''The Trail to Yesterday'' is a 1918 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 directed by

Edwin Carewe Edwin Carewe (March 3, 1883 – January 22, 1940) was an American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. His birth name was Jay John Fox; he was born in Gainesville, Texas. Career After brief studies at the Universities of ...

and starring

Bert Lytell Bertram Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films. Background Born in New York City, Lyt ...

and

Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Quirentia Nilsson (March 30, 1888 – February 11, 1974) was a Swedish-American actress who achieved success in American silent movies. Early life Nilsson was born in Ystad, Sweden in 1888. Her middle name Quirentia is derived from her ...

. It was produced by and distributed by

Metro Pictures Metro Pictures Corporation was a motion picture production company founded in early 1915 in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a forerunner of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The company produced its films in New York, Los Angeles, and sometimes at leased f ...

. It is based on a novel, ''The Trail to Yesterday'' (1913), by

Charles Alden Seltzer Charles Alden Seltzer (August 15, 1875 – February 9, 1942) was an American writer. He was a prolific author of western novels, had writing credits for more than a dozen film titles, and authored numerous stories published in magazines, most p ...

. A nitrate fragment of the print is held by EYE Institut/

Filmmuseum Eye Filmmuseum is a film archive, museum, and cinema in Amsterdam that preserves and presents both Dutch and foreign films screened in the Netherlands. Location and history Eye Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in t ...

, Netherlands.

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 ...

, David Langford (Maupain) kills his partner and accuses the son of the murder. A fugitive from justice, Ned Keegles (Lytell) goes out west, determined on revenge. When he meets Sheila Langford (Nilsson), he forces her to marry him, and believes his revenge is complete. When he hears that Langford is Sheila's stepfather, he is sorry. He tells Sheila so and begs for her forgiveness, but his enemies have darkened his character and she is slow to forgive. The attempted murder of Ned's best friend forces him to talk. Sheila comes to understand the true state of affairs and becomes satisfied with her marriage and the forced ceremony.

Cast

as Ned "Dakota" Keegles *

as Sheila Langford * Harry S. Northrup as Jack Duncan *

Ernest Maupain Ernest Maupain (1869–1944) was a French film actor who appeared in many American films during the silent era. He played the role of Professor Moriarty in the 1916 Essanay Studios film '' Sherlock Holmes''.Kabatchnik p.167 Selected filmography ...

as David Langford * John A. Smiley as Ben Doubler * Danny Hogan as "Texas" Blanco

Production

Some filming took place at Arivaca, Arizona.

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Trail to Yesterday'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 3, of Dakota shooting Blanco and his falling and, in Reel 5, of Duncan shooting an old man at the door.

References

External links

* * * Seltzer, Charles Alden (1913),
The Trail to Yesterday
', New York: A. Burt Co., on the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Trail to Yesterday, The 1918 films 1918 Western (genre) films Films shot in Arizona Films shot in Tucson, Arizona Films directed by Edwin Carewe Films based on American novels American black-and-white films Silent American Western (genre) films 1910s American films