The Amazons (1917 film)

The Amazons is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Kaufman and starred Marguerite Clark, Elsie Lawson, and Helen Greene. The film was based on the 1883 play of the same name by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, and adapted for the screen by Frances Marion. It was produced and distributed by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures under the Famous Players-Lasky name.[1] The film is now presumed lost.[2]

The Amazons
Newspaper advertisement
Directed byJoseph Kaufman
Produced byFamous Players Film Company
Written byFrances Marion
Based onThe Amazons
by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero
StarringMarguerite Clark
Eleanor Lawson
Helen Greene
CinematographyWilliam Marshall
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • August 5, 1917 (1917-08-05)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

Plot

As described in a film magazine review,[3] because the parents are disappointed that their three children are girls instead of boys, they are brought up as boys by the Marchioness of Castlejordan (Robinson), and no males are allowed within the walls of the estate. The antics of the three upset the villagers and cause gossip. Tommy (Clark), the youngest, is sent to London to visit relatives. She slips away from the house dressed in a gentleman's evening clothes and visits a dance hall. Encountering a bully, in self-defense she knocks him down. Escaping from the hall, she jumps into the cab of Lord Litterly (Hinckley), who takes her home, and a warm friendship springs up between them. Later, the lord is instrumental in saving her from a fall from a runaway horse. Her two sisters arrange a meeting with two men in the gymnasium one evening. Tommy climbs through a skylight and "drops in" on Litterly, who happened to be bringing a message with a maid. The Marchioness discovers the trio, and seeing that her girls will be girls, gives them her blessing, and a triple wedding follows.

From left: Tommy (Marguerite Clark), Willie (Eleanor Lawson), and Noel (Helen Greene) in a publicity still

Cast
  • Marguerite Clark as Lord Tommy
  • Elsie Lawson as Willie (*aka Eleanor Lawson)
  • Helen Greene as Noel
  • William Hinckley as Lord Litterly
  • Helen Robinson as Marchioness of Castlejordan
  • Edgar Norton as Lord Tweenways
  • Andre Bellon as Count de Grival
  • Roxanne Lancing as Sgt. Shuter
  • Jack Standing as unconfirmed role

References
  1. Beauchamp, Cari (1998). Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood. University of California Press. p. 444. ISBN 0-520-21492-7.
  2. Nunn, Curtis (1981). Marguerite Clark, America's Darling of Broadway and the Silent Screen. TCU Press. p. VII.
  3. "Reviews: Marguerite Clark in The Amazons". Exhibitors Herald. New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company. 5 (7): 25. 11 August 1917. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
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