''Scarlet Days'' is a 1919 American silent

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film produced and directed by D. W. Griffith and released through

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

/Artcraft Pictures, Artcraft being an affiliate of Paramount.

Richard Barthelmess Richard Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's '' Broken Blossoms'' (1919) and ''Way Down East'' (1920) and ...

stars in a role for which Griffith had screentested

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

. In today's time, this film is considered by many to be one of Griffith's worst films though it might have worked better as a short film. This film was unlike others created by D.W. Griffith. According to an article written for ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alth ...

'', written on the 16 of November 1919: "Unlike other recent Griffith production, ''Scarlet Days'' is a story of the old West, of the gold rush days of 49-

Bret Harte Bret Harte (; born Francis Brett Hart; August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

transferred to the screen!" The

film genre was expanding at this time and ''Scarlet Days'' fits into this category.

Western films Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

were popular for this time. Considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

, a print was found in the State Film Archives of the Soviet Union, which donated it to the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in 1969. The film was screened to the public, for the first time since its rediscovery, on March 24 and 25, 1969. ''Scarlet Days'' was shown alongside another missing film, ''

A Romance of Happy Valley ''A Romance of Happy Valley'' is a 1919 American drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. Believed lost for almost 50 years, a print was discovered in 1965 in the State Film Archives of the Soviet Union, which donated ...

'', at the Museum of Modern Art's auditorium with titles still printed in Russian. English titles were later created by the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Rosie Nell (Besserer), a woman of dance halls in early lawless California, is wrongly charged with the murder of one of her fellow entertainers. Because her daughter (Dempster), who knows nothing of her mother's station in life, is to return the next day from her school in the east, Rosie is granted three days of grace to be spent in company with her daughter at a nearby cabin. The three days pass happily, but King Bagley (Long), manager of the dance hall, has seen the daughter and determined to make her his own. The women barricade themselves in the cabin to resist capture and Alvarez (Barthelmess), a young outlaw with considerable local prestige, comes to their assistance. John Randolph (Graves), who also loves the young woman, joins the fight on their side, which ends with the timely arrival of the Sheriff (Fawcett). This results in a happy ending.

Cast

as Alvarez *

Eugenie Besserer Eugenie Besserer ( – May 29, 1934) was an American actress who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion-picture era, beginning in 1910. Her most prominent role is that of the title character's mother in the first talkie ...

as Rosie Nell *

Carol Dempster Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was ...

as Lady Fair *

Clarine Seymour Clarine E. Seymour (December 9, 1898 – April 25, 1920) was an American silent film actress. Early life Seymour was the eldest of two children born to Albert V. Seymour and Florence Seymour in Brooklyn, a wealthy couple who were devout Method ...

as Chiquita *

Ralph Graves Ralph Graves (born Ralph Horsburgh; January 23, 1900 – February 18, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and actor who appeared in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1949. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Graves had alre ...

as Randolph *

George Fawcett George Fawcett (August 25, 1860 – June 6, 1939) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. Biography Born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860, Fawcett graduated from the University of Virginia. His initial inclination was to ...

as The Sheriff * Walter Long as King Bagley *

Kate Bruce Kate Bruce (February 17, 1860 – April 2, 1946) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 280 films between 1908 and 1931. She was born in Columbus, Indiana and died in New York City. In 1885, Bruce left Boone, I ...

as Aunt *

Rhea Haines Rhea Haines (October 2, 1894 – March 12, 1964) was a silent film actress from Indiana. Biography Haines was a leading lady for the film company of actor Hobart Bosworth. She played in films with Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, and Mack Sennett. ...

as Spasm Sal *

Adolph Lestina Adolph Lestina (1861– August 23, 1923) was an American stage and film actor who was a member of D. W. Griffith's stock company of film actors. Career He received positive notice for his performance in Justin McCarthy's ''If I Were King'' an ...

as Randolph's Friend * Herbert Sutch as The Second Sheriff * J. Wesley Warner as Alvarez's Man

Release

Responses

Public response to this film was overwhelmingly positive during its release in November 1919. Many news sources in 1919 published review articles complimenting and comparing ''Scarlet Days'' to other films created by D.W.Griffith. News outlets such as the "New-York Tribune", "San Francisco Chronicle", "Cincinnati Enquirer", and more were including reviews on ''Scarlet Days'' as well as announcing local showtimes for this film. A review article from the "Cincinnati Enquirer" stated that: "The latest D.W. Griffith production soon will be ready for local release. Griffith as usual has assembled a sparkling cast for his new picture." ''Scarlet Days'' traveled across the country to show in various theaters after its release date on November 9, 1919. Prior to the actual showing, news articles would be released to inform readers of short plot summaries and events in the production. On an opposing view written for "Variety" magazine wrote on ''Scarlet Days'' negatively, and claimed that: "''Scarlet Days'' as a story was not worthy of Griffith's direction in picturization. It is entire too commonplace." For current day moviegoers, this film is one of the least popular of D.W. Griffith's directed pictures. ''Scarlet Days'' was considered to be made too late in the era where Western films were becoming popular. Though some new sources gave positive feedback in response to the release of this film, opposing viewpoints claimed that: "Outside of he lack of plot depththere is nothing more to say except that it is a surprise that Griffith should at this late date take to filming rip-snorting Western mellers with a lot of harum-scarum rough stuff with gunplay."

References

External links

*
''Scarlet Days'' ; AllMovie/synopsis

Scarlet Days
free download at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Lobby poster

at silenthollywood.com * DVD availability a

an

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarlet Days 1919 films 1919 Western (genre) films Films directed by D. W. Griffith American black-and-white films 1910s rediscovered films Rediscovered American films Silent American Western (genre) films 1910s American films