film: "On a feature-length version of The Girl of Limberlost in which I played a role, no actor was ever idle nor did a camera ever get cold. We were shooting at five-thirty in the morning, and while one scene was being filmed another crew was setting up for the next. Actors rushed from one set-up to another without rest, and with barely time for rehearsal... Lunch was bolted down between takes. We sprinted through that feature-length juvenile masterpiece in five days flat, something of a record even in my book."

This film was a smash success for emerging poverty row studio Monogram Pictures. In 1934 it was rated as one of the most heavily-booked films of the year and is on record as having 14,000 bookings in at time when there was 20,000 cinemas in the US. Listed in the industry Quigley Publications diary for 1935/6 as a blue ribbon winner. The film was hugely profitable, costing only $70K to produce while pulling in $1 Million.

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

The Film Daily described the film as a "wholesome drama of backwoods [that] has the heart appeal and human touches for the crowds." The film was also awarded the Best Picture of the Month Medal by Parents’ Magazine.

Louise Dresser

Louise Dresser was an American actress who is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including State Fair and David Harum. After getting her start in vaudeville, she conquered Broadway and then film. In 1925, she starred in The Eagle, opposite Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Bánky as Catherine the Great. She had no trouble transitioning from silent films to sound. During the first presentation of the Academy Awards in 1929, Dresser was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for A Ship Comes In.

--- ---

The Girl of the Limberlost

(1945)

AKA: Elnora

A remake of Columbia's 1934 The Girl of the Limberlost and 1939's Romance of the Limberlost. This time, Elnora Comstock lives on the edge of a great swamp and collects butterflies to sell in order to go to high school and pay for violin lessons. Her mother, Kate Comstock, hates her, blaming her for her father's drowning death in a quagmire on the way home the night she was born. The years-later revelation that the husband had been off courting a neighbor woman that night brings mother and daughter together at last.

Based on the 1909 novel by Gene Stratton-Porter, This American drama was directed by Mel Ferrer and  stars Ruth Nelson, Dorinda Clifton, and Loren Tindall.

This marked the directorial debut of seasoned actor Mel Ferrer.

Set in Indiana's famous Limberlost Swamp, which was clear-cut, drained and turned into farmland in the early 20th century, despite efforts by Stratton-Porter and others to save it. A small part of the original swamp has been restored since the 1990s and is now a nature preserve.

Ruth Nelson was an American stage and film actress. She is known for her roles in films such as Wilson, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Humoresque, 3 Women, The Late Show and Awakenings. She was the wife of John Cromwell, with whom she acted on multiple occasions.

--- ---

The Girl From Backafall

(1953)

AKA: Flickan från Backafall, Tyttö ja perämies, Farbror Sven

Set on the island of Ven in the 1920s, Ellen is engaged with Per the sailor and waits for him while he is away at sea. She works as a maid in a rich family where Robert, the black sheep of the family, tries to seduce her. This leads to a rumor she has been unfaithful to Per.

This Swedish drama was directed by Bror Bügler and stars Viola Sundberg, Sven Lindberg and Kenne Fant.

Based on a poem by Gabriel Jönsson, which had been turned into a popular song in the 1920s, about the romance between a sailor and a woman on the island of Ven in the Baltic Sea.

--- ---

And that's all for now, folks.

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel.

--- ---

Flicka från Backafall & Lily Berglund

Sven Lindberg sings Girl from Backafall. Lily Berglund, and Friendly Evening Wind. 

Scenes from the film Flickan från Backafall 1953. 

Viola Sundberg mimes in the role of Ellen, in love with her sailor, Per. 

Girl from Backafall composer Gunnar Turesson, 1936. 

Lyricist Gabriel Jönsson, poem Vid vakten, 1920.

--- ---