''Back to God's Country'' is a

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

Canadian

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- ...

directed by

David Hartford David Hartford (1873–1932) was an American actor and film director best known for directing the movie '' Back to God's Country'' (1919). Selected filmography *''The Dead End'' (1914) *'' Tess of the Storm Country'' (1914) * ''The Bride of Hate ...

. It is one of the earliest Canadian feature films. The film starred and was co-written by Canadian actress

Nell Shipman Nell Shipman (born Helen Foster-Barham; October 25, 1892 – January 23, 1970) was a Canadian actress, author, screenwriter, producer, director, animal rights activist and animal trainer. Her works often had autobiographical elements to them and ...

. With an estimated budget of over $67,000, it was the most successful silent film in Canadian history. The film is noteworthy as it starred Shipman and was produced by her husband,

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

. Shipman was one of the first women to do a nude scene on screen in the movie. In 1918, they created a production company, Shipman-Curwood Producing Company, to produce ''Back to God's Country''. The film was the only film the company would produce, and was based on a short story, "Whapi, the Walrus", by James Oliver Curwood. Curwood's story was adapted to the screen by Nell herself. She changed the protagonist of the film from a great dane to the female lead, Dolores. Shipman also shaped her character into a heroine, who saves her husband. Curwood was infuriated with Shipman, but commercially the film was extremely successful, posting a 300 percent profit and grossing a million-and-a-half dollars.

Cast

Preservation status

It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a special retrospective program of artistically and culturally significant films from throughout the history of Canadian cinema. The film has been re-made twice by Hollywood, but the original version was believed to have been lost. However, a print of the original film was found in Europe, restored in 1985, and re-released. A copy of the film is in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

film archive,Progressive Silent Film List: ''Back to God's Country''
at silentera.com and it has been released on DVD by

Milestone Films Milestone Film and Video is an independent film distribution company, founded in 1990 in the United States by Dennis Doros and Amy Heller. The company researches and distributes cinematographic material from around the world, including silent film, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Back To Gods Country Canadian silent feature films Canadian black-and-white films 1919 films 1919 drama films Canadian drama films Films based on short fiction Articles containing video clips First National Pictures films Northern (genre) films 1910s rediscovered films Rediscovered Canadian films Films based on works by James Oliver Curwood 1910s English-language films 1910s Canadian films Silent drama films

Cast

Preservation status

See also

References

External links