''Barbary Sheep'' is a 1917 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 ...

produced by

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

and distributed through Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by

Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

and stars

Elsie Ferguson Elsie Louise Ferguson (August 19, 1883 – November 15, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Born in New York City, Elsie Ferguson was the only child of Hiram and Amelia Ferguson. Her father was a successful attorney. Raise ...

in her motion picture debut. This picture is said to have

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

in his film debut as well. It is an adaptation of the 1907 novel ''

Barbary Sheep The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced �ɑʊdæd is a species of caprine native to rocky mountains in North Africa. While this is the only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six subspecies have been describ ...

'' by British writer Robert Hichens. It was thought to 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 ...

until an 8-minute clip or fragment was found in the Gosfilmfond archive.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, following the close of the London social season, Katharine (Ferguson) suggests to her husband that they take a trip to Africa, and when Sir Claude (Hare) learns that there is excellent hunting, the pair book passage. Out in the desert Katharine meets Benchaalal (de Cordoba), who is proud of his conquests of the feminine tourists. In the moonlight of the beautiful desert Benchaalal declares his love for Katharine. Sir Claude, through accident, learns of Benchaalal and returns home unexpectedly from a hunting expedition. Not finding Katharine in the apartment, he becomes suspicious and going out on the mountain sees Benchaalal and Katharine in the desert below. Benchaalal endeavors to take Katharine into his arms, but Katharine frees herself from the undesired embrace. Sir Charles is about to fire upon Benchaalal when the man is killed by a crazed merchant. Reconciliation and a happy reunion take place between Sir Claude and Katharine.

Cast

as Lady Katharine 'Kitty' Wyverne *

Lumsden Hare Francis Lumsden Hare (17 October 1874 – 28 August 1964) was an Irish-born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer. Early years Hare studied at St. Dunstan's College in London. Career Hare appeared ...

as Sir Claude Wyverne * Pedro de Cordoba as Benchaalal *

Macey Harlam Macey Harlam (April 27, 1873 – June 17, 1923) was a stage and screen actor from New York. He performed on Broadway from 1901 to 1918 before switching to silent films. In films he appeared with Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Elsie Fergus ...

as Archmed *Alex Shannon as The old Marabout *

Maude George Maude George (August 15, 1888 – October 10, 1963) was an American actress of the silent era. Biography Born in Riverside, California, in 1888, Maude George is remembered primarily as a regular of director Eric von Stroheim's stock compa ...

as The innkeeper (credited as Maude Ford) *Frances Ross (uncredited)

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Barbary Sheep'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors ordered cut from Reel 3 the scene of a vision of the woman's murder, from Reel 5 intertitles such as "The Arab is faithless - and to satisfy his lust," and from Reel 6 the intertitle "The son of the desert, fired by his passion, scornful of a husband who has kept no watch over his own," and the vision of the woman's murder.

References

External links

* *
Film still
at Wisconsin Historical Society
still image
* Hichens, Robert Smythe (1907),
Barbary Sheep, a novel
', New York: Harper & Brothers, on the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbary Sheep 1917 films American silent feature films Films based on British novels Films directed by Maurice Tourneur Lost American films Famous Players-Lasky films Paramount Pictures films 1917 drama films Silent American drama films American black-and-white films Films set in London 1917 lost films Lost drama films 1910s American films