''Blue Jeans'' is a 1917 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, based on the 1890 play ''

Blue Jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

'' by

Joseph Arthur Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through c ...

that opened in New York City to great popularity. The sensation of the play was a dramatic scene where the unconscious hero is placed on a board approaching a huge buzz saw in a sawmill, later imitated to the point of

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

. Prints survive at several archives including the

George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

Cast

Viola Dana Viola Dana (born Virginia Flugrath; June 26, 1897 – July 3, 1987) was an American film actress who was successful during the era of silent films. She appeared in over 100 films, but was unable to make the transition to sound films. Early lif ...

as June *

Robert D. Walker Robert Donald Walker (June 18, 1888 – March 4, 1954) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1953. He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles. Selected filmography * ''The Vampire's ...

as Perry Bascom *

Sally Crute Sally Crute (born Sally C. Kirby, June 27, 1886 – August 12, 1971) was an American actress of the silent film era. Biography Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before entering motion pictures Crute performed on stage. Crute was generally ca ...

as Sue Eudaly *

Clifford Bruce Clifford Bruce (1885–1919) was a Canadian film actor of the silent era.Solomon p. 229 Selected filmography * ''When Rome Ruled'' (1914) * '' A Fool There Was'' (1915) * ''Lady Audley's Secret'' (1915) * '' A Woman's Past'' (1915) * ''The Weakne ...

as Ben Boone *

Henry Hallam Henry Hallam (9 July 1777 – 21 January 1859) was an English historian. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he practised as a barrister on the Oxford circuit for some years before turning to history. His major works were ''View of t ...

as Colonel Henry Clay Risener * Russell Simpson as Jacob Tutwiler *

Margaret McWade Margaret McWade (born Margaret May Fish; September 3, 1871 – April 1, 1956) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career in vaudeville in the early 1890s. Her most memorable role was as one of The Pixilated Sisters, a comedic ...

as Cindy Tutwiler *

Augustus Phillips Augustus Phillips (August 1, 1874 – September 29, 1944), was an American actor. He appeared in 134 films between 1910 and 1921. After 11 years of performing in stock theater, vision problems led Phillips to begin acting in films for the ...

as Jack Bascom

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Blue Jeans'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the intertitle "You have transgressed the moral law" etc., the starting of the saw and the laying of the man on the block before it, and three scenes of the man in front of the saw.

References

External links

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1917 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films 1917 drama films Silent American drama films Films directed by John H. Collins 1910s American films {{1910s-drama-film-stub