''The Cave Girl'' is a 1921 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

Joseph J. Franz Joseph J. Franz (October 12, 1883 – September 9, 1970) was an actor and film director during the silent film era in the United States. Franz was born in Utica, New York. He died in Los Angeles in 1970. He was sometimes credited as Joseph J. Fra ...

and featuring Teddie Gerard, Charles Meredith, Lillian Tucker and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

in an early film role. The source for the William Parker screenplay was the stage play of the same name by George Middleton and

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred w ...

. The film's tagline was "A Romance of Silent Trails and Rushing Waters... A Drama of Youth Gone Wild... Enacted in the Yosemite Valley in the Middle of Winter." (Print Ad in the Ludington Daily News, ((Ludington, Mich.)) 18 May 1923). 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

Professor Sperry moves to a cave in the wilderness to live the primitive life, taking his daughter Margot with him. Meanwhile, Divvy Bates is being pressured to marry Elsie Case. Elsie's mother and Divvy's wealthy father arrange a trip to the Bates' remote cabin in the wilderness to give Elsie a chance to extract a marriage proposal from Divvy. At the cabin, Divvy catches Margot making a raid on the Bates' supplies and is attracted to her. Elsie now has to compete with Margot for Divvy's affections. When their hired hand Baptiste (Boris Karloff) is fired, he retaliates by burning down their cabin. The party is forced to seek refuge in the cave along with the Professor and Margot. Seeing her chance to marry Divvy slipping away, Elsie conspires with Baptiste to kidnap Margot who ends up being set adrift in a canoe. Elsie's conscience suffers and she realizes that she has done wrong. Elsie confesses to Divvy, who then rescues Margot from the rapids in the nick of time.

Cast

* Charles Meredith as Divvy Bates * Lillian Tucker as Elsie Case * Jacob Abrams as Prof. Orlando Sperry (credited as Jake Abrahams) *

Teddie Gerard Teddie Gerard (born Teresa Cabre, May 2, 1890''Teddie Gerard Engaged'', New York Times, October 24, 1928, pg.27. – August 31, 1942) was an Argentine film actress''Miss Teddie Gerard'', New York Times, September 2, 1942, pg. 23. and entertain ...

as Margot *

as Baptiste, a villainous half-breed *

Elinor Hancock Elinor Hancock was an American actress who had a successful career on stage before appearing in many silent films. She was photographed by Alfred Witzell. She appeared in Clara Kimball Young films. Filmography *'' The Spirit of Romance'' (1917) ...

as Mrs. Georgia Case (credited as Eleanor Hancock) * Frank J. Coleman as Rufus Petterson *

Wilton Taylor Wilton Taylor (1869 – January 24, 1925) was an American stage and silent screen actor. He usually played gruff men of authority like wardens, judges or the police commissioner in Tod Browning's '' Outside the Law'' (1920). Of some other su ...

as J.T. Bates * John Beck as Rogers

Production

''Cave Girl'' was made by Jesse D. Hampton Productions and completed in February 1921. Exteriors were filmed in

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surroun ...

in the winter of 1920–21. Inspiration Pictures acquired the film from Hampton Productions in May, 1921, and released it in December.

Release

Charles Duell, the head of Inspiration Pictures, arranged to screen the picture for the first time at governor's mansion in New York, June 1921. The governor had recently spearheaded legislation that resulted in the formation of New York's Motion Picture Commission, a committee tasked with the censorship of films. In February 1922 ''Film Daily'' gave it a positive review due primarily to the photography and the exteriors: "For winter scenery and fine out-of-doors atmosphere ''The Cave Girl'' belongs way up in the front rank and even if the story isn't a whopper, the feature as a whole will be likely to satisfy because of its splendid pictorial appeal."

References

External links