Regeneration (1915 film)
Regeneration | |
---|---|
Directed by | Raoul Walsh |
Written by | Carl Harbaugh (adaptation) Raoul Walsh (adaptation) |
Produced by | William Fox |
Starring | Rockliffe Fellowes Anna Q. Nilsson James A. Marcus Carl Harbaugh |
Cinematography | Georges Benoît |
Distributed by | Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 72 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Regeneration is a 1915 American silent biographical crime drama co-written and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film, which was the first full-length feature film directed by Walsh,[1] stars Rockliffe Fellowes and Anna Q. Nilsson and was adapted for the screen by Carl Harbaugh and Walsh from the memoir My Mamie Rose, by Owen Frawley Kildare and the adapted play by Kildare and Walter C. Hackett.[2]
Cited as one of the first full-length gangster films,[3] Regeneration tells the story of a poor orphan who rises to control the mob until he meets a woman for whom he wants to change.
Synopsis
The story follows the life of Owen (Rockliffe Fellowes), a young Irish American boy who is forced into a life a poverty after his mother dies. As a result, Owen is forced to live on the street eventually turning to a life of crime. Owen is eventually reformed, however, by the benevolent Marie Deering (Anna Q. Nilsson). Also featured is a fire aboard an excursion ferry, much like the General Slocum disaster of 1904.
Cast
- Rockliffe Fellowes - Owen Conway
- James A. Marcus - Jim Conway
- Anna Q. Nilsson - Marie 'Mamie Rose' Deering
- Maggie Weston - Maggie Conway
- Willam Sheer - Skinny
- Carl Harbaugh - District Attorney Ames
- John McCann - Owen Conway (10 years old)
- Harry McCoy - Owen Conway (17 years old)
Production notes
Set in New York City, Regeneration was shot on location in New York City's Lower East Side and used real prostitutes, gangsters and homeless people as extras.[4] It is the first produced by Fox Film Corporation, a forerunner of the 20th Century Fox.[5]
Release
The film was originally released on September 13, 1915 to critical acclaim and was a box office hit.[4][6] It was re-released to theaters on January 12, 1919.[5]
Status and preservation
Regeneration was previously thought to be lost but was rediscovered in the 1970s. A copy of the film is preserved and held by the Museum of Modern Art Department of Film and the Film Preservation Associates.[5]
In 2000, Regeneration was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[1]
Home media
In 2001, Regeneration was released on Region 1 DVD by Image Entertainment along with the 1915 film Young Romance in 2001. The same two-film set was released on manufactured-on-demand DVD by Image Entertainment in 2012.[7] The film is currently in the public domain.[5]
References
- ^ a b McDannell, Colleen, ed. (2008). Catholics in the Movies. Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-195-30656-2.
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey (2011). The Fox Film Corporation, 1915-1935: A History and Filmography. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 0-786-48610-4.
- ^ Hahn Rafter, Nicole (2006). Shots in the Mirror: Crime Films and Society. Oxford University Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-195-17506-9.
- ^ a b Finler, Joel Waldo (1986). Movie Directors Story. Random House Value Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 0-517-48079-4.
- ^ a b c d "Regeneration (1915)". silentera.com.
- ^ Moss, Marilyn Ann (2013). Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 50. ISBN 0-813-14444-2.
- ^ "Regeneration (1915): DVD Release Info". silentera.com.
External links
- 1915 films
- 1910s crime films
- 1910s drama films
- 1910s romance films
- Fox Film films
- American biographical films
- American crime drama films
- American films
- American romance films
- American silent feature films
- American black-and-white films
- Films about orphans
- Films based on actual events
- Films based on biographies
- Films based on plays
- Films directed by Raoul Walsh
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot in New York City
- Gangster films
- Irish-American media
- United States National Film Registry films