''The Midlanders'' is a 1920 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

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ei ...

and directed by husband and wife duo

Joseph De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadians, Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class grad ...

and

Ida May Park Ida May Park (December 28, 1879 – June 13, 1954) was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era, in the early 20th century. She wrote for more than 50 films between 1914 and 1930, and directed 14 films between 1917 and 192 ...

. It was produced by Andrew J. Callaghan Productions and distributed by Federated Film Exchanges of America. It is based on the 1912 novel of the same name by Charles Tenney Jackson, published by

Bobbs-Merrill Company The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Company history The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in 1 ...

. Only a small fragment of this film is known to survive.

Cast

Production

Bessie Love reads a book in The Midlanders

Interiors were filmed in a studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and exteriors were filmed in Rio Vista. To prepare for her performance, Bessie Love took dance classes at

Theodore Kosloff Theodore Kosloff (born Fyodor Mikhailovich Kozlov, russian: Фёдор Михайлович Козлов; January 22, 1882 – November 22, 1956) was a Russian-born ballet dancer, choreographer, and film and stage actor. He was occasionally cr ...

's ballet school. After its release, producer Andrew J. Callaghan sued Federated Film Exchanges, saying that the distributor had not paid the full amount to distribute this film, ''

Bonnie May ''Bonnie May'' is a lost silent 1920 American comedy-drama film based on the 1916 novel by Louis Dodge. It was directed by Ida May Park and Joseph De Grasse and starred Bessie Love. It was produced by Andrew J. Callaghan Productions and distrib ...

'', and ''

Penny of Top Hill Trail ''Penny of Top Hill Trail'' is a 1921 American silent Western comedy film based on the 1919 novel by Belle Kanaris Maniates. It was directed by Arthur Berthelet and stars Bessie Love. The film was produced by Andrew J. Callaghan Productions a ...

''.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews, but Love's performance was highly praised.

References

External links

* * * * * 1920 films 1920 drama films 1920 lost films American black-and-white films Silent American drama films American silent feature films Films based on American novels Films directed by Ida May Park Films directed by Joseph De Grasse Lost American drama films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub