''The Spreading Dawn'' 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 ...

produced by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

in his first year of producing independently in his own studio and starring Broadway stage star

Jane Cowl Jane Cowl (December 14, 1883 – June 22, 1950) was an American film and stage actress and playwright "notorious for playing lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor. Biography Cowl was born Jane Bailey in Boston, Mas ...

in her second and final silent film. It was directed by

Laurence Trimble Laurence Norwood Trimble (February 15, 1885 – February 8, 1954) was an American silent film director, writer and actor. Trimble began his film career directing Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine to have a leading role in motion pictu ...

. The film is

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 ...

with a fragment, apparently only part of reel 3, surviving at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. This film was based on a short fiction ''The Spreading Dawn'' by

Basil King William Benjamin Basil King (1859–1928) was a Canadian clergyman who became a writer after retiring from the clergy. His novels and non-fiction were spirituality, spiritually oriented. Life and career He was born on February 26, 1859, in Charl ...

that first appeared in the '' Saturday Evening Post''. It was later the title of a collection of short stories in 1927.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, Georgina Vanderpyl (Ballin) loves Captain Lewis Nugent (Lowe), but her aunt Patricia (Cowl) will not allow her to marry, and as proof of her reasons she gives Georgina her journal to read. The story as told in the journal is how happy Patricia is when she meets Anthony Vanderpyl (Caldara). They are married, but shortly thereafter Anthony is called away to war. He comes home on a furlough and after a brief visit leaves. Patricia does not understand this sudden departure, and then Mr. LeRoy (Stephenson) tells her that Anthony is with his wife Cornelia (Billings). When Anthony returns, LeRoy shoots Anthony and Patricia believes the worst of him. Dying, Anthony writes a letter to his wife, but Patricia has never opened it. Georgina coaxes her to read it, and when Patricia does, she discovers her late husband's innocence. Asking his forgiveness, she goes to meet him in the spreading dawn.

Cast

References

External links

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Lantern slide featuring Jane Cowl and Orme Caldara likenesses
(WaybackMachine) 1917 films American silent feature films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Laurence Trimble 1917 drama films Silent American drama films American Civil War films American black-and-white films Lost American films 1917 lost films Lost drama films 1910s American films Goldwyn Pictures films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-drama-film-stub