''The Restless Spirit'' is a 1913 American
silent short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
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 ...
written and directed by
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...
, featuring
J. Warren Kerrigan
George Jack Warren Kerrigan (July 25, 1879 – June 9, 1947) was an American silent film actor and film director.
Controversy
In May 1917, Kerrigan was nearing the end of a four-month-long personal appearance publicity tour that had taken ...
,
Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
(in a dual role),
and
Pauline Bush. The film is based on
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...
's 1751 poem, ''
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem's origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742 ...
'', and tells the story of a man who wishes to be a conqueror. A series of illusions follows which show him the futility of conquest when he cannot even conquer his own community.
The film makes use of numerous dissolves which were technically difficult to execute, and reportedly sent the cameraman to the hospital due to stress. The film may have been the last unbilled appearance by
Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
, and was released on October 27, 1913 by
Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
under the Victor label. The film is presumed
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
The film begins with the Dreamer, a restless and disappointed dreamer who has a wife and child. He gazes at his hands and dreams of becoming a great conqueror, but laments that no opportunities ever come to him, and so he continues to dream. The Dreamer becomes the subject of ridicule and his wife becomes the subject of pity by the community. The Dreamer decides to enter the world of men and abandons his wife, leaving her to seek refuge from her father. Her father wishes for her to marry a wealthy gentleman who is also a stranger in the town.
The Dreamer heads off into the desert and wanders until exhaustion takes its toll. A woman called "The Desert Flower" finds him and takes him to her hut in the desert. There she spends her time looking over the garments of the man who once courted her, who happens to be the same stranger who is now attempting to marry the Dreamer's wife. The woman learns of the Dreamer's story and shows the Dreamer the futility of conquering worlds unknown when he cannot even conquer his own small corner of the world. The Dreamer sees visions of himself in the roles of various great conquerors, but each vision ends in death. Meanwhile the Dreamer's wife has been kicked out of her father's home for refusing to marry the Stranger, and is reunited with the Dreamer at the edge of the desert. The Stranger is sent out into the desert, and the Dreamer and his wife return to the town. In time, the Dreamer becomes respected by the community.
Cast
*
J. Warren Kerrigan
George Jack Warren Kerrigan (July 25, 1879 – June 9, 1947) was an American silent film actor and film director.
Controversy
In May 1917, Kerrigan was nearing the end of a four-month-long personal appearance publicity tour that had taken ...
as the Husband/The Dreamer
*
Pauline Bush as the Wife
*
Jessalyn Van Trump
Jessalyn Van Trump (January 16, 1887 – May 2, 1939) was an American silent film actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional ...
as The Desert Flower
*
William Worthington as the Stranger
*
George Periolat
George Periolat (February 5, 1874 – February 20, 1940) was an American actor.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, George Periolat began his career as a Broadway actor. Making his film debut with the Essanay Studios in Chicago, he moved to H ...
*
Lon Chaney
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
in a dual role as a Russian Count/ Wild man
Production
The groundwork for ''The Restless Spirit'' began when
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...
visited
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
's offices in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in late July 1913. Frederic Lombardi believes that it was during this meeting that
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films.
Regarded as one of the most important o ...
offered Dwan's colleagues double their pay from
Flying A
Tidewater Oil Company (rendered as "Tide Water Oil Company" from 1887 to 1936) was a major petroleum refining company during that period. Tidewater was sold many times during its existence. Brands included Tydol, Flying A, and Veedol.
The Veedo ...
if they would come to Universal. In the following weeks,
J. Warren Kerrigan
George Jack Warren Kerrigan (July 25, 1879 – June 9, 1947) was an American silent film actor and film director.
Controversy
In May 1917, Kerrigan was nearing the end of a four-month-long personal appearance publicity tour that had taken ...
came to Universal and the two would work together in the production of ''The Restless Spirit''. Dwan credits the idea to adapt and produce a film on
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...
s ''
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' is a poem by Thomas Gray, completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. The poem's origins are unknown, but it was partly inspired by Gray's thoughts following the death of the poet Richard West in 1742 ...
'' as a betting challenge. Dwan also claimed to have studied Gray's poem and dream about the production before accepting the challenge. Frederic Lombardi, author of ''Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios'', writes that Dwan may have been emboldened after the production of the ''
Pickett Guard'' and the lack of structure in Gray's poem. Since the poem had no "real story", Dwan could formulate his own allegorical plot.
