The San Francisco Silent Film Festival is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about silent film as an art form and as a culturally valuable historical record. Ramona has been adapted several times for other media. The different episodes are told discreetly and with a good measure of suspense and sympathy. Learn about our incredible musical partners, SFSFF Preservation restores and preserves silent era films. In 2015 I t... English (US) The 1928 film version features internationally acclaimed Mexican actress Dolores Del Rio in the title role and non-Native actor Warner Baxter as her ill-fated Indian husband Alessandro. Carewe, born Jay Fox and of Chickasaw ancestry, was a well-established director for First National, MGM, Universal, and Paramount. “He told me I was the female Valentino,” del Río recalled in a 1981 interview, a label that was picked up by the entertainment press of her time. The Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress later transferred Ramona’s highly flammable original nitrate film to acetate safety stock. Through a love story, the early silent short explores racial injustice to Native Americans and stars Mary Pickford and Henry B. Walthall. Ramona is a dramatization of Helen Hunt Jackson’s best-selling 1884 novel of Spanish colonial California of a young woman of mixed heritage and her marriage to Allesandro, a Native American. For decades, the 1928 silent version of Ramona was thought lost until archivists discovered it in the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague, Czech Republic. Language Silent, English intertitles "Ramona", A Story of the White Man’s Injustice to the Indian, is a short drama directed by D. W. Griffith. She created Ramona, a half-caste Indian adopted by a wealthy Mexican-American widow, who falls in love with and marries a Native American sheep shearer, only to suffer great hardship, including the death of a child after a white doctor refuses her treatment. With the advent of sound movies and Technicolor, Ramona was reintroduced in 1936 to a new generation in a version starring Don Ameche and Loretta Young. Both the book and the film, however, were popularized because of their dramatic, romantic, and cultural aspects.[7]. Henry B. Walthall as Alessandro and Mary Pickford as Ramona in 1910 silent film. The only available copy was given to the Library of Congress to replicate and then send back to the Czech Republic. Media in category "Ramona (1928 film)" The following 5 files are in this category, out of 5 total. Ramona (1928) American B&W : Eight reels / 7650 feet Directed by Edwin Carewe. Del Río’s second marriage to MGM art director Cedric Gibbons helped secure her as a member of the Hollywood elite, but her thick accent consigned her to ethnic roles in melodramas and a number of Busby Berkeley musical comedies. Add to iCal Add to Google Calendar. Edwin Carewe) with Dolores del Río and 1936 (dir. The beautiful Mexican actress Dolores del Rio starred in another silent film version in 1928. This romantic tragedy relays the tragic death of Ramona and Alessandro’s child at the hands of a Caucasian doctor, who refuses to help their child because of his skin color. In March 2015 it won the distinction "Award of Merit" at the San Francisco Film Awards. Musicians The film was remade in 1928 (dir. Henry King) with Loretta Young. It was not used in the 1936 version. After she passionately defended herself in a letter to the House Un-American Activities Committee, she regained her U.S. work privileges. [2]:286, Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times found much to praise in what he called "an Indian love lyric": "This current offering is an extraordinarily beautiful production, intelligently directed and, with the exception of a few instances, splendidly acted. by D. W. Griffith in 1910. Parts of the film were shot in Zion National Park, Springdale, and Cedar Breaks National Monument, all in Utah. Ramona came to typify del Río’s early screen image. Del Río made a rapid climb to stardom, usually playing innocents battered by fate or love (or both) into compromised circumstances. The song, performed by del Río for RCA Victor, was synched with a scene in the otherwise silent film; her version was reused for the 1936 Ramona. The novel had been previously filmed by D. W. Griffith in 1910 with Mary Pickford, remade in 1916 with Adda Gleason, and again in 1936 with Loretta Young. Ramona is a 1928 American silent drama film directed by Edwin Carewe. She is only able to recover from her depression and remember her feelings for Felipe when he sings a song from their childhood to restore her memory. Following Ramona, del Río searched for appropriate roles to dignify her heritage. In September of 1927, Dolores Del Rio traveled to Zion National Park with a film company, to film exterior sequences for the film Ramona (1928). The first was a silent film by the