''The Gray Dawn'' is a 1922 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 ...

directed by Jean Hersholt and starring by

Carl Gantvoort Carl Gantvoort (1883 – September 28, 1935) was a stage and screen actor in the United States. He starred in ''The Gray Dawn'' (1922). He attended the University of Cincinnati. His theatrical performances included a role as Little John in a ...

, Claire Adams and Robert McKim.Munden p.404 Some scenes were also likely directed by others, including producer

Benjamin B. Hampton Benjamin Bowles Hampton (1875–1932) was an American film producer, writer, and director. He led a 1916 plan to conglomerate film companies via acquisition. He was married to actress Claire Adams and was a partner in Zane Grey Pictures. He wr ...

. It is based on the 1915 novel of the same title by

Stewart Edward White Stewart Edward White (12 March 1873 – September 18, 1946) was an American writer, novelist, and spiritualist. He was a brother of noted mural painter Gilbert White. Personal life White was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Mary E. ( ...

Plot

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in the 1850s, the lawlessness of the western settlement is out of control. The

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

is under pressure from the corrupt mayor not to take action, leading to

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

mobs.

Cast

as Milton Keith * Claire Adams as Nan Bennett * Robert McKim as Ben Sansome * George Hackathorne as Calhoun Bennett * Snitz Edwards as Krafft *

Stanton Heck Stanton Heck (January 8, 1877 – December 16, 1929), was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 50 films between 1918 and 1928. Earlier in his career, he appeared on stage in musicals such as 1906's ''A Parisian Model''.(Dece ...

as Casey *

Omar Whitehead ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

as Charles Cora * Claire McDowell as Mrs. Bennett *

Maude Wayne Maude Wayne (born Maude Wehn) was an American film actress who was active in Hollywood during the silent era. Biography Maude was born in Beatrice, Nebraska, to Louis Wehn and Maria McCathern. She was the youngest of the couple's children, and ...

as Mimi Morrell * J. Gunnis Davis as Mr. Morrell * Zack Williams as Sam * Grace Marvin as Mammy * Charles Arling as Ned Coleman * Harvey Clark as King of Wiolliam *

Charles Thurston Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

as Marshal Richardson * Marc B. Robbins as Chinaman * Charles Murphy as Bill Collector

References

Bibliography

* Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* 1922 films 1922 drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films distributed by W. W. Hodkinson Corporation American historical drama films 1920s historical drama films Films set in the 1850s Films set in San Francisco Films based on American novels 1920s English-language films 1920s American films Silent American drama films Films with screenplays by Richard Schayer {{1920s-US-film-stub