''Jim the Penman'' is a 1915 silent film crime drama produced by the

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre impresario. History Discussions to form the company were held at The Lambs, a famous th ...

and released through

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It was the first movie based on a well-known stage play, ''Jim the Penman'' by Charles Lawrence Young, about a forger in Victorian Britain. The film was directed by

Edwin S. Porter Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 – April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over ...

and starred stage actor

John B. Mason John Hill Belcher Mason (October 28, 1858 – January 12, 1919) was an American stage actor popular during the decades surrounding the start of the twentieth century. Early life John Hill Belcher Mason was born in Orange, New Jersey the son of ...

, in his debut film, in line with Adolph Zukor's efforts to recruit famous stage actors for films. Co-starring with Mason was the young up-and-coming favorite

Harold Lockwood Harold A. Lockwood (April 12, 1887 – October 19, 1918) was an American silent film actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most popular matinee idols of the early film period during the 1910s. Early life and career Born in Brookl ...

. Mason had played the part on the stage in the 1910 season on Broadway. Some sources erroneously credit this film as being shot in a stereoscopic format, but it was in fact shot in the conventional 2D format. Stereoscopic tests films were shot by Porter (not for use in the film) using the sets and actors. This film is

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

Plot

Louis Percival (Harold Lockwood) uses his forgery talent to woo Nina (Marguerite Leslie). He saves her father from bankruptcy by forging a check, but gets caught. Percival is then blackmailed to use his forgery skills to help the shady character who caught him.

Cast

- Louis Percival *

- James Ralston *

Russell Bassett Russell Bassett (October 24, 1845 – May 8, 1918) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in 76 silent films between 1911 and 1918. Bassett was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but he moved to Oakland, California at age 3 when his ...

- Baron Hartfield *Frederick Perry - Captain Redwood *William Roselle - Lord Drelincourt * Marguerite Leslie - Nina L'Estrange

References

External links

*
''Jim the Penman'' at SilentEra
* 1915 films 1915 crime drama films American crime drama films American silent feature films American films based on plays Films directed by Edwin S. Porter Films set in England Films set in London Lost American films Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films 1915 lost films Lost drama films 1915 crime films 1910s American films Silent American drama films {{silent-crime-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links