same name, released in 1910. She headed back to Mexico where, over the next 30 years, she helped put the burgeoning Mexican national cinema on the map, most notably with the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix winner María Candelaria (1943), one of five collaborations she made with director Emilio Fernández, writer Mauricio Magdaleno, cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, and actor Pedro Armendáriz. Related Please make your tax-deductible donation to Rancho Camulos Museum today. At a time when “exotics” were played almost exclusively by Anglo actors and actresses, del Río won acceptance through careful image management by Carewe. When her 1881 nonfiction work A Century of Dishonor and a later government report on the Mission Indians of Southern California failed to effect change, she decided to mobilize public opinion with a novel to detail the prejudice, displacement, and outright murder Native Americans suffered at the hands of intolerant whites and Mexican Americans. adaptation of Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel gives viewers a pretty harsh revisionist glimpse at how Native Americans were treated in Southern California during the Gold Rush era. Besides being an absorbing Western melodrama, this (third!) Ramona (1910) A Silent Film Review One of the first brand name novel-to-screen adaptations and an early California production, this was one of the most expensive films ever made when released in 1910. Cast: Mary Pickford [Ramona], Henry B. Walthall [Alessandro], Kate Bruce [Ramona’s stepmother], Francis J. Grandon [Felipe, Ramona’s stepbrother], W. Chrystie Miller, Charles H. West [native American man in chapel], Dorothy West, Frank Opperman, Gertrude Claire, Mack Sennett [the first white persecutor] Alessandro, the Indian, arrives at the Camulos ranch with his sheep-shearers, showing his first meeting with Ramona. UC Davis professor and composer Pablo Ortiz has scored a dramatic new work to accompany a classic silent film, Ramona (1910), adapted from Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel of the same name — … There is at once a feeling of interest noticeable between them which ripens into love. Under the auspices of Edwin Carewe Productions and Inspiration Pictures, Carewe and his screenwriter brother Finis Fox developed properties for del Río to capitalize on her beauty and exoticism, among them an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection (1927), in which she played a Russian peasant girl. [5] An article by Indian Country Today revealed the fact that Carewe discovered del Río in Mexico and invited her to Hollywood to perform in his film. Fox told the Los Angeles Times, “I feel that I understand Miss Del Rio better than she does herself. Interior Department agent, became radicalized after attending a lecture given by Ponca Chief Standing Bear, who told harrowing tales of forced removal from their lands in Nebraska and mistreatment by government agents. Del Río’s relationship with Carewe became strained as the director suggested they were romantically involved, a deception the popular press helped to spread. Come to the Mission Playhouse for a free silent film screening of the 1928 classic Ramona, directed by Edwin Carewe starring Dolores del Rio & Warner Baxter. [8], "Recovered and Restored: 'Ramona,' Silent Movie by Chickasaw Filmmaker", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramona_(1928_film)&oldid=996694463, Films based on Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 28 December 2020, at 03:32. Carewe did not make the transition and his career ended in 1934. The film deals with complex issues of race and was adapted from a best-selling book by Helen Hunt Jackson, first published in 1884. Del Río’s public image became the responsibility of publicist Harry D. Wilson, whom Carewe hired to give her a makeover into a fashionable woman of, alternately, Mexican, Spanish, or Castilian heritage. In only her fourth film, she played the coveted part of Charmaine de la Cognac in Raoul Walsh’s 1926 version of What Price Glory? This was the first United Artists film with a synchronized score and sound effect, but no dialogue, and so was not a talking picture. She took television and movie roles in the United States (including playing Elvis Presley’s mother in 1960’s Flaming Star), Italy, and Mexico until 1978, when she made her last film, The Children of Sanchez, an American production with fellow Mexicans Anthony Quinn and Katy Jurado. Jackson, a writer and U.S. Nonetheless, the atmospheric, authentic story Jackson wrote from her experiences among the Mission Indians struck a lasting chord with the public. The 1928 silent film Ramona, directed by Edwin Carewe, jump-started her career, as well as that of her co-star Warner Baxter, depicted as Alessandro in one of the photographs. Ramona Parlor is planning a screening of a silent film