Wildfire (1915 film)

Wildfire is a 1915 silent drama film produced by the Shuberts and distributed by World Pictures. It is based on the 1908 Broadway play Wildfire by George V. Hobart and George Broadhurst.[1] The play had starred the famous Lillian Russell,[2] who, in a rare screen appearance, reprised her role here. It was remade in 1925 with Aileen Pringle. Surviving prints are missing the third reel and the ending.[3] Prints and/or fragments were found in the Dawson Film Find in 1978.

Wildfire
Lionel Barrymore in a sequence from the film
Directed byEdwin Middleton[1]
Based onWildfire
by George Broadhurst and George V. Hobart
Produced byShubert family
William A. Brady
StarringLillian Russell
Lionel Barrymore
CinematographySol Polito
Distributed byWorld Film Company
Release date
  • January 25, 1915 (1915-01-25)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

According to the American Film Institute catalog, this film was shot at the Peerless Studios.[4][5] About 30% of the scenes were filmed in Charleston, South Carolina and at the nearly Palmetto Park race course.[6][7]

Plot

John Keefe, a gambler, shoots and kills Robert Barrington in an argument over a card game. Keefe steals Barrington's papers and forges a bill of sale to himself for Barrington's stable of race horses back east. The stable includes the prize filly, Wildfire. Meanwhile, Barrington's daughters, Henrietta and Myrtle, are becoming worried about their father's long absence in the West. John Garrison, the sheriff of the town in which Barrington was killed, goes East to investigate. He suspects Keefe (now called John Duffy) and begins to build a case, causing Henrietta to become suspicious. Keefe, realizing that the game is almost up, tries to get Wildfire's jockey to throw the big race, but Henrietta saves the day and Wildfire wins.[8]

Cast
Lillian Russell in a Wildfire scene
  • Lillian Russell - Henrietta Barrington[1]
  • Leone Morgan - Myrtle Barrington, her sister
  • Richard Morris - Robert W. Barrington
  • W. H. Powers - Ralph Woodhurst
  • Lionel Barrymore - John Keefe, gambler
  • Glenn White - Sheriff John Garrison
  • Riley Hatch - Matt Donovan (as William Riley Hatch)
  • George Mack - Bud
  • Walter Kendig - Marty Green
  • James J. Gorman - Gorman
  • William C. Chamberlain - Walker
  • Ruby Rose - Betty
  • James Jeffrey - Chappy Raster

References
  1. Lewis, Kevin (1987). "A World across from Broadway II: Filmography of the World Film Corporation, 1913-1922". Film History. Indiana University Press. 1 (2): 167. JSTOR 3815087.
  2. Wildfire as produced on Broadway at the Liberty Theatre, September 7, 1908; 64 performances; IBDb.com
  3. Wildfire at silentera.com database
  4. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-20, by The American Film Institute, c. 1988
  5. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:Wildfire(Wayback)
  6. "Noted Star Here in Movie Posing". Evening Post. Charleston, South Carolina. December 22, 1914. p. 18.
  7. "75 Scenes Here for "Wildfire"". Evening Post. Charleston, South Carolina. December 23, 1914. p. 3.
  8. Wildfire (1915), retrieved 2018-04-16


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