The Woman in White is a 1912 American short silent film based on the 1860 novel of the same name by Wilkie Collins, produced by the Gem Motion Picture Company. Unlike a second film adaptation of The Woman in White produced by the Thanhouser Company the same year, it is not a lost film; a copy is preserved at the George Eastman Museum[1] in Rochester, New York.
| The Woman in White | |
|---|---|
 Engagement of Laura (Janet Salisbury) and Sir Percival (Charles Craig) | |
| Directed by | George Nichols |
| Screenplay by | George Edwardes Hall |
| Based on | The Woman in White 1860 novel by Wilkie Collins |
| Produced by | Vitagraph Company of America |
| Starring | Janet Salisbury Charles Perley Charles Craig |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | Two reels |
| Country | United States |
The Thanhouser version was one of the silent films destroyed when their initial studio burned in 1913.[citation needed]
Production
editGem Motion Picture Company
editDirected by George Nichols, The Woman in White was produced by Gem,[2]: 183 a subsidiary of the newly formed Universal Film Manufacturing Company[3] and released on October 22, 1912.
The cast included;
- Janet Salisbury[4] (Laura Fairlie and The Woman in White)
- Charles Perley (Walter),[5]
- Charles Craig (Percival)
- Alec Frank (Fosco)
- Viola Alberti (Countess Fosco)
- Lyman Rabbe (Pesca)[2]: 208
The story was adapted by George Edwardes Hall.[6]
Thanhouser Company production
editSimultaneously, the Thanhouser Company was producing its own two-reel adaptation of The Woman in White, the cast included;
- Marguerite Snow (Laura, Anne)
- James Cruze (Percival)
- William Garwood (Walter)
The screenplay was written by Lloyd F. Lonergan.[2]: 208 Release dates were announced to the press and changed several times as the two companies competed for the first release. In the end, Thanhouser was able to deliver its film on October 20, 1912—two days before Gem.[2]: 183–184
Gallery
editA summary of the plot of The Woman in White appeared in the November 1912 issue of The Motion Picture Story Magazine, accompanied by six still photographs from the Gem production. The photographs are captioned as they appear in the magazine.[6]
-
Walter Hartridge, Artist -
The Engagement -
The Conspiracy -
The Wedding -
The Abduction -
The Death of Sir Percival
References
edit- ^ George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Holdings Catalog. The archive possesses a 16mm acetate positive print from which a 35mm polyester negative and projection print were made in 2016.
- ^ a b c d Laird, Karen E. (2015). The Art of Adapting Victorian Literature, 1848–1920: Dramatizing Jane Eyre, David Copperfield, and The Woman in White. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9781472424396.
- ^ "Studios". Fort Lee Film Commission. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ "Janet Salisbury". BFI Film & TV Database. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
- ^ "Answers to Inquiries". The Motion Picture Story Magazine. January 1913. p. 142. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ a b "The Woman in White". The Motion Picture Story Magazine. November 1912. pp. 49–56. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
External links
edit- The Woman in White in The Motion Picture Story Magazine, November 1912 (pp. 49–56)
- The Woman in White filmography at Thanhouser Films: An Encyclopedia and History by Q. David Bowers
- The Woman in White at IMDb (Gem Motion Picture Company)
- The Woman in White at IMDb (Thanhouser Company)