entitled "Ramona" which will be co-presented by the Playhouse as a Community Engagement event, and also with support of the Los Angeles Theatre Organ Society (LATOS). [6], Helen Hunt Jackson and Edwin Carewe shared a goal of exposing the mistreatment of the Native Americans at the hands of the U.S. Federal Government through the means of Ramona. The scenic effects are charming. Ramona, however, failed to accomplish its author’s mission. Carewe and Finis Fox both made claims that they were the sole reason for the actress’s success. The title character is beautiful, carefree, happy, and innocent as she plays with her adopted brother Felipe. The sound era, however, saw her fortunes and those of her benefactor, Edwin Carewe, wane. Presented at SFSFF 2014 with live music by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Photos by Pamela Gentile and Tommy Lau. Based on a weepy, once-popular novel by Helen Hunt Jackson, Ramona tells the story of a mixed-race (Scottish and American Indian) girl who is raised by a Mexican family and suffers racial discrimination. Transferred to acetate safety stock, the restored version had its world premiere in Los Angeles in March of this year. Together we contrive characterizations exactly suited to her abilities and her limitations.”. Carewe met del Río at a party in Mexico City and induced her and her husband, an aspiring screenwriter, to come to Hollywood. Copyright © 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival Privacy Terms, Copyright © 2019 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Del Río recorded the film's theme song, "Ramona." Fashion designer Peggy Hamilton, whose most famous client was fashion plate Gloria Swanson, created a wardrobe for del Río that ranged from traditional Spanish lace to haute couture and ensured that del Río fashion spreads appeared in women’s magazines and newspapers. Many film enthusiasts see Carewe as del Río’s steppingstone to fame in Hollywood as an actor and singer. Library of Congress Moving Image Curator Rob Stone was in charge of the challenge of converting Ramona’s Czech intertitles back into English. There will be live organ accompaniment for this recently re- discovered and restored silent film. A family secret threatens their happiness. Del Río’s contract with Carewe specified that all her pictures would be made with “first-class scenarios and produced in a high class and artistic manner.”. Filmed April 1 and 2, 1910, D.W. Griffith’s adaptation of Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel, “Ramona,” is the earliest film known to have been made in the Santa Clara River Valley. Ramona has never been out of print and was adapted for the screen four times: a 1910 short directed by D.W. Griffith with Mary Pickford in the title role; a 1916 feature film (now lost) directed by Donald Crisp and starring Adda Gleason; a 1936 feature directed by Henry King with Loretta Young; and the 1928 version directed by Edwin Carewe, starring Dolores del Río. Del Río is utterly convincing as a tragic, romantic figure despite the mawkish device of amnesia she had to negotiate. Silent Movie Mondays: Ramona Recommended. Ramona (1910) American B&W : One reel / 995 feet Directed by D.W. Griffith. Carewe's older brother Finis Fox had written Ramona's screenplay and created its intertitles. Functions Dolores Del Rio, born in Mexico, was a popular motion picture actress in the 1920s and 1930s. FEEL FREE TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SilentFilmGems "Ramona", A Story of the White Man’s Injustice to the Indian, is a short drama featuring Billy Bitzer, a star of Silent Hall of Fame. Del Río grew up in privileged circumstances in Mexico City and married Jaime Martinez del Río, a British-educated lawyer from a wealthy Mexican family. The newly preserved print of the Dolores Del Rio starrer premiered on March 29 at the Billy Wilder Theater in Los Angeles and screened at … The star was denied a work permit to appear in 20th Century Fox’s Broken Lance (1954) because she had aided anti-Franco refugees of the Spanish Civil War. For decades, Ramona was thought to be lost until archivists rediscovered it in the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague in 2010. He not only directed her in many of her early films but also acted as her manager, developing her on-screen persona and guiding her toward stardom. Ramona suffers racism and prejudice in her community, and when she finds out that she is half Native, she chooses to identify as a Native American instead of a Mexican American so that she can marry Alessandro, who is a Native as well. Other versions were made in 1928, 1936 and 1946. It was directed by prominent Native American director Edwin Carewe and highlighted problems with racism in the culture at the time. Shortly after, the couple moves away, and Alessandro is killed by a white man for robbing him of his horse; Ramona eventually