''The Flame of Life'' (also known as ''That Lass o' Lowrie's'') is a 1923 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 ...

starring

Priscilla Dean Priscilla Dean (November 25, 1896 – December 27, 1987) was an American actress popular in silent film as well as in theatre, with a career spanning two decades. Biography She was born on November 25, 1896 in Manhattan, New York City to an activ ...

, Robert Ellis,

Kathryn McGuire Kathryn McGuire (December 6, 1903 – October 10, 1978) was an American dancer and actress. Early life Born in Peoria, Illinois, McGuire was said to be recognized by critics and fans alike as one of the rising stars in film. Selected one of ...

, and

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in ''Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in ''Grand Hotel'' (193 ...

. The film was written by

Elliott J. Clawson Elliott J. Clawson (January 19, 1883 – July 21, 1942) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 80 films between 1913 and 1929. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and died in Vista, California. At the 2nd Academy Awards in 19 ...

from the

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

novel ''That Lass o' Lowrie's'' and directed by

Hobart Henley Hobart Henley (born Hess Manassah Henle; November 23, 1887 – May 22, 1964) was an American silent film actor, Film director, director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in over 60 films either as an actor or director or both in his twen ...

.The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''The Flame of Life''
/ref> A print of ''The Flame of Life'' is currently housed in the

NBCUniversal Syndication Studios NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUnive ...

archives, but is available for the company's internal research and referencing purposes only and is not available to the general public.

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 ...

, Joan Lowrie (Dean) is one of the beasts of burden making up the population of the little English mining village. Culling slate from coal all day long with a score of broken-down hags, young women, and girls, she lived a life of horror at home, beaten constantly by her father. The mine receives a new over-man, Fergus Derrick (Ellis), trying to get on friendly terms with the drudging slaves, but meets a spirit of independence that proved the people better than animals. Fergus advocated for better working conditions, but the mine owners laughed at him. Dan Lowrie (Beery) was caught smoking in a shaft by the over-man and was fired. Dan threatened murder and when attempting it the over-man was saved by Joan. The young superintendent then learns in various ways of her hidden nobleness of character and also of her father's cruelty. In time the young woman and the over-man break down the wall of class between them. Assisting in her education, seeing her prove her worthiness by her actions during a mine disaster, Fergus falls deeply in love with her and their happiness came with ceaseless efforts.

Cast

Production

''The Flame of Life'' is one of the films which has had several internal production conflicts which resulted in constant changes in decisions with the basic information related to the film. One such example is the constant change of its name. The film was marketed all across the United States with the name ''The Lass o' Lowrie's'' after the name of the novel the storyline was adapted from in 1922. However, in January 1923, just a few days before its release, the company decided to go ahead with ''The Flame of Life''. Another interesting fact dates back to 1916. On November 21, 1921, the ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founded ...

'' revealed that the playwright

Elliott Clawson Elliott J. Clawson (January 19, 1883 – July 21, 1942) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 80 films between 1913 and 1929. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and died in Vista, California. At the 2nd Academy Awards in 19 ...

was working on rewriting the script of the Bluebird Photoplays feature '' Secret Love'' (1916), which was also based on the novel ''That Lass o' Lowrie's'', thus revealing to the audience a bit of what they might expect but the release was rather received with surprise since the storyline was actually adapted directly from the novel but in a completely different way than how ''Secret Love'' was written with the highlights being major changes in the overall setting and a major change in genre.

References

External links

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at gettyimages.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Flame of Life, The 1923 films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Films based on works by Frances Hodgson Burnett Films directed by Hobart Henley Lost American films Universal Pictures films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films 1923 drama films 1923 lost films Lost drama films 1920s American films