Dwan was also able to convince his employers that the work would be a box office success and intended to use the film a prestigious multi-role vehicle for Kerrigan's debut at Universal.
Lombardi writes that Dwan was subject to produce overtly artistic films, but these tendencies were kept in check by Dwan's more practical inclinations.
The film's ethereal aspects and double exposures were performed in the camera because the ability to create the effects in lab did not yet exist. Dwan made 24 dissolves in the film, each required precise control by the cameramen and that the counts had to be exact otherwise the shot would be ruined. Lombardi notes that the cinematographer, Walter Pritchard, was the man who had to go through the ordeal and that Universal said he was one of the company's oldest men. Dwan would claim that Pritchard would end up in the hospital from the production.
In ''
The Parade's Gone By'', Brownlow instead gives the number of dissolves as 25 and adds to the story by Dwan claiming that the audience could not figure out the effect was done. Dwan also claimed that by the time 15 dissolves were done that the cinematographer was so nervous that it would keep him up at night and cause his hands to shake so greatly that an assistant would have to reload the film at the right spot before shots.
This production may have been the last unbilled movie credit of Lon Chaney.
The discovery of Lon Chaney's role was through Chaney having marked his appearance in a still with an X above his head. Chaney wrote "This is me just below the X sign. Here I am a Russian Prince" on the back of the still.
The image leaves no question that it comes from ''The Restless Spirit'' because it also appeared on the cover of ''The Universal Weekly'' for October 23, 1913. The second image found in the estate depicts Lon Chaney in the role of a primitive wild man, which Mirsalis says occurs in a fantasy sequence in the film.
Release
![The Restless Spirit - Kerrigan roles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/The_Restless_Spirit_-_Kerrigan_roles.jpg)
On September 6, 1913, ''Motography'' reported that
J. Warren Kerrigan
George Jack Warren Kerrigan (July 25, 1879 – June 9, 1947) was an American silent film actor and film director.
Controversy
In May 1917, Kerrigan was nearing the end of a four-month-long personal appearance publicity tour that had taken ...
would star in the upcoming picture known as ''A Restless Spirit'' with a reference to Kerrigan's transfer to Universal.
Alternate names for the film such as ''His Restless Spirit''
[ ] and ''A Restless Spirit''.
It is unknown if the film was initially planned or if it was mere assumption, but it was reported that it would be a two reel production in September 1913.
Newspaper accounts change to reference the film as having three reels by October 3, 1913. As details spread in the newspaper, the film's working title continued to be referenced as ''A Restless Spirit'' in various papers. Newspaper references began to reference the final title on October 24, 1913. The film was released on October 27, 1913 by
Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
under the Victor label.
With the film's release on October 27, it was of minor note that the Alcazar of
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
would show the film until November 1, 1913. The film would be a special for the week at the Hippodrome in
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...
. Some theaters, such as the Alamo of
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
would only show the film for a single day.
[ ] The Unique theater, also of El Paso, would show the film on October 29 due to a "slip-up" with Universal's New York office. The advertisement would also mention Kerrigan's popularity in the area in otherwise apparent contrast to the Alamo's single day run.
Another advertisement noted the film's artistry and that it is one of the best three-reel films released, but the film would play for only a single day.
[ ] The film received play in various theaters until at least July 1914.
Reception and fate
Advertisements would state the films artistry or that it was one of the best three-reel films released.
[ Lombardi cites a single review from '']The Moving Picture World
The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios.
I ...
'' in his text and suggests that other reviews may have been more tepid, but the result was that Dwan would not produce any more films of "such experimental nature" at Universal. The film is now considered to be 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 ...
. It is unknown when the film was lost, but if it was in Universal's vaults it would have been deliberately destroyed along with the remaining copies of Universal's silent era films in 1948.
Notes
Pauline Bush's role has been the subject of some dispute, but a contemporary account also states her role as the wife. William Worthington's role was also noted by a later contemporary account.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Restless Spirit, The
1913 films
1913 drama films
1913 short films
Silent American drama films
American silent short films
American black-and-white films
Films based on poems
Films directed by Allan Dwan
Lost American drama films
Universal Pictures short films
1913 lost films
American drama short films
1910s American films
1910s English-language films