''Joan the Woman'' is a 1916 American epic 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

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

and starring

Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following a ...

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

. The film premiered on Christmas Day in 1916. This was DeMille's first historical drama. The screenplay is based on

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

's 1801 play ''Die Jungfrau von Orleans'' ('' The Maid of Orleans'').Aberth, John. "Chapter 6. Movies and the Maid: Joan of Arc Films". ''A Knight at the Movies''. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2012. 264–306. This film was considered to be the "first cinematic spectacle about Joan of Arc." This was the first film to use the

Handschiegl Color Process The Handschiegl color process (, , App: Nov 20, 1916, Iss: May 13, 1919) produced motion picture film prints with color artificially added to selected areas of the image. Aniline dyes were applied to a black-and-white print using gelatin imbibition ...

(billed as the "Wyckoff-DeMille Process") for certain scenes. This process is especially noticeable in the scene of Joan burning at the stake, the use of red and yellow gave this a heightened dramatic effect. A print of the film still exists. DeMille has said that in the weeks before shooting he became obsessed with historical research, costume and

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

, and casting decisions.

Plot

A British officer (Reid) in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

has a dream of the life of Joan of Arc (Farrar). The officer pulls a sword out of the wall of the trench he is in, the sword used to belong to Joan of Arc. Removing the sword conjures up the ghost of Joan, leading to her telling her story. The setting then changes to France where the story of Joan of Arc is told, of her leading the French troops to victory and her subsequent burning at the stake. The story ends back in the trench with the officer deciding to go on a suicide mission, using Joan's story and sword as inspiration.Verduin, Kathleen. ''Studies in Medievalism: Medievalism in North America''. Pages 109-122

Cast

as Jeanne d'Arc (

) *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Charles VII *

Hobart Bosworth Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth (August 11, 1867 – December 30, 1943) was an American film actor, director, writer, and producer. Early life Bosworth was born on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, Ohio. His father was a sea captain in the Civil Wa ...

as Gen. La Hire *

Theodore Roberts Theodore Roberts (October 8, 1861 – December 14, 1928) was an American film and stage actor. Early life Roberts was born in San Francisco, California. He was a cousin of the stage actress Florence Roberts. His choice of a career disapp ...

as Cauchon *

Wallace Reid William Wallace Halleck Reid (April 15, 1891 – January 18, 1923) was an American actor in silent film, referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". He also had a brief career as a racing driver. Early life Reid was born in St. Louis, M ...

as Eric Trent 1431 / Eric Trent 1917 *

Charles Clary Charles Clary (March 24, 1873 – March 24, 1931) was an American actor of the silent film era. Clary appeared in more than 200 films between 1910 and 1930. He was born in Charleston, Illinois and died on his 58th birthday in Los Angeles, Ca ...

as La Tremouille * James Neill as Laxart *

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

as L'Oiseleur * Lawrence Peyton as Gaspard *

Horace B. Carpenter Horace B. Carpenter (January 31, 1875 – May 21, 1945) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 330 films between 1914 and 1946. He also directed 15 films between 1925 and 1934. Born in Grand Rapids, ...

as Jacques d'Arc *

Cleo Ridgely Cleo Ridgely-Horne (born Freda Cleo Helwig, May 12, 1893 – August 18, 1962) was a star of silent and sound motion pictures. Her career began early in the silent film era, in 1911, and continued for forty years. She retired in the 1930s bu ...

as The king's favorite *

Lillian Leighton Lillianne Brown Leighton (May 17, 1874 – March 19, 1956), known professionally as Lillian Leighton, was an American silent film actress. Leighton started her career in Chicago. Leighton was born in Auroraville, Wisconsin, on May 17, 187 ...

as Isambeau * Marjorie Daw as Katherine * Stephen Gray as Pierre *

Ernest Joy Ernest C. Joy (January 20, 1878 – February 12, 1924) was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 76 films between 1911 and 1920. Selected filmography * '' Article 47, L (1913) * '' Salomy Jane'' (1914) * '' ...

as Robert de Beaudricourt * John Oaker as Jean de Metz * Hugo B. Koch as Duke of Burgundy *

William Conklin William Conklin (December 25, 1872 – March 21, 1935) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 80 silent films between 1913 and 1929. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and died in Hollywood, California. Partial filmography * ''Ariz ...

as John of Luxembourg * Walter Long as The executioner *

William Elmer William Elmer (April 25, 1869 – February 24, 1945) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1942. He was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa and died in Hollywood, California. Elmer acted in ...

as Guy Townes * Emilius Jorgensen as Michael *

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

Jack Hoxie John Hartford Hoxie (January 11, 1885 – March 28, 1965) was an American rodeo performer and motion-picture actor whose career was most prominent in the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1930s. Hoxie is best recalled for his roles in ...

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

Nigel De Brulier Nigel De Brulier (born Francis George Packer; 8 August 1877 – 30 January 1948) was an English stage and film actor who began his career in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States. Biography De Brulier was born in Frenchay, a ...

as Man at trial (uncredited) * Jack Holt (uncredited) *

Fred Kohler Fred Kohler (April 20, 1888 – October 28, 1938) was an American actor. Career Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri or in Dubuque, Iowa. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to support himself. ...

as L'Oiseleur's henchman (uncredited) *

Ramón Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...

as Starving Peasant (uncredited)

Production

The original plan for ''Joan the Woman'' was for it to be the first of two shorter, unrelated films starring Farrar and directed by DeMille. However, in the early stages of filming in May 1916, producer Jesse L. Lansky convinced DeMille to combine the two efforts into a single, longer film about Joan of Arc.

Release and reception

The film was released on December 25, 1916 and grossed $605,731 at the box office. The film has been criticized by some as propaganda for

. The film begins and ends with the story of a British officer in the trenches fighting in World War I. He is prompted with the decision to participate in a suicide mission. He discovers a sword that belonged to Joan, and after hearing her story, decides to go on the mission. Robin Blaetz in her book ''Studies in Medievalism'' points out the sexism that exists in the film. While Joan was the inspiration for the British soldier's heroic acts, he is ultimately the hero at the end of the film. Blaetz points out that this sends the message that "women and war do not mix", alluding to the idea that in World War I women should stay behind the front lines, but still be supportive of those at war. In his review of the film, Leonard Maltin said this was "DeMille's first historical epic is nicely mounted, spotlighting the heroism and sacrifice of Joan of Arc (a miscast Farrar) as she evolves from peasant girl to saint-like figure and becomes involved with Englishman Reid. Fashioned as an accolade to France, with the story bookended by sequences set during WW1 involving a soldier who is inspired by Joan's bravery. Some of the effects are in color."

Attempted film piracy

In 1917 three men were arrested for the theft of a print of the film from a New York film exchange, which they took to New Jersey for the making of a new master negative. Both the missing print and the master were recovered. At that time there was an active criminal practice in making master negatives of American films for shipment to other countries for the production of new prints, an early example of motion picture piracy.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Joan The Woman 1916 films 1916 drama films 1910s color films American black-and-white films American epic films American silent feature films Articles containing video clips Early color films Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille Films about Joan of Arc Paramount Pictures films Western Front (World War I) films War epic films 1910s American films Silent adventure films Silent war films