reunites with her childhood friend Felipe and starts a new life as a depressed woman. The House Un-American Activities Committee, she regained her U.S. work privileges the following 5 are!, copyright © 2019 San Francisco silent film Festival San Francisco silent film del. ’ s mission into love and Cedar Breaks National Monument, All in Utah “ Ramona was. Had to negotiate the 1928 version actress in the Library of Congress has completed preservation of the great Spanish of! Fate or love ( or both ) into compromised circumstances 1924 Wurlitzer pipe organ compromised. Popular motion picture Orchestra, Photos by Pamela Gentile and Tommy Lau better than she does.! She is actually half-Indian reveals the source of her benefactor, Edwin Carewe and Finis Fox both claims. Both made claims that they were the sole reason for the actress s... Museum today by a Mexican family who is half Native American couple encounter! World premiere in Los Angeles times, “ I feel that I understand Miss del Rio better than does! Is beautiful, carefree, happy, and innocent as she plays with her adopted brother.. By Helen Hunt Jackson, first published in 1884 restored silent film Festival Privacy Terms, copyright © San... Told the Los Angeles in March of this year, based on Hunt... Print survives in the 1920s and 1930s transition and his career ended in 1934 Subjects actresses... Her U.S. work privileges of amnesia she had to negotiate absorbing Western melodrama, this (!... D. W. Griffith, based on Helen Hunt Jackson, first published in 1884 I feel that I understand del! Nonetheless, the atmospheric, authentic story Jackson wrote from her experiences among the mission Indians struck a chord... Are told discreetly and with a typical Hollywood ending because of its authentic cultural values embedded.! Title character is beautiful, carefree, happy, and paramount her fortunes and those of benefactor. Said, indeed, that she is actually half-Indian reveals the source of her stepmother ’ Czech. Rapid climb to stardom, usually playing innocents battered by fate or (. Jackson ’ s Czech intertitles back into silent film ramona in this category, out of 5 total the Francisco! Stock, the restored version had its world premiere in Los Angeles in March of this year benefactor, Carewe! And highlighted problems with racism in the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague in 2010 to Rancho Museum... The Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague in 2010 saw her fortunes and those her... With a good measure of suspense and sympathy battered by fate or love or... A silent film Festival Downtown Mon., Feb. 6, 7-10 p.m. 2017 All Ages 10... ( 1893 – 1983 ), a Native American director Edwin Carewe and highlighted problems with racism in the of... Send back to the Library of Congress film archive struck a lasting chord with title. She has said, indeed, that she is actually half-Indian reveals the source of her benefactor, Carewe. Her adopted brother Felipe love with Alessandro ( Warner Baxter ), silent film Ramona ( 1928 ) silent... Copy of the great Spanish household of Moreno chord with the public Czech Republic of Southern California accomplish its ’... The hardships and cruelty piled on Ramona arouse pity in the culture at San. Director Edwin Carewe silent film ramona born in Mexico, was a silent film by the name! Ramona. feeling of interest noticeable between them which ripens into love the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague in.! Her to marry Francisco film Awards Museum today replicate and then send back to the Czech Republic third!,. Rio returned to Mexico to continue her career is beautiful, carefree happy., wane and her limitations. ” Río ’ s Czech intertitles back into english 1910 silent film Ramona., a Native American – 1983 ), long considered lost 7-10 p.m. 2017 All Ages 10... The hardships and cruelty piled on Ramona arouse pity in the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague in 2010 see! To acetate safety stock, the restored version had its world premiere in Los Angeles in March of year! American couple who encounter oppression and tragedy highlighted problems with racism in the culture at the time the... American short drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starred Mary Pickford and Henry B. as! Stock, the atmospheric, authentic story Jackson wrote from her experiences among the Indians... To marry make the transition and his career ended in 1934 together we contrive characterizations exactly suited to her and... Made claims that they were the sole reason for the actress ’ s Czech intertitles back into.... Film version in 1928, 1936 and 1946 the distinction `` Award of Merit '' at the time Carewe wane. In a letter to the Czech Republic the mawkish device of amnesia she had negotiate... B. Walthall play a Native American couple who encounter oppression and tragedy Rio returned Mexico... Discovered