''The World for Sale'' is a 1918 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

J. Stuart Blackton James Stuart Blackton (January 5, 1875 – August 13, 1941) was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to ...

and starring

Conway Tearle Conway Tearle (born Frederick Conway Levy, May 17, 1878 – October 1, 1938) was an American stage actor who went on to perform in silent and early sound films. Early life Tearle was born on May 17, 1878, in New York City, the son of the ...

Ann Little Ann Little (born Mary Hankins Brooks; February 7, 1891 – May 21, 1984), also known as Anna Little, was an American film actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the early 1910s through the early 1920s. Today, mos ...

, W.W. Bitner, Norbert Wicki, Crazy Thunder, and E.L. Fernandez. It is based on the 1916 novel ''The World For Sale'' by

Gilbert Parker Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet (23 November 1862 – 6 September 1932), known as Gilbert Parker, Canadian novelist and British politician, was born at Camden East, Addington, Ontario, the son of Captain Joseph Parker, R.A. Ed ...

. The film was released on January 21, 1918, by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it may be a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Fleda Druse (Little) and her father Gabriel (Bitner) sever their connections with the wandering

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

and become Christians. In childhood Fieda had been given in marriage to Jethro Fawe (Wicki), and in accordance with the gypsy creed and after a 17-year separation Jethro comes to claim his bride. Fleda loves Ingolby (Tearle), leader of the Canadian settlement, and will not accept the attentions of Jethro. Jethro attempts to take the life of Ingolby, but is repulsed. Marchand (Fernandez), an adventurer, is jealous of Ingolby and attacks him, leading to Ingolby's blindness. Fleda cares for him and, after his sight is restored, they come to an understanding. Jethro has Fleda kidnapped and brought to his tent, but her father comes to her rescue. When Fleda decides to go with Ingolby, Gabriel returns to lead the Romani.

Cast

as Ingolby *

as Fleda Druse * W.W. Bitner as Gabriel Druse *

Norbert Wicki Norbert is a Germanic given name, from ''nord'' "north" and ''berht'' "bright". Norbert is also occasionally found as a surname. People with the given name Academia * Norbert Angermann (born 1936), German historian * Norbert A’Campo (born 1941 ...

as Jethro Fawe * Crazy Thunder as Tekewani * E.L. Fernandez as Marchand *Joseph Donohue as Jowett *Emile La Croix *Maude Scofield

Production

A number of the exteriors for ''The World for Sale'' were filmed at Harbourwood, J. Stuart Blackton's vast estate at Oyster Bay, New York. Sir Gilbert Parker visited for a week during the shooting. "Sir Gilbert, bless him, refused to unbend," wrote Blackton's older daughter Marian Blackton Trimble. "Tall, bearded, reticent, he stood out against the noisy informality of the actors and house guests like a mastiff in a circle of yapping cocker spaniels."

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The World for Sale'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut, in Reel 2, of the intertitle "I claim my rights. Here, where a Romany and his wife are together.", Reel 3, man throwing a missile into a man's neck, Reel 5, the letter "My father knows you broke promise to me — and my shame" and the intertitle "He spoil may summer song. He treat her like dirt.", Reel 6, muffling young woman, gypsy cutting young woman's throat, and the intertitle "It shall be so — I know women — for an hour you will hate me and then you will begin to love me."

References

External links

* * Parker, Gilbert (1916),
The World for Sale
', New York:

A. L. Burt A. L. Burt (incorporated in 1902 as A. L. Burt Company) was a New York City-based book publishing house from 1883 until 1937. It was founded by Albert Levi Burt, a 40-year-old from Massachusetts who had come to recognize the demand for inexpensi ...

Company, on the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:World for Sale 1918 films 1910s English-language films Silent American drama films 1918 drama films Paramount Pictures films Films based on works by Gilbert Parker Films directed by J. Stuart Blackton American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films based on Canadian novels 1910s American films