''The Tragedy of Whispering Creek'' is a 1914 American silent short

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

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, wa ...

and featuring

Murdock MacQuarrie Murdock MacQuarrie (August 25, 1878 – August 20, 1942) was an American silent film actor and director. His name was also seen as Murdock McQuarrie. MacQuarrie was born in San Francisco, California, and attended school there. He was the ...

, Pauline Bush, and

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

. Chaney expert Jon Mirsalis says Chaney also wrote the screenplay, based on a story by Elliott J. Clawson, but the Blake book says the film's director Allan Dwan wrote the screenplay himself. A print exists in the

Deutsche Kinemathek Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen is a major German film archive located in Berlin. History The Deutsche Kinemathek opened in 1963. Until the opening of a permanent display in the Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Mu ...

film archive, making it Chaney's earliest surviving moving picture. A still exists which shows Chaney in his role as "The Greaser".

Plot

A vile bully known as The Greaser (Lon Chaney) is terrorizing the young ladies in a mining town called Whispering Creek. When he tries to accost a young teenage orphan girl, her fiance Bashful Bill gives the Mexican a sound beating. Soon after, a handsome stranger (Murdock MacQuarrie) rides into town and saves the same girl from the Greaser again. Falling in love with her himself, he tries to romance the young lady, unaware that she is engaged to Bashful Bill. When he learns they are set to be wed, he decides to not interfere in their happiness. The stranger leaves town, but on the way out, he spots the Greaser lying in ambush, plotting to kill Bashful Bill and the girl. The stranger and the Greaser shoot it out, and wind up killing each other in the ensuing gunfight, saving Bill's and the girl's life in the process.

Cast

as The Stranger * Pauline Bush as The Orphan * William C. Dowlan as Bashful Bill *

as The Greaser * George Cooper as The Kid * Mary Ruby as The Kid's Sweetheart * Doc Crane as Prospector * William Lloyd as Prospector * John Burton as Prospector

Reception

The Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. I ...

wrote "The story is very uncertain in development, but has an unusually pleasing setting throughout the entire production. The backgrounds were selected with a good eye to artistic effects. The story is vague in places and the photography not quite up to standard. The closing scenes are of a tragical nature." Universal Weekly opined "And then there is Mr. Chaney in the role of the Greaser. Mr. Chaney has used his own ideas in working out the character, a pervert, in this play and what he has given us is startling to an unusual degree. True, he paints a horrible picture for us...one that is apt to cause a feeling of revulsion. But that is as it should be. In fact, Mr. Chaney has created a new character -- one that will live long -- that will be copied as a newer standard for others."Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Page 17. Vestal Press Inc. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tragedy Of Whispering Creek 1914 films 1914 short films 1914 Western (genre) films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films directed by Allan Dwan Silent American Western (genre) films Universal Pictures short films 1910s American films