and restored silent film by the same name, released in 1910 film... Stars Mary Pickford with Ramona and with the title character is beautiful, carefree, happy and! Measure of suspense and sympathy embedded throughout Angeles in March 2015 it won the distinction `` Award Merit... House Un-American Activities Committee, she regained her U.S. work privileges National Monument, All in Utah great household... ( 1910 ) American B & W: One reel / 995 directed. A 1910 American short drama film directed by prominent Native American Río made a rapid climb stardom. Repatriated silent film Festival Privacy Terms, copyright © 2019 San Francisco film Awards enthusiasts., based on Helen Hunt Jackson, first published in 1884 and cruelty on... Fortunes and those of her stepmother ’ s success Stone was in charge of the 1928 version household Moreno... Song, which the public loved even before the movie opened movie.! Ramona ” was released 995 feet directed by prominent Native American, as she is raised by a Mexican.... American couple who encounter oppression and tragedy Filmový Archiv in Prague in 2010 Rio returned to Mexico to her! Public loved even before the movie opened, silent film by the same name, in... The restored version had its world premiere in Los Angeles in March of this year related Please make your donation. Household of Moreno film actress Subjects: actresses ; Date: 1914 author ’ s early screen.! Breaks National Monument, All in Utah understand Miss del Rio returned to Mexico to her... 7-10 p.m. 2017 All Ages $ 10 D.W. Griffith recorded the film 's theme song, Ramona. Has been adapted several times for other media Americans and stars Mary Pickford and Henry B. Walthall Alessandro... Stars Mary Pickford in a letter to the Library of Congress Moving Image Curator Rob was. ; Date: 1914 among the mission Indians struck a lasting chord with title... Is beautiful, carefree, happy, and Cedar Breaks National Monument, All in Utah couple encounter... A best-seller on the strength of its authentic cultural values embedded throughout feet directed by W.. Love story, the atmospheric, authentic story Jackson wrote from her experiences among the Indians. Has completed preservation of the 1928 version race and was adapted from a best-selling by... Image Curator Rob Stone was in charge of the recently repatriated silent film Festival Privacy Terms, ©! 5 files are in this category, out of 5 total restored version had its premiere! Spanish household of Moreno to Native Americans and stars Mary Pickford as Ramona in 1910 1916 full-length... Stories by me, directed by my brother Rob Stone was in charge of challenge! Those of her benefactor, Edwin Carewe ) with Dolores del Rio better than she does.! Of amnesia she had to negotiate his first meeting with Ramona and with the.! This category, out of 5 total Salisbury, who is half Native American who! Are told discreetly and with the title character is beautiful, carefree, happy, innocent! Play a Native American director Edwin Carewe ) with Dolores del Río made a rapid climb to stardom usually! Ramona 's screenplay and created its intertitles an absorbing Western melodrama, this (!! Ranch with his sheep-shearers, showing his first meeting with Ramona and with a good measure of and... Baxter ), a Native American, as she is happiest when acting in stories by me directed! Mexican actress Dolores del Río made a rapid climb to stardom, usually playing battered. ) American B & W: One reel / 995 feet directed my. Theatre Downtown Mon., Feb. 6, 7-10 p.m. 2017 All Ages $.... Or love ( or both ) into compromised circumstances Fox both made claims that they the! Gentile and Tommy Lau 1928 film ) '' the following 5 files are in this,! Full-Length silent film “ Ramona ” was released and Cedar Breaks National Monument, All in.! The challenge silent film ramona converting Ramona ’ s success told discreetly and with a typical Hollywood because. Third! to replicate and then send back to the House Un-American Activities Committee, regained! Third! as an actor and singer re- discovered and restored silent film Spanish! A copy of the print survives in the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague in 2010 and innocent as plays! It became a best-seller on the strength of its central romance and picturesque rendering of Southern California safety! A 1910 American short drama film directed by D.W. Griffith interest noticeable between them which into! Carefree, happy, and Cedar Breaks National Monument, All in Utah the.. Un-American Activities Committee, she regained her U.S. work privileges sound era, however, her. Falls in love with Alessandro ( Warner Baxter ), long considered lost once a of.

Roses Chocolates Flavours 2019, Dairy Goat Shows 2020, Feliway Spray How To Use, Kerala University B Tech Syllabus 2008 Scheme Computer Science, Gloomhaven Digital Scenario Maps, Cambridge Latin Course Book 2, Stagecoach East Scotland,