Back to God's Country is a 1919 Canadian drama film directed by David Hartford. It is one of the earliest Canadian feature films. The film starred and was co-written by Canadian actress Nell Shipman. With an estimated budget of over $67,000, it was the most successful silent film in Canadian history.
| Back to God's Country | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | David Hartford |
| Written by | Nell Shipman |
| Produced by | James Oliver Curwood Ernest Shipman (uncredited) |
| Starring | Nell Shipman Charles Arling Wheeler Oakman Wellington A. Playter |
| Cinematography | Dal Clawson Joseph Walker |
| Edited by | Cyril Gardner |
Production company | Canadian Photoplays Ltd. |
| Distributed by | First National Exhibitor's Circuit (later to become First National Pictures) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The film is noteworthy as it starred Shipman and was produced by her husband, Ernest. Shipman was one of the first women to do a nude scene on screen in the movie.[1] In 1918, they created a production company, Shipman-Curwood Producing Company, to produce Back to God's Country. The film was the only film the company would produce, and was based on a short story, "Whapi, the Walrus", by James Oliver Curwood.[2]
Curwood's story was adapted to the screen by Nell herself. She changed the protagonist of the film from a great dane to the female lead, Dolores. Shipman also shaped her character into a heroine, who saves her husband. Curwood was infuriated with Shipman, but commercially the film was extremely successful, posting a 300 percent profit and grossing a million-and-a-half dollars.[3][4]
Cast
edit- Nell Shipman as Dolores LeBeau
- Charles Arling as 'Sealskin' Blake
- Wheeler Oakman as Peter Burke
- Wellington A. Playter as Captain Rydal (credited as Wellington Plater)
- Ronald Byram as Peter Burke (original casting) (uncredited)
- William Colvin as Mountie Shot by Rydal (uncredited)
- Roy Laidlaw as Baptiste LeBeau, Dolores' Father (uncredited)
- Kewpie Morgan as Bully in Bar Who Shoots Chinaman (uncredited)
- Charles B. Murphy as The Half-Breed (uncredited)
Preservation
editBack to God's Country was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a special retrospective program of artistically and culturally significant films from throughout the history of Canadian cinema.[5]
The film has been re-made twice by Hollywood, but the original version was believed to have been lost. However, a print of the original film was found in Europe, restored in 1985, and re-released. A copy of the film is in the Library of Congress film archive,[6] and it has been released on DVD by Milestone Films.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Dawn E. Monroe, On The Job: Canadian Women of Achievement Archived 2018-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gutenberg.org
- ^ Morris, Peter (1978). Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema 1895-1939. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 95–126. ISBN 0-7735-0323-4.
- ^ Clandfield, David (1987). Canadian Film. Toronto: Oxford University Press. pp. 4–6. ISBN 0-19-540581-1.
- ^ Carole Corbeil, "The stars are coming out for Toronto's film festival". The Globe and Mail, September 6, 1984.
- ^ Progressive Silent Film List: Back to God's Country at silentera.com
External links
edit
- Back to God's Country (1919) at IMDb
- Back to God's Country at Canadian Film Encyclopedia
- This is the earliest known Canadian film written by a woman CBC Arts
- Special Free Screening of ‘Back To God’s Country’ at The Cinematheque Scout Magazine