The Menace to Carlotta
The Menace to Carlotta is a 1914 American silent short drama film directed by Allan Dwan and featuring Pauline Bush, William C. Dowlan, Murdock MacQuarrie and Lon Chaney. It was banned by the censor of Quebec on March 19, 1914.[2] The film is now considered lost.[3] Chaney also wrote the film's scenario (his first known screenwriting credit). The film's original working title was Carlotta, the Bead Stringer.[4]
| The Menace to Carlotta | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Allan Dwan |
| Written by | Lon Chaney |
| Starring | Pauline Bush William C. Dowlan Lon Chaney Murdock MacQuarrie |
| Distributed by | Universal Film Manufacturing Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 20 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent English intertitles |
Plot
Carlotta's fiancé Giovanni Bartholdi (Chaney) loses his money gambling with a shady character called "The Vulture" and, now penniless, moves in with Carlotta and her father and brother Tony. The Vulture talks Giovanni into luring Carlotta to a lonely dive one night, where she is to be kidnapped and sold into the white slave trade. She is saved however by her father and brother.
Cast
- Lon Chaney as Giovanni Bartholdi
- Pauline Bush as Carlotta
- William C. Dowlan as Carlotta's brother, Tony
- Murdock MacQuarrie as Carlotta's father
- John Burton as The Vulture
Reception
"Motion Picture News" wrote "The fight between Giovanni and the old father is very realistic, almost too much so."[1] "Moving Picture World" wrote ""A one-reel (sic) offering by Lou (sic) Chaney, who plays the villain's part...The Italian characterizations are good and the setting's in keeping...The photography is fair."[4] (Note the review refers to the film as a "one-reel offering", while reference sources list it as two reels in length. The same reviewer however also misspelled Chaney's first name).
References
- Blake, Michael F. (1998). The Films of Lon Chaney. Vestal Press Inc. p. 14. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
- "Quebec Censure Des Films Muets Muets Corrupteurs (Films muets refuses par la censure du Quebec)". ScribD (in French). p. 7.
- Lombardi, Frederic (2013). Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios. McFarland. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-786-43485-5.
- Mirsalis, Jon C. "The Menace to Carlotta". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved October 3, 2020.